Life, 1915-06-03 · page 33 of 52
Life — June 3, 1915 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a satirical cartoon page**—it's a straightforward advertisement for Oldsmobile automobiles, appearing in *Life* magazine around 1915-1916. The page promotes two Oldsmobile models: the "Eight" (an eight-cylinder car priced at $1,295) and the "Four" (a four-cylinder model at $1,095). The ad uses typical early automotive marketing language, emphasizing power, reliability, and surprisingly low prices for the era. Key claims include the car's mechanical simplicity ("There is nothing perplexing under the hood"), smooth performance, and emotional appeal ("you think the car half human"). The only humor is mild—describing the car's attraction as almost human-like—but this is genuine marketing copy, not satire. *Life* magazine, while known for satirical cartoons, also carried paid advertisements. This page exemplifies how early 20th-century car manufacturers marketed automobiles as revolutionary consumer goods combining power, luxury, and affordability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OLDSMOBILE SETS THE PACE WITH AN EFIGHT Alive with Power Light in Weight Exquisite in Beauty August Deliveries step on the accelerator you experience a thrill you never dreamed a car could give you. You feel a sensation of resistless power—smooth, velvety, unbroken and strong, like the flow of a mill race. [: looks good to the eye, and when you An Otpsmosite through and through —it is a radical turning, an almost startling departure, from the usual idea of eight- cylinder motor efficiency. | Oldsmobiles have this attraction always—they are quite out of the ordinary. So with this Eight. It is light in weight. In addition, it is simple mechanically and as reliable as a watch. There is nothing perplexing under the hood. The car re- quires very little attention and very small expense to operate. In a group of cars it impresses you at once as having distinction. Driving on the road you feel a satisfying difference between this and all other cars you meet. So quickly does it win your friendship you think the car half human. A Most Surprising Thing is the Price, $7295. For Immediate Delivery Sa companion piece to our Eight we an- nounce for 1916 a new Oldsmobite Four, Model 43—very distinctive, with 120 inch wheelbase and a correspondingly ample body. Everything about the car attracts—a powerful Oldsmobile valve-in-head motor ; long and buoyant springs; fascinatingly attractive cabinet work ; clear, thrifty, live hickory wheels in natural finish ; seats delightfully deep and soft—and the suprisingly moderate price, $1095. Booklet No. 56 on request. OLDS MOTOR WORKS, LANSING, MICHIGAN ESTABLISHED 1880 INCORPORATED 1899 Many of the Geniuses of the automobile industry are the product of the House of Oldsmobile—a school where men are trained to be thorough and accurate,