Edsel Villager | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Edsel (Ford) |
Production | 1958–1960 |
Assembly | Mahwah, New Jersey Louisville, Kentucky San Jose, California |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Full-size |
Body style | 4-door station wagon |
Related | Edsel Ranger Edsel Bermuda Edsel Roundup Ford Fairlane Ford Country Sedan |
Powertrain | |
Engine | 361 cu in (5.9 L) FE V8 |
Transmission | 3-speed manual 3-speed automatic |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 1958–1959: 116.0 in (2,946 mm) 1960: 120.0 in (3,048 mm) |
The Edsel Villager is a station wagon that was produced and sold by Edsel from 1958 to 1960. Introduced using the narrower Ford station wagon body, the Villager was a divisional counterpart of the Ford Country Sedan. As the Edsel Ranger was derived from the Ford Fairlane, the Villager shared much of its body stampings with the Country Sedan wagon.
Alongside the Ranger, the Villager was the only nameplate to survive Edsel's entire three-year lifespan as a Ford automobile brand. As with nearly every other Edsel nameplate, the Villager name saw further use in automotive production.
In addition to Louisville Assembly (the primary source of Edsels), the Villager was also assembled by Mahwah Assembly (Mahwah, New Jersey) and San Jose Assembly.
For its introduction, the Villager represented the intermediate Edsel station wagon offering; for much of its development, Ford originally had planned on using the Caravan nameplate. [1] Slotted between the two-door Roundup and the premium Bermuda, the Villager was marketed only with a four-door body; six-passenger and nine-passenger versions were offered. [2]
With Edsel wagons matched to Ford-based Edsel sedans (on a 116-inch station wagon wheelbase), the Villager was a counterpart of the Edsel Ranger, sharing its interior and exterior appointments. Like all other Edsel wagons, the Villager came with a two-piece tailgate. Seat belts were optional. [3]
To distinguish Edsel station wagons from their Ford counterparts (produced on the same assembly line), the Villager was produced with boomerang-shaped taillamps (separate from the traditional round Ford units or Mercury "delta" units). The shape of the taillamps posed a problem when used as turn indicators – the left-hand taillight appeared as an arrow pointing right and vice versa from a distance.
All Villagers were fitted with a 361 cubic-inch V8 (the largest engine offered with the Edsel Ranger). Alongside a standard 3-speed manual transmission, a 3-speed automatic was offered. In addition to a traditional column-mounted gear selector, the automatic transmission was offered with the division-exclusive (but trouble-prone) Teletouch gear selector, placing drive selection buttons in the steering wheel hub.
During its first year in production, Edsel sold more Villagers than Roundup and Bermuda station wagons combined.
For 1959, the Roundup and Bermuda were dropped, leaving the Villager as the sole Edsel station wagon line. Along with the Ranger, the Villager adopted a toned-down front fascia; though the grille retained its "horsecollar" design, it was better integrated into the body (along with the headlamps). Though visibly sharing nearly its entire rear bodywork with Ford, the confusing boomerang taillamps gave way to four round units and two reverse lamps, along with vestigial fins.
The Teletouch gear selector was discontinued, with all automatic transmissions adopting a column-mounted shifter.
Though Edsel declined in sales overall for 1959, the 7,820 Villagers sold for the year outpaced sales of all three model lines combined for 1958 by nearly 1,500 vehicles.
For 1960, Edsel pared its line solely down to the Ranger sedan and Villager station wagon. Though closer in appearance to its Ford Country Sedan counterpart, the Villager saw extensive changes to its body and interior. The horsecollar grille associated with the brand was deleted entirely, replaced by a "hourglass" design, with the brand now distinguished by four vertical oval taillamps (for both the Ranger and Villager). An inch longer than Ford, the Villager now had a 120-inch wheelbase (shared with the Ranger).
The powertrain lineup was all-new for 1960, with the 361 V8 giving way to three engines. A 223 cubic-inch inline-6 was offered as a delete option, with a 292 cubic-inch V8 offered as the standard engine. As an extra-cost option, a 352 cubic-inch V8 was also offered. [4] A 3-speed manual was offered with the inline-6 and the 292 V8; a 2-speed or 3-speed automatic was offered with all three engines. [4]
For 1960, output of the model line dropped significantly, with only 275 units produced. However, the decrease is directly attributable to Edsel being in production for 43 days (from mid-October 1959 to late November 1959). Only 59 nine-passenger Villagers were built for 1960, making them the rarest Edsel station wagon.
