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Sunday, September 18, 2016

Car Watching - 1959 Edsel Corsair Convertible

Oh my.  The Edsel.  So maligned by the automotive world.  Such a weird marketing nightmare, and one named after Henry Ford's son.  I never found it ugly.  In fact, I've always thought that it resembled so many other late-50's cars.  I actually....like...the grill.
Only existence for three model years (58, 59, and 60), it's not surprising that you don't see many.  This is a 1959 Edsel Corsair Convertible.  There were lots of differences between models, including wheelbases and engine families.  Believe it or not, this long boulevard cruiser is the SHORT wheelbase, coming in at 120 inches....and 211 inches total!
Crazy individual chrome letters for the name.  I rather like that.  And the fender-mounted rear view mirror?  Cool.
 The interior of this one was pretty nice.  It's not a show-quality car, but I am a huge fan of daily drivers anyway.  As daily drivers go, this one is great.  The odd turquoise color is rather fetching, as well.  I'm always struck by the coolness of vintage dash boards.  This one does not disappoint.
 The landing pad, I mean, deck lid.  Look at the size of this thing!  And the individual tail lights are a thing of beauty.
 A great viewpoint to illustrate how long this thing is.  Check out the swooping wheel wells.
 Another view of the interior.  You can see that it has a column shifter.  This one is an automatic, though.  Cool quarter windows, too.
 Although some Edsel's were equipped with Ford's weird MEL engines (410 cu in), the 59 Corsair had the more conventional FE engines, the 332cu in or 361cu in (225hp or 303hp).
The infamous Edsel grill.  Still like it.  I was so excited to catch this one this morning, as I had seen it driving around my neighborhood recently.

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