(first posted 7/22/2013) Finding any Kaiser-Frazer automobile is not easy these days, but the rarest of all is likely the Kaiser-Darrin sports car, a fiberglass two-seater meant to draw folks into K-F showrooms to ooh and aah over, and maybe drive out in a Manhattan or Special sedan. But it was too little, too late.
Henry J. Kaiser may have been a shipbuilding maven, but when it came to selling cars to the public, he was a babe in the woods. He complicated matters by binding the hands of the one person who actually knew the car business, Joseph Frazer, largely because Henry J’s ego got in the way. Amid this drama of Frazer’s exit, crashing sales and hundreds of unsold cars sitting around the massive Willow Run factory came the Darrin.
It was announced on September 26, 1952, but the gestation period drew on and on, and an actual car was not even shown until February 1953. Production versions finally appeared in November of that year, about two months after production had begun. And you still couldn’t buy one–K-Ds were not available for retail sale until January 6, 1954, or sixteen months after the car was announced. Much like the Avanti ten years hence, the drawn-out process did not help sales, as folks who wanted one had most likely moved on.
And in 1954 most folks–even the few who still wanted a Kaiser-Darrin–were not sure about Kaiser Motors themselves. Sure, they had purchased Willys-Overland in ’53, but Willys was no sales ball of fire either. So by the time the sportster hit the dealers, even its sleek Dutch Darrin-penned lines only went so far.
Aside from its fiberglass construction, the most novel thing about the Darrin was the doors that slid into the front fenders. It was a quirky feature, but apparently they did not work all that well, with a reputation for binding up in their tracks. It also had a three-position top, with open, closed and “Landau” configurations, the latter one leaving the portion over the seats open.
It may have looked good on the outside, but the sad fact was that it was powered by a 161 CID inline six cylinder. Motivation was leisurely with 90 hp and a one-barrel (!) carburetor. Why they didn’t put the 140-hp supercharged L-head six as used in the regular Kaisers is beyond me–maybe they didn’t fit?
At any rate it didn’t matter. It was too late for Kaiser-Willys in the U.S. by that point, as they were already preparing to move the car lines to Argentina and focus on Jeeps only in the States. The K-D was discontinued in mid-’54, after 435 of the $3655 roadsters had been made. Dutch Darrin bought the remaining K-D inventory and parts and sold additional units himself, shoehorning Caddy V8s and superchargers in them instead of the anemic straight six. About 50 of these much-livelier “Kaiser-Dutches” were sold.
K-F may have been on the way out when the Kaiser-Darrin debuted, but their scarcity, cool lines and those intriguing sliding doors make them a prized collector car today, as evidenced by this pristine red one seen at the AACA Grand National, held June 29th in Moline. Though it rained off and on the whole time, this lovely K-D and other flawless (and, might I add, non-hot rodded) cars were a real treat to see!
I wouldn’t call it their Corvette – it was their Avanti.
It was their swan song…their Hail-Mary play, long after any realistic hope of success had passed.
It was done with pieces out of the parts bin…in the Darrin’s case, with the Jeep flathead four. No, wait – I just saw that this one has a six in it. I seem to remember that the Darrin was done with the Jeep four. Was this an aftermarket conversion? According to some web blogs, there was a choice of the four or the six; both Willys F-Heads.
In any event…it was too little, too late, too parts-bin and too superficially halo. The Corvette, by comparison, was a serious, long-term attempt to crack the American sports-car market by an established player with a big wallet.
This, like the later Avanti, was done with half-hearted support (Kaiser was strong-armed by his wife; the Studebaker board was strong-armed by Sherwood Egbert, their McCullough closer and consolidator who became a born-again enthusiast) and on existing platforms with conventional parts. Nary a V8 in either.
But the Corvette also debuted with a straight-six, albeit with rather more horses but a two speed powerglide to tame them.
True enough.
But the “sports” car of the 1950s was done in the veddy-British mold…low-slung body; high wheels; open cockpit. The V8 engine was for Cadillac or Lincoln or other aspirational family car. (And yes, as time went on, for Pontiac and Chevrolet and Ford, which had had one all along). But the Triumphs and Sunbeams and MGs had fours and sixes – they didn’t offer high horsepower or neck-snapping acceleration. They offered, to use the words of Chrysler boss K.T. Keller, a car low enough to p**s over. Close to the road…so your neck scarf drags on the road as you draw up your duster. Seating so tight your date compromises her modesty as she folds herself in.
