SEPTEMBER 4, 1957: The Ford Motor Company unveils the Edsel, an automobile that would become a metaphor for failed marketing and corporate hubris. Ford spent heavily to hype the launch of the Edsel on “E-Day,” sending four models of the car to more than 1,000 independent dealers. But showroom visitors were not impressed with its looks — including its large rear fins — with one reporter likening the car’s distinctive front grill to “a Pontiac pushing a toilet seat.” The Edsel also suffered from a vibe of gas-guzzling ostentation that may have felt right when the project began but by the time of the rollout did not click with consumers suffering jitters about a bump national economy. Ford only sold some 64,000 Edsels, losing an estimated $250 million before folding the line in 1960.
