One of our website visitors,
Doug Harley, from PA, was able to visit the Ford Louisville
Assembly Plant, where most Edsels were produced, with his 1960
Edsel. Here's the story as Doug related it to us: This is what I recall about the plant. I visited it on October 1, 1999, the 40th birthday of my 60 Ranger 4 door sedan (#1123). The lobby still looks much the same as it did when it was built in 1955. It has that 50's modern look to it. Light colored maple (or was it oak?) paneling on the walls and lots of glass across the front. It reminded me of the lobby of my high school, which was built in 1954. There is no receptionist, just a phone and personnel directory. I started calling numbers until about the tenth time someone answered. I explained that my Edsel was "born" at the plant forty years ago to the day and would it be possible to get a tour? After about fifteen minutes, the Security Chief came out and offered me a personal tour. We went through a door and down a long hallway. Again, it looked like my old high school. There were large, rectangular green tiles on the wall and asphalt tiles on the floor. At the end of the hall we went through a doorway, got in a golf cart, and off we went.
When we got to the assembly line, I was like a kid in a candy store. Seeing all those Explorers being built fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine. It was fascinating! I saw sheet metal being welded together, engines being installed, miles and miles of parts being transported to each workstation where workers installed them, and then the end product rolling off the end of the line. Everything is computerized now, barcodes on everything. They still print out a build sheet, but it's only used as a back up. Computer screens at each workstation tell the worker what part to install. The computer traces each vehicle throughout the assembly process. It was really neat!
In the back of the building is a railroad depot, where railcars of supplies are dropped off and new Explorers are shipped out. Oh, and I forgot to tell you the best part! The Security Chief starts the tour by telling me that this is a special day. They are building pilot models of the new 2001 Explorer Sport Trac today. And yup, there they were, sprinkled in amongst the regular Explorers, just like forty years ago when they sprinkled Edsels in amongst the Fords. It was interesting to see how the workers coped with this newfangled thing. Didn't seem to bother them a bit.
After about two hours, our tour was over and we exited the plant in the golf cart and drove over to #1123, which was parked out front. The Security Chief checked out #1123, asked a few questions, I thanked him, and then drove out the front gate (by the way, there's no guard here, just drive on in!)
Now here's a strange story. I'm driving on
the interstate, just outside of Louisville, when I notice a red
car on the shoulder with its hood up. Looks like an old car too.
Hey wait! That's an Edsel! I slam on the brakes (which ain't easy
with these old manual, drum brakes!) and pull over to the side to
help.