Life, 1911-04-06 · page 74 of 76
Life — April 6, 1911 — page 74: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **product advertisement**, not a cartoon or satire. It promotes ALCO (American Locomotive Company) automobiles by touting their 1909 and 1910 Vanderbilt Cup victories—prestigious early automotive racing competitions. The advertisement uses the racing wins as proof of superior engineering and manufacturing quality. The text emphasizes that ALCO's success stemmed from the builders' deep knowledge of materials, design, and manufacturing—traits inherited from their railroad locomotive heritage. The Vanderbilt Cups flanking the vehicle image serve as visual endorsements. The copy argues that surviving grueling race conditions proves reliability, offering purchasers "security and satisfaction." **Context for modern readers**: Early 1900s consumers judged automobiles partly through racing success, as it demonstrated durability. This advertisement conflates sporting victory with everyday automotive reliability—a marketing strategy still used today.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VANDERBILT VANDERBILT cup cup 1909 1910, 4CYUNDER 401.R, 7PASSENGER, $4500. GCYLNDER 60H.P, 7 PASSENGER, $6000. An ALCO touring car from stock won the Vanderbilt cup in 1909 and again in 1910, the same identical car won both races. No other stock car has ever won the. Vanderbilt cup. No other car has won it twice. It won because it was_an ALCO, because the American Locomotive Company built it, because the builders know the breaking strain of every part, piece and bolt in the structure, because the builders know materials from generations of experience, because. they Know how to manufacture and they understand designing. It is impossible to subject a car to a greater test than that of rounding curves in arace. The car that withstood two such gruelling tests must be considered successful and must give the purchaser a feeling of security and satisfaction. Buitt AND GUARANTEED BY ican. Locomotive Company 1886 Broadway, NEWYORK. 2501 Michigan Ave, CHICAGO. UOEA SOLODI ATENT), comicbooks.com