1960 Edsel Ranger

The Edsel Ranger was introduced in 1958, the first year of the Edsel marque, and was joined by the Pacer, Corsair, Citation, and the Villager and Bermuda station wagons. The ranger was the entry-level Edsel product and was available as a two-door sedan, four-door sedan, hardtop coupe, and hardtop sedan. Prices ranged from $2,490 to $2,650. It was powered by a 361 cubic-inch eight-cylinder engine that it shared with the Pacer and the Station Wagon models. Standard equipment included a rear-view mirror, two coat hangers, a cigarette lighter, black rubber floor mats, and armrests. Two-tone paint was optional, along with power windows, power steering, power brakes, four-way power seats, an electric clock, a push-button radio with a manual antenna, and a long list of other items. Other items included seat belts, warning lights, automatic trunk opener, air conditioning, and rear door child safety lock covers.

Both the ranger and the Pacer rested on a 118-inch wheelbase platform, while the Corsair and Citation had a larger 124-inch wheelbase. Like many other vehicles of this period, the designs were similar throughout the lineup, distinguishable by the level of exterior trim and interior accouterments. This was true with the Rangers and the upmarket Pacer, with the latter having stainless trim on the fenders and front doors. Early in the 1958-model year, Ranger-only door trim was a dealer option that could be used together with the Pacer fender trim.

The overhead-valve V8 had block and heads that were painted yellow, white painted air cleaner and valve covers, and red 'E 400' markings on the valve cover to designate torque. The engine had 10.5:1 compression, five main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, and a four-barrel carburetor. It developed just over 300 horsepower at 4,500 RPM. This engine was the 352 cubic-inch Ford V8 with changes to the bore, giving it the 361 cubic-inch displacement size. A three-speed manual transmission was standard, and an optional three-speed automatic with a column-mounted gear selector could be purchased for an additional cost. The Teletouch automatic was highly promoted by Edsel but was trouble-prone. This $231 option had its drive-selection buttons located in the steering wheel hub.

During its introductory year, the Ranger accounted for 21,301 total sales in the North American market. The Pacer had similar first-year sales, with the rest of the line having even less. The Edsel became a marketing disaster for Ford and the company's corporate strategy.

For the 1959 model year, the premium Citation and the best-selling Pacer model lines were dropped, as was the Teletouch transmission, which was replaced with the column-selector Mile-O-Matic (essentially the two-speed Ford-O-Matic). The 1959 Ranger and the Corsair both rested on a 120-inch wheelbase platform ladder-type frame. The iconic horse-collar grille was replaced by a shield shape filled with rows of bars, while the list of body styles remained the same.

For 1960, the Edsel model range consisted of the Ranger and the Villager station wagons. The total sales of the Villager wagons accounted for a mere 275 units. The Ranger was offered as a two-door and four-door sedan, two- and four-door hardtop, and a convertible. A Deluxe trim package was available on all but the 2-door sedan. The convertible only came with the Deluxe trim package and standard dual exhaust.

Powering the 1960 Ranger was an overhead-valve, 292 cubic-inch V8 that had a two-barrel carburetor, red-painted valve covers, and air clear. An optional inline six-cylinder engine had a 223 cubic-inch displacement and delivered 145 horsepower at 4,000 RPM.

The 1960 Edsel Range had completely new body designs with a lower silhouette, greater width, and longer overall length. The front had dual headlamps that appeared to float against the chrome grid. Below that grille was a one-piece bumper that incorporated a license plate housing in the center. In the back were twin vertical taillamps on each end of the car located above the one-piece rear bumper. Ranger nameplates could be found on the cowl side.

The four-door standard sedan accounted for the most sales, with 1,126 units sold. The Deluxe sedan had 162 sales. The two-door sedan found 777 willing buyers and the 2-door standard sedan had 243 sales.

Standard equipment included an electric clock, cigarette lighter, air cleaner, oil filter, positive-action windshield wipers, front foam cushions, carpets, armrests, ashtrays, two coat hooks, and turn signals.

