The Kaiser-Frazer automotive adventure would have to go down in
history as one of the greatest "lost causes" of all time. Born out
of the optimism of victory in World War II, the two magnates pooled
their resources to take on the Establishment in Detroit. That they
gambled and lost is now history and the automobile world is the
richer for their efforts. Both Henry Kaiser and Joe Frazer had made
a fortune out of armament supplies for the war and decided to
tackle General Motors, Ford and Chrysler head-on once the conflict
was over. As Preston Tucker found out to his cost, this was not
something to take lightly. Starting with a clean sheet of paper
they chose well-known designer Howard Darrin to style their cars,
both would be essentially the same apart from some trim items. From
an engineering point of view, although they considered such
technically advanced ideas as front-wheel drive, torsion bar
suspension and unit construction, they opted to follow the
convention as established by the rest of the American motor
manufacturers, that is, a body-on-frame with front engine and rear
wheel drive. Only the aforementioned Tucker chose to be the
maverick. Where the rest of Detroit's offerings were merely warmed
over pre-war cars, with the exception of Studebaker, the Kaiser and
Frazers were the first of a new breed as far as styling was
concerned. Darrin successfully predicted in 1946 the coming
slab-sided style that would emerge internationally in 1950 as the
style of the future. K-F was also a pioneer in America of the
fibreglass bodied sports car when in 1953 they released the
unusually-styled Kaiser-Darrin with its sliding doors. Needless to
say the conservative American buyers did not warm to that K-F even
pioneered the hatchback concept with their Traveller range, another
feature that was ahead of its time. By the mid-50s with plummeting
sales and mounting losses K-F joined forces with Willys Overland
which doubled their range of vehicles on offer but it was not long
before car production was moved to South America where it continued
for many years. Today we have the legacy of Joe and Henry and their
automobiles and in particular the Kaiser-Darrin sports car of which
few have survived. Including are road tests, new model intros plus
historical articles. Models covered: Manhattan, four- &
six-cylinder Henry Js & Corsair, Willys Aero Wing, Ace, Eagle,
Bermuda, Excalibur & Kaiser-Darrin 161 sportscar.
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