Life, 1914-04-30 · page 6 of 44
Life — April 30, 1914 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement**, not satire or a political cartoon. The White Company, an Ohio automobile manufacturer, is promoting White cars as superior long-term investments that retain value. The ad's main argument: White cars appear rarely on the used-car market because owners keep them rather than trade them in—supposedly evidence of their quality and durability. The company contrasts this favorably against competitors' cars, which are "built to be traded" and quickly become worthless. The pitch targets buyers seeking economical, reliable vehicles that won't require frequent replacement. This reflects 1920s automotive marketing emphasizing durability and lifetime value—concepts quite different from modern planned obsolescence or trade-in cycles.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
GO CUDCRRDRDOR ROO DOROSUDDUUSDRUDODOROCERRO SCO RRRCRDODRDORCODERSURCRCRORCOURURSRDROROORODoRDDaNORRUDeURRCORDORe - Ss irc Kee er Ed D oe. : OOO Your Car! The White Company’s Solution of the Annual Trading Problem Too many cars sold today are built to be traded; to last but one or two years; of ordinary materials; of extreme design; and, therefore, quickly useless and out of style. The second-hand market is flooded with such cars, and their value is next to nothing. There Are Practically No White Cars on the Second-Hand Market The real merit of any make of car is best shown by its absence from the second-hand market. Look through the classified lists of any news- paper. Note the scarcity of Whites in the column after column of cars advertised for sale. Think what this means. The chassis of White Cars are built in the same factory, by the same men, of the same identical materials as White Trucks. And the most essential points of motor truck superiority—the features which have given White the supremacy among all motor trucks, both in quantity and value of production— are durability and continued economy of operation. The bodies of White Cars are proper in out- line, dignified and conservative, and because never extreme, are always in style. White bodies are built, like White chassis, to last for years, and are not designed to make the owner feel obliged, for mere appearance sake, to purchase a new car every year. Extreme styles in motor cars are due more to the desire on the part of the manufacturer to force an immediate market rather than to sell cars which will give definite satisfaction for years to come. So thoroughly does the public believe in the superior wearing qualities and continued economy of operation of White Cars, that every White Dealer has a waiting list for used White Cars which he cannot supply. The White Company, as far as White Cars aro concerned, has no second-hand problem. And because the demand for used White Cars so far exceeds the supply, White Owners are continually importuned to trade their cars for other makes, because dealers know that used Whites can be sold immediately for the highest cash price. : But White Owners rarely trade. They know that their old Whites are better today, more economical to operate, and will be worth more next year and in years to come than the new cars offered in exchange. Buy your éar from a manufacturer who builds for keeps—not for trades. THE MANUFACTURING AS WELL AS THE SALES POLICY OF THE WHITE COMPANY HAS ALWAYS OPPOSED FREQUENT TRADES We issue separate catalogs for White “30” “40” and “60” Passenger Cars, also for White "Delivery Trucks” and leavy Service Trucks.” We will gladly send the ones you want THE WHITE G COMPANY Manufacturers of Gasoline Motor Cars, Motor Trucks and Taxicabs CLEVELAND comicbooks.com