Rare Horse Collar! 1959 Edsel Corsair
Ford estimated there was a consumer need for a line of automobiles positioned between the Mercury and Lincoln brands and brought the ill-fated Edsel to market in 1958. Their projections were wrong, and they launched the Edsel Division at the wrong time – in the middle of an economic recession. Not to mention the “horse collar” grille which received a lot of criticism. This second-year Corsair looks to be in great shape, though the seller mentions there may be a little rust. Located in La Mesa, California, this rare car is available here on Barn Finds Classifieds for $14,995.
Total Edsel production was only 68,000 units in 1958 and that would be the car’s high-water mark. Sales would drop to 47,000 vehicles in 1959 and – as Ford was knee-deep in red ink for the initiative – the company pulled the plug on Edsel just after the 1960 selling season began. The seller’s 1959 Corsair, the top-of-the-line model, is one of fewer than 2,500 built as a 2-door hardtop. In their second year, the Edsel began to lose some of its exclusive appeal and the 1959s borrowed more from the existing Ford/Mercury parts bin to save money.
This Edsel has had some major work done more recently. The original 332 cubic inch V8 engine was rebuilt within the past 6,000 miles and the automatic transmission got the same treatment 4,000 miles ago. Items like the fuel pump and ignition have been upgraded to electronic which should make the automobile perform better than it would have when new. The odometer turned over not long ago with a report of 100,800 miles.
The seller is light on photos but encourages direct contact to get more. So, the “California rust” that’s mentioned only seems to be prevalent on the insides of the trunk. But the white over aqua paint presents well and may or may not be original. All-in-all, this appears to be a solid and complete car that should be a pleasure to drive – and perhaps garner some looks and questions at Cars & Coffee.
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Comments
2nd gen… do not want, same as 3rd gen.
Design of 1st gen is just COOL!
Very nice Edsel…they always got a bad rap.
Interior shot is useless. Except to say the seat covers aren’t original. And it seems every other `59 Edsel is this shade of turquoise–blah.
Did Edsel customers buy them instead of Ford competitors products or instead of other Ford/Mercury products?
That’s a good question. I’d never thought of that angle.
I remember reading that many 1958 Edsel buyers had previously owned Packards. As for 1959 it was a good year for the Ford brand so evidently Edsel sales didn’t have much of a siphoning off effect.
Regarding the 1960 Edsel there were less than 3,000 sold which barely affected anything at all.
And poor Edsel Ford having to live with the name given to Ford Company’s failure.
Edsel Ford died May 26, 1943, so he never lived with this debacle.
Well I see some negativity here in comments, but in 1985 I bought a 59 Edsel ranger from a guy in a bar for $200.00. It was a 4 door sedan with 292 automatic. It was a very reliable old car that I used as a work car. Even as late as 1985 very few people new what it was so I spent a lot of time talking to folks about the car while drumming up business at the same time. Sadly it through a rod breaking the block on a cold winter night in the mountains outside Granite Falls, Washington. I gave the car to a friend who parked it near his home in the mountains. Last I ever saw it.
God Bless America
The gear shift buttons in the middle of the steering wheel were cool, kind of like the cartoon Speed Racer. Also being able to change the placement of the gauges was different.
“SHEEKIMO GLORY!! WELL!!?? Get over it and tell yer stories! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Most people living today have only seen a horse collar at Cracker Barrel if at all. Amish still use them with good results. This theme has actually shown up on some popular Subarus and Suzukis in the early 2000s. This looks much better than those, and the whole car shows well. Definitely rare and unique in traffic today. $15k seems a fair price.
In 1960 after they finally got the Edsel right, they pulled the plug. Gone was the horse collar and steering wheel shifter and other goofy experiments. The car was pushed out the door too quick and with too many gimmicks that gave problems, and in turn gave the cars a bad reputation. Actually, the power train was good, Ford used the FE series engines for years, as well as the Mercury and Lincoln did the MEL series. They were trying to be too many things to too many different people, where if they had of concentrated on a single model with 2 door, 4 door, and wagon offerings, it would have probably went over better.
I bought a 58 Pacer convertible in 1984 for 400.00. It was pink and white. The car had power windows, seats, steering brakes, crappy tredlevac crap which I changed to a Mustang duel system. The teletouch stuff went. I took one from a junkyard and it worked for a while. When that one quit I put a column from a 58 Ford in it and never had an issue. I had a buddy with a bare bones 59 wagon with a 6 cylinder. The other thing that was cool on mine was it had a factory tachometer. I highly disagree with folks that called it the ugliest car of the time. Great cars to me and this one seems decent.