Life, 1911-06-22 · page 27 of 44
Life — June 22, 1911 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a cartoon but a **car advertisement** disguised as news coverage. The page celebrates Ray Harroun's victory in the 1911 Indianapolis 500 (the "International Sweepstakes"), where he drove a Marmon automobile to win at 74.61 mph average speed. The advertisement uses the race victory as proof of the car's superiority—emphasizing reliability (hood never opened, minimal maintenance, only four tire changes) to appeal to consumers. The contrast between the racing car (top image) and the commercial touring model (bottom) suggests that technology from competition translates to family vehicles. This represents early automotive marketing strategy: leveraging sports achievement to establish brand credibility and performance claims. For modern readers, it's notable that such transparent advertising could appear in a supposedly satirical magazine like Life, blurring editorial and commercial content in ways that would raise ethical concerns today.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE MARMON “The Easiest Riding Car In The World” Actual Photograph of the Winning Marmon INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION The greatest speed event mankind has ever known—the International Sweepstakes —run on the Indianapolis Speedway, May 30, was won by Ray Harroun driving a Marmon, 500 miles in 6 hours 42 minutes and 8 seconds, averaging 74.61 Miles per Hour for 500 Miles In the competition were the most famous drivers in the world and forty cars—among them the finest that Europe and America have produced. The Marmon hood was not raised during the long grind of 500 miles. Not an additional drop of water was put in the radiator. Perfect lubrication and no mechanical trouble of any kind. There were but four tire changes on the winning Marmon—three of the original tires finished the race. Joe Dawson in Another Marmon Took Fifth Place This is a fitting climax to the brilliant racing record of the Victorious Marmon which already held the longest and most remarkable list of racing victories ever won by any make of motor car. There can be but one logical conclusion that will interest the buyer —Marmon design, Marmon materials, Marmon workmanship Must Be Right. NORDYKE & MARMON CO., Indianapolis, Indiana Established 1851 Sixty Years of Successful Manufacturing Five-Passenger, Closed Front Touring Car, $2,750 comicbooks.com