Life, 1915-02-11 · page 3 of 44
Life — February 11, 1915 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **straightforward automobile advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It appears in *Life* magazine (page 219) and promotes the Hudson Six-40 car for $1,550. The page features three signatures endorsing the vehicle—identifiable names include "John Dunley" and what appears to be "L.E. Maxim"—representing satisfied owners. The ad claims 10,000 Hudson owners endorsed the car after testing it across 43 countries over two seasons, covering approximately 25 million miles. The advertisement emphasizes reliability, design innovation, and practical value. Rather than satire, this represents typical early 20th-century automotive marketing: using testimonials and performance claims to establish consumer trust and differentiate the Hudson brand in a competitive market.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Once the HUDSON Six-40 stood alone, the pioneer in lightness and economy appliedtoa 7-passenger Six. It introduced a hundred innova- tions. All of them were wanted. Every man realized that their fulfill- ment would change the whole aspect of motoring. But radical advances are always subject to question. New things must be proved. Every new ype. even though Howard E. designs it, must run the gantlet ee cynicism and attack. And here was a typewhich proposed, for one thing, to save 1000 pounds in weight. Now the Pattern Car Now this HUDSON Six-40, in its second season, is the pattern car ot the day. It is the most-copied car in America, What it stands for has become the almost universal aim. It has made the Six triumphant by removing the handicaps of price and weight, of fuel and upkeep cost. Most of the leading new models this season are in this Light Six class. There are 26 altogether. Their makers are starting where HUDSON designers started four years ago. The ideals we pro- pounded, the betterments we dem- onstrated, have become the accepted standards. Thisisthesecond time that anew HUDSON model has revo- lutionized the practice of the times. We've Four Years’ Start And 10,000 Endorsers But we have been working four years on this car. We started two yearsbefore the first model came out. We had Howard E. Coffin as chief of designing, and the foremost engineering corps in America worked with him. There were countless problems to solve, a thou- sand details to perfect. We had the time and the men to do it. Now 10,000 Six-40's are running —5000 first-year models, 5000 or this. They are running in 43 coun- tries. Together they have covered, probably, 25,000,000 miles. The HUDSON Six-40 is an at- tained success. These cars for two Log Boe se Vt seasons, meeting every condition, have answered all questions about it. When we state to you now that this car is right there are ten thou- sand men to confirm it. And that is true of no other Light Six. Consult Your Neighbors Wherever you are there are HUDSON Six-40's. There are men who have tried them out. Consult them. They will tell you that this is their ideal car, and offer their records to prove it. That verdict, ten thousand times repeated, is bound to be your verdict, after equal tests. You can see today that in beauty and luxury, in light- ness and equipment, this car has no rival in its field. And time will show you that it has none in staunchness, service and economy. 7-Passenger Phasten, pissor. 0. b. Detroit. Canadian Price, $2100 f. 0. b. troit, Duty Paid. Four eben ‘tyles of bodies. HUDSON dealer service is ideal. It in- cludes periodic inspection. And 800 of these service stations welcome HUDSON owners everywhere. HUDSON MOTOR CAR COMPANY DETROIT, MICH.