The forties and fifties Kaiser - Frazer construct cable car may have given a put on sentience of hope about the future for a company that did n’t have much of a futurity .
Kaiser - Frazer Corporation lost about $ 100 each on some 1 million railway car establish over 10 years . That may vocalize like General Motors in the 1990s , but Kaiser - Frazer lived in the roar economy of the former forties and early fifties , when pitiable judgment was about the only obstacle to self-propelled success .
And inadequate judgment was on the dot what pressure Kaiser - Frazer to abandon the U.S. grocery after attempting just three basic railroad car pattern . ( Kaiser - Frazer also oversaw the concluding cars of Willys , which it acquired in 1953 . )
Kaiser - Frazer was formed in 1945 as an alignment between Henry J. Kaiser , the rapid - flack building and shipbuilding tycoon , and auto - industry sales veteran soldier Joseph W. Frazer , who ’d late become president of moribund Graham - Paige .
Both wanted to build new postwar cars . Frazer lacked the money but had ample experience ; Kaiser had tons of money but no know - how . After discusssions , Joe Frazer signed on as Kaiser - Frazer chairman , with Henry K. as chairman .
After get up $ 12 million ( total initial capitalisation was $ 52 million ) , they purchased Ford ’s 2.7 - million - square - foot wartime hero flora at Willow Run , Michigan – the world ’s largest factory under one cap – and take intent and engineering natural endowment by the boatload . As production got run low in June 1946 , Kaiser - Frazer people feel , as one functionary afterward recalled , " as if there was n’t anything we could n’t do . "
And indeed , Kaiser - Frazer could do no wrong – for a while . Though conventionally engineered , the launching 1947 - 48 Kaisers and Frazers were tonic and appealing against most competition ' warm - over prewar cars . Prices were plastered , yet Kaiser - Frazer overleap to one-eighth in industry sales within a twelvemonth , prompt some to call it the " postwar wonder company . "
Yet though all seemed amicable between Joe and Henry , Kaiser shortly started supersede Frazer ’s people with his own . By 1949 he hold everything from the boardroom to the factory flooring .
Which is how Henry was able to mandate 200,000 auto for 1949 over Joe ’s vehement remonstration . know that Kaiser - Frazer could offer only facelifts against mostly all - new Big Three designs , Frazer wanted to construct few 1949s , then come back strong with stunning all - newfangled model then being planned for 1950 .
But at one memorable board get together , Henry declared , " The Kaisers never retrench ! " With that , Frazer quit and Henry appoint his own Logos Edgar as president . Henry got his 200,000 cars , but sell only 60,000 and lose $ 30.3 million , then tightlipped to a U.S. record for a company of that size .
This miscalculation had two ultimate results : the remainder of the Frazer nameplate and a six - month holdup in launching the new 2d - generation Kaiser , which bowed in spring 1950 for fashion model - class 1951 . Until then , Kaiser - Frazer bear on out 1949 leftovers very tardily despite large discounts . Some were reserialed as " 1950 " models ; about 10,000 others were transformed into 1951 Frazers via novel front and rearward sheetmetal .
Find out how this affect the 1951 model line by continuing to the next pageboy .
For more on concept cars and the production models they forecast, check out:
1951 Kaiser Concept Cars
It ’s a respectable thing someone at the companionship was thinking enough ahead to produce 1951 Kaiser construct cars , because it was about all Kaiser - Frazer could do to produce a lightly modify 1951 Kaiser assembly line after company founders Henry Kaiser and Joe Frazer split .
But the company was never inadequate of ideas on how to make the old stuff seem new . These get mainly from Kaiser - Frazer Styling principals Bob Cadwallader , Herb Weissinger , and Arnott B. " Buzz " Grisinger , all recruit from Chrysler , plus the able Cliff Voss and Milwaukee - establish consultant Brooks Stevens .
Between them , these five conspire countless facelifts on the original 1947 body , plus variations including hardtop coupes , two - door convertibles , fastbacks , and even Mrs. Henry Wood - trimmed sedans .
Two pioneering styles , the hatchback sedan and four - door " hardtop , " did see yield in the 1949 - 1950 Kaiser line ( as the Traveler / Vagabond utilities and hardtop Virginian ) and as 1951 Frazer models . Kaiser and Frazer also offered America ’s first postwar four - door convertible security , but these were just cut - down sedans done on the cheap .
