(EXPANDED FROM 5/7/2021)
I only needed to quickly double-check a fact when I reached for Richard Langworth’s book, Kaiser-Frazer: The Last Onslaught on Detroit. A few hours later I finally pulled myself away from it.
The book just sucked me in. That’s partly because Kaiser-Frazer’s story is surprisingly fascinating — and important to understanding the postwar U.S. auto industry. However, I was also reminded that The Last Onslaught is one of the best auto histories in my library.
The Last Onslaught has a similar format to histories Langworth published on the Hudson, Studebaker and Chrysler/Imperial brands. However, the Kaiser-Frazer book is easily the best of the bunch in its depth. His subsequent books have a more downsized and formulaic quality.
That said, any of these early Langworth books offer more substantive analysis than what you can now find at the likes of Amazon.com (go here for further discussion). The current fad seems to be oversized coffee-table books with lots of big pictures, splashy color and breezy text that never strains a fanboy’s intellect, let alone his tribalistic loyalties. An all-too-typical example is Patrick Foster and Tom Glatch’s (2024) The Complete Book of AMC Cars: American Motors Corporation 1954-1988.
The definitive old-fashioned automotive history book
In contrast, Langworth presented exhaustive research in a well-organized and nuanced manner. This is not the Reader’s Digest version of Kaiser-Frazer’s history. The almost 300-page book presents a detailed play-by-play of the automaker’s life. The text is augmented with reproductions of advertisements as well as tables that include production data and even paint codes.
The photographs are mostly black and white but unusually comprehensive. The images help bring to life key players, proposed designs and Kaiser facilities. They are presented without overshadowing the text, as is the case with Patrick Foster and Bill Tilden’s (2009) Kaiser-Frazer: 1947-1955 Photo Archive.
Also see ‘Richard Langworth’s death raises questions about auto history’s future’
We are talking about old-fashioned dense text, not the new-fangled kind that is large enough to have been borrowed from a Dick and Jane book. Of course, the format has a rather dated quality, with many pages dominated by row upon row of justified serif text without subheads, pull quotes or side bars.
If a manuscript of similar length as Langworth’s were submitted today to a major publisher of automotive histories, I could see the editor insist on cutting it by a substantial amount. That might make for easier reading, but it also would dumb it down. This brings to mind a mid-60s car magazine that reportedly referred to Ramblers as “dumb cars for dumb people.” Might that also apply to a goodly proportion of recent auto history books?
A balanced but tough-minded journalistic exercise
Langworth’s analytical approach might be best described as business journalism. The Last Onslaught does not possess the theoretical sophistication of the best scholarly books, but it also doesn’t appear to suffer from niggling fact errors that can result when the writer is not a car buff (go here for further discussion).
The Last Onslaught was published in 1975, so Langworth was able to interview a wide range of direct participants who were still alive. Aaron Severson (2013) suggested in a Curbside Classic comment that the book more heavily reflected the views of those around Joseph Frazer because the Kaiser contingent didn’t make themselves available for interviews. Langworth (2013) dropped by to offer a clarification — only upper management didn’t talk and the book’s conclusion “recognizes the position of both sides.”
Also see ‘The 1949 Kaiser-Frazer’s new body styles showed the limits to innovation’
My sense is that Langworth exercised decent journalistic skills in presenting a balanced assessment of Kaiser-Frazer’s demise. He was both sympathetic but also tough-minded in his conclusions. For example, he argued that Kaiser was innovative in its overseas activities after U.S. passenger-car production was halted in 1955. However, Langworth pointed to lavish overspending and Henry Kaiser’s disregard for the expertise of seasoned auto industry experts that co-founder Joe Frazer brought into the company.
Langworth concluded that the “crux of the matter is that to the Kaisers, K-F was pure venture — to this day Edgar Kaiser still refers to it this way — while to the Frazer side it was a very serious business to be run in a very serious, conservative way. To this extent, the partnership of Henry and Joe was star-crossed” (p. 238).
