Car Of The Day: October 19, 2010

Today's car of the day is Racing Champions' 1958 Edsel Citation.

The Edsel Citation was an automobile produced by the former Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division of the Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Michigan and sold through its Edsel marque in 1958. The Citation was built on the longer Edsel platform, shared with Mercury brand automobiles, as was the Edsel Corsair. In addition, it shared the Montclair's body shell.
Citation was one of two Edsel model names later used by another auto manufacturer, Pacer being the other.
The Citation represented the highest trim level available within the Edsel brand. In addition to deluxe interior appointments, the Citation also received extra stainless steel details and a gold-anodized aluminum cove panel. The cove (or rear quarter-panel "scallop") could be painted either the color of the body, the color of the roof, or a third color (tri-tone paint option).
Riding on a 124 in (2997 mm) wheelbase, the Citation was powered by the 345 bhp (257 kW) 410 cu in (6.7 L) E-475 V8 with four-barrel carburetor. Edsel’s Teletouch automatic transmission, which placed its drive-selection buttons in the steering wheel hub, was standard. (This was a US$231 option on Ranger and Pacer models.) A basic heater (as a US$92 option) and radio (at US$95) were available, and air conditioning was optional as well (at US$460).
While its roll-out was highly publicized in the fall of 1957, the 1958 Edsel was a marketing disaster for Ford and for Ford's corporate strategy for meeting General Motors' product line for product line. Total Citation output in the U.S. and Canada for the model stood at 9,299 units, of which 930 were U.S.-built convertibles, 5,588 were four-door hardtops (5,112 in U.S. and 476 in Canada), and 2,781 were hardtop coupes (2,535 in U.S. and 246 in Canada). Prices ranged from US$3,500 to $3,766.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Edsel Citation

Here's a casting from the Racing Champions tooling bank I wouldn't mind seeing in the Johnny Lightning range!  There aren't enough Edsels in small scale.

For the 1959 model year, the Citation and the Pacer models were dropped (as was the trouble-prone Teletouch system) from Edsel’s model range for 1959, which was introduced in the fall of 1958.
The Citation convertible remains one of the most sought after models amongst modern-day Edsel collectors.

The Edsel was a brand of car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company during the 1958, 1959, and 1960 model years. The Edsel never gained popularity with contemporary American car buyers and sold poorly. Consequently, the Ford Motor Company lost millions of dollars on the Edsel's development, manufacture and marketing. The name "Edsel" has since become synonymous with failure.