Aero prototype photos

[MarkH]

Found some factory Aero prototype photos on ebay, bought some, excellent quality. The seller had quite a large variety listed of Aero's, VW bus type Forward Controls, Jeepsters and what looked like Kaisers to me although they were listed as Willys prototypes. One set was of an Aero with a bigger fin & unusual tail light, but the trunk had Kaiser script.
Here's a link, great stuff to look at. http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_ssn=autolit.com&item=350844752115&_osacat=0&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Willys+prototype&_sacat=0
Here's a couple I got that were listed as '54 prototypes which looks like a "split" car to me, as some others were. Love that style line, arched wheel wells & wire hubcaps, it's obvious which side they chose for '55. 
A lot of neat background details too, hubcaps on the bench, VW bus, drawings & Forward Controls

[joefrazer]

Great pictures. Did anyone else notice the damaged front fender in the lower picture? What's also interesting is what surrounds the car. Willys experimented with several van designs and had a couple running prototypes assembled. I see some wood mockups in one picture and a VW bus in another.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The pictures were taken in the last Kaiser Motors Styling Department space set up on the second floor of the Detroit Engine Division building on Detroit's east side and were taken between June 1954 and the spring of 1955.  I covered this work in various issues of KFOCI MONTHLY BULLETIN as part of the FROM THE HISTORIAN department.  Just as there were those at Ford Motor Company who wanted to create an Edsel compact car (which went into production as the Mercury Comet) there were some at Kaiser Motors who hoped that the Kaiser name could be carried on as a compact car using the Aero Willys platform.  It went so far as to create mock-ups with two different side looks for comparison.  The exercises showed how much was possible with the 3 year old design.

The attached photos show the department's last exercise, that of an alternative to the Brooks Stevens & Associates proposal for what would become the FC-series trucks.  The VW Bus was intended as a benchmark for the window van version shown in the lower photo, taken by K-F photographer Grant Ridley who was moved to the final Styling Department area before a final transfer to Toledo.  While the window van did not make production for the general public, some of that platform were made for the military.

[boatingbill]

Check out the Darrin styled front end on the prototype Willys. Rather well done.