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Photo Feature: 1960 Edsel Ranger

1960 Edsel Ranger

by Don Sikora II

Note: The following story was excerpted from the April 2011 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine

Introduced by the Ford Motor Company in September 1957, Edsel was Ford’s attempt to capture a larger portion of the medium-price new-car market. But by the start of the 1960 model year, the brand was on very shaky ground.

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1960 Edsel Ranger Two-Door Sedan

1960 Edsel Ranger

As the medium-price market developed in the years between the world wars, Ford really didn’t do anything to address this growing—and profitable—part of the business. The 1939 Mercury was the company’s first medium-price offering, but it had to compete with Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick from General Motors; Dodge, DeSoto, and Chrysler from Chrysler; and a collection of strong independents including Nash and Hudson.

Ford executives recognized the importance of this market soon after the end of World War II. Still, serious strategic planning didn’t begin until the Fifties.

Carefully orchestrated leaks and media speculation preceded the introduction of FoMoCo’s new medium-price car, the 1958 Edsel. Despite the planning and hoopla, the Edsel faced major problems even before it ever went on sale.

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1960 Edsel Ranger

The new car found itself caught up in a perfect storm of brutal office politics, a dramatic sales downturn in the medium-price field, and the worst economic conditions since the end of World War II. With sales failing to live up to expectations from the start, and powerful opponents in company management, Edsel quickly lost support inside of Ford, even before New Year’s Day 1958. It was branded a loser, but no matter how good or bad the ’58 Edsel truly was, it probably never really had a chance to succeed.

Edsel offerings were dramatically scaled back for 1959, and by 1960, the Edsel was little more than a badge-engineered Ford. Introduced on October 15, 1959, the ’60 Edsel arrived in one series, Ranger. Body styles included two- and four-door sedans and hardtops, a convertible, and six- and nine-passenger Villager station wagons.

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1960 Edsel Ranger

Unique sheetmetal was at a minimum, with the hood and the small sections of the rear fenders next to the decklid being the differences. Edsel’s signature central vertical grille was jettisoned, and the new front end looked quite similar to a 1959 Pontiac. At the rear, vertical taillamps set the car apart from the ’60 Ford with its horizontal lenses.

Dealer and customer response was tepid, allowing the company to officially throw in the towel on Edsel a little more than a month after the 1960 model’s introduction. Production ended by November 30, 1959, and totaled a mere 2846 units.

The featured car is owned by Judy Doster of Abilene, Texas. The two-door sedan was the price leader of the line at $2643 to start, and the second-most popular 1960 Edsel with a run of 777 units.

A 292-cubic inch “Ranger V8 was standard, but this car has the 223-inch “Econ-O-Six,” a $83.70 credit option. It’s joined to an extra-cost automatic transmission.

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1960 Edsel Ranger

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1960 Edsel Ranger Two-Door Sedan Gallery

(Click below for enlarged images)

Written by: The Daily Drive staff on April 21, 2021.

Photo Feature: 1929 Cadillac Town Sedan

1929 Cadillac Series 341B

by Leigh Dorrington

Note: The following story was excerpted from the April 2012 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine

Cadillac was due for a “quiet” year in 1929, considering the previous season had seen the arrival of all-new Series 341 cars. They came with attractive styling by Harley Earl, fresh off his success with the 1927 LaSalle; a new 90-bhp 341-cubic-inch version of Caddy’s established L-head V-8 engine; and a chassis with wheelbase stretched to 140 inches, a switch to torque-tube drive, and the adoption of 32-inch-diameter tires.

Those core features were indeed carried into 1929, but Cadillac was still able to make some noise in the automotive field—ironically by quieting things down. The marque introduced the “Synchro-Mesh” transmission, which made it easier to shift into second or third gear without a gratingly audible clash of metal. Other improvements for ’29 included internal-expanding brakes at all four wheels (external-contracting bands had been used previously at the rear), double-acting Delco shock absorbers, safety glass, and an adjustable front seat on most models. Fender-top parking lights replaced cowl lamps.

1929 Cadillac Series 341B

The 1929 Series 341B came in 11 “standard” models with Fisher bodies, plus another dozen “Fleetwood Custom” styles. Among the former was the “Town Sedan” featured here, a close-coupled five-passenger four-door model with a shortened body that made room at the back for a large detachable trunk.

Written by: Guest Author on December 1, 2020.

