Roy Brown Jr. Dies, Designed Ford Edsel, One of The Worst Flops In Automotive History (PHOTOS/ VIDEO)

Mar 07, 2013 11:21 AM EST | Matt Mercuro

Roy Brown Jr., the proud designer of the futuristic Ford Edsel, which went down as one of the worst flops in automotive history, died Feb. 24 at a hospice in Ann Arbor, Michigan according to the Associated Press. He was 96.

His wife Jeanne Brown confirmed that he suffered from pneumonia and Parkinson's disease. Brown's death was announced in Michigan news media outlets.

Despite the fact that Edsel, his most notable accomplishment, fell well short of sales goals, lost hundreds of millions of dollars for Ford and became a punch line in the automotive business, Brown remained happy about his creation until the day he died.

"I'm proud of the car," Brown said to The Sun-Sentinel of Florida in 1985. "There is not a bad line on the car."

Initially, the Edsel was supposed to change the way cars were made and was advertised as a radically different vehicle that everyone would love. Despite early praise from publications like The New York Times and Henry Ford II himself in 1957. Millions of people around the nation quickly began to mock the car soon after being released however, mainly for its appearance.

Click here to read 10 facts about Brown and the ill-fated Edsel.

The vertical grille was compared to a toilet seat by the public, and later became known as the "horse collar" according to The New York Times. Brown defended himself by stated the initial grille design was "far sleeker" but had to be reworked when Ford executive worried the car wouldn't get enough air to the engine.

New features that were advertised in magazines and TV specials like a push-button shifter, a "floating" speedometer, all had complications.

Edsel's were originally sold for $2,400 to $3,800, which was less expensive than some Mercury vehicles at the time, but prices had to be reduced after sales constantly failed to meet monthly expectations according to the Associated Press.

"This car was kind of aimed at a market that didn't really exist," said Matt Anderson, the curator of transportation at the Henry Ford, a museum in Dearborn, Mich to The New York Times.

The company stopped producing The Edsel in 1959 and sold only 118,000 of 200,000 cars Ford expected to sell by 1960. The company invested 250 million into the car according to The Washington Post.

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