(first posted 6/1/2012) I consider myself a well informed car nut, but this was a car I didn’t know existed until recently. Oh sure, I knew that Kaiser got started in the car business after WWII, came out with a really attractive, advanced ’51 model whose sales steadily dropped after its initial year, and that North American sales were ended after a handful of ’55 models. But I never knew the facelifted 1954-55 model came in a two door sedan. Well, they are rare.
The 1951 Kaiser was a remarkably attractive car. Completely redesigned by Howard “Dutch” Darrin, all Kaisers featured an extremely low beltline, and increased glass area. A “Darrin dip” in the rear quarter panel eliminated the “loaf of bread” envelope body of 1947-50. There were two more “Darrin dips” in the middle of the windshield and backlight.
Initial sales of 139,452 were respectable, but for some reason, sales fell off a cliff the next year, to 32,131. A detailed report on all the reasons why could make up an article all by itself, but in a nutshell, Kaiser, despite being the most modern car on the road (save, perhaps, for the 1953-55 Studebaker Loewy coupes), had a few things that turned buyers off.
First off, they only came in two- or four-door sedans, plus the proto-hatchback Traveler, a hybrid sedan/wagon with a two-piece tailgate. No hardtop, no station wagon, and no convertible meant that there weren’t any flashy models to lure customers into showrooms. A limited number of dealers (at least compared to the Big Three and even Studebaker and Nash), lack of a V8 at the dawn of the horsepower race and Kaiser’s rookie status as a make all contributed to the decline.
1952 sales of 32,131 were a fraction of 1951 production, and with less sales, Kaiser wasn’t able to fill their coffers and use it to come up with new product. Finally, in 1954, they were able to do an attractive facelift, though there were still only two door and four door sedans. The two doors were now known as club sedans. The Traveler was gone.
Out back, Kaisers had swoopy new taillight clusters, with an additional lens running over the top of the quarter panel. While this second light did not have its own bulb, it was connected to the main lamp, allowing light to diffuse to the second lens. This allowed the taillights to be seen from the side, a unique identifying feature at night and far ahead of the 1968 federally mandated side marker lights.
The front styling was apparently inspired by the Buick XP-300 dream car. New details included a “jet air scoop” grille with a matching chrome hood scoop. This treatment made Kaisers look a lot like a ’54 Buick Special, at least from the front. Headlights were now integrated into a large chrome bezel with simulated mesh grilles and a Kaiser “K” emblem.
One thing Kaiser did on a regular basis, thanks to lackluster sales, was turning leftover cars from the prior model year into “new” cars by adding new serial numbers, and as was the case in 1954, new trim, grilles, etc. Thus, there are two series of the 1954 Kaiser Special (the fancier Manhattans were all genuine ’54s).
The so-called 1st Series Specials were leftover 1953 models with 1954 grilles, headlights and taillights. They retained the single piece rear window in lieu of the ’54 Manhattan’s 3-piece wraparound affair, and also retained the broader chrome side moldings and fancier interiors of the 1953s. About 3500 1st Series Specials were made, of which about 500 were 2-door Club Sedans.
Our featured CC, as previewed in the Old Car Home post, is owned by K. V. Dahl, and was his first car, believe it or not. It is a 1st Series Special Club Sedan, one of 500 built, and according to the Kaiser-Frazer Club, one of 10 known examples today.
The interiors on these cars were also rather ahead of their time. Although Kaiser automobiles would not see the Sixties, at least in the United States, they had some very advanced features for their time, including a padded instrument panel with all major gauges clustered in the driver’s line of sight.
A manual column-shifted transmission was standard, but a popular option was the GM-sourced Dual-Range Hydramatic. K. V.’s car is so equipped, though at first I thought it was a three-on-the-tree, as the linkage and housing on the steering column does not look much like an automatic. The necker knob, of course, is another, ahem, aftermarket option. Great when you’re out on a date, eh guys?
Interestingly, the 1st Series Specials were more numerous (if you can call it that) than the “real” 1954 Specials. While 3500 1st Series cars were made, the 2nd Series cars amounted to only 749 four doors and 180 two door club sedans. Well, many folks decided to play it safe and get a ’54 Chevy or Ford. Don’t get me wrong, they are nice cars too, but I’d take a Kaiser over either one.
