Life, 1912-10-03 · page 7 of 56
Life — October 3, 1912 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes the Baker Motor-Vehicle Company's electric automobiles, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The image shows well-dressed passengers boarding or exiting an electric car surrounded by spring flowers, depicting the vehicle as elegant and suitable for leisure drives. The advertisement emphasizes Baker's competitive advantages: electric vehicles required no "cranking" (unlike gasoline cars), produced no smoke or grease, and performed reliably across various conditions. The text challenges potential customers not to underestimate Baker's capabilities simply because they're electric vehicles. It claims Baker cars have superior range, speed, and battery performance compared to competing models, and that their design quality and reliability explain their sales success. This reflects the early 1900s moment when electric vehicles were serious competitors to gasoline cars before gasoline eventually dominated.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TQ OOLL OG eS So Om 'G DIEIEYS OS se) Se DG IL > @ IG 0 not associate with the Baker your ideas on ordinary electric vehicles. The Baker is a genuine automobile, electrically driven—capable of any reasonable distance or speed requirement, equal to any grade, road or weather condition, always ready for the most exacting service without balk or bother, without smoke or grease, and without “cranking.” Years of use in the hands of thousands of eople, from the boulevards of Boston to the ormidable hills of Seattle, have demonstrated that the Baker stands far in the lead for all- around service effic Likewise has it been proved that the Baker will travel farther ona single charge than any other car of equal battery rating, and even with this,economy of current its motor holds the record for high power development. Such superiorities as these give Baker users a real advantage over operators of the average ele % bined with the infinite care re- flected in e detail of design, finish and appointment, they explain why the Baker to- day leads in number of cars sold. THE BAKER MOTOR-VEHICLE COMPANY, CLEVELAND, OHIO Builders also of Baker Electric Trucks comicbooks.com