Life, 1912-12-12 · page 31 of 48
Life — December 12, 1912 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a political cartoon but a **product advertisement** for the Overland automobile, made by the Willys-Overland Company of Toledo, Ohio. The ad promotes a $985 touring car with modern features (self-starter, magneto, speedometer, etc.). The text boasts extraordinary growth: from 400 to 40,000 cars annually in six years—a 10,000% increase claimed to exceed all competitors combined. This reflects the **early automotive boom** (appears to be circa 1910s), when automobiles were still relatively new luxury goods. The hyperbolic claims about market dominance were typical of period advertising. The elegantly framed layout and detailed mechanical specifications reflect how manufacturers marketed cars as sophisticated, technologically advanced products to affluent buyers. There is no satire here—this is straightforward commercial promotion in *Life* magazine's advertising section.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
: $985 Completely Equipped Self-Starter Timken Bearings Mohair Top and Boot 30 Horse-power Center Control Clear Vision-Rain-Vision 5-Passenger Touring Car Remy Magneto Wind Shield 110-Inch Whee] Base Warner Speedometer Prestolite Tank gq In six years we have jumped from 400 cars a year to 40,000 carsa year. ‘This is an increase of nearly 10,000 per cent. This growth is greater than that of any other single concern in theindustry. This growth is greater than the growth of the combined factories of the world. The Overland, by virtue of this unusual act of implicit confidence, warm appreci- ation, and exceptional recognition, is today the most prominent, permanent and popu- lar car of its type produced. (Handsome catalogue on request. Please address Dept. 16.) The Willys-Overland Company, Toledo, Ohio comicbooks.com