
Kaiser is one of those marques that, if it was a cartoon suitcase, would be absolutely covered in stickers. Itâs been around, even if no cars have been called Kaisers since 1953. And now it looks like itâs coming back, as the nameplate on SsangYongâs all-new special edition of their luxury car, the Chairman W.
Before we talk about the latest re-incarnation of Kaiser, letâs go over just how many organizations have owned the Kaiser name so far: they started as Kaiser Motors in 1945, bought Willys-Overland and then named themselves Kaiser Jeep, which was then bought by American Motors Corporation, which was bought by Renault, which was then bought by Chrysler, which was then bought by Fiat to become Fiat Chrysler. Damn.
I donât actually think SsangYong bought the literal Kaiser name from Fiat Chrysler; according to Wardâs Auto:
Without public fanfare, Ssangyong quietly registered the name Chairman Kaiser with the Korean patent office in September.
The article continues about the name:
Asked why Ssangyong chose the Kaiser name, the spokesman says âin German it means emperor, higher than a king. And like the name âChairman,â it means dignity. It is a vehicle for people who care and have dignity. Itâs a good name.â
Advertisement
The Chairman line of cars was based on the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, but the latest generation is SsangYongâs own design, though it still uses license-built Mercedes engines and transmissions.

The Kaiser version will be a partially between a facelift and a whole new model of Chairman. I donât think any Kaiser styling cues will be used (because, again, Iâm really uncertain if they have the rights to any of the visual identifiers of the brand) but if they do, I suggest a strange little grille like the old Kaiser Darrin.
Advertisement
Oh, and those sliding doors. Those are amazing.
Contact the author at jason@jalopnik.com.