Ford had done market research and polled car shoppers, but ultimately decided to disregard the data and went ahead with the Edsel, an expensive version of the Ford that most people did not find attractive. The vertical grille that Ford designers had created to make it stand out, was highly criticized. The basic purpose of the grille is to allow air into the engine bay, and for the narrow Edsel grille, this meant it had been enormous.

The Edsel was introduced at the beginning of a recession, had reliability issues, was poorly made, and over-hyped. It did not help that its base Edsel was higher than the most expensive Ford. The failed experiment ended in 1960 with production never reaching that high. Less than 3,000 examples were built in 1960 including 2,571 Edsel Rangers. The 1960 Edsel models were manufactured for just 10 weeks, ending on November 19th of 1959.

by Dan Vaughan

A marketing disaster for Ford and for Ford's corporate strategy for meeting GM's product line for product line, the 1958 Edsel was unfortunately not what the public was expecting. The Edsel made its official debut on September 4th, 1957 in showrooms spanning the country. Craftful and expensive marketing pre-empted this launch, as the extensive advertising kept everyone whispering and wondering about this mysterious new vehicle.

Keeping potential consumers on the edge of their seats with their tactful and slightly subliminal advertising, ads had begun running months earlier that simply featured a hood ornament or a covered car carrier, with the simple text 'The Edsel is Coming'.

Great lengths were taken to keep the appearance and features of the concealed vehicle a secret until its debut. Dealers were liable to fines or loss of franchise if they revealed the undercover vehicle prior to the release date.

Many critics believe that the car's name was a major part of its downfall. Following extensive surveys, the company even involved Ford staffers for suggestions, before throwing away all of the marketing research, and naming it after Henry and Clara Ford's only child, Edsel Bryant.

The day the vehicle was finally unveiled, consumers assembled in massive numbers at the dealerships. Believing that they would be shown something radically new, they're curiosity was rampant. Edsel's chief designer, Roy Brown Jr. set out to create a one-of-a-kind appearance that would be instantly recognizable for years to come.

Unfortunately, what the public found was really just another 1958 model. Not living up to the hype surrounding it, consumers thronged around the Edsel, but they only came to look. The company had high expectations to sell a minimum of 400 Edsels daily through 1,200 dealers. This goal was not met.

Edsel executives began worrying when early sales proved to be unexpectedly slow. Though the Edsel was set apart from other mid-1950's vehicles with a big impact ring in the middle of the front end, rather than two headlights and a horizontal grille, this alone wasn't enough to boost sales. Criticism came swiftly concerning the new look. Many reviewers considered the new Edsel to be a large gas-guzzling automobile with strange styling.

At this point in the decade, people were looking more and more toward smaller economy vehicles. Consumers were now growing tired of huge big finned vehicles covered in chrome. Edsel aimed incorrectly with their marketing scheme when they assumed this trend was going to continue. Unfortunately, 1958 was one of the worst years for the automobile industry. The only two cars that saw an increase over their 1957 production were the Ford Thunderbird, and the Rambler American.

The time of year that the debut was released also contributed to the problem, as typically, new models came out in November for the next model year, while the launch of the Edsel in September meant that it would reflect 1958 pricing while competing with 1957 models. In comparison, the Edsel looked expensive when compared to the discounted 1957, as dealers tried to clear their lots in anticipation of the new year's models.

A tough sell, especially during a recession year, when put against the end-of-year specials, Edsel chose to push their largest, most luxurious, and most expensive model. This proved to be disastrous, as without an established customer base Edsel sold only 64,000 units during its first year. As the 58 model year drew to a close, the company attempted to promote how inexpensive it was to own a bottom-line 1958 Edesl model, but this attempt proved to be too late.

