Henry J. Kaiser and Joseph W. Frazer literally parted company in 1949 , but they ’d been at bonehead once before . In 1942 , Kaiser was experiment with charge plate - bodied railcar , hinting that he just might sell them for $ 400-$600 once World War II was over . He also indicate that automobile companies denote their postwar design instantly .
industriousness - veteran Frazer was incensed : “ I begrudge a West Coast shipbuilder asking us if we have the courage to plan postwar automobiles when the President has involve us to antedate all work which would take away from the war campaign .
Kaiser has done a great job as a ship builder … but I think his challenge to automobile man is as half - baked as some of his other affirmation … I think the world is being misled by all these pictures of plastic models with glass tops , done by creative person who probably would n’t want to sit under those top in the summer and sweat . "
This public katzenjammer was long forgotten by July 1945 , when Henry and Joe joined forces to form Kaiser - Frazer . Both men compromise , and their relationship was amicable , at least for a time . Though Henry discovered that his plastic railway car for the common adult male was just wishful thought , he had high hope for a more - revolutionary Kaiser than what at last emerged .
It would have stem from the 1946 K-85 epitome , which count like the conventional Frazer then already locked up , but apply unit construction on a shorter 117 - inch wheelbase . respite and the " Packaged Power " drivetrain , work out by engineer Henry C. McCaslin , were very different .
For one thing , an 85 - horsepower Continental six beat back the front wheels , not the behind . A conventional three - speed transmittance sent mogul via a helical - appurtenance transfer subject to a front differential , then to the wheels by U - jointed halfshafts . as novel was four - bike main " Torsionetic " break : a pair of longitudinal torsion bars , each 1.3 inch thick by 44.5 inches long . The sword bars twisted to provide spring action like schematic ringlet or semi - elliptics .
McCaslin wanted social unit grammatical construction because " we needed to practice more of the cognitive process in the plant life . We had the welding equipment but lacked large dies and cranes . It was a via media to get the car into output . "
But the front - driving force K-85 did n’t have a opportunity . Aside from exorbitant tooling expense , expert trouble such as heavy steering , gear wheel whine , and wheel chemise proved insurmountable . With so much free weight over the front bike , the K-85 would have needed power steerage and that would have added $ 900 to the retail price .
So in May 1946 , K - F adjudicate to abandon this theme for a conventional rear - drive Kaiser price below the Frazer .
Production for both raw makes began that June at Ford ’s immense wartime bomber plant life in Willow Run , Michigan , near Detroit , that K - F had leased from the federal government ’s Reconstruction Finance Corporation . Like the Frazer , the new Kaiser Special was a 1947 model . Initial price was $ 1868 , though postwar rising prices quickly hike it above $ 2000 .
It was very much like the Frazer , of course : a spacious hot flash - buffer four - door saloon with 123.5 - column inch wheelbase , styling by the eminent Howard A. " Dutch " Darrin , and a " stroker " six induce 100 bhp from 226 three-dimensional inch . The Kaiser wore a multipiece grille that was cheaper to make than the Frazer ’s because the composition were smaller . trappings were course more - canonic , in line with the lower price .
Perhaps inevitably , a fancy Kaiser Custom was added tardily in the model year at about $ 350 above the Special and $ 150 more than the standard Frazer , but some $ 250 less than the top - line Frazer Manhattan .
A scrap later , Customs were offered with optional dual intake and exhaust system manifolds that boosted bhp to 112 . But Kaiser would have no automatic transmission through 1950 ( after which proprietary GM Hydra - Matic was offered ) ; only a standard three - amphetamine manual available with overdrive as an $ 80 option .
Though plans called for building two Kaisers to every Frazer , the 1947 ratio was 1:1 so as to occupy initial monastic order . Both lines were essentially unchanged for 1948 , when very few Customs were built , though Kaiser bulk far outpace Frazer ’s . These were spectacular years for what came to foretell the " postwar wonder company . "
Kaiser production totaled more than 70,000 for ' 47 and nigh 92,000 for ' 48 . All evidence , K - F made a goodly $ 30 million profit on 1947 - 48 mass that put it ninth in product – the highest freelancer .
For more on defunct American cars, see:
1949 Kaiser Special Traveler and Kaiser Custom Vagabond
A scheduled facelift gave the 1949 Kaisers a broader , shinier grille and larger taillights . Custom was retitled DeLuxe , and gain the 112 - bhp railway locomotive as standard . Four new models get . Two were public-service corporation saloon , an theme from Henry Kaiser himself . They were much like the standard article save a double - door rear hatch and fold - down back butt .
The economical Special Traveler arrived at $ 2088 , the leather - upholstered Custom Vagabond at $ 200 more . In effect , these were a price - saving fill-in for a true station wagon , one of many things K - F never would get around to construction .
Kaiser ’s other two ' 49 newcomers were a four - door convertible and the Virginian four - doorway hardtop , the first postwar habit of those body character . Both were richly appointed DeLuxe offering with excellent visibility thanks to the lack of steel boron - Post , though both keep back rudimentary pillar with glass window pane . The convertible also carry set side - window chassis and a heavily braced X - member flesh for added structural strength .
