Life, 1911-10-12 · page 8 of 48
Life — October 12, 1911 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is an **advertisement**, not a cartoon or satire. It promotes Packard Motor Trucks, a Detroit-based manufacturer. The ad describes a cross-country endurance test: a Packard three-ton truck traveled 3,880 miles from New York to San Francisco in 46.5 days without a single mechanical part replacement (except tires). The accompanying photograph shows the truck navigating rough, mountainous terrain. The advertisement's claim—"Ask the Man Who Owns One"—was a common Packard slogan. The ad emphasizes the truck's reliability and durability as marketing appeals to potential commercial buyers, using the extreme feat as proof of the vehicle's engineering quality and ability to handle demanding conditions. This was typical early-20th-century automotive marketing strategy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Aone trucks // Shows Its Fitness to Meet the Supreme Test PACKARD THREE-TON TRUCK OVER-RIDES THE BARRIERS FROM COAST TO COAST WITH A RECORD UNMARRED BY MECHANICAL REPLACEMENT from New York to San Francisco, in forty-six and one-half days, total elapsed time, without a single replacement of a defective part, without a mechanical breakdown and without the assistance of any power except the motor in the car—this is the unique and unparalleled record made by the Packard three-ton truck. W. T. Fish- leigh, of the Packard engineering staff, who accompanied the truck, sends this statement: Lf I NHREE thousand, eight hundred and cighty miles, straight across the country “Not a mechanical part has been changed since leaving New York City. Our replace- ment record is perfect except for tires. The motor was taken down in plain view of a crowd in Cuyler Lee’s show room in San Francisco to convince everyone that the truck was as good as the day it left the factory.” Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, Michigan UENCE ENTE ENUENOTEN OE ATA AACE TM