They could've gotten at least another decade out of DeSoto as a compact/midsize-only brand upscale of the Plymouth and Dodge offerings, alongside the "no jr. editions" policy for the Chrysler brand.
DeSoto basically was Chrysler's "answer" to GM's Oldsmobile. Given what success Olds had with the Cutlass in the 1970's a DeSoto Cordoba would have been a huge hit for Ma MoPar!@@bigheadfred
Since LaSalle was a bridge between Buick and Cadillac, I can see more modern LaSalles as more "Cadillaicish" versions of the Buick Regal.@@jonny-nava-367
I liked Ed's variations of the vertical grille. Had Edsel continued, some sort of central grille workout would likely have been a design signature, like BMW's twin kidney grilles. (Even the 1960 Edsel had some emphasis on the front center, with the "points" of the side grilles coming together in the middle.)
Thanks! Like I mentioned its hard to find a middle ground between 'Haha ugly car with big grill is funny' and ' yes this is likely, but boring' but I think it worked out in the end
@@EdsAutoReviews The 70s personal luxury car is the best of the four IMO. It looks better than many actual cars of the era. One minor nitpick is that it would certainly have had whitewalls standard. It fits the design language of the era quite well. The other three look really good as well.
Where did you get Macco from? Mako Shark? Chevy used that name on a 60's Corvette concept. See 1963 Vette for what made it to production. "Maaco" (note spelling) is the name of a cut-rate chain of body shops in the US
...and Ranger on tons of pickups since Edsel bit the dust. Pacer and Citation became better known, but no less reviled, on AMC and Chevy cars respectively...
@@stevetournay6103 that’s right, the Ford Ranger is a very popular midsize pickup (it used to be compact, but that mantle has been taken over by the new Maverick)
Yes Ed, I have always wondered what the Edsels would look like if they were continued. I figured Ford would have corrected the looks and eventually made a success out of the Edsel
I’d get the Edsel Citation in a heartbeat. A little bit nicer than a Crown Vic but not nearly as much as a Grand Marquis. Edsel at that point would just be Ford’s Oldsmobile. Near premium to near luxury cars. And that Villager looks nice too! If only Mercury made a Expedition or Bronco.
I love the premise of this series! I think it would be cool if you made what if scenarios for some of the captive import brands like Merkur, Geo, and Eagle.
Going with the "what could have been " scenario, how about featuring what if Studebaker had not ended in 1966? I think it would be interesting to see maybe a 2023 Studebaker Champion, for example.
Stude should have stayed in trucks, actually...but their corporate board was hellbent on exiting the car business as early as 1957...by the mid 60s there was zero chance of Stude surviving as a carmaker. An aside, I've got a '64 Daytona sedan with just 37k miles since new...spent 1974 through 2021 garaged...I'm the first one ever to take the car to a show!
That was a fun "What-if" timeline reconstruction! You should continue this to other defunct auto makers, both NA and European. I look forward to seeing what you bring in the future!
The 1960 Comet was originally going to be an Edsel model, but when Ford Motor Company made the decision to discontinue the Edsel marque for 1960, Comet became a standalone car until it officially became a Mercury model for 1962.
As the 199th viewer, and after watching your What Happened to Edsel video, I've come to my own conclusion, which I think is very true: In the last century, car makers used to have many brands to cover the widest range of buyers possible. GM had Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac. FoMoCo had Ford, Edsel, Mercury and Lincoln. Chrysler Corporation had Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler. Because quality always matters rather than quantity, automakers decided to defunct marques that fall between the most practical marque and the luxurious top-of-the-line marque, hence the discontinuation of Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Edsel, Mercury (although it was affected by the financial crisis of 2008) and DeSoto. Nowadays, they offer various trim levels of each car model, which is way easier and less costly since it is not a whole car marque that will add the costs of designing models from scratch, r&d, etc. To answer your question, I think Edsel would've faced the same exact fate of Mercury, if not worse (which had already happened upon canceling it).