The big news for 1954 Kaisers was under the hood. Standard on Manhattans was a McCulloch centrifugal supercharger, perched atop the Continental-sourced L-head six cylinder. It turned the 118 hp “Super Sonic Six” into the 140 hp “Super Power Six.” While it is not shown as an option on Specials in the Standard Catalog of American Cars, by 1954, Kaiser was so anxious to sell you a car that they would build practically anything you wanted, and never mind the factory specifications.
As suggested in the title, this 1954 Kaiser Special was K.V. Dahl’s first car. At the age of 13, he had saved up enough money from mowing lawns to buy this car, in a rather weathered condition at the time. It was purchased from the wife of the original owner in Bettendorf; they had taken it on their honeymoon when the car was new. Now, while the supercharger is an interesting and desirable option, don’t go thinking it is just like a Duesenberg SJ; it’s not. As K. V. told me, “it’s still slow, the supercharger just makes it less slow.”
I can tell you that that is true, as I was able to get a ride in this piece of Willow Run history. I met K.V. at the dealership, and he said he had to run a couple errands before we could find a suitable spot to take photos; would I like to go along? Oh yes, absolutely! While K.V. warned me it rode a little rough, and it had been restored nearly 25 years ago, I found the ride thoroughly enjoyable. Unlike many modern cars, the Kaiser had great glass area, and thanks in part to the accessory hood visor, the car was more than comfortable in traffic with the windows down, despite the warm day. It was cool to hear the supercharger spool up when accelerating from a stop, too.
One thing you do take for granted in modern cars are those four-wheel disc brakes, but the Kaiser is just fine so long as you plan ahead. And it does have those nice big taillights – and brake lights!
K.V.’s Kaiser also has a nice selection of factory accessories. When he got it, the car had the standard wheel covers, but he has since added the Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels, a $290 option in 1954, and the very same wheels available on early Chrysler 300s. It also has the Dual-Range Hydramatic ($178), white sidewall tires ($22), two-tone paint ($15), and an 8-tube radio that still worked just fine on our brief outing ($89).
Getting back to the 1954 Kaiser lineup, Manhattans were the top of the line model and ran about $300 higher than Specials. They all featured the 3-piece backlight, unlike 1st Series Specials. Standard equipment on Manhattans included bumper guards and bumper wings, chrome wheel covers, chrome tailpipe extension, oil bath air cleaner (yes, it was an option on Specials!), and a rear compartment cigar lighter, among other things.
The new look was attractive, and despite being largely carryover since 1951, the body was still one of the most modern-looking cars on the road, but it didn’t help. Sales crashed to about 8500 for the year, nearly 20,000 units below 1953’s total!
Do these wheels look familiar? They should, as they were a popular item on Chrysler’s muscle-bound “banker’s hot rod” 300 from 1955 through the early ’60s. The original Kaiser hubcap is shown in this photo, but K.V. prefers the Kelsey-Hayes style knock-off hubcap instead. I’m inclined to agree. But he does have a set of four original caps, just in case the originality police bear down on his car.
1954 was bad for Kaiser, but 1955 was even worse. In its final year, 1955, choices were limited to the Manhattan club sedan and four door sedan. With a mere 1231 made (of the 1231, only 210 were sold in the United States; the rest were part of a purchase order from Argentina), Kaiser had had enough. They pulled their car lines (including the Willys Aero, acquired in their purchase of Willys-Overland in 1953) from the North American market, to concentrate on selling Jeeps. The Kaiser, however, did get a second life in Argentina as the Kaiser Carabella, a virtual twin to the 1955 Manhattan sedan and sold through the 1962 model year.
Poor Kaiser. They had a nice car, but the lack of a V8, convertible and hardtop hurt them, not to mention consumers who were leery of a make that had only been in business since the 1947 model year. They were sharp cars, and surviving examples like K. V.’s Special show just how attractive they were. But in 1954, it was just safer to buy a Ford or Chevy. What a shame.
A really beautiful car. I think much nicer than a 54 Ford or Chevy. The Kaiser seems much more sleeker and longer than its competition. Lack of V-8s and hardtops would kill a lot of potential 1954 sales.
