October 17, 2016
Kaiser Motors in Oakland — “We sell to make friends.”
In 1946 Henry J. Kaiser Motors purchased half a square block in downtown Oakland to distribute Kaiser and Frazer automobiles and Graham Paige farm equipment.
Promo about Kaiser Frazer cars, Fore 'n' Aft, December 28, 1945
Ad for Kaiser motors showroom, Oakland, 10/15/1946
The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was Henry J. Kaiser’s venture into the post-World War II automobile industry, stagnant because civilian vehicles were not produced during the war. Pent up demand encouraged Mr. Kaiser to partner with automotive veteran Joseph Frazer and tackle a new field. K-F was founded on July 25, 1945, and its main manufacturing plant was Ford’s former Willow Run bomber plant in Michigan.
A 1945 promotional article in the Kaiser Richmond shipyard newspaper gushed:
“The Kaiser and Frazer will be the first new name cars to be introduced by a new company to the American public in more than a decade.”
1946 ad
A news item on June 21, 1946, announced that Henry J. Kaiser Motors had purchased half a square block at 23rd and Broadway in downtown Oakland for $150,000 to distribute Kaiser and Frazer automobiles and Graham Paige farm equipment. That portion of the block had been an auto dealership since at least the late 1920s. H.O. Harrison Co. sold Chryslers and Plymouths from 2321 Broadway in 1928. Later, the Remmer Brothers (1930-1931) and James F. Waters (1932) sold Desotos.
But even before the car lot was opened, the 1947 line of Kaiser and Frazer cars was premiered in the windows of the H.C. Capwell’s department store on Broadway from July through October, 1946. Banker A.P. Giannini, president of the Bank of America, was the proud first Pacific Coast owner of a Kaiser model. Small wonder – it was Giannini who introduced Kaiser and Fraser to stimulate a partnership.
Promo about Kaiser Frazer cars, Fore ‘n’ Aft, 12/28/1945
At last, Henry J. Kaiser Motors, distributors of Kaiser and Frazer cars, was formally opened to the public October 20, 1946.
By 1947 a second lot was opened a block away at 2230 Broadway, where it intersects with MacArthur Boulevard. By 1950 a third lot appeared, at 2600 Broadway – and Henry J. Kaiser and his two sons held a grand showing in the lobby of San Francisco’s elegant Fairmont Hotel.
The dealership’s slogan? “We sell to make friends.”
Kaiser was very proud of his 1950 affordable compact car, the “ Henry J.” By 1952, the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was renamed Kaiser Motors Corporation and continued building passenger cars, and in 1953 introduced a stylish sports car called the Darrin. But it wasn’t enough, and the company ground to a halt in 1955. It was one of the very few failures in Kaiser’s career. In 1953 Henry J. Kaiser had bought the famous but ailing Jeep manufacturer Willys-Overland, which he ran much more successfully until it was sold off in 1970 after his death.
Article on new Kaiser-Frazer cars, Fore ‘n’ Aft, 8/1946.
