Kaiser Dragon


The Kaiser Dragon was a trim option and later a model of car produced by the American Kaiser Motors Corporation. The name, Dragon, came from the vinyl upholstery claimed to resemble dragon skin.

1951

A two-page color ad that ran in Life was one of the ways the 1951 Kaisers were announced with their redesigned bodies and a new vinyl upholstery option called "Dragon skin" instead of alligator so people would not think that it was real alligator skin. The cars also had thick carpet. Then came the second series cars, named for their color and vinyl on the roof, which had a different pattern to it than the interior, and so was called Dinosaur. The last series came only in Tropical Green and were called "Jade Dragons". This option cost $125.

1953

After a year of no Dragons, the 1953 Kaiser Dragon was introduced on Oct. 31, 1952. This time, the Dragon was a separate model, not a trim option. These cars were upscale, and had many high-end standard features, such as an electric clock, a radio, a heater, a "Bambu" vinyl top that resembled bamboo, 14-karat gold plated hood and fender nameplates, interior trim, and hood ornament, plus power steering and padding in the glove box. They only came as four-door sedans.
Safety features were added to what was called "The world's first safety first car". Items like a full padded dash, a pop out windshield, recessed instruments, and a "safety angle seat" were standard. Front leg room was, with rear leg room at 39.5 inches.
These cars were expensive for the time at $3,924. Along with the expense, 0-60 mph time was a slow 15 seconds. Only 1,277 ended up being sold.