Life, 1914-08-27 · page 37 of 44
Life — August 27, 1914 — page 37: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is a **product advertisement** for the Delco electric ignition and starting system, not a political cartoon or satirical content. The Delco company (Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company, based in Dayton, Ohio) is marketing their automotive electrical system—cranking, lighting, and ignition—to potential car buyers. The advertisement emphasizes "simplicity" as its key selling point, showing a wiring diagram and explaining how the system's single-unit design with minimal wiring represents an innovation. The marketing claim is that Delco pioneered electric car starting (mentioning "154,000 owners" already using it), positioning the company as revolutionary in automobile technology. This reflects the early automotive era when electric starting was still a competitive advantage—before it became standard on all vehicles. The ad targets middle-class car owners interested in modern, reliable vehicle technology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JORTION UT wit BR AUTOMATE SPARK CONTROL EXTENSION OF PUM guar ATOR Simplicity is the Keynote of the Delco System Study the wiring diagram illustrated above. It shows all the wires there are in a Delco equipped automobile. Note the simplicity of it—the apparent strength and character indicated. You will find slight deviations from this diagram to meet the engineering and manufacturing requirements of the various motor car companies. But in all essential details the diagram is standard. The Delco system is a complete electric cranking, lighting and ignition system. Tt includes also— A reserve ignition— A connection for horn and extra lights when desired— A dimming feature for headlights— A protective circuit breaker to prevent possible damage from short circuits— A locking device for both ignition and lights. The automatically controlled generator provides a high charg- ing rate at low car speed and lower charging rate at high speed, thus insuring a well charged battery under ordinary operating conditions, and preventing over-charging at the hands of a fast driver. . The automatically controlled ignition insures a properly timed spark at all engine speeds. And with all these features the Delco System is remarkably free from complications. Tt has less wiring, in fact, than was once used for ignition e. This combination of efficiency and simplicity is made possible by the single unit, single wired, grounded system. The Delco System was the pioneer in the electric cranking field. Three years ago the first electrically cranked car appeared. It was Delco equipped—and it revolutionized the automobile industry. Today 154,000 owners are driving Delco equipped cars. THE DAYTON ENGINEERING LABORATORIES COMPANY, DAYTON, OHIO | ~Pelco-Exide battery made to withstand rovgh sage and give constant, efficient service Combination Switch—controls entire electrical sytem, Suroag, shople and very compact. These three units comprise the entire Delco System —cranking, lighting and ignition