Langworth’s analysis is colored by 1970s groupthink
Given how long ago this book was written, Langworth’s overall analysis has held up remarkably well. However, some of his conclusions strike me as colored by the Detroit groupthink prevalent in the 1970s. For example, he wrote that the lack of a V8 was “without a doubt the single most important factor in the sales decline after 1950” and that with that engine “the company would certainly have survived longer than they did” (p. 238).
I don’t reject Langworth’s perspective but suggest here that industry dynamics were more complex and even somewhat contradictory. In Kaiser-Frazer’s case, the automaker arguably could have gotten by just fine without a V8 through the mid-50s — and perhaps even the entire decade — if its entry-level, high-volume models had been no larger and heavier than a late-40s Studebaker Champion. That would have been a pragmatic way to achieve company co-founder Henry Kaiser’s reported goal of producing a more efficient car for the “common man.”
That said, Langworth made a useful point in his conclusion that Kaiser-Frazer could have saved money if it had followed Dutch Darrin’s advice to develop a more compact car based on the automaker’s existing platform rather than a brand-new one used for the ill-fated Henry J (p. 238). The friendly amendment I would offer is that a proposed 110-inch wheelbase sedan — a Champion competitor — could have been even more important (go here for further discussion).
An important book that has a worthy successor
I should acknowledge that my take on The Last Onslaught may be colored by this being one of the first auto history books I bought as a teenager. So when I leaf through it now I am invariably reminded of my youthful enthusiasm for cars. But then my inner 10 year old once again complains that I didn’t become a car designer, so it’s a bitter-sweet experience.
I would also admit that my nostalgic attachment to this book has contributed to my slowness in reviewing Jack Mueller’s Built To Better The Best: The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation History (2005). This looks like a promising successor to The Last Onslaught because it balances offering a more modern format with an admirably exhaustive historical analysis.
So perhaps I can have a modicum of hope that The Last Onslaught could inspire a new generation of writers to stop aiding and abetting the dumbing down of automotive history. Even so, finding a good publisher can be a huge stumbling block. Langworth’s first book was part of the Automobile Quarterly Library Series. Alas, that media outfit is no more.
Mueller’s book may look impressive, but it states that only 1,000 copies were published by M.T. Publishing Company, which specializes in “commemorative” books. I’m glad they exist, but such a small print run is hardly going to set the world on fire . . . or even the auto history community.
Kaiser-Frazer: The Last Onslaught on Detroit
- Richard M. Langworth; 1975
- Princeton Publishing, Princeton, NJ
“The car that did evolve was a pod-shaped affair resembling an overturned bathtub, with wrap-around bumpers covering the sides as well as the front and rear ends. Access was had by lifting the whole upper shell, which was hinged on one side. Though sources state that FRP (fiberglass-reinforced plastic) was to be used in production versions, the prototype was made of plaster of Paris. ‘Kaiser,’ said one reporter, ‘is probably the only man in the world who owns a plaster of Paris automobile that runs.’ In addition to f.w.d., the plaster car utilized torsion bar suspension along lines Gregoire had set down.” (p. 31)
“‘He wanted to build 200,000 cars in 1949,’ Frazer said, ‘which I said couldn’t be done. I calculated that at that budget we’d lose about $36 million. I had put up half the collateral on the first loan ($20 million from the Bank of America in 1948) personally. I refused to go on any more. It was a pretty hot meeting — names were called and a few other things. I said we had to get economy minded. Henry wouldn’t see it, so we parted.'” (p. 106)
“By any yardstick except price the Aero-Willys was a fine little automobile, possibly the most successful of the Fifties compacts in its excellent combination of refined, clean styling and thoughtful engineering. Its price wasn’t in line with that of the Henry J, but it was substantially below that of the Nash Rambler, and dealers said they thought the reputation of the rugged Jeep was favorably rubbing off on passenger car sales.” (p. 208)
OTHER REVIEWS:
RE:SOURCES
- Foster, Patrick R. and Tom Glatch; 2024. The Complete Book of AMC Cars: American Motors Corporation 1954-1988. Motorbooks, Beverly MA.
