Infamous, Rare Edsels On Display in Ames

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Ames area residents have until Saturday to lay their eyes on what may be some of the last Ford Edsels in the country.

Members of the International Edsel Club began pulling into the Quality Inn & Suites parking lot early Wednesday for an annual national car show that's held in Iowa about every 10 years.

Ford made the Edsel for three model years: 1958, 1959 and 1960 before scrapping the line when they wouldn't sell. There was a lack of enthusiasm for the new line and a recession in 1958, the first year the car was offered on the lot.

“People just didn't like them. They just didn't go over,” said Harry Jochems, an Edsel owner of Newton.

The Edsel's line included sedans, coupes, convertibles, hardtops and station wagons.

Jochems estimates that there are less than 3,000 Edsels left since they were produced for such a short time period.

“I don't know if there are that many. You would have to go to a junkyard and count them,” he said.

Distinctive Edsel features include an oblong circle in the center of the grill that some referred to as a horse collar, ornamental curves along the body and oblong taillights.

“People made fun of the way they looked,” Jochems said.

Jochems said the annual shows are a little like a family reunion. There are few owners and they all know each other. Every once awhile they'll get a few strangers walking up. The public is welcome to come take a look any time, Jochems said.

Most of the cars on site appeared to be in mint condition, but a few look like recent junkyard discoveries.

Jochems has owned and restored a handful of Edsels but owns just one.

“I've had two different convertibles, a station wagon, a four door sedan. … You can only drive one at a time you know.”

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