They talked about being able to manufacture a safe, dependable low cost car. And making a car that most people could afford. Now days, car manufacturers don’t even mention low priced cars. All they care about is selling you a car you can’t afford. And most of them are junk that don’t last 2 years without a breakdown. Then you pay a fortune to get them fixed.
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
This is a good point!
@rogerb56152 жыл бұрын
Always liked the shape of the Kaiser windshield, with its curved top that peaked in the center. Unique!
@kfclub2 жыл бұрын
I agree!
@Greatdome992 жыл бұрын
"Widow's Peak"
@johnreitz56762 жыл бұрын
Classic "Dutch" Darrin...
@lancewalker1999 Жыл бұрын
The Darrin Dip
@slicksnewonenow2 жыл бұрын
Imagine how well the company would have done, had they built the '51-'54 "big" cars to include a two door hardtop and a convertible model! And maybe bought-in a V8? That body style and the Raymond Lowey Studebaker design were miles ahead of the competition in the early Fifties... Both just absolutely beautiful cars.
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
If only the V8...
@hugh0072 жыл бұрын
Sears sold the Henry J too. Called it the Allstate. Badge engineered, but it was K - F product
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
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 sunvisors, revised door locks and keys, and special parking[1] and taillamp assemblies. Most notably, the Allstate featured a unique two-bar grille and jet-plane hood ornament designed by Alex Tremulis, who had come to Kaiser-Frazer from the Tucker Corporation.
@hugh007 Жыл бұрын
@@kfclub Thanks
@pdrphil81592 жыл бұрын
My grandfather & my dad worked for Kaiser.
@mediaconnect10702 жыл бұрын
Did they like it?
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Did that like it?
@pdrphil8159 Жыл бұрын
@@kfclub They both retired from Kaiser... Yea, I suppose they did..
@darylkik777 Жыл бұрын
I would never buy a Henry J because they are not well equipped. That is why I bought a new Sears Allstate model that I ordered. Now that is a classy car.
@Nunofurdambiznez2 жыл бұрын
LOVE this video!!
@privatepilot4064 Жыл бұрын
I worked with a guy at Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix that had one of these. I’m pretty sure he was a member of the owners club too. He’s retired now. But he talked about it frequently. I worked with him on the Turbine Wheel Line.
@orbyfan2 жыл бұрын
Rex Marshall, who appears just past the 4-minute mark, also did the Auto-Lite commercials for the "Suspense" TV series (1949-1954).
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Wow thanks for pointing that out.
@whalesong999 Жыл бұрын
Drove my step mom's '51 Kaiser 4 door all through high school and, honestly, didn't appreciate the use so much at the time. They were good looking, had a Continental 6 cylinder, flat head engine, nothing special there but was easy to work on (had to replace the head gasket once). My birth mom had a Henry J for a while and we used to take jaunts in it but I recall it being sorely balanced and over washboard surfaces, wanted to swap ends, took a mighty grip on the wheel and good reflexes to keep it out of the ditches.
@onlyweknow22 жыл бұрын
Nice Cars
@Floridapickleballexpo2 жыл бұрын
Good ol’ times!
@dlb3512 Жыл бұрын
I remember in the 50's they also produced a low-priced car marked un the name Henry J and also sold by Sears Roebuck named the Alstate.
@greggweber99672 жыл бұрын
I don't think the censors would have liked him shifting really close to one of them. You pick.
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Ill pick the KF cars anyday!
@johnreitz56762 жыл бұрын
Frank Zappa hated the one his parents had... He mentioned it in a book he wrote.
@errorsofmodernism73312 жыл бұрын
Zappa was always complaining about something.
@domenicv79622 жыл бұрын
Too bad
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Really never heard of that before? Did he mention it in an interview?
@desertbob6835 Жыл бұрын
One of my friends had a '51 Manhattan with a 303 Olds 4 bbl and Hydra-Matic, a swap that Henry J himself wanted for his full sized cars, but Al Sloan nixed any chance of that, drawing the line at the Hydra-Matic. A Manhattan with a Continental 6 wasn't very lively. Kaiser developed a prototype V8 of their own, but by the time it was ready for production, Kaiser had already decided that fighting GM wasn't worth it, and sold the V8 to the new AMC, which put it to very good use.
@JohnReitz-ps2ct5 ай бұрын
The seat shown would struggle to hold even two of the Big Berthas we see today.
@davesnothereman72502 жыл бұрын
Cool commercials. Nothing like a Henry J with a straight front axle...nose high, big block or hemi with a blower, pizza cutters in the front and some fat baloneys out back. I've often wondered if the German name hurt sales in any way....right after WWII.
@Chazd19492 жыл бұрын
Yeah, Henry-J gassers, always a favorite at the drag strip!
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
It is not uncommon when talk about KF cars and people assume it is a German made car.
@dave19562 жыл бұрын
This is before my time, but my father told me years ago what junk these things were.
@UncaDave2 жыл бұрын
I am 76 and remember this car as out neighbor had one, a Mrs. Helm, in Lordship, CT. It broke down a lot and we had to go get her and help. It was a great idea but something was amiss and I don’t know what, probably something with the engine. Dad thought the Crosely although much smaller was a more reliable compact car. After WWII Dad didn’t want anything small. My Mom even drove one of those big Buick Roadmaster convertibles. Dad liked the big Oldsmobiles like the 88, his last one was the Olds 98. Mom later had a Cadillac Coupe DeVille. She loved it but the thing was a land yacht for sure. Her last car was an Olds, a midsize car, maybe something called a Cierra. Can’t remember. Great video!
