Last week, a guy I know told me about a 1959 Edsel two-door post that he saw in a metal building not to far from me. He said the guy was wanting to sell it. All original, has never been restored or monkeyed with. He said the guy told him it was all there and had been stored inside for several years.
Edsels are an interesting "breed". You don't see a lot of them at car shows or cruise-ins. Ford only built them for three years...1958, 1959, and 1960. Ford had high hopes for them, but sells never came near projections.
I don't think I've ever seen one hotrodded out. Yeah, I've seen a few with after-market wheels, maybe even one that was tubbed, but as I thought about the car, I wondered what a '59 would look like in suede paint, lots of scallops, and wide whites. Maybe even some metalflake in the scallops and on roof.
I've got the owner's phone number, and may call to see if I can come and "kick the tires". The price sounds right. Would definitely make a unique ride. What do you think?
Tonight, as I was surfin' for a few pictures of a 1959 Edsel, I came across an article concerning a recent survey that asked folks to name the top 10 ugliest cars of all time. I've reprinted the list below and added the link to the article: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/08/0824_uglycars/index_01.htm
1. AMC Pacer
2. Chevrolet Chevette
3. Ford Edsel
4. AMC Matador
5. Chevrolet Corvair
6. AMC Gremlin
7. Chevrolet Vega
8. Pontiac Aztec
9. Ford Pinto
10. Yugo
I've actually owned a couple of these. I'm not sure I agree that all of these should be in the top 10 "ugliest". To me, some were more about "poor quality" than ugly. It's interesting that only one of the cars is pre-1970, and most are '70s compacts. I would agree that the Aztec is butt-ugly. (sorry if you own one.)
What about a 1939 Plymouth with those strange rectangular headlights? What about those "egg-shaped" Thunderbirds of the 80's? What do you think? Can any car be cool? Or are somethings just too fugly? What about the 1959 Edsel?
Feel free to add your thoughts as comments to this post.
I don't think Edsels seem all that bad. Heck, a similar year Mercury is uglier. They got a bad reputation from the get-go, and they'll just be the poster child for the bad car forever.
ReplyDeleteLots of those cars on the list aren't ugly. Vegas were very good looking, well-proportioned cars, kind of a baby Camaro. Chevettes were just little hatchbacks, but not particularly ugly.
Aztecs are ugly, no doubt. But even they are starting to just blend into the woodwork now. There are a lot of things today that are just as bad. Have you seen the new Nissan Juke. Yikes!
I'd throw in early '60s Plymouth Valiants as pretty bad looking cars. I'm a GM freak, but I can't say I love '59 Oldsmobiles (although if I saw a really neat one, I could be convinced to change my mind).
Thanks for the comments Craig. I would agree that the '60s Valiants are not very pretty. But the more car shows and cruise ins that I attend, I'm continually reminded that ANY vehicle can be cool. Heck, who would have thought 20 years ago that people would be gobbling up old station wagons and "more" doors. But with the right stance and tire/wheel combination, even grandma's grocery getter can be a pretty slick cruiser.
ReplyDelete