75,000 Miles: 1960 Edsel Ranger
When the Edsel was being developed it was a car that promised so much. The fact that it failed and in the process saw Ford tear up $250 million was something that the company never forgot. Our feature vehicle is a 1960 Edsel Ranger, which you will find for sale here on eBay. It is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is offered with a clear title. The seller has set the opening bid at $7,499.99 but there are no bids at this stage.
There were so many reasons why the Edsel failed that it is impossible to attribute it to one specific cause. The car was the victim of questionable quality control, internal politics, and controversial styling. While the original design pictures have never been released, there have been many insiders from Ford over the years that state that the original concept was quite attractive, but interference by management and accountants resulted in so many styling changes that the original design was diluted beyond recognition. This Edsel was built during the last days of the life of the Edsel brand. The 1960 model year saw only 2,846 vehicles built before the axe dropped. The car had undergone a major restyling to give it a more conventional look, but unfortunately, the losses were just too great to justify ongoing production.
This Edsel has only traveled a claimed 75,000 miles. It does appear to be in good shape, although I suspect that not all of the paint-work is original There appears that there may be some slight over-spray on the chrome trim at the top of the quarter panel on the passenger side. There is also some minor corrosion just above the rear bumper on the same side. What I have always found interesting about the face-lifted version of the Edsel is that while they restyled the front to give the car a more conventional horizontal grille, they went in the opposite direction on the rear of the car giving it vertical tail-lights.
Under the hood is the 292ci Y-block V8. The seller claims that it runs well and that the car is fully driveable as it sits right now. Backing the Y-block is the 3-speed automatic transmission. This would make the car a respectable performer, although with a curb weight pushing towards 4,000 lbs it is not going to be a jet. It is certainly more suited to being a sedate and comfortable cruiser, which is no bad thing. I also noticed that the firewall has been touched up around where the heater hoses and other components either attach or pass through the firewall indicating that there may have been some corrosion issues there.
The interior looks to be in good condition. There appears to be some wrinkling of the vinyl on the door trims, but the rest of the trim, seats, and carpet look pretty good. There is also some wear on the edges of the sun visors, but otherwise, all is good. Sadly all of those innovative features that made the first of the Edsels so innovative had been consigned to history by the time this Edsel rolled off the line. Features such as the Teletouch gear selection and the rolling dome speedometer were distinctive features that were certainly ambitious and distinctive.
To me, this is a nice car that reflects automotive tastes at the time, but it doesn’t feel like a “real” Edsel. The lack of the horse-collar grille and features like the rolling dome speedometer mean that to me it has lost those features that have come to make the Edsel such an iconic car. I will admit that it looks to be in good condition and that the new owner will be able to climb aboard and enjoy it immediately, but it just lacks that level of immediate visual recognition that the early Edsels possessed.
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Comments
As the 1960 model year was ending up they started using ford galaxy parts on these carts so 1960 was easy to get Ford parts for
Any potential buyers take notice, it’s got the auxiliary oiling system added for the rocker arms. The motor needs to be removed and rebuilt in order to repair it correctly. Even with this kit added the rockers still chatter more than normal.
I still think it a nice car though.
Dang that’s a lot of overhang in the back. Makes for a bigarse trunk.
That cream color is definitely period. Reminds me of my father’s 1959 Galaxie, same color with a white roof. Front looks like a 64 Imperial and the rear is a hodgepodge of 1960 Ford body and Comet taillights. Jw454, good eye on the external oiling system for the y blocks. Once rebuilt, it shouldn’t have any problem with today’s oils.
Agree with Adam – it’s lost most of it’s distinct Edsel features.
Don’t know much about this brand, outside of the “Failure” status it is so often referred to whenever a business marketing ploy goes south in the tank. Looks like any other early sixties/late fifties big car to me. Guess you had to of been there to truly understand the what’s and the why’s.
Following the big boom years of the earlier in the decade 58 to 60 we’re really big recession years and car sales in general were down significantly those years after record sales in 1957 so it was a bad year to introduce a car with upscale pricing like Edsel when a lot of folks were looking economy cars for the first time so wasn’t just the car was crap the economic environment was in the toilet and had a lot to do with why it’s so failed
I think AMC was the only company to post YOY increases in sales in 58, RicK.
They had the perfect car for a recession economy.
A gentlemen who was a designer at Ford ,during this era told me, the Mustang almost didn’t get made because, Mr. Ford was afraid of another Edsel
I really like this car, ever so much more than the Ford counterpart.
Edsel was just a ford with ford components. It has a reputation as a lemon and as far as sales went it was a dud for a variety of reasons. A lemon it was not .teething pains with the teletouch gear selector and bad fitting trim on the early models just like all new models
At first glance I thought it was a Mercury. It’s a clean car at a fair price, with lots of period era panache. That being said, it doesn’t hit the Edsel buttons (no pun intended) that makes them so cool! They came to the market right when the country was in a recession, gas prices had risen, and people were getting into smaller European cars. That with the high price tags kinda doomed them from the getgo. There’s a great documentary on-demand on the History Channel called “The Cars That Made America” that covers this in one section. A great watch for the car lover!
It is, but full of easily disproven claims. Like the Model A was a bomb and forced Ford to retrench with the V8.
Others about the 49 Ford come to mind as well.
With a little more careful research it could have been a classic for years to come.
For the record, the Edsel was produced in spite of Ford’s own research indicating that the market wasn’t interested in another De Soto. As RicK and BOP_Guy pointed, out, the car was launched in the midst of a recession and, yes, there were quality issues with the ’58s. In fact, Detroit was pushing cars out so quickly in the previous three seasons to meet demand that dealers were forced to correct issues that should have been dealt with at the factory.
The Comet, btw, was supposed to be an Edsel product, hence why it shared the ‘cat’s eye’ taillights with the ’60 full-sized line. With the demise of Edsel, it eventually become a ‘Mercury’.
The last new car I bought was in 1998 and at that time, dealers were still forced to correct issues that should have been dealt with at the factory.
Nice car
Great price
Love it
I like the 2 door 1958 345 hp 485 ft pounds. Teletouch. Ive seen the 58 look better than the rest. And a modded 4wd, looked really good, i dont like the 60
Why do I think ’59 Bonneville at first glance of that front end? :-)
What Del said…..rest of youse guys….take a break !
Little known fact….. The headlight buckets that hold the headlight bulbs are the same on this car as they are on the 1967 Shelby Mustangs and sell for about $300 a set of four. Same for the 1960 Ford Galaxies.
Karguy, I highly doubt this is true as a Mustang has the bigger headlights and this has the smaller headlights.
This looks like a very nice car, but something is off with the fit of the drivers door. The fender bottom and rocker don’t line up, the stainless trim sits higher than intended at both the front and back of the door, and the mirror has been relocated (should be at the wing window). I’d worry that the car has been hit in the left front at some point in its life.
Lovely looking car. It’s a shame that the Edsel was such a failure as it was.
Bob, I think that’s a solid beige not the metallic gold it may have come with.
Here’s the color chart from Old Car Brochures:
http://oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Edsel/1960_Edsel/1960%20Edsel%20Full%20Line%20Brochure/image11.html
It is a period color of beige though and I also think the whole car was painted.
It’s close to what Edsel offered in 60, but doesn’t look like a factory color.
Sort of like Earl Scheib shades: close but nor exact.
I love 1960 Edsels because they are pure, unadulterated weird. An Edsel that doesn’t look like an Edsel and leaves everyone scratching their heads “what the heck?” is right up my rather strange alley. This one looks quite decent, and seems like a good deal.