Life, 1914-04-02 · page 51 of 68
Life — April 2, 1914 — page 51: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily automobile advertising**, not political satire. It's a 1910s-era advertisement for the Hudson Motor Car Company's Six-40 model priced at $1750. The ad uses a persuasive strategy common to the era: it encourages potential buyers to test-drive the vehicle themselves rather than rely on salesmanship. The text emphasizes the car's technical features—its six-cylinder engine, lightweight design (2,980 pounds), fuel efficiency, and innovative equipment like disappearing tonneau seats and dimming searchlights. The only notable figure mentioned is **Howard E. Coffin**, the engineer who designed the Six-40. He's presented as a mark of quality and reliability. The "no question then about sixes" slogan reflects a period debate about vehicle power: whether six-cylinder engines justified their cost compared to four-cylinder alternatives. The page also advertises a larger model, the Six-54, at $2,250. This is straightforward commercial messaging with no apparent satirical intent.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HUDSON Six-40 $1750 Rides Like Constant Coasting Just Drive this Six Ten Miles. No Question then About Sixes! Go to your local HUDSON dealer. Take a ride, at the wheel, in this new Six-40. Then you will become forever a Six enthusiast. Note question of “which Six.” HIS new Hudson Six-4o can best speak for itself. You know your likes and wishes. See if this car meets them. It needs no salesmanship. The facts are all apparent. Just get the car’s own story and judge it for your- self. Decide These Things First, do you want a Six? If any doubt lingers, this ride will dispel it. The smoothness, the flexibility, the lack of vibration will make a resist- less appeal. If you like luxury of motion you are coming to a Six. Then the weight question. The HUDSON Six-40 weighs 2,980 pounds, due to skillful designing and properly chosen materials. Do you wish to carry, in an equal-powered car, from 450 to 1,250 extra pounds? It would mean the same, in tire cost and fuel, as to carry at all times three to eight extra passengers. Then operative cost. The HUD- SON Six-4o has a new-type motor— small bore and long stroke—which has made amazing miles-per-gallon records. Your HUDSON dealer has many actual comparisons. Figure out what this one feature will save in the years to come. this price, this Note that Howard E. Coffin builds the HUDSO) The Quality Question HEN let this Six-4o, designed by Howard E. Coffin, show you the meaning of a high-grade car. Judge what it means in staunchness, in freedom from trouble, in long life and low upkeep. Now that $1750 buys all these things, isn’t quality worth getting? HEN see if this car meets your ideals of beauty. Note the streamline body with the lines un- broken and without a hinge in sight. Mark the perfect finish, the deep, rich, hand-buffed upholstery. Willa car so distinguished add to the pleas- ure of ownership? EE the new equipment—the two disappearing tonneau seats, the “ One-Man ” top, the quick-adjusting side curtains, the dimming search- lights, the concealed speedometer gear. Note how extra tires are car- ried—ahead of the front door. Note the gasoline tank with its gauge in the cowl. Note the convenience of every control. All these are this year’s improvements. The Price Question HEN judge if anything in com- parable cars justifies a higher price. What more can any maker it, these flowing lines, these superb appointments. Six-40. And then you will have the answer to the offer in a car of like capacity? And what lower price, in any type, offers so much per dollar? Count depreciation too. Since the Six is the type of the future, and since these lines and equipment are the coming vogue, think how this car will hold its value as compared with other types. ET the HUDSON Six-4o—the car itself—answer these ques- tions for you. Let it make its own appeal. And don’t delay. We are at this writing weeks behind on our orders. We have no hope of meeting all the next two months’ demand. Pheaton, with extra tonneau seats —or Roadster—$1750 f. 0. b. Detroit. Convertible Roadster, with leather top, lined, windows that drop out of sight into the doors—a car as beautiful and comfortable in rough weather as a limousine, and that can be quickly changed to an open roadster, $1950. The HUDSON Six-54 The new HUDSON Six-54q is al- most identical with the HUDSON Six-4o in design and equipment. But it is larger and more powerful. It is for men who want a more impressive car. Its price is $2250. HUDSON MOTOR CAR COMPANY, 7857 Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Mich. Eomil