Life, 1912-04-25 · page 44 of 44
Life — April 25, 1912 — page 44: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward automobile advertisement from *Life* magazine's advertising section. The page promotes the Oldsmobile "Limited," a high-end six-cylinder car. The image shows five well-dressed passengers in an open-air touring car driving along a scenic riverside road, with the Washington Monument visible in the distance. The text provides the car's development history: Oldsmobile designed it in 1906 to compete with luxury imports, completed prototypes by 1908, and began regular production in 1909. It highlights technical achievements like its large 42-inch tires and notes the car was "over-sold" (demand exceeded supply). The ad emphasizes luxury and performance: prices ranged from $5,000 to $6,300 (equivalent to roughly $160,000–$200,000 today). The copy stresses that the Limited had been "perfected to the utmost" and faced "no serious competition," a common advertising claim of the era. This reflects the early automotive market when cars were luxury goods for the wealthy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Limited started right Here is a brief, “inside” history of the most remarkable high-powered, six-cylinder automobile ever produced. Jat the 9 ies revealed by ed to disappea were . sometimes trebl In 1906 we made plans to build an Oldsmobile “Six? which should be to all existing types. in touring comfc 7 exhaustive shop t car was completed In 1908 an officer ‘of sideration as the 1 the diameter of wheels and ti o9 regular deliveries to the public were made. Then the wheel neter was increased and the famous 42 inch tires became the stand- ard equipment. The output was over-sold. The Limited started right, has been perfected to the utmost—and is to-day without serious competition. Touring, Tourabout, Roadster and Limousine bodies. Pri 6.300 The Olds- mobile catalogue describes all styles of the Limited, the Autocrat and the Defender, Sent gratis, OLDS MOTOR WORKS, LANSING, MICHIGAN Branches In the Principal Cities Dealers from Coast to Coast aon RTE Comicbooks.com