How a decade (1958-1969) can make a big change in automotive design and consumer tastes and preferences

An interesting observation from Ed -- 

By the way, I've been thinking about all the reasons why the Edsel didn't market well (we know most of them of course) but apart from the fact that the car really differed little from a Ford as well as the 1958 Recession, so much of the negative focus was on the front end styling.  While the 1958 grille was toned down for 1959 -- look at the two attached photos: The 1959 Edsel grille and -- ten years later -- the 1969 Pontiac grille.  The Edsel grille may have been viewed as ugly even in its second year of production,  but a decade later Pontiac had, arguably, an equally ugly grille.  And in 1969 sales of Pontiac was over the top still commanding third place behind Ford and Chevrolet. 

Perhaps tastes change quickly......or there's no accounting for taste.

1958 EDSEL RANGER

1969 PONTIAC