Life, 1910-10-20 · page 29 of 44
Life — October 20, 1910 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a straightforward automobile advertisement, not a cartoon or satire. It promotes the McFarlan SIX, a six-cylinder car manufactured in Connersville, Indiana. The ad's main pitch addresses a genuine market concern of the era: six-cylinder engines were superior but expensive. McFarlan claims to offer this better technology at prices comparable to four-cylinder competitors, especially when factoring in accessories buyers typically added. The advertisement emphasizes reliability through a specific racing achievement at Indianapolis on September 5th (year unclear from image), where a McFarlan finished a 200-mile race without stopping—claimed as the only car in a twelve-car field to do so. This appears in *Life* magazine's advertising section and represents typical early automotive marketing that relied on technical specifications and performance claims rather than humor or satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Here’s A High Quality, Sweet Running Silent Six You Should Get Acquainted With 6-Cylinder, HG xh, Unit Power Plant—S to 60 miles en Hour—Price, induding Top and Lamps, $2,100. \ViSFARIANSIC T has long been known and acknowledged that the 6-cylinder, from every standpoint, is ] the ideal power plant—but the price heretofore has been prohibitive in comparison with several popular 4-cylinder cars. We were the first in the field with a thoroughly developed 6-cylinder car at a price within the reach of buyers of even the popular priced 4-cylinder cars—because, when you buy any of the standard fours, by the time you get all the accessories necessary to com- plete the car, the price has mounted up to as much, or even in excess, of the price of the McFarlan SIX—which includes all necessary equipment—no extras to buy. What The McFarlan Six Is We have been in the automobile business several years. We are one of the oldest manufacturers in the vehicle world. We manufacture the McFarlan SIX. We have developed our cars to a point where we know exactly what they are and what they will do. At Indianapolis September 5th A McFarlan SIX regular stock car finished the 200 miles in 183 minutes and 15 seconds—the only car ina field of twelve to finish without a stop. This was the first race in which the McFarlan was ever entered. Another McFarlan, a duplicate of the above mentioned car, in the same race finished fifth and stopped once. Each of these cars went the 200 miles without change of tires and averaged 17 miles to the gallon of gasoline. In the free-for-all handicap these cars finished first and third re- spectively. aoe No matter how high your automobile ideals may be, youare bound to become a McFarlan convert if you'll but investigate the merits of these cars before you buy. Write Today For Free Literature describing all Models, Touring Cars, Runabouts, Torpedo Bodies, Demi-Tonneaus, etc., etc. McFarlan Motor Car Co., Desk H, Connersville, Ind., U.S.A. Responsible Dealers Write for Open Territory comicbooks.com