1953 Allstate advertising image.

The Allstate was an American automobile offered for sale through the Allstate auto accessory chain of Sears Roebuck during the 1952 and 1953 model years. The Allstate was built by Kaiser-Frazer and was based on Kaiser's compact Henry J. Image File history File links Allstatehenryj53. ... Image File history File links Allstatehenryj53. ... Karl Benzs Velo model (1894) - entered into the first automobile race An automobile is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. ... Sears, Roebuck and Company (NYSE: S) was founded in Chicago, Illinois as a catalog merchandiser in 1886 by Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck. ... The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was the result of a partnership between autombile executive Joseph W, Frazer and Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser of Kaiser Company/Kaiser Industries. ... 1953 Allstate advertising image. ...

The Allstate was the brainchild of Henry J. Kaiser, who saw Sears as another means to mass-market his slow-selling "Henry J" two-door sedan, introduced in 1950. Henry J. Kaiser perches above Hawaii Kai in April 1963, his suburban development in Honolulu. ... A Ford Taurus, a recognizable sedan. ...

Sears had tried selling a car under its name previously between 1908 and 1912; however, each car cost more to manufacture than the actual selling price, so production ended and the manufacturing equipment was sold to the emerging Lincoln Motor Car Works. Lincoln is an American luxury automobile brand, operated under the Ford Motor Company. ...

Originally, Allstate automobiles were planned to be built on the senior Kaiser platforms, but following three years of negotiations between Kaiser-Frazer and Sears, Roebuck, the production Allstate was announced on November 20th, 1951 by Sears merchandising vice president Theodore V. Houser and Kaiser-Frazer administrative vice-president Eugene Trefethen. The three-year delay was due in part to tension from existing Kaiser-Frazer dealerships fearing competition with the Sears organization. The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was the result of a partnership between autombile executive Joseph W, Frazer and Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser of Kaiser Company/Kaiser Industries. ... Sears, Roebuck and Company (NYSE: S) was founded in Chicago, Illinois as a catalog merchandiser in 1886 by Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck. ...

The Allstate was essentially a Henry J, but with a number of unique differences including Allstate badges on the hood and rear deck, a more upscale interior of Saran plaid or occasionally leather or smooth vinyl, special hubcaps or wheel covers, horn buttons and instrument bezels, a locking glove box and trunk lid, special engine color (blue), custom armrests and sunvisors, revised door locks and keys, special parking and taillamp assemblies and, most notably, a unique two-bar grille and jet-plane hood ornament design styled by Alex Tremulis, who had come to Kaiser-Frazer from the Tucker Corporation.

The standard Allstate interior material was made from tightly twisted strands of paper that were woven together and then coated in plastic, which proved to be unusually durable as well as attractive. (Chevrolet would feature similar upholstery in its Chevrolet Biscayne and Chevrolet Bel Air lines in the early 1960s as well.) Chevrolet, or Chevy for short, is a brand of automobile, now a division of General Motors. ... 1964 Chevrolet Biscayne The Chevrolet Biscayne was a series name of automobile produced by Chevrolet, a division of General Motors, in the United States from the 1958 through 1972 model years. ... 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air The Chevrolet Bel Air was a series name of automobile produced by Chevrolet, a division of General Motors, in the United States from the 1950 through 1975 model years. ...

Unlike early Henry Js, which were built without trunk lids to reduce costs, Allstates offered operating trunk lids. Cars were offered either with a four-cylinder 68 hp engine or an L-head six 80 hp engine. The straight-4 or inline-4 is an internal combustion engine with four cylinders aligned in one row. ... The L-head is an early internal combustion engine design that placed the poppet valves beside the cylinder, opening into a small chamber beside the piston. ...

Mechanical differences between Allstate and Henry J were very minor; Allstates were equipped with Allstate-brand tires, tubes, spark plugs and batteries, all with their own Sears "Triple Guarantee" warranties.

Allstate logo

Initially the Allstate was offered only in the south and southwest United States, with plans to expand distribution as demand for the product grew. Sears locations selling Allstates directly included Baytown, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, Birmingham, Alabama, Dallas, Texas, Fayetteville, South Carolina, Houston, Texas, Jacksonville, Mississippi, Knoxville, Tennessee, Little Rock, Arkansas, Lubbock, Texas, Memphis, Tennessee, Norfolk, Virginia, Orlando, Florida, Phoenix, Arizona, Portsmouth, Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Waco, Texas. Image File history File links Allstatelogoautomobile. ... Image File history File links Allstatelogoautomobile. ... Baytown is a city located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown Metropolitan Area. ... Flag of Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas and is within the Beaumont—Port Arthur metropolitan area. ... Nickname: The Magic City, Pittsburgh of the South, BHam Official website: http://www. ... Nickname: Big D Official website: www. ... Nickname: Space City Official website: www. ... Nickname: The Marble City, K-Town, Big Orange Country, Knox Vegas Official website: www. ... Little Rock skyline Nickname: The Capital City, Rock-Town, City of Roses Map Political Statistics Founded 1821 Incorporated 1831 County Pulaski County Mayor Jim Dailey Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 302. ... Nickname: Hub City Official website: www. ... Nickname: The River City, The Bluff City Official website: http://www. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Nickname: The city Beautiful Official website: http://www. ... Nickname: Valley of the Sun Official website: http://www. ... Map Political Statistics Founded 1752 County Independent city Mayor Dr. James W. Holley III Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 120. ... Nickname: River City Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra Official website: http://www. ... Nickname: Crossroads of the West Official website: http://www. ... Waco is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. ...

While some Sears outlets tried to stock at least a sample of the car, most were built on demand by Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, which made delivery to the Sears stores through which they were sold. Kaiser-Frazer urged its dealers to service Allstate cars when asked. The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was the result of a partnership between autombile executive Joseph W, Frazer and Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser of Kaiser Company/Kaiser Industries. ...

Sears marketed the car as "the lowest-priced full-sized sedan on the U.S. market." But probably due to public reluctance to buy a car through a department store, only 2,363 Allstates were sold in two model years before the marque was discontinued; 1,566 during 1952 and 797 in 1953. Shortly thereafter, Kaiser discontinued the unpopular Henry J as well. A marque (French for brand and pronounced as mark) is a brand name, most commonly used for automobile brands. ...

Sources

• Gunnell, John, Editor. (1987). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Kraus Publications. ISBN 0-87341-096-3.

• Langworth, Richard M., Author. (1975). The Last Onslaught on Detroit. Princeton Publishing, Inc.. ISBN 0-915038-04-8.