1959 Edsel Ranger

After sales of the debut Edsels for the 1958 model year fell dramatically short of expectations, serious alterations were made to the marque for '59.

The baroque styling from the first ones was toned down, with the distinctive horse collar snout reduced to a styling element in the center of a more typically Ford-like horizontal grille. On the Ranger, the unique taillight assemblies were replaced with ones pirated from '58 Lincolns.

The model lineup was reduced. Gone was the top-of-the-line Citation and the mid-tier Pacer, leaving only the basic Ranger and slightly more upmarket Corsair models to share a single chassis with a 120-inch wheelbase.

The 1959 Edsel Ranger hardtop coupe in the photo, in natty President Red-and-Snow White two tone, would have been more upmarket than a Ford, without costing Mercury money. The base MSRP would have been $2,690 and it would have come standard with the 292 cubic inch Ranger V-8, with a 2-barrel carburetor and rated at 200 SAE gross horsepower. The 223 cube Economy Six inline six was an $83.70 credit option, rated at 145 horsepower, or the buyer could pony up an extra $48.90 for the Super Express 361 cubic inch V-8, with a 4-barrel carb and 303 ponies.

The trouble-prone Teletouch pushbutton shifter controls in the steering wheel hub were gone for '59, replaced with a normal column shifter for the Mile-O-Matic slushbox (which was just Edsel-speak for the Ford-O-Matic).

The Ranger is a big car by 2024 standards, stretching seventeen and a half feet between the bumpers. Like most cars of the era, it was light for its size, mostly because it was a big sheet metal box of air. Mandatory bumpers and even rudimentary safety equipment were still years in the future and things like an HVAC system, radio, and power windows were all extra cost options. A base Ranger hardtop coupe with the V-8 and no options tipped the scales at barely over 3,500 pounds. Zero-to-sixty with the Ranger V-8 and Mile-O-Matic took 10.8 seconds, with the quarter mile done in 17.6 at 81mph.

The car in the photos was snapped with a Sony RX100 in January of 2021.