Out of the Crib

In Detroit an anniversary went unnoted: the Kaiser-Frazer Corp. was one year old. But no cake and candles were needed to tell established automakers last week that U.S. industry's noisiest postwar baby was about ready to climb out of the crib. Even those who still scoffed at K-F's extravagant promises now looked with respect toward Willow Run.

Partners Henry Kaiser and Joe Frazer had inflated public expectations with a lot of purple publicity. They had indefinitely shelved their "startlingly different" (i.e., front-wheel drive) car. They had fallen flat on one wild production goal after another. Against a March prediction of 11,000 conventional cars by anniversary time, they actually turned out only 144.

But if K-F has worked no miracles, it has made more progress than most critics expected. Willow Run was leased in September, but it was November when they moved in. K-F was hampered not only by the same strikes and shortages that have held the motor industry's output down to 25% of schedule, but by difficulties unique to K-F (inability to buy steel, rumors of rifts between the partners).

Yet K-F was able to trundle a pilot model off its 7,954-ft. No. 1 line in May. Last week No. 1 was running under its own power and producing three cars an hour. This snail's pace, said production men, would gradually be stepped up to 60 an hour by October. Meanwhile, the No. 2 line (two more are planned) was already taking shape.

By now K-F has spent a fair chunk of the $53 million raised by two public stock issues. Having survived infancy, it was ready to walk.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.