Life, 1916-05-18 · page 33 of 48
Life — May 18, 1916 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward **automobile tire advertisement** from Life magazine (page 957). The ad promotes Goodyear Cord Tires, emphasizing their superior construction and performance benefits: flexibility, durability, fuel efficiency, and comfort. It includes testimonial evidence—a Franklin car achieving 55 miles per gallon and outperforming competitors at Hudson Hill. The text lists prestigious car brands using Goodyear Cords as standard equipment: Franklin, Packard Twin Six, Locomobile, Peerless, White, and Haynes Twelve. These were luxury automobiles of the 1910s era, lending credibility through association. The visual shows two tire designs side-by-side, illustrating the cord construction and tread patterns. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Akron, Ohio) was a major manufacturer competing in the growing automotive market. This reflects early-20th-century advertising strategies: technical specifications, performance comparisons, and luxury brand endorsements targeting affluent motorists.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
and advantages of Goodyear Cord Tires, for which so many motorists gladly pay higher prices? First is the flexible Goodyear cord construction. This makes the = tires extremely resilient, speedy, and responsive. Second is Goodyear oversize. This adds the buoyancy and easy-riding of a larger air-cushion to the buoyancy and easy-riding of our cord con- struction. We get flexibility because the cords have no cross-weave to bind them. The tires yield freely when they strike road obstructions. They are protected from stone- bruise, rupture and blow-out. Their life is pro- longed. They give great mileage and complete satisfaction. They save power and add fuel-mileage. The Franklin car which traveled 55 miles on one gallon of gasoline—the highest Franklin economy mark in 1915—was equipped with Goodyear Cords. So were ten of the 15 cars which exceeded go miles per gallon. They run easily; they are “fast.” At Hudson Hill, they out-coasted ordinary cord tires by 177 feet, with a maximum speed of 36 miles per hour. In three sizes of the Goodyear Cord, No-Hook type, the air space is 23 to 35 per cent more than in regulation Q. D. Clinchers. That means lower inflation pressures, which turn riding-comfort into real riding-luxury. Goodyear Cord Tires are standard equipment on the Franklin, the Packard Twin Six, the Loco- mobile, the Peerless, the White, and the Haynes Twelve. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Akron, Ohio Double-thick All-Weather and Ribbed Treads, for rear and front wheels, The decp, sharp All- Weather grips resist skidding and give great trace tion. The Ribbed Tread assists casy steering. No-Hook and Q D. Chucher types, for gasoline and clectric cars Ask the nearest Goodyear Service Station Dealer for Goodyear Cord Tires comicbooks.com