I'm kind of surprised how the Mercury models you mentioned look (in retrospect) like they could have been Edsels themselves. The grill on the Mercury Cougar had what looks like a de-emphasized Edsel vertical grill. Similarly, the "square thing" on the grill of that 70's Mercury has the same "Edselness" to it. Then there's the grill on 2000s Mercury Grand Marquis, which is really just a WIIIDE Edsel grill. Ok, I'm now convinced that Mercurys were just stealth Edsels
With one small caveat. 5:46 I don't see that grill covered by the bumper. I think Edsel would sooner utilize the design like 6:54. The problem is that consumers didn't like that horse collar/toilet seat. People made fun of it. If Edsel were to actually survive, engineers would probably abandon this negatively associated detail. For example. Even in Poland, designers at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s knew that they could no longer produce the "Syrena" car with suicide doors. That was the main distinguishing feature of this vehicle, someone designed it this way in the 1950s, but for people in the late 1960s it was already a pain in the ass and they had to change it. To sum up, Edsels from the 1970s to 2000 would probably no longer have a vertical grill. The factory would rather avoid negative associations with its product.
The Corsair look similar to the Ford LTD of the same period. BTW, Great design study you did. I like very much your videos! Wish you the Best for 2024! And, many videos to come for us!
Excellent Ed. You put a lot of thought and effort into this video. You thought this out and shared the past design cues influenced the designs. You are right about how it would have been in the same position as Mercury. You can see the Thunderbird and Crown Victoria and Milan in the models. The 1960's sports coupe look more Mercury/Ford Capri than Mustang. You are right they would be crossovers and suv's today. I applaud your efforts and explaining the models. Thank you.
Ed - Great video! I love your “What if” series, and your attention to design detail. Here’s an idea for a future “What if” series: What if Tucker had remained in business. Tucker over the decades, culminating in a 2024 Tucker SUV EV? Imagine what their innovative features would be like over the past 70+ years!
Excellent presentation, Ed. I was 14 when the Edsel debuted-at the pinnacle of my car-guy years. We didn’t think much of the Ford styling of that day. Chevy was starting their Impala era. Every year, the Impalas were the car of choice for a young car aficionado. But I do like some of your designs. BTW, does that Villager come in a metallic red?
You did a great job modeling what a modern Edsel would look like! I'm sure they would look exactly like these, and I'm sure if the brand existed in current times, it would be like Caddilac. They still exist, they're there, but no one hears anything about them anymore.
I really like this video and how you stepped up to the challenge with a design as difficult as the Edsel. BMW has managed to keep it's kidney grill design relevant since the 1960's but working with two ovals is much easier, in my opinion, than a narrow vertical "horse collar". Thanks!
I normally don't like retro designs being adapted into modern design, I like your take on the "What if" Edsel designs. I love how the vertical grill is being adapted in every car despite the ugly look on the late 50s Edsel (Which in my opinion was because it was too big). It reminds me of the opposite approach where the BMWs from the 2000s where the kidney grills are small yet tastifully done opposed to the grills they have today. My personal favorite is the Macco. One thing I will say is that your rear wheels need to be offset more (Ie close to the edge of the fender). You can go to wheel and tire section and there should be a part where you can adjust the offset of the wheels. Other than that, great work.
List of Edsel Alternate-Fictional Production Cars: -Edsel Citation (Rebranded Car of the 2000s Ford Crown Victoria, 2000s Mercury Grand Marquis, and 2000s Lincoln Town Car. Production from 1992 to 2011) -Edsel Corsair (Rebranded Car of the 1970s Ford Thunderbird and 1970s Lincoln Continental. Production from 1970 to 1982) -Edsel Espero (Rebranded Car of the Late 2000s Ford Fusion, Late 2000s Mercury Milan, and Late 2000s Lincoln MKZ. Production from 2006 to 2019) -Edsel Macco (Rebranded Car of the Late 1960s Ford Mustang and Late 1960s Merucry Cougar. Production from 1968 to Present) -Edsel Villager (Rebranded Car of the Early 2020s Ford Expedition and Early 2020s Lincoln Navigator. Production from 1990s to Present) Edsel Alternate-Fictional Production Cars what we need: -Edsel Clubstar (Rebranded Car of the 1980s Ford Aerostar. Production from 1986 to Present) -Edsel Ian (Rebranded Car of the 1980s Ford Festiva from Mazda 121 and Kia Pride. Production from 1985 to 1999) -Edsel Grandsporter (A 1990s Rotary Sport Car from Mazda. Production from 1993 to 2003) -Edsel Macco Electrifies (Rebranded Car of the Early 2020s Ford Mustang Mach-E. Production from 2021 to Present) -Edsel Montenegro (Rebranded Car of the 1980s Ford Taurus, 1980s Mercury Sable. Production from 1986 to 2019) -Edsel Oklahoma (Rebranded Car of the Late 1970s Ford Fairmont which was named after the US State of Oklahoma. Production from 1978 to 1983) -Edsel Qooder (Rebranded Car of the 1970s Ford Pinto. Production from 1974 to 1984) -Edsel Treasurer (Rebranded Car of the 1990s Ford Explorer. Production from 1996 to Present) -Edsel Sure (Rebranded Car of the 2000s Ford EcoSport that could be produced in South Asia and South East Asia. Production from 2003 to 2022) -Edsel Yucatan (Rebranded Car of the 1960s Ford Fairlane that could be produced in Australia. Production from 1966 to 2009) So what does the Edsel Logo looked like from the 1950s to Present in the Alternate Universe?
