Relaunch the e-launchWith the poet at the helm--
E not for Edsel.
Silver-tongued American bard, Marianne
Moore, was asked by Ford's Manager of
Marketing Research to submit "inspirational
names" for the E-car, to be rolled out in
grand fashion by Ford on E-Day, September 4, 1957.
"Who better to understand the nature of words
than a poet," said the Ford man. Moore's naming
submissions, which included:Resilient Bullet,
Ford Silver Sword, Mongoose Civique, Varsity
Stroke, Pastelogram and, my personal favorite,
Andante con moto, were passed over in favor
of the now-infamous "Edsel",named after Henry's,
as in Ford, son. The Edsel hype let out by dribs
and drabs, including a top-rated T.V. special, The
Edsel Show, never really delivered its promise of
bringing a new and different intermediate line of
cars to the American public. Instead it was mocked
for its conventional sameness and turned out to be
a dismal marketing failure for Ford Motor Co.
Despite problems with its physical appearance,
including a grille that was likened to images of
vaginas, horsecollars and toilet seats, many of
the Edsel's forward thinking design features:
transmission lock on ignition, self-adjusting brake,
gear selection by steering wheel buttons are now
standard features in sports cars. But, in the '50's
the American public were having none of this.
I can't help but think if the big shots at Ford
had gone with Marianne Moore's, Andante con moto,
they would have pulled off a celebration of hipdom
rather than giving history its cliche synonymous
with failure. So, pay good heed, you marketing
moguls, to your silver-tongued bards.
