Life, 1909-04-15 · page 6 of 36
Life — April 15, 1909 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **not a cartoon or satire** — it's a straightforward advertisement for the Herreshoff automobile, placed in Life magazine. The ad promotes a lightweight car (1,600 pounds) manufactured by Herreshoff Motor Co. of Detroit and sold through Harvey S. Haupt Co. in New York. The pitch emphasizes practical advantages: lower purchase price, reduced maintenance costs (one-third of larger cars), better fuel efficiency (18+ miles per gallon), and superior handling on poor roads. The ad positions the Herreshoff as filling a market niche between light cars and luxury vehicles, claiming quality comparable to major American and foreign manufacturers despite its $1,500 price point. It mentions planned production in Bristol, Connecticut, with models featuring 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder engines. This represents early 20th-century automobile marketing, targeting budget-conscious consumers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HERRESHOFF What a Light Car Means to You O you realize what it means to D you if you can get a light car of the same class as the big cars, built of the same material, of the same excellence of design and careful construc- tion, but weighing only 1600 pounds? Stop and figure it out: You save 60 per cent. or more in initial outlay. The depreciation in a big car in a single year would pay the cost of a new light car. The cost of up-keep of a light car is one-third what the big car costs to main- tain. It will stand up, go anywhere that the big car will go and do anything ex- cept carry excessive weight or attain excessive speed. Over bad roads it will average greater speed than the big car. The only light car that is bred of the same stock as the best American and foreign cars is this $1500 car. he @reeshote Gar Take the cost of tires alone: a complete set of tires for the 4000-pound car costs $233.10; for the light car, $115.60. The relative weight on the tires is infinitely greater in the big car than in the small, and the wear is proportion- ately more severe. The added weight of the big car wears tires out twice as fast. One set of tires on a small car will last as long as two sets on the big car. This means a reduction in tire charges to 25 per cent. of what the big-car owner pays. The small gasoline con- sumption of the Herreshoff Car is surprising. In_ tests at Detroit, it has made better than 20 miles on a gallon, and over rough frozen roads has averaged nearly 18 miles. This is two or three times the mileage that the big car gets, while the oil consump- tion and other incidental running expenses are propor- tionately small. The wear on the mechanism of the car will be less than on heavy cars. In appearance no car at any price surpasses this. Its fac- ile handling and easy riding can only be demonstrated. Its power will drive the car from 45 to 50 miles an hour, or up any hill. Bold claims have been made for the car, but it more than realizes every ex- pectation. We invite inspec- tion and the opportunity to demonstrate. MANUFACTURED BY THE HERRESHOFF MOTOR CO. OF DETROIT EXCLUSIVELY FOR Telephone 6450 Columbus rrp S. uve Co. Write for our Catalogue Broadway and Sixty-eighth Street, New York The Herreshoff Car supplements the big car and appeals especially to the big car owner. The place it fills among light cars the new Houpt Cars will fill in the large car class. Each creates a new standard. The Houpt Car will be made in two models—a 60-horsepower 4-cylinder type, and a go-horsepower 6-cylinder type—which will represent the highest expression of the best thought in motor car manufacturing. They are now. being manufactured at Bristol, Con- necticut, and will be ready for delivery early this summer,