My Look Back: 1957

The Edsel Lineup
 Photo by Frank Scherschel from the LIFE Photo Archive

It's time to look back at 1957 (in keeping with my last post of the movie Desk Set which was released in 1957).  So what better way to remember 1957 than with the Ford Edsel and E-Day, which took place on September 4, 1957.  I mean they even tried to give away 1,000 ponies to children to try and get families on board the Edsel bandwagon (it didn't work).  I guess it was just a big oversell that had set way too high expectations and in the end the car was unimpressive, poorly designed and not of high quality.  Bummer, because it is actually kind of a good looking car.  Here are some other events that all took place in 1957:

• The Brooklyn Dodgers move to Los Angeles, California and the New York Giants to San Francisco, California
• Leave it to Beaver and the original The Price is Right premiere on television
• Toyota begins exporting the Land Cruiser and Crown to the United States
• The laser is invented by Gordon Gould
• Elvis Presley purchases what will become Graceland
• American Bandstand premieres
• The average monthly rent is $90 dollars
• The New York City trolley car service ceases to operate
• Gloria Estefan, Frank Miller, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sid Vicious, Siouxsie Sioux, and Matt Lauer are born

Using ponies to bring families into an Edsel dealership 
Photo by Stan Wayman from the LIFE Photo Archive

Take a look at this commercial for the Edsel too.

It actually showcased many features that were unknown to other cars, like a remote trunk release, shifting from the steering wheel (the electric "Teletouch" drive feature) and a speedometer that would flash red when you were above the safe maximum speed that you would pre-set.  So why was this poor design I wonder??