Edsel Citation: the flagship of the first Edsel year

The Edsel Citation is an automobile that Ford’s Edsel division produced for the 1958 model year. It was the flagship of the range, offered as two- and four-door hardtop sedans and as a two-door convertible, and it was set apart by extra stainless steel trim and a gold-anodized aluminium cove panel.

Edsel Citation at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Edsel Citation.

History of the Edsel Citation

When Edsel debuted for 1958, the division did not have a body and chassis of its own. Its cheaper lines — the Ranger and Pacer and all the station wagons — used the Ford Fairlane’s underpinnings, while the premium Corsair and Citation were built on Mercury’s larger platform. The Citation, like the Corsair, rode on a 124-inch wheelbase and shared its roof lines and much of its body structure with Mercury models. Under the skin it used a leaf-sprung rear axle and independent front suspension with coil springs and ball joints.

The engine was the 410 cu in MEL V8, introduced for 1958 for Mercury, Edsel and Lincoln but fitted in no Lincoln or Mercury model: it was reserved for the Edsel Corsair and Citation. With 345 hp it drove through a three-speed automatic transmission operated by the Teletouch system, whose buttons sat in the steering wheel hub. The Citation was the only Mercury-based Edsel offered as a convertible, and it carried the most exterior stainless trim of any 1958 Edsel. Buyers could choose two-tone paint, with the roof and cove panel contrasting with the body, or three-tone paint in which the cove panel was a third colour.

The Citation also carried a long list of equipment unusual for its price class. The instrument panel put its gauges in front of the steering wheel, including a thermostat-style heater control, a compass and an optional tachometer, and the speedometer could warn the driver when a preset speed was exceeded. Warning lights monitored several functions, and an optional “Edsel Lubricator” let the owner lubricate the car from a dashboard button, provided the reservoir was kept full. Power brakes, steering and windows were available, as were internal releases for the boot and bonnet, and the car adopted parts of Ford’s Lifeguard safety package: a padded dashboard, a deep-dish steering wheel and double-latched doors, with seat belts and an early form of childproof lock on the options list.

In total 8,574 Citations were built, 930 of them convertibles. That made the Citation convertible the second-rarest 1958 Edsel after the nine-passenger Bermuda wagon. The model lasted a single year: for 1959 Edsel consolidated its range on Ford-based cars, and the Citation disappeared along with the Teletouch transmission.

Design and features

• Mercury platform: a 124-inch wheelbase and body structure shared with the premium Mercury line.
• 410 MEL V8: 345 hp, an engine used by no Lincoln or Mercury model.
• Distinctive trim: more stainless steel than any other 1958 Edsel and a gold-anodized cove panel.
• Unusual equipment: compass, speed warning, self-lubrication system and internal boot and bonnet releases.
• Safety package: padded dash, deep-dish wheel, double-latched doors, optional seat belts.

Edsel Citation versions

• Two-door hardtop: the closed coupé version of the flagship.
• Four-door hardtop: the four-door pillarless sedan.
• Convertible: 930 built, the rarest Citation body style.
• Two- and three-tone cars: contrasting roof and cove panel paint schemes.

The Citation was the stablemate of the Corsair on the Mercury chassis; below them stood the Ford-based Pacer. More cars are in the Edsel collection.

Video: 1958 Edsel Citation Convertible

Video on YouTube.

Sources

• Edsel Citation, English Wikipedia: chassis, engine, bodies, equipment, production