Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street. Chapter 2. The Fate of the Edsel

这一章节记录了埃德塞尔汽车那场不幸的旅程。1955年，福特公司在经济蓬勃发展，并渴望占领中等价位汽车市场的背景下，构想了这款车。福特的目的是创造一款独特的汽车，以防止福特车主升级到奥兹莫比尔和别克等竞争对手的品牌。由理查德·克拉菲领导的“前瞻性产品规划委员会”预测，到1965年，经济将蓬勃发展，中等价位的汽车将占据销售主导地位。受到鼓舞的福特公司为此拨出了高达2.5亿美元的资金用于埃德塞尔项目。 加拿大造型师罗伊·A·布朗的任务是创造一种独特的设计，在保持熟悉感的同时，力求与众不同。该项目被严格保密，工作室的门被锁上并有人把守，但由于造型师在各公司之间流动，泄密是不可避免的。克拉菲仔细审查了每一个设计元素，做出了大约4000个决定。最终的埃德塞尔汽车采用了新颖的马领状垂直散热器格栅，非常规的后翼，以及位于方向盘轮毂上的按钮式自动变速箱控制装置。 市场研究规划主管大卫·华莱士的任务是赋予这款E-Car个性和名称。华莱士的目标是打造一个能够投射成功和渴望价值的品牌，他聘请了哥伦比亚大学在皮奥里亚和圣贝纳迪诺进行调查，以评估人们对现有汽车品牌的看法。这项研究揭示了人们对福特、雪佛兰、别克和水星的品牌个性认知，促使华莱士主张埃德塞尔的形象要吸引年轻的管理者和专业人士家庭。 选择一个名字被证明是很困难的。以埃德塞尔·福特命名的想法遭到了保留。各种研究方法，包括向公众征集名字，甚至咨询诗人玛丽安·摩尔，都未能得出结论。最后，由于福特兄弟都不在，执行委员会负责人欧内斯特·R·布里奇决定将这款车命名为埃德塞尔，尽管团队努力寻找不同的名字。 埃德塞尔于1957年9月推出，伴随着由费尔法克斯·M·科恩指导的大量广告支出，强调一种安静、自信的方式。通用销售和市场经理J.C.拉里·道尔招募了一个专门的埃德塞尔经销商网络。发布前的宣传活动引起了公众的极大兴趣，并通过诸如展示特技驾驶员的新闻发布会等策划活动进一步放大。 然而，埃德塞尔迅速衰落。该车的设计，尤其是格栅和后部，受到了批评。这款车在最初的生产过程中也饱受质量控制问题的困扰，包括漏油和功能失灵。此外，消费者报告给出了非常负面的评价。这削弱了广泛的营销努力。随着1958年经济衰退的开始，消费者的偏好转向更小、更经济的汽车，加剧了埃德塞尔面临的挑战。 销量暴跌，导致埃德塞尔部门于1958年1月与林肯-水星合并。尽管努力通过修改设计来复兴该品牌，但埃德塞尔从未恢复。生产于1959年11月停止，造成的损失估计约为3.5亿美元。 前埃德塞尔高管对失败提出了各种解释：时机不佳、设计缺陷和消费者品味的变化。 华莱士还将失败归因于俄罗斯发射的“人造卫星”，它传达了一个信息，即美国不再生产最好的技术。还有关于工厂里肮脏伎俩的报道，甚至来自福特和水星的经销商老板之间的肮脏伎俩。 尽管遭遇惨败，福特汽车公司凭借其众多的汽车品牌幸存了下来。 埃德塞尔的案例成为了一个雄心勃勃的冒险失败和消费者品味难以预测的警示故事。

The chapter chronicles the ill-fated journey of the Edsel, a car envisioned by Ford in 1955 amidst a booming economy and a fervent desire to capture the medium-priced market. Ford's intent was to create a distinct vehicle to prevent Ford owners from trading up to competitors' brands like Oldsmobile and Buick. The "Forward Product Planning Committee," led by Richard Craffi, predicted a thriving economy by 1965, where medium-priced cars would dominate sales. Emboldened, Ford allocated a quarter of a billion dollars to the Edsel project. Roy A. Brown, a Canadian stylist, was tasked with creating a unique design, aiming for distinctiveness while retaining familiarity. Secrecy surrounded the project, with studio doors locked and guarded, although leaks were inevitable due to stylists moving between companies. Craffi meticulously scrutinized every design element, making around 4,000 decisions. The resulting Edsel featured a novel horse-collar-shaped vertical radiator grill, unconventional rear wings, and push-button automatic transmission controls on the steering wheel hub. David Wallace, the director of planning for market research, was tasked with giving the E-Car a personality and a name. Wallace aimed to create a brand that projected success and aspirational value, engaging Columbia University to conduct surveys in Peoria and San Bernardino to assess perceptions of existing car brands. This research revealed the perceived personalities of Ford, Chevrolet, Buick, and Mercury, leading Wallace to advocate for an Edsel image appealing to younger executives and professional families. Choosing a name proved problematic. The idea of naming it after Edsel Ford was met with reservations. Various research methods, including soliciting names from the public and even consulting poet Marianne Moore, proved inconclusive. Finally, Ernest R. Breach, acting as the head of the executive committee because the Ford brothers were away, decided to name the car Edsel, despite the team's efforts to find a different name. The Edsel's launch in September 1957 was accompanied by substantial advertising spending under the direction of Fairfax M. Cone, emphasizing a quiet, self-assured approach. J.C. Larry Doyle, the general sales and marketing manager, recruited a dedicated network of Edsel dealers. Pre-launch publicity generated significant public interest, further amplified by staged events like a press preview showcasing stunt drivers. However, the Edsel quickly faltered. The car's design, particularly the grill and rear, was criticized. The car was also plagued with quality control issues in its initial production runs, including oil leaks and malfunctioning features. Furthermore, consumer reports gave very negative reviews. This undermined the extensive marketing efforts. As the 1958 recession began to take hold, consumer preferences shifted towards smaller, more economical cars, exacerbating the Edsel's challenges. Sales plummeted, leading to the consolidation of the Edsel division with Lincoln-Mercury in January 1958. Despite efforts to revive the brand with revised designs in subsequent years, the Edsel never recovered. Production ceased in November 1959, resulting in losses estimated around $350 million. Former Edsel executives offer various explanations for the failure: bad timing, design flaws, and shifting consumer tastes. Wallace also attributed to the Russian Sputnik launch, which sent a message that the US no longer produced the best technology. There were also reports of dirty work at the plants, and even among dealership owners from Ford and Mercury. Despite the debacle, Ford Motor company, with its many car makes, survived. The Edsel case became a cautionary tale of ambitious ventures gone wrong and the unpredictability of consumer tastes.