Safety First: 1953 Kaiser brochure

Posted on Oct 18, 2019 in Featured | 2 comments

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The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was a bold upstart in the postwar era, an intriguing partnership between successful industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and veteran auto executive Joseph Frazer that would last from 1946 through 1955. The firm got off to a strong start, selling 200,000 units by early spring 1949, but demand dropped off in the early 1950s, leaving the very attractive second-generation, Howard “Dutch” Darrin/Duncan McRae-styled Kaiser struggling in the marketplace.


Model year 1953 was when Kaiser stretched in two directions in what some would call a desperate grab for market share: the Kaiser Carolina, in two-door Club Sedan and four-door Sedan forms, was a basic economy version, while the Dragon option returned as a unique luxury flagship model.


Interestingly, neither of those models were included in this sparse 1953 tri-fold brochure, which focused on the mid-level, (relatively) volume-selling DeLuxe and Manhattan. Much was made of the Kaiser’s award-winning styling and, surprisingly, its safety. The three-point seatbelt wouldn’t be invented until the end of the decade, and as Ford would learn the hard way, a few years later, a focus on occupant protection wasn’t a huge selling point in those days. Being the “world’s first Safety-first car” wouldn’t help Kaiser, which moved a meager 31,272 units that year.


Have you ever experienced a second-generation Kaiser?


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2 comments

  1. Sean Chambers

    Pretty much all domestic marques of the 1970s had their top trim level car named “Brougham”.
    And now we have far too many cars unimaginatively named SE, MK, SL, et all.

    Funny that no manufacturer as of yet has not named their vehicle SUX !!

  2. Dean Moore

    I think the trendy car in one of the robocop movies was called a SUX