Following the discontinuation of the Edsel division, the Villager nameplate would become one of several nameplates from the brand that would see reuse. The Mercury division revived the Villager name in 1962 for a Comet station wagon, using it until 1967. Subsequently, Mercury would use the Villager name to denote multiple woodgrained station wagons (similar to Ford Squire wagons), including top-trim wagons from the Montego, Bobcat, Cougar, Zephyr, and Lynx model lines. As the flagship Colony Park wagon was always sold with a woodgrain exterior, it never was marketed with a Villager trim.
During the early 1990s, the Mercury Villager became a stand-alone model line, though losing its woodgrain trim. Developed as part of Ford-Nissan joint venture, the Villager was a direct counterpart of the Nissan Quest.
Body Style | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 |
---|---|---|---|
6-Passenger Station Wagon | 2,294 | 5,687 | 216 |
9-Passenger Station Wagon | 978 | 2,133 | 59 |
Total | 3,272[ citation needed ] | 7,820[ citation needed ] | 275[ citation needed ] |
Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was produced by the Ford Motor Company in the 1958 to 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an effort to give Ford a fourth brand to gain additional market share from Chrysler and General Motors. Established as an expansion of the Lincoln–Mercury Division to three brands, re-christened the Mercury–Edsel–Lincoln Division, Edsel shared a price range with Mercury. The division shared its bodies with both Mercury and Ford.
Mercury was a brand of mid-priced automobiles produced by American manufacturer Ford Motor Company between 1938 and 2011 with 1939 being the first model year. It stood as its own line within Ford until 1945, and thereafter formed half of Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division. The brand was created by Edsel Ford in 1938 to bridge the gap between the Ford and Lincoln model lines.
The Ford Country Squire is a series of full-size station wagons that were assembled by American automaker Ford. Positioned as the top-level station wagon of the Ford division, the Country Squire was distinguished by woodgrain bodyside trim. From 1950 through the 1991 model years, eight generations of the Country Squire were produced. Following the discontinuation of Edsel Bermuda, Mercury marketed the Mercury Colony Park as a divisional counterpart of the Country Squire, sharing bodywork and trim while the Mercury was not available with a six cylinder engine and was more expensive due to the optional equipment on the Ford that was standard on the Mercury.
The Mercury Cougar is a series of automobiles that was sold by Mercury from 1967 to 2002. The model line is a diverse series of vehicles; though the Cougar nameplate is most commonly associated with two-door coupes, at various stages in its production, the model also was offered as a convertible and a hatchback. During its production as the mid-size Mercury line, the Cougar was also offered as a four-door sedan and five-door station wagon.
The Ford Fairmont is a model line of compact cars that was manufactured by Ford from the 1978 to 1983 model years. The successor of the Ford Maverick, the Fairmont marked the third generation of compact sedans sold by Ford in North America. Initially slotted between the Pinto and Granada within the Ford line, the Fairmont was later marketed between the Ford Escort and Ford LTD. In contrast to its predecessor, the model line was offered as a two-door notchback sedan, two-door coupe, four-door sedan, and five-door station wagon. Though never sold as a Lincoln, Mercury sold a divisional counterpart of the Fairmont as the Mercury Zephyr.
The Mercury Montclair is a series of full-size sedans that were manufactured and marketed over five generations by the Mercury division of Ford. The nameplate was used by the division twice, from the 1955 to the 1960 model years and from the 1964 to the 1968 model years. The model was offered as two-door and four-door hardtops, four-door pillared sedan, and a two-door convertible.
The Mercury Park Lane is a full-sized automobile that was produced by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company. While not officially introduced as the replacement of the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, the Park Lane became the flagship of the Mercury model line upon its introduction. The second-generation Park Lane was positioned above the Mercury Montclair.
The Pontiac Safari is a line of station wagons that was produced by Pontiac from 1955 to 1989. Initially introduced as the Pontiac counterpart of the two-door Chevrolet Nomad, the division adopted the nameplate across its full-size wagon range in 1957. Through its production, the Safari was positioned between Chevrolet full-size station wagons and below its Buick and Oldsmobile counterparts. During the mid-1960s, the Safari added simulated woodgrain trim to the exterior, becoming a feature associated with the model line.
