Life, 1905-05-11 · page 26 of 26
Life — May 11, 1905 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a full-page advertisement for Franklin automobiles, not political satire. The "Life" magazine header dates this to May 11, 1925 (the OCR misread "1925" as "1995"). The ad promotes Franklin cars' superior engineering and performance, featuring three vehicle models in photographs. A key selling point is the air-cooled engine—then a competitive innovation—which the ad defends against skepticism from rival water-cooled manufacturers. The text references a notable cross-country endurance record: a Whitman-driven Franklin completed a San Francisco-to-New York run in 33 days, versus 61 days for a water-cooled competitor. The ad's rhetorical strategy is to position Franklin as engineered beyond "ordinary standards," implying buyers shouldn't judge by price alone but by performance capability. This targets affluent consumers interested in automotive innovation during the early automobile era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
May 11, 1995. You may make a costly error if you judge /“venklen cars by anything except what they will do Their engineering is so far advanced They cannot be fairly judged by ordinary standards, and their entire design so superior in correctness to that of other cars, that every one of the six Franklin models does more than any other automobile of its type and more than the average car of a much costlier type. Our 12 H. P. Roadster shown below carries two people actually yo miles an hour. Itis the only four-cylinder strictly runabout machine made in this country and the finest and speediest ever built. In this car Whitman made his famous record run from San Francisco to New Yorkin the hottest summer weather in less than 33 days; against the best previous record of 61 days (made by a water-cooled car). Our Light Touring Cars with rear- or side-entrance tonneaus—fixed or detachable—shown above, costing $1650 and $1700, carry four or five people faster, safer and more comfortably than the average heavy $2000 touring car They have all its ability and strength without its complication, cumbrousness and tremendous operating expense. Our High-power Touring Cars shown above, costing $2500 and $3500, are—on average American roads— the speediest, liveliest, safest, most pleasurable cars built anywhere at the price. No sensible investigator now doubts the complete practicality of Franklin air-cooling undcr all possible conditions ; but some water-cooled manufacturers are much dissatisfied about it, naturally. If you want the facts, all the facts and nothing but the facts, send for our Catalogue and “Coast to Coast” booklet. H. H. Franklin Mfg. Co., Syracuse, N. Y.