That was back in the day when gas was cheap, and we were so naïve we expected the Detroit Lions to win. But 1959 was also a key date for a couple of cars whose names today are synonymous with failure. And understanding both those cars is hugely important if we are to understand how the auto industry got where it is today.
Fifty years ago this fall, Ford Motor Co. pulled the plug on what was possibly the most horrendous flop of all time, the Edsel, a styling and marketing disaster. Even as the last of the Edsels rolled off the assembly line, Chevrolet began producing a car that was far more commercially successful, but would become a synonym for a dangerous death trap. I am talking, of course, about the Corvair, rendered perpetually infamous by the book Unsafe at Any Speed.
That book made author Ralph Nader famous and got millions of Americans wondering how safe their cars were.
Today, we think of these cars as case studies in the excesses and corruption of the American automotive industry. Critics sometimes cite them as early examples of the kind of thinking that nearly destroyed the no longer-so-big three.
As with most legends, the popular perception is partly right, and partly wrong. The Edsel, indeed, was a supreme flop, a classic business example of a famous principle: If you don’t know where you are going, you are going to have trouble getting there.
Today, we tend to remember the Edsel’s ugly, “horse collar” grille. Its real problem is that it was an overpriced and overhyped car introduced during a recession. Ford ended up losing, in today’s money, well over a billion and a half dollars.
The Corvair, on the other hand, was around for a decade, and sold well, at least until Nader’s book. If the Edsel was the wrong car at the wrong time, the Corvair was in some ways the right car at the right time. It competed well against early imports. But Nader charged that it had a dangerous tendency to spin out and flip over.
Today, there is evidence the Corvair may not have been as bad as Nader thought. But the way General Motors handled the affair was monumentally stupid. They invaded Nader’s privacy and tried to corrupt him. He sued, and GM ended up paying an enormous settlement. Nader then founded the Center for Auto Safety, which helped lead to more regulation of the industry.
Did Detroit learn from the Edsel and the Corvair? Yes and No. The car companies did finally get serious about safety. But the episodes also illustrate the inherent weaknesses each has.
When Ford has been flush with cash, it still too often wastes vast amounts, as when it bought Land-Rover and Jaguar many years later. And General Motors has repeatedly exhibited an insular, know-nothing arrogance that landed it, this year, in bankruptcy court.
None of us like clichés, but those who don’t learn from the past do, indeed, tend to repeat their mistakes.
Let’s hope that this time, Ford and GM really get it.
Ford's Edsel in 1959 is not the only flop that Ford has weathered. What about the Freestyle and the Flex? I am no auto critic or industry writer by any stretch. However, any vehicle whose nameplate is around for only a couple of years should define a "flop" for a manufacturer, especially with the huge commitments that must be made for tooling and stamping out new lines. I don't think we've been seeing too many of these two on the road, have we? Maybe it's just me (to quote Mitch Albom), but the Flex is downright ugly with its hearse impression and the Freestyle seems to have failed in trying to create its own new niche. Meanwhile, the Escape and Explorer continue to do well. Stick to your knitting, people!
Posted by: AcadGrad81 | October 19, 2009 at 11:11 PM