American automakers often take the brunt of the feedback for manufacturing models that are ugly, useless, or downright deadly. Ford has had its share of beasts through the years as well as many winners including the current Mustang for which demand cannot be met. For the fun of it let’s take a look at some of the Ford models that have been derided down thru the years.

Model T – What?! How can the car that introduced mass production make the list? Well, the vehicle was fine, but Mr. Henry Ford’s statement, “you can have any color you need so long as it is black” has been traced with the upward thrust of General Motors [who gave its buyers a choice in colors] which finally unseaetd Ford as the top automaker in the planet. No, the Model T was fine, but Mr. Ford’s advertising strategy was not.

Edsel – In September 1957, Ford launched a new division – Edsel – and introduced to America one of the weirdest looking cars. Sporting a “horse-collar” shaped grille – some equated it with a toilet seat – the Edsel line was hyped by Ford and rejected by shoppers earnestly . Expecting to build 200,000 Edsels in its first year of production, only 63,000 were built. Other “radical” aspects of the Edsel included a “floating” speedometer that glowed on reaching a particular speed and an awkward push button transmission with controls attached to the hub of the steering wheel. Even with a quick refresh finished in time for the subsequent model year, the Edsel limped along only to be pulled one month after the third model year autos were released.

Pinto – Hey, even I owned one! With a 2.3L inline four cylinder twinned with a four speed manny tranny, the Pinto was Ford’s answer in the 1970s to the onslaught of Jap autos flooding the market. The compact rear wheel drive coupe, 3 door hot hatch, or wagon sold fairly well till disaster hit: the revelation the Pinto’s gas tank was capable of exploding in a rear impact shocked buyers away. Mercifully pulled after the 1980 model year; replaced by the popular Escort.

Mustang II – Ford tainted the Mustang name during the 1970s with this unmemorable and ugly model. Resembling a swollen and stretched Pinto, the Mustang II was weak, poorly made, and a terrible competitor against its arch rival, the Camaro. All was forgiven by the early 1980s with the return of a newly designed Mustang. Today’s Mustang, on the other hand, is a sold-out success story as it took its styling cues from a Mustang of another era: the fastback cars of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Before you point your finger at Ford, don’t forget to recall some actually forgettable models, foreign and domestic. The Toyota Van was panned for its ugly styling and for having an engine that had to be dropped from the engine bay to do a tune ; the Chevy Vega – a Pinto wannabe; AMC’s Pacer – the Jetson’s car; the Suzuki Samurai and Isuzu Rodeo – flip over experts ; the Yugo – a thinly redone 1960s age Fiat ; and numerous other automobiles not worth the mention. You hope that automakers learn from their mistakes, but don’t count on it. Perhaps in another generation we are going to see a truly forgettable Ford show up, but for now there is not one in the line up…hooray for that!.

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