Like Kaiser - Frazer ’s first - generation cars , the look of the rakish young 1951 Kaiser was largely owed to the renowned Howard A. " Dutch " Darrin , another consultant who carry the sidereal day over marriage proposal from both Stevens and the in - house team . Weissinger and Grisinger finalise things like bumpers , hood ornament , and grille , but the long , low shape was virtuous Darrin . Sleek and beautiful , the 1951 Kaiser had no purpose peer among Detroit sedans for a good five years .
Because Joe Frazer and his namesake car were still around during developent , the new Kaiser was also planned as a Frazer – again , a more luxurious and expensive interpretation with somewhat unlike styling . Weissinger , who also supervised the 1951 Frazer restyle , envisioned a complex eggcrate grille a la 1947 - 1950 , placed low on the unexampled Darrin consistence .
Toward 1949 , however , it was decided to postpone the second - wave Frazer until 1952 . At one point , Weissinger seek grafting the 1951 Frazer front onto the new Kaiser shell , which would have been ghastly .
But none of this mattered in the oddment . With Joe Frazer about to lead after being reduced to the nonmeaningful position of card vice - chairperson , the Frazer line was deemed unnecessary after 1951 and did not regress .
To learn about the gradual demise of Kaiser over the next few twelvemonth , keep take on the next page .
1952-1955 Kaiser Concept Cars
The 1952 - 1955 Kaiser conception machine initiative was build mostly on false promises . The hastily designed " Anatomic " Kaiser did care a strong 139,000 sales for 1951 , ( help by a six - month jump on the competition ) , but that belied the fate of the 1952 - 1956 Kaiser .
The brand rack up just 32,000 sales for 1952 despite a heavy facelift by Kaiser - Frazer Styling ( with many ideas from renowned consultant Brooks Stevens left fresh ) . Sales skidded again for 1953 , thudding at 28,000 .
There were two big problems . First , Kaiser still had only an anaemic six to counter the stiff overhead - valve V-8s of most rivals . Kaiser - Frazer was work on a V-8 , but could n’t afford to produce it because of the 2nd problem : money squandered on the unhappy Henry J compact .
To some extent , the " Anatomic " also suffered from offering just two- and four - door sedan chair , hatching and non - hatch . Not that Kaiser - Frazer did n’t view other body styles while cash in hand were healthy .
A propose hardtop coupe , dub " Sun Goddess " by styler Alex Tremulis , was actually constructed from a 1951 two - doorway . Basically stock from the beltline down , it carry an attractive pillarless roofline with loosely wind backlight .
Also , the great 1930s coachbuilder Ray Dietrich oversaw the conversion of several 1951 coupe ( some sources say as many as six ) into convertibles concepts for 1952 and beyond . But again , there just was n’t enough money .
Kaiser was thus squeeze to rely on facelifts , plus interesting trimming options like the colorful " Dragon " serial , to get through each twelvemonth . Somehow , though , money was find for a 1954 update boasting a wide concave grille , wrapped rearward window , and three - sided " Safety - Glo " tail lamp with auxiliary red lenses atop the fenders . Herb Weissinger was again responsible for a outstandingly adept Kaiser - Frazer restyle .
But by that point , metre had run out . Despite a new performance - supercharge supercharger option , Kaiser sold just 8,539 of its 1954 models . After scramble to build just 1,291 of the virtually unaltered 1955s , management decide to abandon the U.S. rider - car market to reduce solely on Jeep vehicle ( acquired with the Willys takeover ) .
The concluding proposed Kaiser facelift was a garish , two - toned involvement for 1955 . Also left stillborn was a complete makeover planned for 1956 .
Learn about how Kaiser live on overseas by persist in to the next page .
Kaiser Carabela Concept Car
Kaiser ’s last U.S. products were for the 1955 role model twelvemonth , but the nameplate was far from finished . The Kaiser Carabela still had a future overseas , and with that future came a Kaiser Carabela concept car proposal for 1960 .
presently after throw in the States , the indomitable Henry Kaiser visited Argentina to talk with dictator Juan Peron about starting a local auto party . This became Industrias Kaiser Argentina AS ( IKA ) , which was put under James McCloud , Edgar Kaiser ’s brother - in - constabulary .
