Allstate (make of car)

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Allstate (1952)

Allstate was a make of automobile sold in the United States in the 1952 and 1953 model years by the Allstate auto accessories chain of the Sears-Roebuck department store . The car was from the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation in Willow Run , Michigan , (from 1953: Kaiser-Willys Corporation in Toledo (Ohio) ) was prepared and was based on the compact car company, the Henry J . There was only one body style, a 2-door hatchback sedan in the Four (A-230, A-330) and Six (A-240, A-340) series.

Model history

In 1952 there was the Series Four (A-230) as a Model 110 Basis (USD 1395.00 (in today's purchasing power USD 13,410)), as the Model 111 Standard (for USD 1486.00 (in today's purchasing power USD 14,285) the best-selling) and as model 113 DeLuxe (USD 1,539.00 (in today's purchasing power USD 14,794)). The Series Six (A-240) cost USD 1,594 as 114 Standard and USD 1,693 as 115 DeLuxe . A six-cylinder model with basic equipment was not offered.

In 1953 there was virtually no change in the appearance of the vehicles, but the 1953 models weighed a whopping 145 pounds (65.7 kg) more than their 1952 predecessors. The base Allstate models were discontinued and prices increased significantly: From the Four series ( A-330) the entry-level model cost 210 Standard USD 1528, - and the model 213 DeLuxe USD 1589, -. Of the Six (A-340), only the better-equipped 215 DeLuxe model was available for USD 1785, which was the best-selling model this year.

The Allstate was based on the ideas of Henry J. Kaiser , who saw the department store chain Sears as another way of marketing his poorly selling two-door Henry J, which was introduced in 1950.

Sears had tried to sell cars under the brand name Sears Motor Buggy before, 1908–1912 , and with some success. These horseless carriages were high-wheelers ; they looked like two-seater horse-drawn carts with large carriage wheels. This type of passenger car was particularly popular in rural areas at the beginning of the 20th century, as its large ground clearance was ideal for the muddy country roads of the time with their deep car tracks. In addition, the rural population was used to ordering from the Sears mail order catalog; and the Sears Motor Buggy could be delivered to the nearest train station, an important advantage at the time. Like almost all Sears merchandise, these cars were made by a completely different company that had nothing to do with Sears at all.

Originally the Allstate wagons were to be built on the large Kaiser floor pan, but after three years of negotiations between Kaiser-Frazer and Sears-Roebuck , the production version of the Allstate was approved on November 20, 1951 by Sears sales manager Theodore V. Hauser and the administration manager of Kaiser-Frazer, Eugene Trefethen announced. The three-year delay was caused in part by Kaiser-Frazer's dealership fearing competition with Sears.

The Allstate was essentially a Henry J, but had a few differences: Allstate logos on the bonnet and back cover, better interiors made of saran plaid or sometimes leather or soft vinyl, special hubcaps, horn buttons and instrument surrounds, a lockable glove box and a lockable trunk lid , a special engine color (blue), luxurious armrests and sun visors, redesigned door locks and keys, special rear and parking lights and - especially noteworthy - a unique radiator grille with two cross bars and a hood ornament in the shape of a jet plane, which was designed by Alex Tremulis , the came from Tucker to Kaiser-Frazer.

The standard interior material of the Allstate consisted of tightly folded strips of paper that were woven together and covered with plastic, which proved to be as durable as it was attractive and made seat covers unnecessary. Seat covers were extremely popular in the 1950s and many were made from the exact same material. Chevrolet also processed these seat covers in the Biscayne and Bel Air model series in the 1960s.

Contrary to the early Henry J , who did not have a trunk lid for cost reasons, the Allstate were always equipped with it.

Four series cars had a side-steered 2.2 liter four-cylinder in-line engine with 68 bhp (50 kW); the Six series were powered by a side-controlled 2.64 liter six-cylinder in-line engine with 80 bhp (59 kW). Both engines were manufactured by Willys-Overland . A three-speed gearbox was part of the basic equipment, an overdrive was available for an additional charge of USD 104.

The only mechanical difference between the Allstate and Henry J was the fact that the Allstate was equipped with Sears-branded Allstate tires, tubes, spark plugs and batteries with their own Triple Guarantee .

Originally, the Allstate was only offered in the southern and southwestern United States. The sale should then be expanded to other areas as demand increases. The locations of the department stores in which the Allstate was offered directly were: Baytown (Texas) , Beaumont (Texas) , Birmingham (Alabama) , Dallas (Texas) , Fayetteville (North Carolina) , Houston ( Texas ), Jackson (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 .

Some Sears department stores had at least one in stock, but most of the cars were built to order by Kaiser-Frazer and then shipped to Sears sales outlets. Kaiser-Frazer had obliged its dealers to carry out after-sales services for the Allstate cars at the customer's request. Many dealers were not happy to see how "their" vehicles were sold by other sales outlets, especially because the Allstate was better equipped than the Henry J and was also sold cheaper.

Sears marketed the car as "the cheapest large sedan on the US market". However, because Sears did not want to negotiate prices with Allstate buyers, and presumably because many people were reluctant to buy a car in department stores where service was considered questionable, only 2,363 Allstate were sold in 2 model years before the brand was discontinued; 1,566 in 1952 and 797 in 1953. Shortly afterwards, Kaiser also discontinued the Henry J.

(Note: The lack of discount programs had previously proven to be a serious obstacle to Sears selling Graham-Bradley tractors from Graham-Paige Motors Corp. in the late 1930s.)

literature

  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 , chapter Allstate.
  • George Nick Georgano (Editor-in-Chief): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 1: A – F. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , p. 37. (English)
  • John Gunnell (Editor): The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946–1975. Krause Publications 1987, ISBN 0-87341-096-3 .
  • Richard M. Langworth: The Last Onslaught on Detroit. Princeton Publishing 1975, ISBN 0-915038-04-8 .

Web links

Commons : Allstate  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • The Allstate at RemarkableCars.com (English)