Here's a fascinating video on the short history of the Edsel, Ford's most notoriously unsuccessful automobile. This shows what can happen when you mix executive arrogance and self-delusion with an inadequately-supported manufacturing process, poor styling and an extravagant, over-promising marketing campaign (imagine, if you will, an entire hour-long variety special on television, featuring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and other well-known entertainers, the main purpose of which was to push this car).
Bonus video Ward Bond stars in an Edsel commercial that offered one of the most unusual prize gimmicks ever seen in the world of automotive sales.
Alan Sherman (yes, the "Camp Granada" guy) once explained that the reason the Edsel failed was because the automobile is seen in America as a masculine object, even as a penis substitute, and that putting an obvious vagina symbol front and center of the grill was too much of a mixed message.
ReplyDeleteI still don't know if he was joking or not.
If that's true, it should have been a big hit with the feminists.
ReplyDeleteOh, wait...
So Stephen.... the WNBA of autos?
ReplyDeleteOh, the WNBA... yeah, about them:
ReplyDeletehttps://babylonbee.com/news/analysis-wnba-games-found-to-be-last-place-on-earth-where-you-can-safely-social-distance
Steve - I cracked up at 'Mary McGrady, a single white female burdened with tremendous colonial guilt...'
ReplyDeleteI never saw that Ward Bond commercial, but the sign of him on a horse brought back memories. I hope those ponies were house broken. Wouldn't the western US have been easier to conquer if they'd had Edsels instead of horse-drawn wagons? Even Sitting Bull and friends would have wanted one.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing was, Ford had the ponies shipped to the dealers, and then the dealers had the headache of caring for the ponies, in addition to the problem of unloading the cars.
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