From 1958 through 1962 , IKA sell a 1954 - 1955 Kaiser Manhattan as the Kaiser Carabela ( for caravelle , the ship ) at the rate of about 3,000 a year . Save modest trim change and a reprieve toughened to handle rough Argentine road , it was monovular to the last American Kaisers right down to its 115 - horsepower 226 - three-dimensional - inch flathead six .
The supercharger option was n’t offered . Neither was reflex ; the only transmission available being a three - speeding manual .
It ’s a protection to designer Dutch Darrin ’s " Anatomic " styling that the Carabela endure so long . It might have survive even longer , for ideas were afoot as latterly as 1960 to give it novel life . That ’s when no less than Darrin himself was expect to devise a facelift .
He produced two concepts , one mild , the other Thornton Niven Wilder . The more ceremonious involved just a modestly lipped windscreen coping , heavy front buffer / door molding , and a chrome strip flow back from the front wheel above the rocker panels . Darrin bemock this up on an early 1954 Kaiser Special ( which lacked the wraparound rear window of the " late " 1954 U.S. models ) .
The more ambitious proposal would have looked very nice indeed . This involve new front sheetmetal with dispirited fenders and lens hood slop down to a extensive U - shaped radiator grille with a unproblematic horizontal bar , flank by quad headlights . direction was favourably disposed , but decide sale were insufficient to warrant the tooling disbursal .
Still , the Kaiser was n’t dead . Back in Toledo , where Henry had remediate to build Jeeps after selling off Willow Run , James Anger of Product Development had concluded that only the Carabela ’s superstructure needed updating .
picture a squared - up " formal " style like that of contemporary Ford Thunderbirds , he actually make a epitome using an older Manhattan saloon , posture the new roof in fiberglass and side windows in Plexiglas . If something of a mismatch against the rounded lower soundbox , the new top did n’t expect too bad and achieved a considerable increase in looking glass field , which was already good .
But as in America , all these " extensions " were doomed for lack of sufficient sale volume to justify tooling costs , and the Carabela was drop after 1962 because the old die had only worn out .
Just before Henry Kaiser sell his interest to the local in 1965 , IKA began selling a facelifted 1964 Rambler American , called Torino , which enjoyed good success into the 1980s . IKA afterwards build Renaults under license and was eventually acquired by that Gallic car manufacturer .
Renault afterward sell out to Ford Argentina , which thus inherit the locally build civilian versions of the military Jeep , like to what Ford Dearborn had built during World War II – testify , perhaps , that what proceed around , add up around .
Another notable model for Kaiser was the Henry J , which can be found on the next Sir Frederick Handley Page .
Kaiser-Frazer Henry J Concept Car
One of the postwar full point ’s more notable thickset cars could have been more than the dumpy lump it was if its maker had follow though on an alternative Kaiser - Frazer Henry J conception car .
Back in early 1950 , the Kaiser - Frazer Henry J arrive as America ’s second postwar compact . Though far less successful than Nash ’s Rambler , which came a bit earlier , the Henry J at least stabilized Kaiser - Frazer ’s then shaky pecuniary resource for a fourth dimension .
Company co - founder Henry Kaiser had predict a young gondola all Americans could yield , which is why he was capable to borrow $ 69 million from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in 1949 . While $ 25 million was destined to finance Kaiser - Frazer ’s heavy stock list of remnant 1949 models , Washington OK’d the loan because some $ 12 million was reserve for the novel compact .
The Henry J promised sturdiness and miserable operating price , which it delivered . But like other Kaiser - Frazer modeling , it was , for various reasons , relatively expensive – only a footling less costly than a " full - sizing " Ford or Chevy .
That made gross sales tough , and the market was quickly slaked anyway . From a good for you 80,000 for 1951 , book soak up to just 1,123 by 1954 , after which the model was dropped .
Styling was also a agent , for the Henry J was anything but endearing : a pudgy - looking two - door fastback sedan with little Cadillac - mode tailfins and a front - ending vaguely like the 1951 Frazer ’s . Yet it might have been much prettier . interior decorator Dutch Darrin had purport something like his sensational 1951 Kaiser , which was being evolve at the same clock time , with standardized " Anatomic " styling on the 100 - column inch wheelbase .
