Edsel Villager

Edsel Villager
Production period:	1958-1960
Class :	upper middle class
Body versions :	Station wagon
Previous model:	none
Successor:	none

The Edsel Villager was a station wagon that the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn (Michigan) offered under the brand name Edsel in the model years 1958 to 1960. Like the 3-door Roundup and the top model Bermuda , the Villager was built on a Ford chassis with a 2997 mm wheelbase and also had many sheet metal parts of the Ford station wagons. Together with the Ranger , the Villager was available in all three model years of the Edsel brand.

1958

1st generation

Production period:	1958
Body versions :	Station wagon
Engines:	Otto engine : 5.9 liters (223 kW)
Length:	5217 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :
Empty weight :	1734-1767 kg

The Villager was the middle equipment variant of the Edsel station wagon. In contrast to the simply equipped Roundup, it was only available with 4 doors and optionally with 6 or 9 seats.

The interior and exterior equipment essentially corresponded to that of the ranger . It had black rubber floor mats, an ashtray, a cigarette lighter, a chrome-plated interior mirror and a rear cranked window. Like the other Edsel station wagons, the Villager also had a two-part tailgate.

All 1958-folds had the mechanics of the Ranger, a V8 engine with 5915 cm ³ of displacement and 303 hp (223 kW) power, as well as a manual three-speed transmission. Buyers could also opt for a three-stage automatic system with a selector lever on the steering column, or (1958 only!) For the Teletouch automatic system with selector buttons in the steering wheel hub.

Edsel Villager (1958)

To distinguish the Edsel station wagons from their Ford counterparts, the former had the typical Edsel front with a vertical radiator grille in the middle. The station wagons also had boomerang-shaped rear lights.

During the first model year Edsel sold more Villager than Roundup and Bermuda combined, namely 3789 pieces, of which 2054 were equipped with 6 seats and 1735 with 9 seats.

1959

2nd generation

Production period:	1959
Body versions :	Station wagon
Engines:	Petrol engines : 3.7-4.8 liters (107-147 kW)
Length:	5337 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :
Empty weight :	1695-1780 kg

Edsel Villager (1959)

In 1959 the Villager got round taillights that sat in a chrome-plated frame at the height of the belt line. The typical Edsel front was designed much less conspicuously than in the previous year. In addition to the V8 engine (4785 cm ³ , 200 bhp / 147 kW), which was reduced in size and output, there was - as with the Ranger - an economy version with an in-line six-cylinder engine (3654 cm ³ , 145 bhp / 107 kW).

Although Edsel's total sales declined in 1959, more Villager was sold that year than all three combination models from the previous year, namely 7820 units (compared to 6470 units for all three models in 1958). 5687 six-seaters were compared to 2133 nine-seaters.

1960

3rd generation
Image does not exist
Production period:	1960
Body versions :	Station wagon
Engines:	Petrol engines : 3.7-4.8 liters (107-147 kW)
Length:	5456 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :
Empty weight :	1780-1833 kg

In 1960 the front of the Edsel vehicles was very conservative compared to previous years and differed only little from the Ford fronts. The villager got the ranger's taillights.

In 1960 the sales of the Villager fell in line with the 43 days of production between mid-October 1959 and the end of November 1959. A total of 275 vehicles were built, including 216 six-seaters and 59 nine-seaters (the latter the lowest production number of an Edsel model).

The name Villager later appeared at Mercury on the Comet station wagon, which was manufactured from 1962 to 1967, with imitation wood on the sides of the vehicle. The name also reappeared on other Mercury station wagons, e.g. B. the Montego (1970-1976), the Bobcat (1975-1980), the Cougar (1977-1982), the Lynx (1981-1984) and the Zephyr (1978-1981). From 1993 to 2002 that was the name of the Mercury version of the Nissan Quest minivan.

Web links

Commons : Edsel Villager - Collection of images, videos and audio files

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Bonsall, Thomas E .: Disaster in Dearborn: The Story of the Edsel , Stamford University Press (2002), ISBN 0-8047-4654-0 .
Duetsch, Jan: The Edsel and Corporate Responsibility , Yale University (1976), ISBN 0-300-01950-5 .
Gunnell, John (Ed.): The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975 , Krause Publications, Iola (1987), ISBN 0-87341-096-3 .
Heasley, Jerry: The Production Figure Book For US Cars , Motorbooks International (1977), ISBN 0-87938-042-X .
Triplett, Ty: The Edsel Owner's Handbook , 2nd Edition, International Edsel Club (1990)