Edsel - Today

Today

More than half a century after its spectacular failure, the Edsel has become a highly collectible item among vintage car hobbyists. Fewer than 10,000 Edsels survive and are considered valuable collectors’ items. A mint 1958 Citation convertible or 1960 Ranger convertible may sell for over $100,000.

While the design was considered "ugly" fifty years ago, many other car manufacturers (such as Pontiac, Jaguar, BMW, Subaru, Lancia and Alfa Romeo) have employed similar vertical grilles successfully in their car designs. Many of the Edsel's features, such as transmission lock on ignition, self-adjusting brakes, gear selection by steering wheel buttons, etc., which were considered "too impractical" in the late 1950s, are now standard features of sports cars.

Even if the Edsel had survived beyond the early 1960s, it is far from certain that the brand would still be in production today. Chrysler discontinued the DeSoto brand at almost exactly the same time, Chrysler's announcement of the DeSoto's discontinuation coming only nine days after Ford's announcement of the Edsel's discontinuation. While the market for medium-priced cars would recover for a time, they would eventually be squeezed out due to Ford and Chevrolet having vehicles moving up into the medium-priced segment. Meanwhile, Dodge would move down into the low-priced field, which had traditionally been occupied by Plymouth. Although Oldsmobile was discontinued in 2004 in an unrelated move, the final death knell for the traditional domestic medium-priced brands was the Automotive industry crisis of 2008–2010. As a result of this crisis, General Motors and Chrysler filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. This development saw the end of the Pontiac and Saturn brands by GM, while Ford's own Mercury division was discontinued despite Ford being relatively healthy compared to GM and Chrysler and not needing government assistance. By the 2011 model year, only Dodge and Buick among the traditional medium-priced makes had remained in production, with Dodge having taken Plymouth's old spot within Chrysler and Buick arguably surviving only due to the brand's success in China.

Plastic scale models of all three Edsel years were produced by AMT, in its familiar 1/25 scale. Both promotional and kit versions were sold. These command premium prices today, especially the rare 1959 and 1960 models. The 1958 Pacer hardtop was re-issued as a totally new and much more detailed kit by AMT in the 1990s. The 1960 hardtop is also available as a resin kit from several resin model producers, but is typically priced close to the cost of an original kit. Yat Ming, a producer of diecast model cars, offered a nicely detailed 1958 Citation in 1/18 scale in both hardtop and convertible body styles. Yat Ming also produced a detailed 1/43 scale diecast of the Citation convertible in several color combinations. The Franklin Mint produced highly detailed (and expensive) 1/24 scale diecast models of the 1958 Citation convertible. The Danbury Mint produced a 1/24 scale diecast replica of the 1958 Bermuda station wagon, complete with accurately detailed wood trim.