Unfortunately , the Kaisers be as much as some Cadillacs – $ 3000-$3200 – so only a smattering were produced : an estimated 946 Virginians and just 54 convertible sedans . Those that did n’t sell as ' 49s were given new successive numbers pool for 1950 .
From the first , K - F offered an unusually wide range of paint , well-kept , and upholstery variance . This was the work of Carleton Spencer , who took some initial cues from research on home interiors done by House & Garden clip . The results were chromaticity like Amerind Ceramic ( a graphic pink ) , Crystal Green , Caribbean Coral , and Arena Yellow .
These and other color names were actually written in chrome script on the front fenders of ' 49 Kaiser Customs . Detroit , as a whole , number 218 exterior colour for ' 49 ; 37 were K - F ’s . Of the industry ’s 150 different 1949 upcountry fabrics , K - F owned 62 .
The original Kaiser dashboard was an cheap design with horizontal gauges . For 1949 , this make way to a more - ornate gore with a gargantuan speed indicator out front of the driver and a matching clock on the passenger ’s side .
DeLuxe fascia sparkled with chrome , stainless steel , and a monumental ivory steering rack with a big semicircular chrome cornet ring . Such jiffy unite with colourful paint and fashion upholstery did much to doll up what was otherwise an unchanged and surprisingly fast - aging blueprint .
And therein lay the seeds of cataclysm . Chairman Henry Kaiser boldly tooled up for 1949 volume of 200,000 car – against the advice of his marketwise better half . Joe Frazer substantiate the troupe could n’t betray nearly that many against all - unexampled 1949 Big Three contest , and had urged a holding action until K - F resign its own novel models , then scheduled for 1950 . But Henry would n’t have it .
" The Kaisers never retrench , " he rage . By now , Kaiser ’s people had far more influence in fellowship affair than Frazer ’s , so Joe yield the presidency to Kaiser ’s boy Edgar , remaining on the display board only for appearance sake . By year ’s close , he was gone .
Henry should have listened . Instead , K - F ’s 1949 calendar - class sale were a fraction of the number planned : only some 58,000 . About 20 pct could n’t be sold , and were thus recycled with newfangled serial numbers as 1950 fashion model . Though it ’s inconceivable to divide model - year " output , " 1949 unit account for about 84 per centum of the total , according to experts .
1951, 1952, 1953 Kaiser Cars
Meantime , Dutch Darrin and K - F Styling had machinate a real blockbuster : a lithe , beautiful new Kaiser with " Anatomic Design . "
Though schedule for 1950 , it did n’t arrive until March of that twelvemonth as a 1951 offering ( delayed until those ' 49 leftover were net ) . But it sell like no Kaiser before : closely to 140,000 for the example twelvemonth . From 17th in Detroit for ' 49 , Kaiser promptly take up to 12th .
Looking unlike any other railway car of its daytime , the 1951 Kaiser sport 700 straight inch more Methedrine area than its nearest competitor and a lower beltline than any Detroit car bid through 1956 .
Though wheelbase slimmed to 118.5 inches , the ' 51 looked miles sleeker than first - generation Kaisers . Complementing its disingenuous styling was another bewildering raiment of bright exterior colors and gamey - fashion interior by " coloring engineer " Spencer .
The ' 51 Kaiser was also the first motorcar that actually betray at least partly on safety features , offering a padded dash , break up gauges and restraint , slender roof tower for good visibility , and a windshield that pop out if collide with with a force of more than 35 pounds per square inch .
Though main engineer John Widman and Ralph Isbrandt shunned unit construction , they designed a stiff separate dead body for a strong frame weighing but 200 pounds .
They also provided a low center of soberness that ensured fine handling , and a temporary removal that rescue a terrific ride despite curb weights averaging only 3100 pounds . Said one Chrysler railroad engineer who afterwards try out a ' 51 Kaiser : " It rides like one of our 4500 - pound cars . "
Still in the lower medium - terms field , Kaiser ’s ' 51 price vagabond from just under $ 2000 to a bit over $ 2400 . especial and DeLuxe serial return , each offering regular and utility Traveler sedan with two or four doors , plus the farsighted - deck of cards club coupe ; there was also a stripped Special business coupe .
But hardtops , convertible , and place wagons were conspicuously absentminded , as was a V-8 . Though K - F had programme for all of these , it would never have the money to market them . The former six was lifted to 115 bhp via two - barrelful carburettor and dual exhaust , but the missing V-8 would demonstrate an increase sale indebtedness .
A scheduled 1952 facelift was n’t ready on sentence , so Virginian mannikin , essentially leftover ' 51s with " Continental kits , " were sold in the meanwhile – about 5500 in all . The " literal " ' 52s make it with protuberant tail lamp and a more prominent , heavier - look grille .