Interesting take on the Edsel after '60. Oddly enough, the horse collar grill of the original was inspired by (copied, stolen?) the Packard Predictor concept car which appeared on the auto show circuit in 1956. I'd love to see a "what if" of Packard AND Studebaker someday. Thanks for all the great content and Happy Holidays 🎉 to you and yours...
At the time of the K-car intro, Canadian former Studebaker exec Stu Chapman tried to interest Chrysler Canada in a revival of the Studebaker brand. Sketches were done of the K-car with '66 Stude style grille and also of the Cordoba/Mirada in Gran Turismo Hawk guise. Both really looked quite good, especially the K-car (given that it rather resembled the square-cut 64-66 Stude already)...
Suggestion. What if they kept the tail fin / wing look of the late 50s? What if they kept the "Longer, Lower, Wider" theme of the late 50s? What if they kept the Fast-back look of the late 40s and never grew trunks? What if they kept the Chrome look of 1958? What if they evolved the 1968 Corvette look into sedans and Station wagons? What if they evolved the Mustang into the sedans and Station wagons and this became the main seller for Ford due to the good looks and performance instead of the big boats that took place? What if gasoline remained really cheap? What if gasoline because really expensive just after WWII? What if the alll glass look like the 56 Crown Victoria took off as the theme up to present? What if cars became Driverless way back in the 1950s?
The front grille of the 2005 Citation makes the car look like a Daewoo, but I think it does well incorporating the vertical grille without making it too obvious.
This is a great presentation Ed. Edsel could have marketed the British Ford Cortina that was also sold in America in the late sixties and early seventies. Plus the 1960 Mercury Comet was originally supposed to be an Edsel Comet.
One bright spot for Ford about the Edsel fiasco was that the extra production capacity they were aiming for came in handy with the hot-selling Falcon compact (and, later, the Falcon's hot-selling Mustang derivative)...
Yep. Studebaker gets a mention in that song too, but in a neutral light and in the "1950" stanza of the song. 1950 was Stude's largest production year, with over 300,000 cars (and trucks) built.
What I find most sad is that to celebrate the 65th anniversary and summarize the pinnacle of a car maker knolwledge, instead of a state of the art sporty sedan or a blazing fast coupe, we have 5 and half meter long van. Not your fault, is today's market that I cannot understand anymore. I'd buy and Iveco Daily minibus instead, it is bigger, has up to 22 seats, may be it is even lighter, tons of torque from a 3.0L turbo diesel and has rear wheel drive! 😂😂
To be honest Ed you kinda failed at making the the Mako an ugly car. You actually designed a very nice-looking car. I think it would have sold quite well.
I've done something similar to this idea, with the two cars I made being the 2009 Edsel Comet, which was really just a badge-engineered Ford Fusion, and the 2002 Edsel Io, which was based on the US market Ford Escort. I'm honestly pleased with how both cars turned out, though the Comet seriously looks like a Fusion with a split grille from the front, and the Io came out looking like it should belong more to Pontiac than Ford. I also decided to go with a space theming for Edsel model names, so I made the Comet and Io (after the moon of Jupiter) as well as the unfinished Antares (after the rocket) and Apollo (after the moon mission).
The Edsel was ahead of its time with features not used in any other vehicle for a while. The thing was it was new technology and that needed more time to be worked on.
I think you did a marvelous job of interpretations a what if. And seriously your designs aren’t far off from what is available today. Great job Ed. I wish I knew when you were coming to Chicago. Would have liked to meet you.
