These are Exceptional Kaiser cars from 1948-1954

      Here is a lineup of beautiful cars. Kaiser was well ahead of the times, perhaps too far ahead of the rest of the pack. You may not be old enough to have ever seen cars of the late forties and early fifties, but these shown in the pictures below are far beyond what the Ford, Chrysler and Chevrolet corporations were making. This first picture is a 54 sedan. Styling was longer, wider and more streamlined than the big 3 cars. Henry J Kaiser steel company made more ships for the navy in World War Two than all the rest of the shipbuilding companies in the U.S. So many in fact that they couldn't make up enough names for them; they just had numbers. Kaiser was one of the earliest to venture into health care. Kaiser was perhaps the best industrialist in our history. His car company was run out of business by Chevrolet and Ford by selling cars at less than it cost to build them and super aggressive sales tactics.

      This is the 1947-48 Kaiser Traveler. Was this the first vehicle that was a passenger car with built in hatchback and a camping ready vehicle? I think so.

      This is the 1949 that looks to me to be the original mini-van, nearly 20 years before the first Dodge mini-van. The rear seats folded down flat, another first?

      This is a 1954 Kaiser Darrin sports car. It has a fiberglass body and 6 cylinder engine. According to Hagerty car valuation service, this car that sold for $3200 in 1954 is now worth $186,000 in top condition. $92,000 in good condition and $56,800 in barely fair condition. Not bad for a car that sold for $3,200 in 1954. There were only 435 ever made.

      This is the interior of the 1952 Kaiser with the very first padded dash. I would enjoy having a car with that much interior room. Kaiser was also the first company to offer leather seats in its cars.

Copyright Bill Weber 2019 and beyond.