Life, 1916-10-26 · page 3 of 46
Life — October 26, 1916 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **vintage automobile advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It's from REO Motor Car Company (Lansing, Michigan), promoting their vehicles as "The Gold Standard of Values." The ad uses aspirational messaging rather than satire, claiming REO cars represent quality over quantity—emphasizing that every worker from chief engineer to inspector embodies a commitment to excellence. The company invites factory visits to demonstrate transparency and worker pride. The vintage car illustration shows a REO Six Sedan touring model. This appears to be early 20th-century advertising, likely from the 1920s based on the car design and typography. The "gold standard" tagline suggests REO positioned itself as a premium yet affordable option in the competitive automotive market of that era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
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