Vehicle Description
Now here is a cat that I have chased for about ten years and finely
landed it. Rare !951 Kaiser Deluxe Sedan....... Low miles
51,831.......... Hail Kaiser Henry J Kaiser was an American
industrialist who built Victory Ships in WWII, started a famous
health plan and used his fortunes to transform the remnants of the
Graham-Paige car company into Kaiser-Frazer. After building some
safe but unattractive cars for a few years, the company hired
Howard Dutch Darrin to help add some spice to their 1951 models.
Two years later in 1953, the same year Kaiser acquired Willy's and
the Jeep brand, the Kaiser Manhattan had some of the most
distinctive styling elements from the early part of the decade. You
may remember Dutch as the guy who chopped Packard convertibles for
Hollywood stars. You can see the "Darrin Dip" like he used on the
Packard's, in the fender right behind the doors of the Manhattan.
It is echoed in the chrome trim below the side windows. Both rear
window and windscreen feature a Widow's Peak. The car also had
padded dash, a safety feature that adds a nice styling note. Only
the Studebaker Starlight Coupe had a more sleek silhouette in 1953.
Everybody else was still building pretty tubby cars.