Life, 1911-01-05 · page 75 of 104
Life — January 5, 1911 — page 75: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a full-page advertisement, not political satire. It promotes the Detroit Electric automobile, highlighting its spacious interior and safety features—particularly appealing to women drivers. The ad reflects early 1900s gender assumptions: women are portrayed as requiring safe, easy-to-operate vehicles with automatic safety features (the car "remembers" if the driver forgets), while men supposedly want performance in the "Underslung Roadster" model. The image shows two electric vehicles and well-dressed figures examining them, typical of automobile show marketing. The "Chainless" direct shaft drive is emphasized as a modern innovation. This represents the era when electric cars competed seriously with gasoline vehicles, before gasoline engines became dominant. The marketing strategy—targeting women as a distinct consumer market valuing safety and ease of use—was relatively progressive for the period, though deeply patronizing by modern standards.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oe. thing: the Detroit Electric is so svvitingly roomy. Its wider, deeper seats are a delight. There is no suggestion of “close quarters.” You ride restfully, luxuriously — without crowding your seat-companion or encroaching on the £vee-room of your v/5-a-v/5. A woman asks safety in the car she drives car—low; rakish; extra-long wheel base. —her menfolk demand it for her. She finds Three optional drives—‘‘Chainless” Direct the unique control of the Detroit Electric Shaft Drive, our successful double chain and simple, positive, unerring. It “comes natu- Renold’s Tandem Enclosed chain drive. ral” for her to do the right thing. Ifshefor- Edison or lead batteries. gets—the car “remembers” automatically. See our exhibits at the Automobile Show, Our new “Chainless” Direct Shaft Drive— New York, January 7 to 21—Chicago, Jan- a straight path of power from motor to adjust- _uary 28 to February 4. Write for new catalog, able beveled gear in rear axle—is the greatest 5 aw feature ever built into an electric vehicle. a - 4 The Detroit Electric models—Victorias, Coupes, Broughams—anticipate the gentle- woman’s dainty whims—in elegance, beauty, refinement. f brani el A masterpiece for men is our brand new ° Gentlemen's Underslung Roadster—a corking Chainless Anderson Carriage Company, Dept. 4, Detroit, Mich. BRANCHES: New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Detroit, Buffalo, Cleveland. Selling Representativesin‘allLeading Cities. —l———e—O—o ooo ———£_*_<=—T——= oo ooo HNN 7s comicbooks.com