I like your take. I knew someone who had the Crown Vic. Edsel. By any chance did you check out some of the designs that were in the works for the original smaller Edsel? Later to be known as Comet and Falcon.
Some say the 1961 Mercury Comet was originally designed as an Edsel. This would have taken Edsel in a new direction, and made it a compact car which was the hot selling fashion of the early sixties.
this is one of the BEST automotive what ifs I've ever seen. I was always curious how certain car manufacturers that have went out of business years ago would look like today if they were still around. this is the most realistic approach I've seen for Ford's Edsel brand. Great job!
That would be nice if Ford never cancelled Edsel. What if Edsel started making very unique designs just like Oldsmobile does, and with the vertical grille, but in different ways. The Edsel brand would give the Ford Company more flavor, and the buyers more options, instead of basic Fords. I like all of your designs, especially the green one, since I love Ford Crown Victorias.
Here's a suggestion: What if the oil crisis never happened - what would modern day offerings from the big three look like, if they never had to worry about fuel economy, emissions, or competition from foreign manufacturers? Would the entire malaise era just not happen, or would it have been inevitable due to other changes in the market?
I was unable to find the Edsel prototype image(s), but initially Roy Brown Jr's design had a much more stylized center feature for the first 'E' car model. His alternative take on tail fins and unique approach to front-end styling should have been a winner. However after design reviews and other inputs, the center section of the grill was enlarged and the angled 'nose' treatment was lopped off to the notorious 'horse collar' grille and that version was approved. So sad. I think you may have missed one important influence here. After being demoted (post-Edsel failure), Roy Brown Jr was reassigned to the UK where he helped design the highly successful Ford Cortina Mk1. From there he went on to design the Econoline, and was eventually made executive designer @ Lincoln Mercury. The early Mercury Cougar (off shoot of the Mustang) contained a center vertical grill, most prominent on the 2nd generation models (just prior to Roy's retirement). Not so much as a 'what if car'? Personally, I see Roy Brown's fingerprints all over that one. Thanks for your content!
I think you did a very good job of imagining Edsel through the years. The only design choice I question is the tail lights on the SUV. The original tail lights were criticized for the way the flashing light would point the opposite direction of the intended turn. It's visually interesting, but functionally questionable.
Exactly. It's on the left side of the car but it points right. What a mindfuk 🙂More than one driver from the 50's-60s was probably confused, especially when he saw something like that from a distance, at night. For some time I had daytime running lights with dynamic LED turn signals in my Lada 2107 and people looked at me in disbelief as to what kind of vehicle it was 🙂
You made me belly laugh through this Ed, respect to you for working with Ford ;) on this video. In all seriousness please do more of these what if video's, great use of Ai & Design. Would love to see a what if of Humber.
Very convincing Ed, Bravo! The only thing I'd do is change the badging, in say the 2000s forward to something more abstract like what KIA has done. Where a word (EDSEL is clunky) becomes a decoration even if barely legible.
Right after i watched your video on Edsel, I went a created 2 Edsel’s in the same game. I made an Edsel “Stallion” which was modelled after a 98 mustang, it even had the same 4.6L V8 the mustang had. And i had also made a Citation modelled after a 99 taurus. Cool to see that others are also using Automation to create “What if” cars.
As a former Edsel owner (I inherited our '59 Villager from my parents) I found this really interesting and well done. Some comments, though. 1) Edsel is pronounced with a softer "s" sound. Your pronunciation comes across more like "Edzel." 2) The shark species is spelled with only one "c" and is pronounced with a long "a", i.e., "May-ko." If you've added the double "c" for copyright reasons, then your pronunciation is correct. 3) Your logo "E" is too square. The real thing had tapered prongs (or whatever you call the horizontal bars on an "E") and a non-straight vertical bar. All in all, very imaginative and entertaining!
Some other interesting choices could be what if Studebaker was still around or maybe if Willy's or amc never went defunct personally It'd be fun to see what it would look like if international harvester still made civilian cars
All of these alternate reality vehicles seem very plausible, but as far as styling I think the Citation and Villager look the best. That being said I love the premise of these videos and i hope you keep up the great work!
good to see that you've been putting more hours of work into Automation Ed, these designs are really good and improve a LOT over the last episode! keep it up