The Mercury Colony Park is an American luxury full-size station wagon that was marketed by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company between 1957 and 1991. Distinguished by its simulated wood-grain paneling, the Colony Park was marketed as either the premium-trim or the sole full-size station wagon offering of the division. Following the 1960 demise of Edsel, full-size Mercury vehicles shared bodywork with Ford; the Colony Park served as the counterpart of the Ford Country Squire through 1991.
The Mercury Marquis is a model line of automobiles marketed by Mercury from 1967 to 1986. Deriving its name from a title of French nobility, the Marquis was introduced as the divisional counterpart of the Ford LTD; four generations of the two model lines were paired through rebranding. Initially slotted as the flagship Mercury full-size range, the Marquis would serve as the basis for the later Mercury Grand Marquis.
The Ford LTD Crown Victoria is a line of full-size cars that was manufactured and marketed by Ford from the 1980 to 1991 model years. Deriving its name from the Ford Fairlane coupe of 1955–1956, the LTD Crown Victoria served as the flagship of the Ford LTD model range in North America. Serving as the Ford counterpart of the Mercury Grand Marquis, the model line was offered as a two-door and a four-door sedan and a five-door station wagon.
The Mercury Meteor is an automobile that was produced by Mercury from the 1961 to 1963 model years. Adopting its nameplate from the namesake Ford of Canada brand, the Meteor was introduced as the base-trim full-size Mercury sedan, while the compact Mercury Comet shared a naming convention associated with the ongoing Space Race of the early 1960s. Slotted below the Mercury Monterey, the Meteor was the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Fairlane.
The Edsel Citation is an automobile that was produced by the Edsel division of Ford for the 1958 model year. The flagship Edsel model line, the Citation was offered as a two-door convertible; all Citation sedans were produced as hardtops. Slotted above the Corsair, the exterior of the Citation was distinguished by additional stainless steel trim and a gold-anodized aluminum cove panel.
The Edsel Corsair is an automobile that was produced and sold by Edsel in 1958 and 1959. For 1958, the Corsair was built on the longer, wider Edsel platform shared with Mercury. For 1959, the Corsair shared the shorter, narrower Ranger platform with Ford.
The Edsel Bermuda is a station wagon that was produced and sold by Edsel in 1958. Like the Edsel Villager and Edsel Roundup station wagons, the Bermuda was built on a 116-inch (2,946 mm) wheelbase shared with Ford's station wagons, as well as core body stampings.
The Edsel Roundup is a station wagon that was produced and sold by Edsel in 1958. Like the Villager and Bermuda station wagons, the Roundup was built on a 116-inch (2,946 mm) wheelbase shared with Ford's station wagons, as well as core body stampings. It had an approach angle of 21° and an overall length of 205.42 in.
The Edsel Ranger is an automobile that was produced and sold by the newly formed Edsel Division of Ford for the 1958–1960 model years. It was built on the shorter, narrower Edsel platform, shared with Ford and Edsel Pacer models.
The Ford Falcon is a model line of cars that was produced by Ford from the 1960 to 1970 model years. Though preceded by the Rambler American, the Falcon was the first compact car marketed by the Big Three American manufacturers.
The Mercury Monterey is a series of full-size cars that were manufactured and marketed by the Mercury division of Ford from 1950 to 1974. Deriving its name from Monterey Bay, the initial Mercury Monterey served as the top-of-the-line two-door sedan model for 1950 and 1951 to compete with the hardtop models of Oldsmobile and Buick. It came with a vinyl roof covering, upgraded upholstery, and other features. The hardtop was introduced for 1952. During its production, the Monterey would be offered in multiple body styles, ranging from coupes, convertibles, sedans, hardtops, and station wagons.
The Mercury Voyager is a station wagon that was sold by the Mercury division of Ford for the 1957 and 1958 model years. For the 1957 model year, Mercury created a model range of station wagons distinct from sedans, following Ford. The Voyager served as the mid-range offering, slotted above the base-trim Mercury Commuter, with the woodgrained Colony Park serving as the top-range offering.
Bonsall, Thomas E. (2002). Disaster in Dearborn: The Story of the Edsel. Stamford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4654-0.
Duetsch, Jan (1976). The Edsel and Corporate Responsibility. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-01950-5.