In September, 1950 Henry J. Kaiser, Chairman of the Kaiser-Frazer Motor Company, publically unveiled his low-priced threat to the Chevy 150. Even after taxes and fees the ‘Henry J’ could be had for $1,300 because it sported very few components and only 68 hp in it’s 4-cylinder engine. Just how few parts did this model have? The passenger had no sun visor, there was no truck lid (access was granted by folding down the rear seats), no armrests or glove box, and absolutely no ventilation. In 1952 you could even buy a version of the ‘Henry J’ called the ‘Allstate’ through Sears! After only two years of low sales, Sears abandoned the test run. In the end, the ‘Henry J’ model was a real disappointment for Kaiser. It simply could no compete with comparably-priced cars from Chevrolet and Ford that were larger and had the basic parts that the ‘Henry J’ conspicuously did not. Kaiser was never able to turn a profit on the car and sales continued to decline each year. The car was offered through 1954, only because efforts in the previous year to fire-sale all remaining cars was unsuccessful. For more history of the Kaiser ‘Henry J’ click here .
SunStar Diecast Model No. 5091 will seek to faithfully replicate this piece of American car history in 1/18 scale. The color is undecided and arrival dates to retailers is still unknown. SunStar Diecast Model No. 5092 is the 1951 Henry Kaiser J in Indian Ceramic atrovent
. As always, check with your favorite SunStar Toys dealer for more specific information on availability and pricing.