@nephi50592 жыл бұрын
Wow. 21 models. That's alot. Huge company that went bankrupt. As many others.
@kfclub2 жыл бұрын
What's your favorite?
@kenhenize81652 жыл бұрын
I also loved the tucker torpedo too from the tucker factory and tucker the man and the dream too kh ilove watching that movie 🎥 too over and over too khoops the man and his dream too Preston tucker kh
@kfclub2 жыл бұрын
Yes yes yes
@johnreitz56762 жыл бұрын
Never confuse the movie version of the Preston Tucker story with the truth.
@alanolson6913 Жыл бұрын
In 1946-47 Kaiser truly made Ford,GM & Chrysler take notice. K-F had modern looking vehicles and better interiors than the “Big 3”. K-F was among the top manufacturers at the time when the others were offering warmed-over 1942 designs. But the others who had the money & factories to build more vehicles soon caught up and passed K-F.
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Good point!
@marc6392 жыл бұрын
1359 dollars for a car is less than a bicycle today
@slicksnewonenow2 жыл бұрын
@Mar C Hiya Mar- Well, that original price comes out to about Fifteen Grand in "today's money", so I guess it was a pretty good deal... Then again, someone was lucky to make about $1,700 per year back at the time. I guess it's all relative, but the crazy prices that they charge for just about anything these days seems out of the question... Especially considering the lack of quality in most things.
@kfclub2 жыл бұрын
How much was gas?
@uslines2 жыл бұрын
I remember the Kaiser-Fraiser perhaps the first sub-compact American automobile. Early 1950's??
@uslines2 жыл бұрын
...I mean't the Henry-J
@gmamagillmore48122 жыл бұрын
What about the Crosley.
@uslines2 жыл бұрын
Wasn't the Crosly sold through the mail? I vaguely remember their adds in the back of Popular Mechanics magazine. But yes, there was the Crosly.
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Crosley was a small, independent American manufacturer of subcompact cars, bordering on microcars. At first called the Crosley Corporation and later Crosley Motors Incorporated, the Cincinnati, Ohio, firm was active from 1939 to 1952, interrupted by World War II production. Their station wagons were the most popular model, but also offered were sedans, pickups, convertibles, a sports car, and even a tiny jeep-like vehicle. For export, the cars were badged Crosmobile.
@whalesong999 Жыл бұрын
@@kfclub They had a most unique little overhead cam engine, very small, perhaps under 1 liter. IIRC, Homelite bought a version of the engine as an outboard for boats after Crosley went out of business.
@SuperBullyone Жыл бұрын
That is a better deal than a VW bug.
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Yes it was!
@Nomadcreations2 жыл бұрын
According to google Light weight was under 2500 lbs & Price then was near $3,000 then which equates to $33,000 nowdays, Pricey ...... & Most ALL Melted away to tin cans
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Wow!
@Nomadcreations Жыл бұрын
@@kfclub Yes, How Could people Afford them, Accordingly? Rhetorical
@keithammleter38242 жыл бұрын
He said there were a total of 600,000 K-F cars on the roads. Wow - that's about 2 years' production of just one GM model. Total US car production in the early 1950's was about 6 million per year. The road life of an average car was about 10 years, so K-F's on-road total was about 1%. Most American car buyers would have known that, so it is a strange thing to put in an advert - it's kind of like saying "please buy our car because we can't sell the thing." If I remember rightly, the "Henry J" was a strange thing by American standards - built with government aid money with a tiny side valve engine and none of the worthwhile features like wind-up windows all round that you got with a Chevy or Ford for very little more cost. Because they were hard to sell, K-F added a turbocharger - presumably that was what the lady at the end was referring to.
@American-Motors-Corporation2 жыл бұрын
Lol ford and GM got plenty of government money!
@keithammleter38242 жыл бұрын
@@American-Motors-Corporation : By selling the government vehicles and arnaments, though.
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Wow good info!
@moemcgovern73452 жыл бұрын
I never heard of this.
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Most have not! They are great cars to get because most people have not heard of them so it's great conversation!
@domenicv79622 жыл бұрын
Where do I sign?
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
www.kfclubmembers.com
@Floridapickleballexpo2 жыл бұрын
Does any know the significance of the Buffalo?
@kfclub2 жыл бұрын
Buffalo on the Kaiser badge is a representation of power and stability, the big and calm animal is a symbol of confidence and determination, and the image with the Buffalo facing left evokes a sense of reliability and protection, making the company's customers feel safe buying the Kaiser cars
@kenhenize81652 жыл бұрын
There was and old Keiser Frazer garage too up in shunk PA too in the town of shunk PA too kh oops kaiser not Keiser ok kh
@n.mcneil40662 жыл бұрын
I considered Kaiser & Frazer to be good cars but the Henry J, no.
@kfclub2 жыл бұрын
Why not?
@mcleanblades92342 жыл бұрын
looks like a tesla
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
Better gas milage too 😂
@jameschavez64002 жыл бұрын
I already gave a frasier car I need a niles car🤣😎
@kfclub Жыл бұрын
What was that again?🤔
@jameschavez6400 Жыл бұрын
Meant I had frasier Crane car Mercedes Benz need niles crane car Prius or whatever high end car niles would choose,I wasn’t born yet in 2850s