In 2012, anyhow, I look at the beauty of the era’s cars, not as a customer who wanted more advanced bang for the buck. When the forward Chrysler’s, Bel Airs, and Fords came out in 55, the Kaiser was a week old newspaper.
Have absolutely no idea what that Kaiser might be worth today.
A fully restored 1954 Kaiser sold for $40,000 at auction in USA in early 2018.
Gorgeous. Those tail lights should be in the Museum of Modern Art.
+1
Relying on the old Continental six was probably what killed Kaiser the most. All the comments here are talking Ford and Chevy. Most people don’t realize that the Kaiser was priced up among Oldsmobile and Buick, not the low priced three. 108 horsepower just didn’t cut it back then when you were paying that kind of money.
Supposedly, Kaiser had a V-8 on the drawing boards, but the double whammy of losing all that money in 1949 (when Joe Fraiser said ‘retrench’ and lost his job for the effort) and the determination to bring out the Henry J ensured that there wasn’t enough money to proceed with the new engine. No new engine, lower sales. Lower sales, less money to update. And round and round, down the drain.
Ate Up With Motor has a very nice, concise history of the marque. The unfortunate reality is that the Kaiser, other than the second generation styling, was a completely mundane, unexciting automobile. There was really nothing about it that made it a more desirable purchase over a Hudson or low-end Packard, much less cross-shopping it against anything GM at the time. And under the hood it was easily the most pathetic American car available back in the 50’s.
Syke, you are right. Expensive and unexciting. I thought that the styling was weird. My best friend’s father, a Dodge dealer, had a first-generation Kaiser or Fraiser in his used car lot. What a lump! Fuzzy gray four door. Farm car with about a half inch of dried mud on the floors. We did what any right-thinking teenager would do, we tried to kill it by driving it up to East Moline, about 30 miles, pedal-to-the-metal in second gear. The Continental refused to die. It took a lot of beer to assuage our depression. But it did poke a rod out of the block about two weeks later at 5 mph.
The Continental six lived for quite a few more years in both Jeeps and Checker taxis. I’m not sure when Checker ceased sourcing it’s engines from Continental, but the ’68 Checker that I drove in Chicago had a Chevy six.
First Chevy powered Checkers came out in ’64.
Agreed on the engine as being this car’s killer. Hudson may not have had an eight, but it had an over 300 cid 6 that was winning stock car races.
You are correct that Kaiser had a V8 engine under development. IIRC, the engineer most involved left Kaiser-Willys and got hired by AMC. I understand that AMC’s first V8 was largely based on that aborted Kaiser design.
Wonder how many folk have rectified history by fitting an AMC V8 into their Kaisers?
Too bad Kaiser didn’t buy 308’s from Hudson. Hudson could have used the business too. Still a gorgeous car that most have never seen.
That is one beautiful car. I don’t know if it was a Manhattan or some other Kaiser model, but the church I attended with my parents back when I was a little kid – a person in the congregation owned one. Those unique “dips” on the windshield and backlite plus alongside really peaked my attention. As being very young, I had to come up with a name for these cars – I called it a “goochie car”. No other reason, but the glass dips were what inspired the name.
I still refer to Kaiser’s offerings as “Goochie cars” to this day. They really were that different, for there were no other cars like them and they stood out. Too bad I never had the opportunity to ride in or drive one.
I see a LOT of Saab 99 Combi-coupe and Saab 900 Combi-coupe in the rear end of the Kaiser Traveler.
Check out this old Arch Hall movie, there’s one that meets it’s demise early in the film.
My theory is, that with such a low budget, the 7 year old Kaiser was the one car from the period that might pass for the “new” status that the script called for.
I find this to be an attractive vehicle, particularly the window treatment. What a treat it must have been to get a ride in this car — wow. I’d love to hear the Supercharger do its thing. What a nice car. I did not realize how nice these things actually are — great writeup.
I’d take this over the competing Chevy, Ford, Buick, Cadillac, & Chrysler products but not the Oldsmobile — yikes.. If I had my choice of any ten mid-50’s vehicles…they’d all be Oldsmobiles.
It may sound weird but I wish I could just go up to someone with something like this & ask for a ride without freaking them out. I just love riding in old original cars — sure beats watching YouTube videos.
