Life, 1916-02-24 · page 5 of 48
Life — February 24, 1916 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **advertising copy, not satire or political cartoon**. The page promotes the Chalmers automobile's 3400 r.p.m. engine. The single illustration shows a side-view drawing of an open-air touring car with five passengers in period dress (early 1910s style), depicting the vehicle as a luxury family automobile. The text explains that Chalmers engineers deliberately restricted their engine's power output to prioritize **fuel economy over raw horsepower**—a pragmatic business decision as gasoline prices rose. The advertisement emphasizes the car's smooth acceleration, reliability, and cost-efficiency (18 miles per gallon), positioning it as practical for owners seeking value rather than extreme performance. Pricing is listed as $1050 in Detroit, $1475 in Canada. This represents a straightforward early automotive advertisement in *Life* magazine's commercial pages.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WHY THE 3400 R. P. M. CHALMERS This is the day of might. But the sacrifice of operating economy on the altar of extreme brute might is motor hari-kari. When Chalmers engineers had built the now famous 3400 r. p.m. engine, which spins a crank-shaft better than 56 revolutions a second, they found that despite its six small 8% by 41% cylinders, it would deliver extreme, superfluous horse-power. It was a great achievement—perhaps without parallel in America. The temptation to put such a motor on the market was enormous. But Mr. Chalmers took a long look into the future, saw gasoline steadily advancing in price, and refused to O. K. an engine like this. He knew that that extra power would cost the owner more than it would be worth to him. So Chalmers engineers deliberately held the power of the 8400 r. p. m. down and still it delivered the COMBINES MIGHT WITH MILEAGE stiffest wallop that ever came out of an engine of its size. And in doing so, Chalmers engineers saved you 88 per cent in gasoline, increased your mileage to 18 per gallon, gave the car magnificent acceleration. It’s easy to drive the 8400 r. p. m. Chalmers. There’s the feel of perfect velvet under the accelerator foot—you need never take another car’s dust—always four wheels on the road—direction as straight as a sunbeam. All this without hum or roar—and anything up to a mile-a-minute speed. She’s no racing beast for a Resta or a Ralph Mulford. She’s built for you. $1050 Detroit $1475 in Canada Chalmers Motor Company, Detroit, Mich,