I suppose the Willys-cum-Continental F-Head six could be arguably in that vein. The Avanti, with its Hawk V8 and supercharger, outclassed both; bridging the Triumph/Darrin world with the SBC Corvette future.
The Chevrolet six used in the first Corvette was a starting point. Remember, the SBC was still in development. But I still see it as a long-term project, not a Hail Mary play.
“But the Corvette also debuted with a straight-six….”
Yes, and compare the sales of the Blue Flame Corvette with those of the later V-8 Corvettes.
Are you saying there was no V-8 in an Avanti? You may want to look again…
No – I said the Hawk V8 was used.
You might want to read again.
Er, JPT, you managed to say both with and without V8 (see the last sentence in your 2:21 post, and then at 2:59). (I think you were referring to the Kaiser and the Avanti , not the Corvette at 2:21…) I thought I had the monopoly on confusing/self-contradicting posts. 🙂
The only Avanti I saw in the wild had the supercharged V8. This was when they were new and I was a pretty young kid. We were at a campground(!) at Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin. At that time, a lot of families would camp while hubby worked in the big cities, and visit on the weekend. Daddy’s ride certainly wouldn’t have carried the tent and the kids, but the commute would have been fun.
Mea culpa. I actually learned as I was posting that that the Hawk V8 was used (Option? Running change?) in the Avanti. I had thought the Stude Six was the only engine when I started the series of screeds.
Thought I’d cleaned up my post. My bust…[shrug]
@JustPassinThru: I think you’re rewriting history a bit when discussing the Corvette. The 2-seater sports car market was miniscule, and enthusiasts were not impressed with the early Corvettes because it too was a half-hearted attempt mechanically. GM brass almost killed it due to slow sales. To my knowledge, it was the arrival of engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov at GM that single-handedly spared the Corvette from an early demise, not long-range planning by GM. They gave him a chance with the Vette and it paid off.
Honestly, the main thing that kept Chevrolet from pulling the plug is that at about the time they were ready to decide, they found out Ford was going to release the Thunderbird.
That factory shot is quite interesting, most likely staged as a publicity shot since you’ve got the car at an angle that appears to be ready to roll and at least has a fully trimmed interior. Then the car behind the one that is in the process of getting the body dropped is in front of one that has already had the body and chassis joined.
They were definitely a cool car with those doors that slid into the body. Though it does appear that the configuration made for a rather narrow entry slot. I imagine that the way the door curved was great for gouging one’s leg too.
Just finally seeing this article – they actually didn’t really have an assembly line for these – they were assembled in a small factory in Jackson, MI, IIRC – with finished Henry J chassis moved by hand.
I have always loved everything about the look of this car – except that grille. The car looks like it is trying to give you a kiss. But as you pointed out, this was probably a minor issue given that it was mid 1954 before these things had any availability. Still, a cool car.
I talked to a guy at a concours back in 2011 who had a restored Kaiser-Darrin on display. He won his class and it was a beautiful car, wish I had a pic. Anyway he was saying that the frame was a shortened version of the Kaiser “X” (know nothing about these, I guess the sedan) and that the quality of the work done at the factory was atrocious. It wasn’t shortened in the drawings and made shorter in production, they started with a long frame, hacked off the ends and welded things up and not too well.
He sunk $100K into the restoration and said they had to fix all of that. Not sure you’re supposed to fix that stuff in this preservation era but it’s either that or live with a $100K+ car that’s all hacked underneath.
When you look at the small production numbers, PLUS the chaos that was running at Willow Run in those last days of the Kaiser…I can see how things would be kit-based into assembly. They had a waiting list for the Darrin; meantime they had a huge stockpile of sedans that weren’t selling. And they were petitioning the State Department to allow export of the factory’s tooling to ship it to Argentina.
So, no doubt by this time, “Don’t-Give-A-Damn-itis” was probably rampant on the factory floor. And spreading into the Production hierarchy; and probably into Engineering. They, too, wanted the damn thing off the desk so they could pack up and go on to their next gigs.
It gets ugly when a business is running on borrowed time and the end is known and inevitable.
I’ve always considered WillowRuns Corvette…….the Corvair. I was going to say that 59 ElCamino(OK it’s a 3 seater) but GM’s WR assembly line didn’t start until 1959.
An attractive car sadly to little to late.It sounds a rather expensive one as around $2k would buy a Ford or Chevy with more room and comfort
For any fans of the Kaiser-Darrin the AUW Motor article on it is essential reading. Explains why the front looked so odd, and why the motor wasn’t tuned.