I think this is one of the most beautiful Kaisers I have ever seen. I have long thought that Kaisers with the Darrin styling are very nice looking overall. I am not fond of the “Darrin dip” at the top of the windshield though. On this car, the sun visor perfects the look by hiding that part. I’d add that I love the taillights, but then I’d have to also mention the grille, the two-tone paint, the wire wheels….
A ride in the Kaiser. I am soooooooooo jealous! 🙂
These competed with Olds, Buick, and a lot of independents. By 1954, even 140 horsepower was pretty lame. The competition was pretty well all over 200 horses by that time.
I recall reading somewhere that part of the reason for the high 1951 sales is that the 51 model year ran really long, mainly to clear out stocks of already built cars. Kaiser had been a bit too optimistic in scheduling production. The 1952 year started late and was short.
One other point about Kasier interiors is that the company was largely responsible for the bright, colorful interiors that became the norm later in the 1950s. In the late 40s, when everyone else offered brown or gray only (much like today) Kaiser hired interior designers who brought color and style to car interiors. I recall an alligator-grain vinly being used on some models. It is too bad that there were no hardtops or convertibles – those interiors would have made for some snazzy cars.
I love these. I have written before that my grandparents bought a new 1951 Kaiser DeLuxe sedan. My mother drove the car through high school and my grandmother continued to drive it until she wrecked it in the late 1950s. Everyone in fhe family old enough to remember it recalls it as a beautiful car. Thanks for wangling the ride and for the great reporting!
Kaiser always called their patterned vinyl Dinosaur hide or the like, because they didn’t want anyone to think it was actually being represented as alligator or snake skin. (However, there was a show car at one point that had actual animal hide trim — not just leather seats — in a way that would be considered politically questionable today.) It was supposedly very durable, as well as interesting to look at.
They did a series of ’51 show cars, and two of them had aniimal hides – one was on a safari theme, while the other had an artic theme, with real polar bear fur seats and outside hide trim pieces. That one still exists, and I saw it several years ago in Ypsilanti.
I think by ’54 the lack of a V-8, or any high-horsepower engine, was deadly, but the real culprit was putting money and time into the Henry J instead of developing a full line of Kaiser bodies. In ’51, they could – just – get away with the Continental Six, but no hardtop or convertible was a deal breaker.
A cousin had a maroon ’51 two door which he bought in 1953. The prior owner had script that said “Dreamboat” added to the rear corner panels; it was very discriptive.
Inside and out it was years ahead of any contemporary car.
Great cars . . . . but . . . . (hindsight 20/20) . . . . money squandered on the Henry J, if this car had the V-8 that was under development, we may have seen Kaisers well through the end of the 1950s . . in North America anyway. Yes, I’d love one!
“I coulda had a V-8!”
Part of the reason big companies (in any business) like to roll out major new product features is their smaller competitors can’t afford to keep up. The fifties V-8 is a great example.
Wonderful visit with these unique cars, thanks. They looked really weird to me when I was a kid in the 1960s – they look less weird as time passes.
Surprised nobody mentioned the Ford/Chevy sales war of 1953-54, devastating to independents in all markets. (Collateral damage? Or part of the whole idea.) Surely crashing prices at the low end was a downdraft to all.
When Chrysler promoted and badged their K cars, it always reminded me of the Kaiser logo. I still remember seeing a big red K in a teaser billboard, I half thought they were bringing back the Kaiser!
Now that I think of it, wasn’t the Kaiser originally going to be FWD? Maybe the K car was some sort of historical echo.
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” — Mark Twain
Yes, the Kaiser was originally planned as front-wheel-drive.
Now THAT’S something that would have been an additional drain on Kaiser-Frazer’s research and development funds. From what I’ve read on Allpar and Ate Up With Motor, it would have required extensive transmission development, a different body than the one used for the Frazer, as well as power steering, which was not a mature (nor inexpensive) technology in the ’40s.
You mean this one? I have a Kaiser keychain fob with this logo that came with my grandparents’ ’51. But as for the historical echo, an Aries/Ram is certainly smaller than a buffalo. 🙂
That’s a great American logo.
But wasn’t the buffalo nearly extinct by then? Maybe this would have been more auspicious.
