Is there one model you can't get enough of?

Every collector has certain cars that seem to exert an extra pull. For me, that usually means the orphans... the marques that disappeared, the companies that took a chance, and the cars that represent some fascinating road not ultimately taken by the auto industry. And among all of those, one model continues to get me every time: the 1951 Frazer Manhattan Convertible Sedan.

Frazer was born from the postwar partnership between industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and automotive executive Joseph W. Frazer. By 1951, however, the partnership was nearing its end, and the Frazer nameplate was living on borrowed time. For its final model year, the marque received a dramatic new look created under noted designer Howard “Dutch” Darrin. Longer, lower and much more distinctive than its predecessors, the 1951 Frazer was deliberately different from its Kaiser stablemate. The upscale Manhattan sat at the top of the range, powered by a 226-cubic-inch L-head six producing about 115 horsepower, with GM’s Hydra-Matic automatic transmission available.

The real showstopper was the Manhattan Convertible Sedan—a wonderfully improbable four-door convertible, complete with hydraulic windows and top and a suitably luxurious leather interior. It was also extraordinarily rare. Just 131 examples were produced, alongside only 152 Manhattan four-door hardtops. With a price around $3,075 (serious money in 1951) the Manhattan convertible was hardly destined for mass-market success. Frazer production ended after the 1951 model year as Joseph Frazer exited the company, although the Manhattan name itself survived, migrating to Kaiser for 1952. That combination of ambitious styling, rarity, and commercial failure makes the ’51 Frazer almost a textbook orphan and precisely the kind of automobile I find irresistible.

Fortunately, the Frazer Manhattan Convertible has also been beautifully preserved in 1:43 scale. Highway Travelers produced the car in white metal, and over time it appeared in a surprising assortment of colors. And somewhere along the way, collecting the Frazer stopped being a matter of owning one example and became a quest to find all of them. (See this earlier post when I was just getting started)

I believe I've finally done it.

My lineup now includes Aloha Green, Blue, Garden Green Metallic, Indian Ceramic, Yellow, and Mariner Gray, with the Mariner Gray car being the latest arrival.

Then there is the real oddity of the group: a striking creamy yellow and black factory-made version that is marked one of only two produced. I picked that one up from the Tom Nathan collection. And while it certainly wins the rarity contest, interestingly enough, it isn't my favorite.

That distinction goes to Indian Ceramic. It's difficult to describe the color without seeing it, somewhere in that unmistakably period coral/salmon family, and it looks unlike almost anything you'd expect to see on a modern automobile. Indian Ceramic was an actual Kaiser-Frazer color name, which makes the miniature that much more appealing to me. It's quirky, slightly flamboyant and completely of its time. In other words, it's perfect for a Frazer. Here's a great pic that John Merritt took of his, which served as my inspiration to find one.

And maybe that's the fun of collecting. Sometimes it isn't about checking another make or model off the list. Sometimes one particular car keeps calling you back, and suddenly you realize you own it in six colors, seven colors, or however many someone manages to uncover next.

So what's yours? Is there one car or model that you simply can't get enough of? One that you'll happily buy again just because it comes along in another color or variation?