Aaron wrote an outstanding article as always, packed with goodies.
http://ateupwithmotor.com/sports-cars-and-muscle-cars/279-kaiser-darrin-history.html
I never could stand that weird little kisser. Guess you had to be there then.
+1
What an ugly car. They would have done better to stick with the sedan’s basic grille design and use regular doors with roll-down windows. That might have sold a wee bit better.
Even a conventional convertible based on the big Kaiser may have sold more than the Darrin. At least one prototype was built, but no go.
A friend in high school’s grandfather had one of these in pieces in his garage. It was a minty green color. Since I moved away close to 20 years ago now and lost touch, I’ll never know if he got it on the road.
The reason for the sliding doors was that Dutch Darrin was particularly fond of the idea and held a patent on it.
I also thought the grille design was odd, but not necessarily ugly. It seems a bit much to me that it was duplicated in the shape of the turn signal lenses. I’ve heard that the grille opening was also too small, and caused cooling problems, probably much more prevalent in the later cars that had V8s stuffed into them.
About 10 years ago I was in Caesar’s Palace in Vegas. In one of the shops there was a Kaiser Darrin on display. It was one of two or three that was factory-equipped with a removable double-bubble hardtop.
Yes, Darrin patented the sliding doors, which were originally part of his proposal for the 1951 big Kaiser. On that, they were supposed to be electrically operated.
The K-D rode a modified Henry J platform, which is why it didn’t use the Continental engine. Given the array of engines people crammed into Henry Js over the years, I imagine it would have been possible, but not expedient — hence, the Willys F-head six.
It’s important to note as an aside that Henry Kaiser did not fire Joe Frazer. It was clear they were at an impasse, but Frazer walked of his own accord. Given the way the Kaisers were stonewalling, Frazer’s sticking around might have just amounted to banging his head against a wall, so it may have been for the best.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that a lot of what we know about the Kaisers’ decisions at Kaiser-Frazer came via the research Dick Langworth did for his superb book on K-F in the ’70s. It’s a fabulous piece of work, but Langworth said none of the surviving Kaiser people (Henry had died a few years earlier) were willing to be interviewed for it, so the account is based heavily on interviews with Joseph Frazer, Hickman Price (who was Frazer’s nephew, if I recall correctly), Dutch Darrin, and some of the engineers and other stylists, most of whom were people Frazer had originally recruited. Frazer and his people were understandably unhappy with how everything turned out, but from a historian’s perspective, I would really have liked to hear Henry or Edgar’s side of the story.
Whoops. I knew he wasn’t fired per se, but Kaiser’s stubbornness certainly led to Frazer walking. I’ll update the text.
Saturn had the Sky.
Pontiac had the Solstice.
Studebaker had the Avanti.
Kaiser had the Darrin.
Plymouth had the Prowler.
Interesting how many brands do a vehicle like this before they close their doors.
And everyone was a slight disappointment somehow.
Sky/Solstice had a trunk that was even useless compared to a Miata
Studebaker Avanti was still saddled with the Lark’s chassis and fit and finish issues plagued the early cars.
Kaiser Darrin didn’t have enough HP to back up the looks.
Prowler was V6 only. (Hmmm wonder if the new 3.6V6 from a Charger could be made to fit? That would be a nice 50 hp bump over the old 3.5V6.)
The Darrin wasn’t tragically slow by contemporary sports car standards — it was quicker than an MG TD/TF or a Sunbeam Alpine, although not a TR2 or an Austin-Healey 100. I think its (much) bigger problems were the price and the fact that anyone who had that kind of money to spend in 1954 was not likely to spend it on a Kaiser product, since even Kaiser dealers were afraid the company was on its last legs. Even if Kaiser had made the supercharger standard (which, based on the handful of cars Darrin sold with the McCulloch unit, would have been good for about 110 hp), I doubt it would have made much difference: Maybe they would have sold 500 cars instead of 435…
Hard to say the Sky/Solstice was a disappointment to anyone. The Solstice generally matched the Miata for US sales, with significant Sky sales on top of that. Outselling the established and well respected market leader is probably the most that anyone could aspire to.
And ever-shat-upon Mercury got nada.
Does the last-gen Cougar count? It was the last Mercury-only car. Its styling was distinctive, I rather liked it.
Mercury got the Crapi sorry Capri imported from OZ and rebadged yeah NADA is right
You could call it their “Hail Mary” play. An auto company or division in its death throes…not unlike a primal scream.
