KAISER

Kaiser-Frazer Corp. (1947-1953)
Willow Run, Michigan
Kaiser-Willys Sales Corp. (1954-1955)
Toledo, Ohio

This is a Kaiser Darrin trunk emblem (1954)    mjs
Size: 76mm diameter   MM: None

The Kaiser was the creation of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and Joseph W. Frazer of Graham-Paige, who together formed the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation. Joseph W. Frazer left in 1951 after disagreements with Henry J. Kaiser. The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation also built the Henry J (see Henry J) and the Allstate (see Allstate) motor cars.

The Kaiser was planned as a low-medium-priced automobile to be produced alongside a more expensive custom automobile called the Frazer (see Frazer) offering exciting new automobile designs at the time when the major car manufacturers were still marketing their pre-war designs. The Kaiser sold well and about 140,000 cars were built during 1947 and 1948 making Kaiser the highest selling independent automobile producer ahead of Studebaker, Hudson and Nash. Kaiser introduced a number of novel ideas and innovations and some special models, including the Kaiser Darrin roadster. Only 453 Kaiser Darrin models were built.

Altogether Kaiser-Frazer produced over 747,000 cars and in 1954 Kaiser-Willys joined together to produce another 25,000 cars. The 1954 and 1955 Kaiser Manhattan was equipped with a supercharger that boosted the power of the engine from 115 hp to 140 hp. Kaiser made an articulated bus in 1946 for National Trailways and, between 1949 and 1950, Kaiser also built taxis. The Kaiser was phased out in 1955.

Emblems

The first Kaiser cars appearing in 1947 carried a large shield shaped emblem with a large letter "K" at the top and a buffalo below representing power and stability, see Kaiser brochure cover shown below:

Kaiser radiator emblem on brochure cover (1947)  ms

This Kaiser radiator emblem was mounted on the front of the hood above a chrome "Kaiser" script, see example shown below:

Kaiser hood emblem & script (1948)    ms

This is the dark green enamel, black paint and chrome Kaiser radiator emblem shown below. This Kaiser radiator emblem is scarce.

This is a Kaiser radiator emblem (1947-1948)   mjs
Size: 140mm high 97mm wide   MM: A.E.Co. (some Ross AD)

The following is an example of the Kaiser hood script:

This is a Kaiser hood script (1947-1948)    mjs
Size: 304mm wide

The Kaiser emblem for the 1949 and 1950 model years was reduced in size and set in a chrome mounting at the bottom of the hood just above the radiator grille, see example shown below:

Kaiser brochure showing the hood emblem (1950)   ms

This is the chrome finished green and black Kaiser hood emblem shown below:

This is a Kaiser radiator emblem (1949-1950)   mjs
Size: 107mm wide 93mm high     MM: Unknown

The Kaiser radiator emblem was made even smaller for the 1951 model year, see example shown below:

This is a Kaiser radiator emblem (1951)   mjs
Size: 127mm wide 72mm high     MM: ODEL

There was a complete change in the Kaiser hood emblem for the 1952 and 1953 model years, see example shown below:

Kaiser Manhattan with new hood emblem (1952) classicautomall

The following shows the new plastic "K" hood emblem mounted in a sharply pointed chrome V-base unit:

This is a Kaiser hood emblem (1952-1953)      ms

A similar plastic and metal Kaiser emblem was also mounted on the trunk lid in 1952 and 1953. For the 1954 and 1955 model years the Kaiser Manhattan did not carry a hood emblem but did carry the previous trunk lid emblem. The 1954 and 1955 Kaiser Manhattan models also displayed "Kaiser" scripts on the front of the hood and on the trunk lid, and "Kaiser Manhattan" scripts on the body sides, see example shown below:

Kaiser Manhattan showing hood and body side scripts (1954-1955)    conceptcarz

The Kaiser Manhattan was equipped with a supercharger, which boosted the engine performance. The following is a painted Kaiser Supercharger emblem from the engine:

This is a Kaiser Supercharger emblem (1954-1955)   mjs
Size: 66mm high 64mm wide   MM: None

The unique Kaiser Darrin 161 model was introduced in 1954. It had a distinctive hood and radiator grille design, see below, and did not carry a hood or radiator emblem:

Kaiser Darrin (1954)      bonhams

Some Kaiser Darrin models did display a discreet "Darrin" script below and to one side of the radiator grille, see example shown below:

Kaiser Darrin with Darrin script (1954)

A Kaiser Darrin emblem and scripts were displayed on the trunk lid, see example shown below:

Kaiser Darrin trunk emblem & scripts (1954)  supercars

This is the two-piece red, white, blue, green, black and gold painted Kaiser Darrin emblem, which is shown above at the top of this post and again below. This Kaiser Darrin trunk emblem is rare.

This is a Kaiser Darrin trunk emblem (1954)   mjs
Size: 76mm diameter  MM: None

Some Kaiser Darrin models carried a similar emblem on the hubcaps, see below:

Kaiser Darrin hub emblem (1954)   bonhams

The following shows the Kaiser Darrin steering wheel center emblem:

Kaiser Darrin steering wheel center emblem (1954)  bonhams