Like when Hyundai brought out their ‘H in an oval’ logo – i thought somebody had brought back the Hupmobile.
Im not sure if any Kaisers made it to NZ, cant recall ever seeing one if some did nice looking car compared to others efforts. Without a V8 it may have done ok here amongst all the 6 cylinder cars that used to rule the roads
I remember that our neighbor, an optometrist, bought a new 1951 Kaiser sedan in medium green metallic. They must have liked it, because in 1953 it was replaced by a new two-tone green Manhattan sedan, a very flashy car inside and out. It came to a bad end before it was very old – on our way to church one morning we saw it on its top beside the road in a steep downhill stretch by a gravel pit. No more Kaisers for them – the next car was a new two-tone green Oldsmobile sedan.
That is a gorgeous car!
My dad bought a new 1949 Kaiser Special in April of 49 when I was just about 5 years old. We had the car for 7 years and I recall that while the exterior was quite mundane, the interior was beautiful, the seats were like sofas, and the ride was very smooth. In June of that year we drove from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles in the Kaiser to visit relatives. Dad fashioned a homemade cruise control system using doorbell buttons on a wood block attached to the steering column that would electrically wind up a cable under the hood attached to the accelerator until you reached the desired speed. One button wound up the cable and the other unwound it. It let him cruise at a steady 95 whenever conditions permitted. The Kaiser took a while to get to 95 but it easily cruised at that speed if the country was fairly flat. Hills were another matter however I remember crossing the Rocky Mountains and seeing Fords, Chevies, and Plymouths pulled over to the side with overheated engines while we just passed them by with never an overheating problem. I probably remember this because of hearing my parents discuss it at the time, and I was always interested in any kind of car talk. Crossing the Arizona desert we had towels filled with dry ice hanging from the inside of all the windows and that provided plenty of cool air much like air conditioning! In later years the Continental 6 seemed to lose whatever pep it once had and even after an overhaul about 1953 it would struggle getting up the hills of western PA. Our minister had a 51 he wanted to sell my dad but much as I wanted it, my dad was not the type to sell a car on his own so he wouldn’t do a private deal to buy a car. Later after moving to a country place up a 2 mile hill the Kaiser was traded for a new 56 Ford Ranch Wagon with the 202 V-8 and what a relief that was. I always really admired those 51 to 55 Kaisers and still admire the beautiful interior and exterior styling.
“I consider myself a well informed car nut, but this was a car I didn’t know existed until recently.”
I find it so interesting that so many of you, with your vast knowledge of the auto world, haven’t experienced some of the truly classic vehicles that were around in the 50’s. Guess I was lucky to have reached the age of 8 or 9 when these dinosaurs roamed our roads, and growing up in L.A., it was car mecca for the enthusiast.
Our neighbors across the street growing up drove one of these Kaiser Manhattans, I think it may have been the model that preceded the ’54 facelift. But it sat in their driveway up until they traded it on a ’59 Chevy Brookwood station wagon, so I had ample opportunity to observe this creature in its native habitat, so to speak. It was an odd car in the day, could never figure out why the neighbors had such a beast. It is such a bechromed jukebox, and that steering wheel looks like it would take Paul Bunyan to move it, The widow’s peak windshield always looked so strange, and I recall the buffalo logo as being an equal oddity.
Nice writeup, an interesting piece of American automotive history, great memories again.
Kaiser..one of the many victims of the Jeep curse.
Was that Continental six really bad? I believe Kaiser-Willys redesigned it to make the OHC Tornado back in 1962. After US production stopped in 65, the facilities were sent over to Argentine, where it kept going until 1981. The South American version had two displacements (182 and 230 c.i.) and was used by several vehicles: the Jeep, the old Station Wagon, the Gladiator wagon and pick-up truck. However, their best success was the Torino, a 64 Rambler American restyled by Pininfarina and sold for 16 years. In 73 the engine got seven main bearings to withstand the harsh punishment of cross-country and road racing usage.
The Tornado OHC six was a bit odd in that there were only six lobes on the camshaft, the same cam profile was used by both intake and exhaust valves! I don’t know much else about those motors, the only one I’ve ever seen was in a junked early Wagoneer. (Those old Wagoneers also had a really wacky torsion-bar independent front suspension as on option.)