The last-ditch effort, against all odds…which, of course, generally fails. There is a dynamic in the auto business; and bucking that dynamic is nearly impossible. For example, no matter how appealing a car is, few will buy from a manufacturer about to close.
So the Hail Mary play is doomed to failure before it starts.
Mercury didn’t have much of one. Probably because Mercury’s termination was preordained from the time Alan Mulally was hired as CEO. He wanted “One Ford;” the Board was desperate; and Mercury sales were already skidding. So…nice and orderly as they could…Mercury was dispatched.
Well…since this is going on…here’s a question.
Frazer was chief stockholder and CEO of Graham-Paige. It was in that capacity that he went to Kaiser, seeking money, just as Kaiser was feeling out Bank of America in underwriting an IPO for an independent auto company.
The two double-teamed it for a few years, and then Frazer walked.
Kaiser-Frazer resurfaced as Kaiser Motors and then with a purchase, as Willys Motors Incorporated, division of Kaiser Industries. And then in 1962, name change to Kaiser Jeep.
Yet – here’s the puzzlement – Graham-Paige didn’t disappear! They continued as a real-estate management firm, wholly independent of Kaiser, and wound up owning Madison Square Garden and other real estate. Their name was finally changed to Madison Square Garden, Inc. in 1969.
So…did Graham-Paige at the time, manufacture Kaisers under license? Or was it that the G-P company went dormant when Frazer got in with Kaiser’s operation? At the time, G-P, although coming out of bankruptcy, had plants and equipment. How’d it all shake out?
EDIT: I see Wikipedia has a writeup. Seems G-P transferred their automotive assets to K-F for K-F stock. Helluva deal, that…but at least it let G-P live as an investment pool.
FEW MINOR CORRECTIONS:
The Darrin was first shown at the LA Motorama, Sept 1952, 2 months before the Corvette was first shown.
The first major article written was in “Exhaust Notes” November 1952, in the FOUR-CYLINDER CLUB OF AMERICA bulletin.
The only engine available (factory) was the WILLYS 161 F-head with a Carter YF 1-barrel carb.
Both the grille and turn-signal lens were artistic images of a heart. This image is one of Dutch’s signatures in all of his creations.
No “chaos at Willow Run” as these cars, as well as several other Kaisers, were made at Jackson, MI.
January 1954 (re production in Jackson, MI):
*SQUEAL* What in the name of Pall Mall and four-in-hand ties is this? A piece of Avanti-ish goodness made out of a sparring match between the industrial tycoon and the upstart designer? Fantastic! It’s just a pity the deal for the Oldsmobile Rocket V8s fell through. The Go-Devil Jeep motor, while reliable and torquey, was completely unsuited to this whimsical creation.
*SQUEAL* What in the name of Pall Mall and four-in-hand ties is this?
Hopefully, the antidote for a stogy image or inability to pay for publicity. The Darrin was of the same period as the Nash-Healey and the Studebaker Starliner.
Some stories claim that Dutch Darrin had “pull” with Henry Kaiser’s trophy wife, who then “pulled” Henry into approving this horrible thing.
The company would have done better to productionize the Woodill Wildfire, using Willys Aero chassis and engine. Much more graceful body.
The F-head four had plenty of zip in the Willys pickup. With a light fiberglass body I expect it could seriously Go.
I grazed the article and all comments to this minute. no mention of the rather unusual license plate. 000-000 ! is this a legitimate thing or some decorative item that is stuck on once the car gets to its destination? seems appropriate for a sales dud. kinda reminds me of an old Johnny Carson tonight show bit where he shows several “vanity plates” of the rich and famous as made up by his staff writers. the best gag being howard hughes’ plate. ( still alive and reclusively holed up at the time) his was blank.
uuuuummmmm not to be anti-climactic, but what about that Pontiac El Camino in the photos? i do like that darrin it is on of the most attractive cars of the fifties.
CC effect? I just returned from my 40th high school reunion which was held at Majors Motors in Orlando, FL; a combined event venue and classic car dealership and museum. In the back room there was this collection of nine (9) Darrins…
I never heard of these. Thanks for the info. Were Kaisers available through the Sears catalog at one time? Was there ever a “Hail Mary” car that actually changed a company’s fortunes? Pretty car. Silly doors. Weird grille.
I think just the Henry J, known as the Allstate, was sold through Sears
Oh okay thanks!
Actually no cars were available through the catalog; a limited number of Sears stores carried the Allstate. It was essentially an experiment, and one that didn’t pan out.