Darrin built a prototype at his Santa Monica , California , studios by sectioning 18 column inch from a 1951 Kaiser cabaret coupe . Though it looked far well than what appeared in showrooms , management feel the Henry J should look " new " – meaning different – and thus chose the clunky 1951 - 54 styling , which really came from a Kaiser - Frazer supplier .
Briefly , Kaiser - Frazer had great program for the Henry J , including a exchangeable and hardtop coupe base on the lone two - door style . Many proposal of marriage were advanced , but none reached the gathering line , though a few bargainer built convertibles out of saloon .
Also considered – and quickly desert – were a two - door post beach wagon ( which would have looked quite neat ) and a four - room access sedan ( whose rearward doors would have squeezed everyone except toddlers ) .
Had it survived , a redesigned Henry J would have appeared for 1955 per plans made in 1950 . According to former Kaiser - Frazer coach and fellowship documents , it was think to last until 1959 or 1960 .
The most basal of the proposed designs was the " 105 , " conceived for that wheelbase length by the free - think Alex Tremulis , a clothes designer recently involve with Chrysler and the Tucker . Tremulis was a champion of streamlining , and believe it would make the new Henry J truly rotatory . “Our proposal was between the [ original and the 1954 ] Kaiser - Darrin [ athletics elevator car ] in size , " he later sound out , " but with its lightness and small frontal area , it could outperform both . We figured it to return 25 mpg and yield an estimated top speed of over 100 miles per hour . The weight was only 2,500 pound . "
The introductory coupe had broad area of field glass , acutely undercut front fenders , and a pocket-sized grille , plus far more leg and chief room than the original Henry J. Tremulis later call the 105 " another Tucker – years ahead in conception and procedure . If it had been produced , in my thought , there would have been a Big Four . "
Darrin , meanwhile , never stopped push his own Henry J estimate , and some were actually mocked up . He also gain ground a victory of sorts by win over Kaiser to work up the fiberglass - incarnate two - fanny roadster he ’d designed for the Henry J chassis .
This bow down for 1954 as the Willys - powered Kaiser - Darrin ( " KDF-161 " ) , with novel sliding doors and a three - stead soft top , two patented Dutch innovations . Only 435 were build before Kaiser fled the U.S.
To learn about other rejected proposal for Kaiser - Frazer model , keep reading on the next page .
Rejected Kaiser-Frazer Concept Cars
Back in 1947 , when Kaiser - Frazer was bask great achiever in the booming postwar auto market , Milwaukee - base industrial designer Brooks Stevens gear a small car to Kaiser - Frazer . It would be just one of many rejected Kaiser - Frazer concept machine from Stevens .
Designed around a 108 - in wheelbase ( same as the 1956 Rambler ) , styling was actually a number dated and somewhat British - looking , except for the slab - sided organic structure .
This cable car nevertheless would probably have been a saleable proposition . Visibility , for representative , was splendid for the prison term , and cost and economy would have been secure selling points .
The ever - optimistic Stevens also moved forward with suggestions for updating the original 1947 Frazer . One of them , an upmarket " Town Sedan , " passably much left the sheetmetal unchanged but sported low - dead body facing that prefigure the use of anodized aluminum trim in the second one-half of the 1950s . Similar humbled - dead body two - toning would also be trendy in the 1980s .
An apparently cheaper theoretical account , the " Custom Sedan , " forsook the chrome - capped parking spark and had less bright clipping above the grille bar , but seem a act taxi - ilk in three - tone paint . The mildly ticker - shape windshield on these cars would become a pattern hallmark ( and a safety lineament ) of the completely restyled 1951 Kaisers .
And Kaiser - Frazer was serious about safety , as seen in several instrument - panel designs . Each feature a Padded top and a lower edge that sloped away from the number one wood and passenger to avail protect knees in an accident .
The speedometer and gauges were placed directly behind the steering wheel for quick , well-situated reading . The radio and utterer resided in the center of the jury for secure sound distribution .
Stevens also sketched proposals for updating the original Kaiser and Frazer front ends . As he see it , the Frazer would have a fair elaborate bumper , and just above it a extensive horizontal time slot in piazza of a grillwork . The Kaiser , picture as a impost , would abide by the same theme , except that the slot would be comprise into the bumper itself .
