So what did the magazines have to say about the Edsel when it was a NEW car? Here are a few excerpts from some magazines of the day.

Popular Mechanics, March 1958. They asked 1,000 Edsel owners what they thought about the car:

Illionis owner: "I like its quick getaway. It does 120 miles per hour easily. It's best cruising speed is 90 miles per hour."

Indiana automobile plant employee: "It has power to get around traffic. Plenty of speed. I have had six new cars in the last two years and this Edsel has them all beat in performance".

Washington serviceman: "I drove from Virginia to the West Coast averaging 850 miles a day. I have never driven a car with the handling ease of the Edsel."

Texas salesman: "We drove to Canada and hit some pretty bad roads on the way up. My wife was asleep in the back seat and on one of the roughest stretches of the detour she didn't even wake up. This is truly a smooth riding car. She even put polish on her nails in the back seat with no smears."

Illinois auto mechanic: "I can say they took the driver into consideration in designing this car. He is at ease all the time."

Maryland salesman: "Best riding car I've ever been in. Has heavy car comfort, light car get up and go."

Michigan salesman: "I like the clean cut of the Edsel. It really looks sharp."

Oklahoma tile layer: "I like the body style most. It is so different from any other car"

Kentucky oil company employee: "Styling is the prettiest in the industry. I am glad it does not have big, ugly tail fins. I would not have bought it if it had."

Ohio owner: "I love the handy push button shift on the steering wheel. It's the most handy one yet."

Georgia salesman: "Solid feel. Makes me feel safe in turns at 75 miles per hour."

Illinois tool designer: "Substantial, secure feeling at 90 miles per hour."

Missouri executive: "Seats support back and shoulders. Passengers always comment favorably."

Popular Science, September 1957 reported the 1958 Edsel had:

--More engine power than the average motorist will know what to do with.

--Gadgets beyond a gadgeteer's dreams of glory.

--Styling that reverses the years-long trend to horizontal pattern front ends, and chrome enough to tax the output of the world's mines.

--The car takes off like a gazelle one jump ahead of a drooling lion.

--The car's ride matches its acceleration. The Edsel is cat-footed, solid on the straightaway, and as upright as an arch-bishop on the hard turns.

Here's a quote from the October 1957 issue of Hot Rod Magazine:

"We had an opportunity to drive the Pacer and Corsair four-door hardtop models during a recent press preview at Detroit. Both cars seem very agile with the 410 model having a definite advantage in the acceleration department. Ride and handling were very good in the best Ford Motor Company tradition and there were plenty of styling features to catch the eye. A lot of these cars will be sold due to styling, but personally, the part that really caught our eye was the engine department. These two new engines have what it takes to produce all day cross country cruising while just loafing. Wearing one of them out should require an awful lot of hard miles."