Life, 1913-07-03 · page 31 of 48
Life — July 3, 1913 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a full-page advertisement for Goodyear tires from an early 20th-century issue of *Life* magazine. The ad addresses a genuine automotive problem of the era: "rim-cutting," where partially deflated tires would be damaged by contact with wheel rims, causing expensive failures. Goodyear claims to have solved this through "No-Rim-Cut" tires using six braided wire bands vulcanized into the tire base, creating an unstretchable foundation that doesn't hook to the rim. The ad emphasizes competitive advantages: 10% oversizing, 10% greater air capacity (adding 25% to mileage), and now—importantly—**no price premium** over standard tires. Goodyear stresses that competitors have tried and failed to solve this problem, and that their solution is proprietary ("made under lock and key"). This represents early automotive marketing leveraging a specific technical solution as a market differentiator.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JERE No-Rim-Cut Tires 10% Oversize The Chief Tire Problem How to end rim-cutting, for years and years, has been the chief problem of Tiredom. Many devices have been tried and abandoned. They developed faults. The tires felldown. Thousands came back for replacement. The Ruin of Rim-Cutting Motor car owners have lost mil- lions of dollars through having tires cut by rims. The trouble occurs when tires are run wholly or partly deflated. And the ruin can’t be satisfactorily repaired. Myriads of punctured tires have been wrecked in amoment—before the driver knew of the puncture. No-Rim-Cut tires make this ruin impossible. They have been used for years, on hundreds of thousands of cars. And not one has ever rim-cut. Over-Capacity Another fact is that No-Rim-Cut tires exceed clincher tires ten per cent ny capacity. That is, in air capac- ity. It is air that carries the load. This extra Every great tire maker, again and again, has tried to make tires that can’t rim-cut. We solved this problem in a faultless tire, and by means that we control. That is the reason why Goodyears now outsell every other tire. capacity, on the average, adds 25 per cent to the mileage. So these tires embody two enor- mous economies. They save rim- cutting and save over-loading. The Secret Bands of Wire These tires are made possible by six flat bands of 126 braided wires. They are vulcanized into the tire base. Thus we get an unstretchable tire base, and we don’t hook the tire to the rim. One glance at these tires in any Goodyear shop will show why these tires can’t rim-cut. AKRON, OHIO No-Rim-Cut Tires With or Without Non-Skid Treads We control these bands by se- crecy. They are made under lock and key. And, so far as we know, there is no other way to make a satis- factory tire of this type. Nearly every maker has tried it. No Extra Price No-Rim-Cut tires used to cost one-fifth more than clinchers. With our multiplied output the price has come down. Now no standard tire of any type costs less than No-Rim-Cut tires. There is no reason whatever to try an experiment. No reason for tires that rim-cut, or for tires of less capacity. You can get at the same price the tire which is now the most popular tire in the world. Write for the Good- year Tire Book—14th- year edition. It tells all known ways to econ- omize on tires. THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, AKRON, OHIO Branches and Agencies in 103_Principal Cities More Service Stations Than Any Other Tire We Make All Kinds of Rubber Tires, Tire Accessories and Repair Outfits (1180) Main Canadian Office, Toronto, Ont.—Canadian Factory, Bowmanville, Ont. DrmTCooT cles of th 31 comicbooks.com