Edsel Ford's distinct impact on the style revolution of the 1930s - from minimalist lines to shiny surfaces that mirrored the world of modern art - was born out of a desire to reflect art in everyday, mass-produced objects. His collaboration with designer E.T. "Bob" Gregorie allowed this approach to art to take shape in automobiles.

Edsel and Gregorie created elegance on wheels from the custom 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster, to production vehicles like the 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet, which Frank Lloyd Wright called "the most beautiful car in the world."

Gregorie became adept at visualizing Edsel's creative ideas through sketches, and could skillfully translate concepts from two to three dimensions. "Even though there were two of us, we thought as one," said Gregorie in a 1985 interview. "My hands became Edsel's tools in developing designs. I was able to put on paper and into clay the designs he was visualizing in his head."

In the Spring of 1935, Edsel, as president of Ford Motor Company, appointed Gregorie to lead Ford's first design team. "Although Ford had only one-tenth the number of designers that were employed at GM, the cars designed at Ford during the Edsel Ford years displayed understated elegance and sculptured simplicity," wrote Jim Farrell in his book, Ford Design Department: Concept to Show Cars, 1932-1961. "They have aged well (as collectors would attest) because of him."

Edsel's exactness guided the style at Ford Motor Company in the 1930s and beyond. His modifications to the boxy Model T created the stylish Model A, which featured the hallmarks that would become Edsel's design signature: clean, graceful lines, minimal adornment and fine, delicate grille work and trim.