1953 Kaiser Manhattan

Kaiser was a new automobile company that started production after World War II and made cars in America from 1947 to 1955. This niche brand was launched by two entrepreneurs, Henry Kaiser, an industrialist and shipbuilder with solid financial backing, and his partner George Frazer, who together were able to exploit the burgeoning post-war demand for new automobiles while the pre-war monoliths were struggling to re-establish their brands. Kaiser-Frazer leased a vast but vacant auto-plant from Ford and the Kaiser automobile was born.

Unfortunately, Kaiser's passenger car business was in decline by 1953. The company responded by eliminating body styles and giving new models minor, styling changes, such as the addition of a chrome strip on the top of the rear fenders to create miniature tailfins. Promotional materials of the time touted the car's oversize, self-centering brakes, Safety-First lighting, and wraparound bumpers.

Built from 1953 -1955, only 4,109 Manhattans were produced by the small and independent auto company, Kaiser-Frazer, before it was elbowed out of the market by the Big Three. Deemed the 'safest car around,' they were the last of the Kaiser-Frazer offerings before they closed their doors in 1955.

The 1953 Kaiser Manhattan was offered as a four-door sedan with seating for six and priced at $2,650. The two-door club sedan was priced at $2,600, and the Traveler Utility Sedan at $2,750. Approximately 2,342 examples were club sedans, and 18,603 were sedans. The circa-20,945 examples of the Manhattan accounted for approximately sixty-seven percent of Kaiser's total production in 1953.

Kaiser's 1953 model lineup included the Deluxe with similar body styles to the Manhattan, with prices that ranged from $2,460 to $2,620. The Kaiser Drago was offered as a sedan with a price of $3,930, and the Kaiser Caroline had sedan and club sedan body styles with prices of $2,370 and $2,315, respectively. The Dragon rode on 7.10 x 15 tires while the others had 6.70x15 tires. The wheelbase of all 1953 Kaiser vehicles measured 118.5 inches and had an overall length of 211 inches. The engine was an L-head inline-6 with a 226.2 cubic-inch displacement, a Carter two-barrel carburetor, solid valve lifters, four main bearings, and it delivered 118 horsepower at 3,650 RPM. A three-speed manual transmission with column controls was standard in all models. The Hydra-Matic was a $179 option, and the Overdrive added $107 to the base price.

The styling of the Deluxe and Manhattan were similar, with the Manhattan's distinguished by a higher level of trim and standard accouterments. They had dart-shaped window sill moldings, bumper wing caps, fender skirts with chrome moldings and full wheel discs, and a chrome side spear traversing from fender to fender. Series nameplate identification was installed on the trailing edge of the front fender sides.

Both the Manhattan and the Deluxe had concealed hinges on the rear deck, a chrome strip on the tops of the rear fenders resulting in a small tailfin, and wider chrome caps on the headlights. Standard amenities included Safety-First lighting, wraparound bumpers, large, self-centering brakes, and glove compartments.