The Edsel was launched as its own division, and completely separate from Ford. This decision ended up being a very costly and unfortunate choice by Ford. Brand-new dealerships were recruited rather than franchising with Ford/Mercury. Yet, rather than creating separate manufacturing facilities, as there were no plants set up to produce the Edsel, the division was squeezed on the Ford and Mercury assembly lines. This decision was yet another folly, as many of the Ford/Mercury employees resented having to build another division's vehicle.

This led to intentional vandalism, where vehicles would come to the end of the line with missing parts and faulty brakes, and many cars were unsafe for the road. Unfortunately, preceding the Edsel was their reputation for mechanical problems. Occasionally the wrong parts were put on the car, or the part was not available and would be delivered to the dealership this way. This resulted in the Edsel developing a reputation for mechanical problems.

A list would be found on the steering wheel which would say which parts were missing. Part of the problem was the complex and unfamiliar state-of-the-art technology of the Edsel with its automatic Tele-touch transmission. Mechanics' were confounded with the complicated system that was earlier than its time. Other design flaws created issues for buyers. The hood ornament became a safety hazard as once the car reached up to 70 mph, the ornament would fly right off.

Sharing its body with the Pacer, the Edsel Ranger was produced by the former Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division of the Ford Motor Company located in Dearborn, Michigan. The Ranger was built off the shorter Edsel platform and was sold through the Edsel marque in 1958.

During the first and second years of the Edsel's automobile marque, the Ranger was introduced as the base trim option and was offered in either two or four-door sedans. The base trim included a rear-view mirror, two coat hangers, a cigarette lighter, armrests, and black rubber floor mats. Available optional items included a basic heater and air conditioning in 1958.

Differentiating itself from the upmarket Pacer, the Ranger did not have the stainless trim on the front doors and fenders. While two-tone paint was optional, Edsel Rangers showcased chrome around the rear quarter panel cove molding on the exterior. Early on in the model years, a very rare, optional, Ranger-only door trim was made available from dealers to be used together with the Pacer fender trim.

Sharing Ford's 118-inch wheelbase, the Ranger had a standard 361 in³ V8 along with a standard three-speed manual transmission. Optional was the highly promoted trouble-prone Teletouch Automatic which had the drive-selection buttons placed in the steering wheel hub, or a three-speed automatic transmission with a standard column-mounted gear selector.

The trouble-prone Teletouch transmission featured was dropped in 1959, along with the best-selling Pacer and the premium Citation. The new top-line Corsair and the Ranger shared the 120-inch wheelbase for this model year. The horsecollar grille was replaced by a shield shape filled with rows of bars, as the styling for the Ranger became more conservative. While prices ranged from $2,629 to $2,756 for the 1959 year, body styles remained at 2-door coupes, 4-door sedans, and 2 and 4-door hardtop bodies.

The following year, the Edsel Ranger became the only car that Edsel offered, and the 1960 Ranger was introduced on October 15, 1959. The 1960 model shared such a various arrangement of body panels and interior trim features with the Corsair, that the decision was made to eliminate both the Corsair and the vertical grille element. The convertible body style was given to the Ranger, and at this point, the only defining element was its taillights, grille, and name badges. This convertible body style was available only in 1960, though not during 1958 or 1959. The Edsel Villager was a nameplate that was applied to two station wagons, a 6 and a 9-passenger model.

Four days following the introduction of the 1960 model, the Edsel marque was discontinued by Ford, and the final car was rolled off the assembly line by the end of the month. While price ranges for the 1960 model ranged from $2,643 to $3,000, only a total of 2,846 Ranger models were produced for this year.

An estimated 21,701 total units of the Edsel Ranger were produced during its production run. 4,615 were two-door coupes, 7,414 were four-door sedans, 6,005 were hardtop coupes, and 3,667 were four-door hardtops, while prices ranged from $2,484 to $2,643.

Edsel Ranger models are considered to be quite collectible to this day, due to the low production volumes during its three years of existence. The 1960 Ranger convertible has been frequently counterfeited over the years.

by Jessican Donaldson