Life, 1915-05-13 · page 35 of 52
Life — May 13, 1915 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page automobile advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes the Studebaker Six automobile at $1385 (F.O.B. Detroit). The advertisement uses a boastful, tongue-in-cheek tone to claim overwhelming demand: the manufacturer's 148-acre plant operates overtime, shipping 200-300 cars daily, yet cannot meet demand. The copywriter urges readers to purchase immediately from local dealers before inventory sells out completely. The pitch emphasizes the car's quality features—battery ignition, floating rear axle, sturdy springs—and its reputation for durability ("100,000-mile" cars). It highlights the Six's historical significance: first to sell below $2,000 while maintaining quality. The period illustration shows the open-air roadster style typical of 1910s automobiles, with passengers enjoying a leisurely drive. This reflects genuine post-WWI economic optimism and strong consumer demand for automobiles during the automotive industry's rapid expansion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
With 148-acre plants, the LARGEST in the entire industry; —running overtime most of the time; and —shipping from 200 to 300 cars a day: There aren’t going to be enough Studebaker Cars to go ’round! Studebaker ROADSTER, Studebaker Ft Studebaker LIGHT SIX, Studebaker SIX—7-passenge And 80 our advice to YOU, if you want a Studebaker SIX, is to see your local Studebaker Dealer NOW. Here in Detroit, OUR order-books are closed—shut up tight. We couldn't ship even ONE extra car to any one of cour 4,000 dealers, We're OVERSOLD —three months season ends, But the Studebaker Dealer in your town may have a few cars left. And if you see him EARLY, the chances are that you can get one. Never in all the history of Studebaker's business life has there been a year like this—25,000 cars in six months, and during the winter months, too. This SIX, ever since it was first announced in the summer of 1912, has been the FASTEST-selling Six on the market. It was the FIRST, you remember, to sell at less than $2,000—the FIRST to show that a QUALITY Six can be built at a reasonable price. And men who once paid twice and thrice the price of this Studebaker SIX find that at $1385 it gives ALL that they want in a SIX. before the F. O. B. Detroit Find that it is as handsome a SIX as they want—with plenty of power for any hills and the sandiest roads. With all the comforts and luxury of fittings and all the mechanical excellence that has made Stude- bakers famous as the “100,000-mile” cars. They recognize QUALITY in a car—and they insist on getting battery ignition and a FULL-floating rear axle with a pressed steel housing and drive thro’ radius rods and long, flat, double-shackle springs. They want a car that is stylish and refined and in good taste—a big, roomy, inviting car. And they want accessibility. And finding those qualities in the Studebaker SIX, they're buying them so fast that we wish we'd built twice as many. Of course, we'd hate to have to say to you, " LATE, there's not one left.” But THIS year—THREE entire months before the season closes—we have to refuse dealers an extra allowance of cars, And before YOUR Dealer is OVERSOLD—it might be well to see him. “TOO SIX $1385 comicbooks.com