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Photo Feature: 1949 Anglia Two-Door Sedan

1949 Anglia Two-Door Sedan

Note: The following story was excerpted from the December 2016 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine

Collector cars can turn up in odd places. A 1925 Bugatti was found at the bottom of a Swiss lake. A 1957 Plymouth was buried in a time capsule in Oklahoma. The elements took their toll on both.

Ford’s history in Great Britain dates to 1903 when a small batch of cars was imported from America. By 1911, Ford’s British operations were assembling the Model T locally, but the first cars specifically designed for the English market did not arrive until the Thirties.

1949 Anglia Two-Door Sedan

After World War II, Ford of Britain was able to restart civilian production by June 1945. Within a few years, some dealers in the United States were peddling a selection of British-built Ford products including Anglia and Prefect sedans and Thames light-duty trucks.

The Anglia was based on the 7Y Eight model that went on sale in September 1937. The four-passenger car was 148.5 inches long end to end and rode a 90-inch wheelbase. Available only as a two-door saloon (a sedan to Americans), the 7Y had fender-mounted headlamps, a center-hinged hood, and a rear-mounted spare tire. The engine was a 933cc/56.9-cubic-inch L-head four-cylinder rated at 23.4 horsepower. The chassis and driveline followed typical Ford design practices of the time with transverse-leaf springs front and rear, a three-speed manual transmission, torque-tube drive, and mechanical brakes.

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1949 Anglia Two-Door Sedan

In 1940, the car was renamed Anglia. At the same time, it received a nearly upright grille, a longer hood, and a built-in trunk. After the war, the car benefited from an upgraded electrical system, improved rust resistance, and larger brakes. A slightly revised grille appeared for 1948.

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1949 Anglia Two-Door Sedan

The Anglia received another facelift for 1949. The “new” look was heavily based on the front sheetmetal from the original 7Y Eight, but a body-color divider followed the centerline of the car and split the grille into two sections. Each narrow opening was filled with an insert. The minor restyling proved to be attractive and the car carried on virtually unchanged until a modern new Anglia appeared in fall 1953. At that point, the old Anglia was rechristened the Popular and remained in production for six more years. The low-price Popular was powered by an 1172cc/71.6-inch four, a 30.1-horse engine that had previously been fitted to the slightly larger Prefect and the export-model Anglia.

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1949 Anglia Two-Door Sedan

The pictured car is an export-version 1949 Anglia that has been owned since 1981 by Douglas and Marlene Munro of Kinmount, Ontario, Canada. The car was originally sold by the Ford dealership in Banff, Alberta, Canada, and remained in that town until 1979. When found, the Anglia had been sitting in the yard where it was parked in the early Fifties. It had only 13,164 miles on its odometer, and the Munros say the car required only minimal restoration to make it roadworthy.

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1949 Anglia Two-Door Sedan

1949 Anglia Two-Door Sedan Gallery

1949 Anglia

Written by: John Biel on November 26, 2020.

Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast, Episode 36: Cars of 1940, 2021 Ford F-150

Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast

Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bum a ride with friends, you’ve come to the right place. Join the editors of Consumer Guide Automotive as they break down everything that’s going on in the auto world. New-car reviews, shopping tips, driving green, electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of great guests. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast.

Episode: 36

Broadcast date: July 5, 2020

Guest: John Biel

Cars of 1940, 2021 Ford F-150

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start off the show by discussing Ford’s recent unveiling of the redesigned 2021 F-150 pickup and the truck’s many new features. Next, we talk about our test-drive experiences with the 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia. Collectible Automobile magazine Editor-in-Chief John Biel joins us to chat about the great features in the August 2020 issue, including an overview of the cars of 1940 and a retrospective on the 1978-80 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Tom has a quiz for Damon and Jill on unusual vehicle co-branding tie-ins, and Damon runs down the latest articles on the Consumer Guide Daily Drive blog, including a first-look article on the 2021 Kia K5 midsize sedan.

The Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast is broadcast every Sunday on Chicago’s WCPT AM 820 at 1:00 PM CST.

Discussed this week:

First Look: 2021 Ford F-150

2021 F-150 PowerBoost Details

2021 F-150 Trim Levels in Photos

First Look: 2021 Kia K5

Quick Spin: 2020 GMC Sierra 2500 AT4

Forgotten Concept: Lincoln Sentinel

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