Life, 1915-03-11 · page 33 of 48
Life — March 11, 1915 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Studebaker automobile advertisement**, not political satire. The page promotes the "Light Six" model ($1385) by emphasizing the company's manufacturing philosophy. The central image shows a stylized Studebaker car with satisfied passengers and smaller photographs of factory operations arranged behind it—a visual claim to quality control and complete in-house manufacturing. The ad's argument: Studebaker manufactures nearly all components itself (motors, gears, axles, bodies, etc.) rather than assembling parts from multiple suppliers. This supposedly ensures consistency, quality, and eliminates middlemen profits, allowing lower consumer prices. The text repeatedly emphasizes "COMPLETE" manufacturing and "QUALITY"—language intended to reassure buyers during an era when automobile reliability was uncertain and brand reputation mattered greatly for such major purchases. This represents early 20th-century advertising strategy: building consumer confidence through claims of vertical integration and manufacturing control.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CE#E It’s simply a matter of insurance, that’s all. Insurance of the quality that a man EXPECTS in any car that carries that name of Studebaker. Studebaker is not satisfied merely to assemble motors and axles and parts bought from parts manufacturers, but in order to get the accuracy of fit and the balance and the harmony of opera- tion that a car MUST have to meet Studebaker requirements, Studebaker manufactures practically all its own parts. And so, “— because it’s a Studebaker”— because this car carries name that for 63 years has stood for the highest ideals in manufacturing—a name that has come to be a pledge of QUALITY in every detail—Studebaker MAKES SURE by man- ufacturing Studebaker cars COMPLETE in Studebaker plants, Motors, gears, axles, transmissions, bodies, tops, fenders— ALL the hundreds of parts, in fact, that go to make up a car, with the exception of the tires, the horn, the electric system and such specialized equipment that is manufactured to Stude- baker specifications —are designed and manufactured in Studebaker plants. To Studebaker, this policy of COMPLETE manufacturing means the certainty that every Studebaker car lives up to of its name. And to the buyer, it means a car that carries only ONE profit— because there are no parts-makers’ profits in the price—and a car that can be depended upon to give SERVICE and FULL money's worth of satisfaction for every dollar of the price in every detail from “stem to stern.” But you will appreciate even better what this policy means to you when you RIDE in the Studebaker Studebaker Features Electric Lighting and Starting—FULL Fi. ing Rear Axle—Timken Bearings —Safety Tread Rear Tires—One-man Type Top, Price ia USA. $985 985 1385 1450 LIGHT SIX—$1385 and see the unity, the harmony that Studebaker has been able to build into this car. study the balance of this Studebaker-BUILT car, and its riding comfort se of control, When you feel at your own finger ends that flood of power obedient to your slightest wish. But see it—soon. Judge its beauty. its grace of design and its elegance of finish. Get the Studebaker dealer to tell you how the upkeep cost has been cut to the bone by this same policy of COMPLETE manufacturing. And today, write for “The Story of Stude- baker"—a handsomely illustrated book that tells in detail how the Studebaker is built. STUDEBAKER — DETROIT Price Ia Canada Studebaker ROADSTER, . . Studebaker FOUR, . . . - Studebaker LIGHT SIX, Studebaker SIX (7-passes F O.B. D. $1250 1250 1750 1825