Collector Car Corner/Cars We Remember; Car company history, 1950s styling and the Sears Allstate

Collector Car Corner/Cars We Remember; Car company history, 1950s styling and the Sears AllstateThe Willys-Overland is one of the few car companies that have survived the years, although passing through several corporate owners. Introduced as the Jeep FC-170 pickup in 1957, Jeep is still a viable product and is sold at Stellantis owned Chrysler / Dodge / Jeep dealers. (Former Willys-Overland)

We’re ending the year 2022 with some leftover reader letters. Thanks for the many holiday cards; each one meant the world to me. Here we go.

American car companies

Q: Greg, with the current troubles the car companies are experiencing with lack of computer chips slowing production, can you give us a quick history lesson on American car companies? How many were there in the beginning? Thanks, we enjoy your nostalgia car columns very much. Charles L., Westerly, Rhode Island.

A: Charles, from 1900 to 1919 some 2,000 American companies were involved in the separate construction of motor vehicles. Henry Ford receives credit for the first mass-produced car in 1908 (the Model T), but many Americans don’t know that Ford relied on the Model T until 1927, and shut down his plant several times to re-tool for the 1932 Model A  (available late 1927 as a 1932 model). 

Through it all, the competition caught up to Ford’s brilliantly produced automobiles. As smaller companies folded, larger concerns forged ahead. General Motors, founded in 1908, became a giant as it utilized even better production methods than Ford. GM gobbled up Oakland (Pontiac) in 1909, so it always had long-term strategic marketing on the table. However, Ford adapted well to GM’s threat, and the two went head to head for superiority.

A third powerhouse, Maxwell, continued its climb and in 1925 became Chrysler Corporation, which then bought Dodge in 1928.

These companies formed the “Big Three” that we have come to know today. They wheeled their power and price as the number of U.S. car companies by 1929 had shrunk to 98. During the 1930s, this number dwindled to 44. 

At the beginning of the 1940s, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors accounted for 90% of all U.S. car sales, with the rest divided between Packard, Hudson, Nash-Kelvinator, Studebaker, Crosley, American Bantam and Willys-Overland / Jeep. 

In the early ’50s, Tucker and Kaiser-Frazer joined the fray. Nash-Kelvinator, which also produced the Rambler, merged with Hudson to become American Motors in 1954, while Studebaker and Packard also joined forces in 1954 and lasted until 1963.

Crosley closed its doors in 1952, while Kaiser purchased Willys-Overland and lasted until 1955 as a car builder. In 1956, American Bantam closed while Kaiser concentrated on the Willys-Overland Jeep and Jeep truck / station wagon vehicles. The company was re-named Kaiser Jeep Corporation until 1970, when Kaiser sold the Jeep line to American Motors and exited the car / truck manufacturing business. Preston Tucker made just 51-some of his famous car, recounted in the movie “Tucker”, which I recommend viewing. Today, 47 Tuckers still survive and are precious to collectors. 

By 1976 only 11 car companies were left, with many consolidating their businesses. Checker Motor Company, famous for its taxicabs, hung on in auto manufacturing until 1982 as one of the last independents, relying on Chevrolet engines and transmissions in its final years. Checker Motors produced underbody stampings for the “Big Three” at its home plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, although it finally filed for bankruptcy protection and reorganization in January of 2009. 

Chrysler gobbled up American Motors in 1987, acquiring the popular Jeep line as the trump card. Then, Daimler AG, parent of Mercedes-Benz, bought Chrysler in 1998, only to unload it in 2007 to Cerberus Capital Management LLC, a private American company. Chrysler then was purchased by Fiat until joining forces with Stellantis, the biggest car company in the world offering 16 brands and manufacturing facilities in 30 countries.

Currently, Tesla leads the American electric car manufacturers as a solid, new car manufacturer. Others like Lucid and Rivian are trying to join the American electric car fray but have low sales numbers albeit a good product. 

That’s it in a nutshell, and thanks for your kind words.

Collector Car Corner/Cars We Remember; Car company history, 1950s styling and the Sears Allstate

The 1956 Mercury is one of our author’s favorite overall car designs from the 1950-decade. Back then car styles changed frequently but the mechanicals stayed pretty much the same. (Ford Motor Company)

Beauty only skin deep with cars from the Fifties 

Q: Greg, when it comes to designers, do you feel the cars of the Fifties changed styles more than previous decades? It seems cars from the Fifties really changed their looks year to year, while today a model might not change for three or more years. Thanks, Robert L. from Towanda, Pa.