Chrysler never used Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels. They were made by the other wire wheel company supplying Detroit: Motor Wheel Corp. And there were two styles; long spoke to outer rim for Plymouth and Dodge and short spoke showing more gleaming rim for the DeSoto and Chrysler. All Mopars except the Imperials had the same bolt pattern as Kaiser which was 5bolt on 4.5″ circle. This Kaiser is riding on Motor Wheel brand wire wheels and were first offered at Chrysler Corp. dealers in 1951. Great appearance in a two door.
I have read that Kaiser was trying to make a deal with GM to use Oldsmobile OHV V8s as an option. That would have made these cars performers but GM nixed the contract.
A little late but if reading this post you have the itch…
(not mine by the way)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1954-Kaiser-Manhattan-2dr-/280900236275?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4166f573f3#ht_500wt_1182
Does anyone here know if the 52/53 rear bumper guard is different from the ’54? Perhaps the width or the profile where it meets the bumper? Thanks!
I saw a ’54 or ’55 Manhattan in a car show when I was probably 8 years old and was immediately smitten. It’s been one of my favorites ever since, though I’ve never seen one “in the wild”. Just that one in a show and another in a museum.
As pointed out these were not inexpensive and competed with Olds, Buick and DeSoto, all which had modern OHV V-8’s by 1954. The old Continental 6 just didn’t cut it, supercharged or not. Hudson had the same problem by 1954 as well. Mid priced buyers wanted V-8’s and didn’t give these sixes a second glance. I would guess the dealer network was also thin and the public was wary of a seven year old brand. Love the styling though.
I believe that Mr.Kaiser once quipped that you could sell anything if you slap a “Buick” nameplate on it. Well, he couldn’t do that, so why not a Buick grille?
Anyone who is interested in Kaiser’s history should read Richard Langworth’s Kaiser-Frazer: the Last Onslaught on Detroit book. It’s a fascinating and detailed history of the cars and all the drama that occurred at the corporate level, along with an overview of the entire US car market after WWII. It’s a five star read.
If I’d been in the market for a new car back then….Kaiser or Studebaker? Both good looking cars. Kaiser would get the nod for its interior, but the Stude had a V8. Decisions, decisions….
Nice looking car I doubt any were sold here, my parents were in the market for a new car in 54 but the entire CKD production for Chevrolets was already sold so they spent their foreign exchange on a new Vauxhall, 1954 was the first year NZ saw any new Fords from the US since 52 so I dont reckon anyone wangled a licence for any Kaisers new cars were very hard to source during those times of strict currency control.
I’ve been wondering lately about the “If only Kaiser had more money….” explanation.
They coulda hada V8 the same way they hada 6, by outsourcing. Lycoming made a light powerful V8 with a Cord pedigree. Joe Frazer owned what was left of Graham, and Graham owned some of Cord’s leftovers. Seems like he could have finagled a licensing deal if the boss had wanted it that way.
Different body styles? Crosley was able to offer a coupe, convertible, wagon/panel, and pickup, with much less money and much less engineering workforce.
Make the Kaiser and Frazer look more distinct? Kaiser finally did it in ’51, and the result was excellent. They did it as a desperate cost-saving measure to use up leftover ’50 chassis and inner bodies. So it was certainly possible in the early years when they had more capital available.
I have a book titled “The Last Onslaught On Detroit” about the rise and fall of Kaiser Motors. According to the author, the biggest reason for the multitude of sales-killing mistakes was Henry Kaiser thinking he knew more about the car business than Joe Frazer.
These are gorgeous cars. Particularly like the taillights, what a work of art! These cars weight about 3,000lbs but it was said that they rode as good as cars weighting 4,500lbs, a testament to their basic good design. It’s too bad they didn’t at least have a V-8 option, and for sure a hardtop, convertible and wagon model would have brought a lot more sales. It seems like most of the independents in the early ’50s were quite short-sighted.
Nice write up about one of the most distinctively styled cars of the 1950’s. There might have been a secondary reason for that necker’s nob. I remember reading a contemporary road test that mentioned that steering effort on these cars was inordinately high, despite their comparatively light weight. The nob would have been sorely needed in low speed operation and/or parallel parking.
