WHY HAS EDSEL FORD BEEN IGNORED?

 Edsel Ford

Had a lovely chat this afternoon with Edsel Ford author Henry Dominguez. Henry worked in the auto industry here in Michigan and now resides in Utah! We had a great time swapping our favorite Ford Family stories....We could be on the phone for days! But...I think it is a better idea to get Henry to write down some of his favorite topics to share with my readers!

Here's one of author Henry Dominguez's favorite photos of Edsel Ford. It was taken in 1920 in Virginia. He is with Dodge heir, Isabella Dodge. They're young, beautiful, and rich!

Stay tuned, Henry will be contributing some cool stories soon...In the meantime, I thought I'd share 2 of his books that are for sale in my Amazon Store....

To students of business, the word Edsel conjures up only one thing: disaster. It was the name given to an automobile in the late 1950s that failed miserably in the marketplace and lost Ford Motor Company hundreds of millions of dollars. However in all of the books written about the Ford Motor Company and the Ford family, precious little has been written about the man who gave his name to this car.

Edsel Ford was, after all, the son of Henry Ford and, more importantly, the president of the Ford Motor Company for a quarter of a century. Who was this man? What was he like? And why has he been ignored?

'Edsel Ford has been the only president of an automobile company to take such an in-depth interest in design. Although I did the design work - taking pencil in hand and sketching cars - Edsel Ford's innate design ability steered me towards those wonderful old Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln designs. We made a good team.' E.T. Gregorie.

The relationship that developed between Edsel Ford and E.T. 'Bob' Gregorie (Ford Motor Company's first design chief) was unique in automotive history. It was akin to the relationship between a patron and an artist. Gregorie leaned heavily on Edsel for his support and protection, and Edsel depended on Gregorie for his creative abilities.

Automotive historians have listed the 1936 Zephyr, 1938 Zephyr, and 1939 Continental as Gregorie's greatest achievements. Frank Lloyd Wright called the Continental 'the most beautiful car in the world' while the Museum of Modern Art called the '36 Zephyr 'the most successfully streamlined car in America.' 'Edsel Ford and E.T. Gregorie' is the first book to provide in-depth analysis of how the early Fords, Mercurys and Lincolns were designed. Based on first-hand discussions with Gregorie, author Henry Dominguez covers every major design of Gregorie's career.

The book details the how's and why's of every Ford product designed under his tutelage. In addition to conveying Gregorie's design brilliance, the book also provides a revealing account of the personality and abilities of the often-misunderstood Edsel Ford. 'All that I have ever read about Edsel pretty much ignores his contributions,' Gregorie tells Dominguez. 'If it weren't for Edsel Ford, I hate to think what would have happened to the Ford Motor Company.' '

When Edsel Ford made me design chief, he didn't abdicate his interest in design,' Gregorie recalls. 'He merely assumed the added responsibility of design director along with his burdensome responsibility as president.' This book tells the story of the partnership which, in the words of current Ford Chairman William Clay Ford, Jr (Edsel's grandson), 'created some of the most innovative and beautiful designs in automotive history