- Foster, Patrick R. and Bill Tilden; 2009. Kaiser-Frazer: 1947-1955 Photo Archive. Iconografix, Hudson, WI.
- Langworth, Richard M.; 1979, 1993. Studebaker 1946-1966: The Classic Postwar Years. Motorbooks International, Osceola, WI.
- ——–; 1993. Chrysler & Imperial 1946-1985: The Classic Postwar Years.Motorbooks, Minneapolis, MN.
- ——–; 1993. Hudson 1946-1957: The Classic Postwar Years. Motorbooks International, Osceola, WI.
- ——–; 2013. Commentator in “Zebra Fur And Lion Pelts? Polar Bear Hides And Grizzly Fur? 1951 Kaisers Show Off Exotic Interiors.” Curbside Classic. Posted 10:01 a.m., Oct. 5.
- Mueller, Jack; 2005. Built To Better The Best: The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation History. M.T. Publishing Company, Evansville, Indiana.
- Severson, Aaron; 2013. Commentator in “Zebra Fur And Lion Pelts? Polar Bear Hides And Grizzly Fur? 1951 Kaisers Show Off Exotic Interiors.” Curbside Classic. Posted 2:19 p.m, Jan. 20.
This review was originally posted on March 26, 2013 and expanded on May 7, 2021 and Jan. 27, 2026.
Thanks very much for the kind words, always hard to come by. It really was fun to do, because so many princpals were still alive.
Richard, the interviews really add to the book. But so does the obvious passion that you felt in doing the research. I’m not talking about the fanboi type, but rather the desire to really dig into a topic and present it in a nuanced way.
My general sense is that the American auto history field could use revitalization. Fortunately, it’s not like we have to reinvent the wheel. Classics like your book show what can be done.
What is the story behind talks in 1958 between Kaiser-Jeep and Rover? What would have each side gained had they either merged, Rover brought out Jeep to prevent British rivals from gaining a licencing agreement with Kaiser-Jeep or in a similar vein to Romney’s ideas for AMC/Studebaker-Packard, the two companies entered into what can only be described as one of the first international alliances or joint-ventures in production and design?
The problem with going small is quality and features go down faster than price. Nash hit the sweet spot early with the Rambler and got a head start on the others. Willys did have the right size car in the Aero. They already had the pre war Americar and earlier and had real experience in this market. I don’t know if they should have cranked out a 1946 Americar, and instead come out with a postwar styled and engineered car for 1948, However such a car would be at least give the dealers somethig to sell in a seller’s market.
Nash hit the “sweet spot” because the first Ramblers were not sold on price. They were well-equipped for a vehicle of that time. The initial body styles were upscale – a convertible, hardtop coupe and station wagon (no el cheapo two-door sedans or business coupes).
As a result, the first Ramblers were not less expensive than the larger Chevrolets, Fords and Plymouths.
That was a bold move, because the “more-money-buys-more-size” mentality was more ingrained in buyers in the early 1950s than it is today.
You’re right, Geeber. I can’t think of any similar cars to pattern on. What were they aiming at, a second car for the Pontiac or DeSoto owner?
Mason pitched the Rambler as a second car for well-to-do families (during an era when even many middle-class families only had one vehicle).
He also pitched it as a car for working women. The Rambler is one of the earliest examples of product placement on television. On the early episodes of the old Superman series, Lois Lane drives a Nash Rambler.
May I humbly put forward “Excellence Was Expected” as a book that many have refrerred to as the quintessence of an auto history? It was interoduced in 1978 with 888 pages about Porsches and it is now four volumes, having passed through the three-volume stage. I fully overhauled the whole book when the four-volume version was undertaken.