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.
The Allstate was essentially a Henry J, but with a number of differences that included Allstate badges on the hood and rear deck, a more upscale interior of Saran plaid or occasionally leather or smooth vinyl, special hubcaps/wheel covers, horn buttons and instrument bezels, a locking glove box and trunk lid, special engine color (blue), custom armrests and sun visors, revised door locks and keys, and special parking[1] and tail lamp assemblies. Most notably, the Allstate featured a unique two-bar grille and jet-plane hood ornament designed by Alex Tremulous, who had come to Kaiser-Frazer from the Tucker Corporation.
Allstate automobiles were planned to be built on the senior Kaiser platforms, but following three years of negotiations between Kaiser-Frazer and Sears, the production Allstate was announced on November 20, 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 Sears.
Unlike early Henry J's, which were built without trunk lids to reduce costs, Allstate's offered opening trunk lids.
Series 4 cars used an 134.2 cu in (2.2 L) L-head four-cylinder 68 hp (51 kW) engine, and the Series 6 was powered by a 161 cu in (2.6 L) L-head six 80 hp (60 kW), both power plants built by Willys. A three-speed manual transmission was standard, with overdrive available for $104 extra.
