Life, 1913-01-02 · page 31 of 44
Life — January 2, 1913 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**, but rather a **full-page automobile advertisement** from an early 20th-century Life magazine. The Hudson Motor Car Company advertises their 1937 model by emphasizing engineering credibility: 48 engineers from 97 European and American factories collaborated on the design, led by renowned engineer Howard E. Coffin. The ad argues that collaborative expertise produces superior results than individual genius. The top section offers practical advice to car buyers considering trade-ins, warning against overpaying for new vehicles while undervaluing used cars—a consumer-protection message that suggests contemporary wariness about dealership practices. Key selling points include: electric self-cranking, electric lights, comfort, reliability, and power. The $1,875 price is highlighted as evidence the Hudson is a "Master" vehicle regardless of cost. For modern readers: this reflects an era when automobile engineering was novel enough to merit detailed technical justification, and when consumer protections required explicit editorial guidance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
New HUDSON “37” Furnished Complete—No Extras to Buy | HUDSON cars will an- swer all requirements of | Quality, Appearance, Comfort, Staunchness, Power, Speed, Complete- ness and Advance Fea- | tures for years to come Want to Trade Your Old Automobile? Don’t make a mistake when you trade your present car in on a new one. sure that it is the car you would choose if you were paying casit. allowance on your old car that you can. First make Then get the best But don’t let an apparently big price for your machine blind you as to the real value of the new car. If you are postponing your decision as to what car you will take, pending the disposal of your old automobile, con- sider carefully the cars that are made for trading. Remem- ber that most buyers of the better grade cars have owned automobiles in the past, and that they are disposing of those old cars because the cars failed in some particular to be completely satisfactory. In the car that you plan to buy, you expect a more satis- factory automobile than is the one you are selling. Perhaps lack of power, or speed, or uncomfortable riding qualities, or lack of safety, or some other detail has not pleased you in the car that you are selling. Naturally you will see to it that your new car will not be similarly unsatisfactory. You should further be sure that the new car is also sati: in all other essentials such as staunchness, simplicit dom from mechanical faults and also that it is modern in appointment, equipment and luxurious furnishings. And be particular that it is comfortable to ride in, that it is roomy enough for you to lounge about in and that it gives no trouble on the road. The New HUDSON “37” That 48 Engineers Built The picked engineers from 97 European and American automobile factories combined in building the New HUDSON “37.” ‘There are 48 experts in the organization, at the head of which is Howard E. Coffin, America’s leading automobile engineer and builder of six famous cars. Combined, these men had a hand in building more than 200,000 motor cars. No car can be greater than its engineers planned it to be. We quick]. No man need be told that Howard E. Coffin leads all in building four-cylinder cars. successful automobiles. In building the HUDSON ‘‘37" all his skill and experience contributed to its perfection. believe mechanical perfection is more and thoroughly accomplished through combining the experience and skill of many men than is ever possible if dependence is placed entirely upon one man. No designer has built as many But in addition there was also worked into the car the skill and experience of his 47 expert associates. Thus The ‘ yas produced a car such as no one man is capable of building. 7" combines all that these experts know in the art of automobile building. It is truly a composite masterpiece. Its detail of comfort, beauty, dis- tinctiveness and equipment is precisely the same as that furnished on the “Six.” The car has sufficient power for every requirement. most automobiles. It is quiet and free from the degree of vibration common to It is a simple, accessible, durable car—the best our 48 engineers know how to build; therefore we unhesitatingly recom- mend it as the Master of any four-cylinder car, regardless of cost, power or make. Models are Five-passenger Touring and Torpedo and Two-passenger Roadster at $1875 each; Canadian price, duty paid, $2425, f. 0. b. Detroit. Open bodies with Limousine and Coupe, extra. See the Triangle on the Radiator HUDSON MOTOR CAR COMPANY, 7571 Jefferson Avenue, Detroit HUDSON-—Electric Self-Cranking—Electrically Lighted comicbooks.com