1954 Kaiser Darrin Sport Convertible

The rich and colorful history of the auto industry is filled with stories of vast fortunes made by daring entrepreneurs and swaggering industrialists. The decades are also littered with tales of crushed dreams; of hotshot executives long on hubris but short of cash; of can't miss designers who flew too close to the sun. In 1946 Kaiser-Frazer set up shop as an automaker in Ford's former Willow Run B-17 factory.

The Kaiser-Darrin, a boldly styled sports car based on the compact Henry J chassis and eponymously named after its legendary designer, Howard 'Dutch' Darrin, was introduced in 1954. Interestingly, when Dutch had originally invited Henry Kaiser himself to bless his dashing design, Henry was very unimpressed. Fortunately, Mrs. K loved the clay model and her opinion carried the day. Soon bodies from the Glasspar Boat Company in California were enroute to Michigan for final assembly. Notable Darrin features include a uniquely shaped grille and sliding 'pocket' doors that roll forward into the front fenders.

Actually, the Darrin was America's first production car with a fiberglass body. It beat the somewhat better-known Corvette to market by one month, but having to go toe-to-toe with GM's young 'Vette was a most formidable challenge. Priced higher but giving up 60 horsepower, Darrin sales soon faltered. Dutch Darrin attempted to rescue his namesake marque but it was all for naught and in the end only 435 cars were ever built. This car was discovered languishing in a barn in 2011, where it had sat since 1971.