A: Robert, taking everything into consideration, I feel you are correct. Additionally, I would add the decade of the Sixties to the list when Detroit would do quick facelifts and/or complete body re-designs without too much trouble.

However, those cars were “beauty is only skin deep” as one gets because when it came to the actual design updating, the words “enhanced mechanicals” weren’t in the formula.

Take the 1957-58-59 cars as examples. Chrysler led the way with its “forward look” cars, and all three years resulted in cars that looked nothing like the prior year. Chevy is another good example in 57-58-59, as is Buick in those identical years. I really love the 58 and 59 Buicks, and the ‘60 model too. 

Chrysler made huge design changes from 1954 through 1957, while over at Ford the big change years came in 1957-59, in my opinion.

An independent like Studebaker is another great example of re-skinned success. Its poor selling 1958 model was re-skinned with a new Lark body for 59, and the body update saved the company. There was no major mechanical difference between the 58 Studebaker and the 59 Lark other than the new body. Other cars I really liked from that era were the ’51 to ‘54 Hudson Hornets and Wasps, ‘53 Kaiser Manhattan, ’53 to ’56 Packard’s, ’56 tri-colored Dodges, and the ’55 and ‘56 Mercury’s. Of them all, the ’56 Mercury is one of my all-time favorites when it comes to a great overall design.

The Sixties were similar; too, but always remember that these changes were mostly skin deep, and nothing like today’s high tech, computerized wonders.

Collector Car Corner/Cars We Remember; Car company history, 1950s styling and the Sears Allstate

The Sears Allstate automobile was sold through the Sears catalog and in some of the bigger stores during the 1952 and 1953 years. A clone of the Kaiser Henry J., sales were poor and the agreement fell apart. (Allstate / Sears)

Sears & Roebuck: Allstate insurance, cars and store memories  

Q: Greg is there still an Allstate automobile sitting in the main Allstate offices in Northbrook, Illinois? I love those crazy TV commercials with the guy that causes all the havoc! Ken B., Jacksonville, Fla. 

Ken, I do believe there is a restored ‘53 Allstate sitting in the office of Allstate’s main corporate office at 2775 Sanders Rd., Northbrook, Illinois 60062. Sears & Roebuck founded the Allstate brand of insurance in 1931, and today is a sole public company and the second largest insurer. (You’re in good hands with Allstate.) 

As for the gentleman who causes all the crashes and mishaps in those commercials, his name is well-known Dean Gerard Winters, known officially as Mr. Mayhem and a noted actor. He makes from $3 to $4-million per year on a contract deal instead of being paid only when the commercials run. (Sounds like a better deal to me.)

Sears & Roebuck Company, known today as Sears (and holding on for its business life), once sold its very own cars. Many collectors readily recall the 1952 and 1953 Allstate, but Sears’s first effort in car sales dates back to 1908 when it sold a gasoline powered buggy via its mail order catalog through 1912.  

Following a joint agreement in 1951 with Kaiser-Frazer, the Allstate became available to purchase via catalog in 1952 and at select Sears stores in the Southwest, although several larger East coast stores had display models. 

The Allstate was a clone to Kaiser’s Henry-J, albeit with a different front grille, badges and Sears Allstate-brand spark plugs, tires and battery. The marketing plan called for Sears to sell dealerships at stores in every state, but reality hit home when only 10 of the then 48 states had Allstate dealers on site after the first year. 

Personally I do remember some of the bigger stores displaying the Allstate for close inspection, although I was at a very young age. Most Sears stores in the 1950s also had a Hires Root beer stand situated in the middle of the store, where families could grab a mug of soda and also a grilled hot dog. In addition to Allstate, Sears also marketed J.C. Higgins sporting goods and Craftsman Tools, the latter still a favored tool of mechanics everywhere but since sold to Stanley Black & Decker. J.C. Higgins, by the way, was replaced with Ted Williams brand products after 1961. 

Back to the Allstate. Sears offered both a Standard and Deluxe 4-cylinder and a Deluxe 6-cylinder version, but sales went from a dismal 1,566 in 1952 to just 797 in 1953. The standard 4-cylinder edition sold for just $1,399, while the Deluxe 6-cylinder went for $1,660. Sears pulled the plug on its auto marketing in 1953, and the Allstate became an instant collector car. 

Thanks for your question and Happy New Year to you and all of my readers.

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader questions and comments on collector cars, auto nostalgia or motorsports at greg@gregzyla.com.)

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