Here’s a shot a of a two door I saw at a cruise night in 2013 that’s slightly older than the feature car. In order to overcome the low power of the flathead six, the owner plugged in a 331 Cadillac V-8 of similar vintage. This engine swap was done by him in the early 1960’s and he has owned the car ever since.
And the Caddie mill. Looks factory, hey?
In the 70’s & 80’s the factory I worked in there was a guy who had a barnfull of Kaisers, Frazers, Henry J’s and Allstates. Must have been 25 to 30 of them. I have often wondered what happened to them.
A little known fact is they had an automotive assembly plant in Portland, Oregon. Another is the 1914 Ford plant to assemble Model T’s which is today owned by the county.. Both would make good CC articles
I believe the driver’s side rear door did not open on these cars, something to do with the spare tire. Another reason for the low sales.
That was true for rear passenger door on the ’48-50 Traveler sedan, based on the original KF body; these cars had the spare tire recessed under the floor, as you can see in the ad image above.
They are beautiful cars, inside and out, but really let down by the lack of body styles and a V-8 for this price class. Money that went to the Henry J could have gone to those items, but IIRC correctly, Kaiser was committed to developing a small car as part of an RFC loan.
With a V-8, and no Henry J, they also could have kept a truly high-end Frazer in the market, but only if they find the money for the necessary body changes and a larger displacement – 289 wasn’t going to cut it in the top end of the market.
The 2016 Cadillac ELR has Kaiser inspired tail lights?
Actually, Kaiser did manufacture a convertible. Built in 1954 and named for the designer, the Kaiser Darrin boasted a fiberglass body before the Chevrolet Corvette. The Kaiser Darrin featured sliding pocket doors to access the two-seat cabin. Incidentally, my great-grandfather owned a Kaiser built Henry J.
In 1955 my Dad bought a 1951 Kaiser and even though it didn’t have a V8; that six was a great engine. We took it on a vacation trip to Oregon from Minnesota and he was surprised to get 25-26 mpg at 70mph with the overdrive and the aerodynamics. This after getting 14-15 mpg with the flathead V8 fords he had; he really liked the Kaiser and said it was the best car he ever owned.
The Kaiser name is being resurrected – in a way. Ssangyong Motors next-generation Chairman is going to be renamed Chairman Kaiser. I’d love to see it sold here.
Fascinating and very attractive car! I tend to prefer the four door a bit – higher end coupes were supposed to be hardtops by the early 50s. One detail that always bothered me was the furrowed eyebrow windshield. The period correct accessory visor works for me and hides that feature.
Oh, I’d love to get hold of one of those Traveller coupes. Maaad. 🙂
My father had a Henry J for years. Unique car. It had faux alligator upholstery.
Great article! These 51-55 Kaisers are unique in their styling. They should have put the Sun Goddess hardtop in production. Anyway here is my take at a 54 hardtop, using the standard backlight and chopping the windshield and A-pillars just a bit in true coupe fashion (excuse the absence of vent windows). The extra side trim was actually a 55-restyle proposal shown to me by Geoffrey Hacker from Undiscovered Classics.
I’ve always felt that the Kaisers were the best looking (along with ’53 Studebaker 2 doors) early 50s cars on the U.S. market. “Dutch” Darrin’s styling has held up very well over the decades.
It is to bad, fatally $o, that a V-8 was not available to allow them to engage in the growing HP/$ale$ race.
A family friend in the early 50s did have one of the Fraser Travelers. As a very young child that opening rear was fascinating; much more attractive than my dad’s ’49 (?) Jeep, a total box that rode like a Studebaker..WAGON! I still remember the harsh ride along with the pathetic HVAC system in the Jeep.
However, back to the facelifted Kaiser; personally as a Industrial Designer, I prefer the original-as designed-backlite versus the later 3 pc. version. That reminds me too much of some Ramblers of a few years later. The modified front with its Buick “inspired” headlight bezel, massive grill and hood scoop are pretty much a nice look. The faux hood scoop doesn’t do much for the overall clean design though. OTOH the tailight assembly is a beautiful piece of modern sculpture that flows gracefully into the rear bumper.
Very interesting; thanks for the look at sleek piece of late 40s design work! 🙂 DFO.