Kaiser Motors

Kaiser Motors (formerly Kaiser-Frazer) Corporation made automobiles at Willow Run, Michigan, United States, from 1945 until 1953.

Both Henry J. Kaiser, a California-based industrialist, and Joseph W. Frazer, CEO of Graham-Paige, wanted to get into the automobile business and pooled their resources and talents to do so.

[6] At the 1953 New York Auto Show, Kaiser-Frazer announced it would produce a fiberglass-bodied sports car called the Kaiser-Darrin-Frazer 161.

While sales were initially strong because of a car-starved public, the company did not have the resources to survive long-term competition with the "Big Three" domestic automakers.

The original Kaiser-Frazer design was distinctive and fresh, but the company could not maintain the price point for long-term success.

[13] During late 1953 and 1954, Kaiser Motors operations at Willow Run Michigan were closed down or moved to the Willys facility in Toledo, Ohio.

[14] Kaiser-Frazer worked out deals with General Motors to purchase GM Hydramatic automatic transmissions and detuned Rocket 88 engines from Oldsmobile, with deliveries starting in the 1952 model year.

The Henry J, while a reasonable idea, was restricted by the terms of a re-capitalization loan the government made to the company in the fall of 1949.

[17] Kaiser-Frazer labor agreements resulted in the company paying the highest wages of any American automaker while having a productivity rate of only 60–65% in return.

A line of "Traveler" sedans with the trunk connected to the interior of the car was an improvised attempt at marketing a model to compete with the standard station wagon designs.

By 1969, Kaiser Industries decided to leave the auto business, which was sold to American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1970.

1949 hood ornament of the Virginian
1953 Kaiser Manhattan
1952 Allstate
1953 Kaiser Custom 6
1954 Kaiser Darrin
Share of the Kaiser Motors Corp., issued 19. February 1954