Edsel Bermuda


The Edsel Bermuda is a station wagon that was produced and sold by Edsel in 1958. Like the Edsel Villager and Edsel Roundup station wagons, the Bermuda was built on a wheelbase shared with Ford's station wagons, as well as core body stampings.

Overview

The Bermuda represented the highest trim level available within the Edsel brand for a station wagon, and was only available during Edsel's introductory year of 1958. In addition to deluxe interior appointments, the Bermuda also was outfitted with simulated wood panels and frames, a hallmark of premium station wagon models produced by Ford and Mercury. The Bermuda came in six and nine-passenger configurations. To separate the Bermuda from Ford models, the Bermuda received Edsel's front fascia and vertical grille assembly as well as unique boomerang-shaped taillights. The shape of the taillights posed a problem when used as turn indicators – the left hand taillight appeared as an arrow pointing right and vice versa from a distance.
All station wagons shared the Edsel Ranger's engine availability with a V8 as standard, as was a three-speed manual transmission. Buyers also had the option of a three-speed automatic transmission with a standard column-mounted gear selector, or could choose Edsel's highly promoted but trouble-prone Teletouch automatic, which placed its drive-selection buttons in the steering wheel hub.
While their roll-out was highly publicized in the fall of 1957, Edsels were a marketing disaster for Ford. Total Bermuda station wagon was 2,235 units, of which 1,456 were six-passenger models with a base price of $3,155 and 779 were nine-passenger versions priced at $3,212. This made the nine-passenger Bermuda the rarest 1958 Edsel model.
For the 1959 model year, the Bermuda and Roundup station wagons were dropped, leaving only the Villager as Edsel's sole station wagon model.