Edsel. Doomed Car? Or Ahead of Its Time? And I Found One in Oneonta! (VIDEO)

Edsel.

Why does the mention of this car's name elicit chuckles even a half century after they were manufactured?  Named after Henry Ford's son, the Edsel has been call the wrong car at the wrong time.  It was only produced for three years: 1958, 1959 and 1960.

The car introduced many new features, especially dashboard warning lights, the floating rolling dome speedometer on the steering wheel and some of the first passenger safety features such as child-lock doors and seat belts.

But that design.  Many called the Edsel grille the feature that doomed the car.  Blocky, outmoded, old fashioned and awkward were just a few of the terms used to describe the Edsel design.  They rusted on the showroom floors of America's car dealers.  In the end Ford lost $350 million dollars on the venture, which translates to more than three billion dollars in today's money.

And look what I found.  In Oneonta.  Sitting forlornly by the side of the road.  Waiting for me to tell its story. Yup...an Edsel!