Life, 1915-06-17 · page 34 of 52
Life — June 17, 1915 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon but an automobile advertisement** appearing in Life magazine (circa 1916). It promotes the Hudson motor car, specifically the 1916 model priced at $1,350. The ad emphasizes price reduction and engineering improvements to appeal to middle-class buyers. Key selling points include: - A $200 price cut (making it $400 cheaper since introduction) - Weight reduction of 1,500 pounds without sacrificing strength - Four innovations: yacht-line body, durable finish, spacious interior, and affordability - Attribution to designer Howard E. Coffin as a mark of quality The background image shows boats, positioning the vehicle as suitable for leisure and travel. The ad's rhetorical strategy—"What more can HUDSON do?"—uses question-and-answer format to highlight competitive advantages during the early automobile industry's rapid development. This reflects 1910s consumer culture when cars were transitioning from luxury items to mass-market products.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AeA GaSe SWE SRS ASAE T REESE EEE ART ARATE A, “The Road Cruiser ” Ready—the 1916 Hudson Countless tongues in the past few months have voiced this question everywhere : What more can HUDSON do? Now the answer is ready. And we believe this answer will amaze the most zealous HUDSON admirers. Another $200 Reduction First, we've reduced the price by another $200. That makes $400—23 per cent—since this new type first came out. To grasp that, remember former conditions. Only a little time ago, $4000 was a low price car in such numbers that next season we were able to quote $1550 on it. At that new price, men bought 10,000 of the 1915 model. They forced us to treble our output, to build enormous factory additions. And now we are able to quote you $1350 on this famous Six. We Refined the Six Old-time Sixes were heavier by some 1500 pounds. This vast weight reduction required better materials and better designing. It required higher quality, greater refinement. A thousand crudities had to be eliminated. No iota of strength was sacrificed. Seating capacity was not reduced. In beauty, luxury and equipment for a Six. The cheapest Six cost 24 times HUDSON'S price today. We brought out this new-type HUDSON, late in 1913, at a $1750 price. It startled Motordom. Some of the oldest makers in the business told us the price was impossible. Four Innovations 1—Yacht-Line Body 2—Ever-Lustre Finish 3—Roomier Tonneau 4—$200 Reduction we gave you the best of the times. Yet, while adding class and quality, we gave you a moderate price. And, by cutting out excess, crudity and waste, we cut tire cost and fuel cost in two. Now this model, whose price But we gave it to you on a car of HUDSON standard —on a Howard E. Coffin design. And men bought that suggested low grade, has become the modern ideal of a high-grade car. a SSS SS PENSE e STs