Life, 1911-05-11 · page 27 of 44
Life — May 11, 1911 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **White automobile company advertisement** (not satire or cartoon), published in *Life* magazine. The page promotes White automobiles' engine technology to potential buyers. The ad uses technical explanation and analogy to argue that White cars offer superior **power and fuel economy** through their "long-stroke engine" design. The key argument: cylinder bore diameter affects fuel consumption more than stroke length, so White's moderate-sized cylinders use less gasoline while long strokes maximize power output. The ad compares engine design to **rifle barrels**—a longer barrel (like a Colt revolver versus a derringer) achieves greater range and accuracy with the same ammunition charge. Similarly, long-stroke engines extract more power from identical fuel amounts. The section "White Cars Economical" summarizes the pitch: moderate cylinders reduce fuel needs; long strokes deliver power; four forward speeds conserve energy. This reflects early automotive marketing when engine specifications and efficiency were novel selling points to relatively new car buyers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Value of the Long-stroke Engine @ Wewant power in our automobiles—the long-stroke engine gives it. Having pow- er, we would operate the engine as economically as possible—the long-stroke engine is economical. The explanation is easy to understand: In gasoline engine work each cylinder has to be filled with vaporized gasoline—the amount required depending upon the dimensions of the cylinders. more than the length of stroke. @ Cubical con- The Reason (crear ders are com- pared by squaringthe diameter and multiplying the length. Consequently a slight difference in diameter means a great difference in volume. To take a concrete example: A one-inch cylinder with a four-inch stroke uses just one-fourth the gasoline a cylinder with a two-inch bore and a four-inch stroke does. Whereas, in- creasing the length of stroke of either of the cylinders mentioned above, one-inch would only increase the amountof gasoline used one-fourth. Gasoline is the chief item of running expense—therefore, the car using the smaller charges, while securing ample power must be economical. The bore dimension effects the volume much The long- More Power oe cylinders are more effec- tive; further, because through them we se- cure the benefit of every bit of expansive power of gas. It is the old question of length of barrel in firearms—every hunter understands the value of the length of barrel in his rifle—it is the same thing in revolvers—a derringer with its one-inch barrel, used only for hand to hand work, may be compared with a Colt with its six- inch barrel, giving it. splendid range, ac- curacy and penetration. Yet both may shoot the same cartridge, which is the same as saying, both use the same charge, in gasoline engines—but the. long-stroke engine has the power, like the Colt. White Cars Economical @ Above we have told the whole story of the remarkable performance.of White gas- oline cars and trucks, from the standpoint of both power and fuel consumption. The White cylinders are moderate in size—therefore, it takes less gasoline to fill them. They have the long-stroke which secures all the power—therefore, we get high pow- ered results. White cars are further economical to operate, because of the four for- ward speeds which conserves the engine’s energy. May we send you our latest catalogue, list of ownersin your locality and their testimonials ?