Rickl, a big reason the Finns were able to use the Brewster Buffalo successfully against the Soviets was because the main Red Air Force planes on the northern front were older, obsolescent designs, like the Polikarpov I-16, which had seen its best service in Spain during the civil war. Finnish pilots also tended to be more skilled than their Soviet adversaries, so they held their own even when the Russians fielded better aircraft.

For those unaware: that made it an obvious repair nightmare. Automatic transmissions were still a new thing. So much so that Aamco — the transmission franchise — was born. (Manual transmissions didn’t need ‘experts’ with trick tooling to repair.)

Every other car in the metallic universe ran away from that design feature. Push button transmission controls were moved to the left of the steering wheel of America Motors Ramblers, etc.

But, on the whole, the industry adopted the current lever-shift on the steering shaft that we all know and love for half a century.

There were other ‘complications’ in the dash, too. They all led prospective buyers to think:” I’ll have to have this crate serviced only by the dealership. I’d be lost fixing anything behind that dashboard.”

Today, unrepairable cars are the norm, particularly imports. Toyota et. al. make their real money on the ‘back end’ — all repair parts must come from their kuritsu. (manufacturing cartel)

The name was no help, either.

But, push-buttons galore — did it in. It was deemed a rolling typewriter. (Feminine.)

There are a number of Edsels each year, and they always draw the biggest crowds (the one Tucker that shows up is the exception).

Since I grew up in the ’70s, I get to see the Gremlin, Pacer, and Matador again. Good times…

I think the name might have been a factor. It sounds like “Ethel” which is not a name you’d associate with a hot stylish car (or woman, for that matter).

Let’s also look at fighter planes. One that was notorious for mediocrity was the Brewster F2A Buffalo.

It was introduced in the late 1930s and was pretty advanced for its time. But when WWII broke out, it was outclassed by the Japanese Zero and got a bad reputation. The Finns did well against the Russians with it, though.

The plane had problems, to be sure. For one thing, there were labor problems at the factory and there was some evidence of actual sabotage by the union workers. (The factory was located only a few miles from where I live now, which is partly why I am interested in it.) Nevertheless, it was a perfectly decent aircraft for its time.

But back to the name. Here are some names of famous fighter aircraft, which I can rattle off without looking them up:

Spitfire
Hurricane
Lightning
Thunderbolt
Mustang
Wildcat
Hellcat
Tigercat
Bearcat
Cougar
Phantom

And… Buffalo.

One of these things is not like the others.

}}} I have heard that the big problem with the Edsel was that Ford tried to build a 1977 Ford in 1957.

I dunno what 70s universe YOU were living in, but there weren’t any cars like that in MY 70s universe… 😀

Makes me wonder what kind of females those critics were hanging out with. Ones with lady parts like this?