The Edsel got the bad rep because it overheated; an Edsel collector I know really likes his (and all the other “orphan” vehicles in his collection) and said the cooling system fix had to be done to any of them that didn’t go to museums, ie, if they are to be driven, the cooling system mod (whatever it was) has to be done.
There was nothing really “wrong” with the Edsel that other Ford makes didn’t also experience at the time. The styling was mocked into becoming controversial because GM launched a campaign to make it controversial, they were concerned about the competition the Edsel would pose to Pontiac. It was the front grille that was mocked, funny though how GM adapted a somewhat similar “snout” on Pontiac less than a decade later with no controversy.