Life, 1914-10-08 · page 33 of 44
Life — October 8, 1914 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward automobile advertisement from Life magazine (page 637), likely from around 1915 based on internal references to the "1915 model." The page advertises the Hudson Six-40 luxury limousine at $2,550. It emphasizes the car's features: custom coachwork by New England builders, innovative engineering by Howard E. Coffin, luxurious appointments (electric telephone, toilet cases, collapsible tonneau seats), and fine imported fabrics. The advertisement's tone is aspirational marketing typical of the era, targeting wealthy buyers. It boasts of production delays due to demand ("thousands of men waited weeks") and positions Hudson as achieving "new price standards" through efficiency and quantity production—a claim that mass-production made luxury more accessible. This is period advertising content, not editorial satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HUDSON Six-40 $2,550 fist uiseaine Extra Tonneau Seats Face Forward or Backward A New Advance In Luxurious Body Building We offer this fall to luxury lovers a finished conception of an artistic limousine. Not a HUDSON conception. We are masters of car building, but palatial body designing is an art by itself. This Limousine body is built for us by famous New England coach builders. It is built—like this chassis—to typify all progress in this line. A Fine Combination In this HUDSON Six-40 we offer the masterpiece of Howard E. Coffin and his 47 engineers. The famous HUDSON corps has devoted four years to it. It is the ideal new-day Six. This is the car—in the 1915 model—which has multi- plied HUDSON popularity fivefold inside of a single year. It is so unrivaled that thousands of men waited weeks to get it when we could not fill our orders. On this matchless chassis we mount this Limousine—built by men who hold top place in their line. In the result you will find, in many ways, the most attractive car of the day. Some Elegancies We offer four options in upholstery and trimming. The finest imported fabrics are employed. See sample books at your local HUDSON showroom. The hardware is hard-rubber covered. All windows have sashless glass, and all window and door lights drop. The glass back of the driver may be set at any height. The rear doors lock. Roll curtains on windows and doors. Roll storm curtains both sides in front. Two collapsible seats in the tonneau which may be set to face front or rear. Electric telephone to the driver, electric light in the dome. Toilet cases, smoking cases—all the dainty appoint- ments. The price is $2,550, f. 0. b. Detroit. That's a new price for a quality car with luxurious Limousine. But the HUDSON—by efficiency and by quantity output—is creating new. price standards. This price today buys the finest example of modem car building. And it buys you the limit in luxury. Visit your local HUDSON showroom and this Limousine will prove that. 7-Passenger Phaeton sells for $1,550. 3-Passenger Roadster sells for $1,550. 3-Passenger Cabriolet sells for $1,750. 4-Passenger Coupe sells for $2, 150. Canadian Prices for Phaeton and Roadster, $2,100 f. o. b. Detroit, Duty Paid. HUDSON MOTOR CAR COMPANY, 8252 Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Mich. comicbooks.com