Two - threshold Travelers and the business organization coupe departed , Specials became DeLuxes , and previous DeLuxes – a coupe and two sedans – were now retitled Manhattan ( borrow the old Frazer name ) . The " 2nd - series " ' 52s are fairly rare : only 7500 DeLuxes and 19,000 Manhattans .
Kaiser had deliver the " fashion grocery store " in 1951 with its $ 125 Dragon trimming options : confine - edition four - threshold sedans uncommitted in Golden , Silver , Emerald , and Jade editions . All sported gator - look " Dragon " vinyl at bottom and color - distinguish exteriors with padded vinyl radical tops .
This idea was tried again with 1953 ’s " Hardtop " Dragon sedan , the most - deluxe Kaiser of all . It was easy spotted by a amber - plated hood ornament , badges , and even keyhole covers , plus a cushiony roof commonly covered in " bambu " vinyl – a ruffianly , oriental - fashion fabric that also invest the dash and function of tail and door panels .
can inserts were done in " Laguna " textile , a fabric with an oblong normal make by fashion advisor Marie Nichols . Standard agreeableness were plentiful : tinted glass , Hydra - Matic Drive , whitewalls , duplicate - loudspeaker radiocommunication , and Calpoint custom carpeting . The finishing touch was a amber - plate style plaque engraved with the owner ’s name .
The Dragon was spectacular , but a high $ 3924 Leontyne Price – nigh as much as a Cadillac Coupe de Ville – limited gross revenue to just 1277 , a few of which almost had to be given away .
Otherwise , the ' 53 Kaisers were little changed . A twain of stripped Carolina sedans was fielded in the $ 2300 range , an effort to build salesroom traffic , but only 1800 were sold . golf club coupes were cut , the six was persuaded up to 118 bhp , and power steering bow late in the season as a $ 122 option .
But Kaiser sale were falling fast : only 32,000 for ' 52 and just 28,000 for ' 53 . The compact Henry J had squandered development funds that would have been advantageously spend on young styling , new body type , or a V-8 . Cash reserves were further deplete in 1954 when Henry Kaiser decided to buy Willys - Overland , which was no better off .
1954 Kaiser Cars and the End of Kaiser
attempt to slash overhead , Kaiser transferred production from Willow Run to W - O ’s Toledo , Ohio , deftness , and hoped for a sale miracle with a canny facelift by stylist Arnott " Buzz " Grisinger .
From the front , the ' 54 Kaisers looked much like the Buick XP-300 show cable car ( a favorite of company president Edgar Kaiser ) , with a wide concave grille , dummy hood scoop , and headlights " float " within oval housings . Out back were " Safety - Glo " taillights : the be building block given finned trapping and a lighted strip atop the fenders .
Remaining Travelers were canceled for ' 54 , but Manhattans were boosted to a maximum 140 horsepower by bolting on a McCulloch centrifugal supercharger that cut in at full throttle . Also offered that year were unsupercharged special in two " series . "
The first involved ' 53 Manhattans warmed over with ' 54 front ends – yet another crusade to use up leftovers . Second - serial Specials were unfeigned ' 54s with wrapped rear window , as on all of that yr ’s Manhattans .
But sales did n’t better , and 1954 Kaiser production was a dismal 8539 , including 4110 Manhattans , 3500 " early " special , and a paltry 929 " belated " Specials . With that , only Manhattans returned for ' 55 , distinguished by a high cinque on the hood scoop and small else . Just 270 were sold .
Another 1021 were exported , most to Argentina , where Kaiser Motors hoped to go along output for South America at a subsidiary plant . It ’s a tribute to the pattern ’s durability that the ' 55 was build up there through 1962 as the little - altered Kaiser Carabella .
A memorable last - pant U.S. effort was the 1954 Kaiser Darrin sliding - room access sports auto . Dutch had designed it in late 1952 for the 100 - inch - wheelbase Henry J chassis , and talk Henry Kaiser into selling it for $ 3668 . Only 435 were construct before Kaiser give up U.S. product .
The Darrin was beautifully styled , and still seem good today . Besides a then - novel fiberglass torso , it boasted singular sliding doors , a patented Darrin idea first tried on an nrelated 1946 prototype .
The DKF-161 ( the prescribed designation ) also offered a three - position Lev Davidovich Landau convertible top with medium half - up position , plus full instrumentation and , usually , a three - speeding floorshift contagion with overdrive . This plus the 90 bhp of the Henry J ’s 161 - cid Willys six gave economy of around 30 mpg , but also 0 - 60 sprints of about 13 minute and near-100 mph mat out .
But the Kaiser - Darrin intimacy greatly disappoint Dutch , who buy up about 100 leftovers , fitted many with Cadillac V-8s , and sell them for $ 4350 to each one at his Los Angeles showroom . The V-8 Darrins were stiff indeed , capable of speeds up to 140 mph .
Kaiser came to an closing in America during 1955 after 10 age and $ 100 million in losses . They were normally good automobile and often innovative , but they never seemed to make it with the public . Edgar Kaiser liked to say , " Slap a Buick nameplate on it and it would trade like flannel-cake . " He was probably right-hand .
