Life, 1918-02-21 · page 39 of 40
Life — February 21, 1918 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not satire or political commentary—it's a straightforward automobile advertisement for the Templar car, manufactured by Templar Motors Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio. The ad promotes the Templar as "the first superfine small car," claiming it offers luxury features previously available only in expensive vehicles costing $5,000+, but at moderate price and size. It emphasizes the innovative "Vitalic Top-Valve Motor"—a small four-cylinder engine (197 cubic inches) delivering 43 horsepower with fuel economy and vibration-free operation. The side-profile illustration shows a period-appropriate open-frame automobile with spoke wheels. The ad targets middle-class buyers seeking quality engineering without luxury pricing. This reflects 1920s automotive marketing, when such technical specifications and comparative claims were common selling points.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The First Superfine for the first time is a superfine car of moderate size—the Templar. Materials that characterize the Templar throughout have here- tofore been used only in the big superfine cars that sell for five thousand dollars or more. Such painstaking, intensively accurate workmanship through- out has gone into the big ex- pensive cars only, Such careful attention to the details of superior. finish throughout has been confined to the big expensive cars. Now for the first time in an American built car, one may have moderate, economical size with the finest of everything that money and skill can produce. The Templar car is built to such exacting standards, that it may be in keeping with the Templar Vitalic Top-Valve Mo- tor. The Vitalic Top-Valve is the remarkable motor around which Templar ideals and the Templar enterprise have been formed. It is a small, compact four cylinder motor ‘with 33x 5% Small Car inch cylinders or a total of only 197 cubic inches displacement —that, of course, means real fuel economy. But this same small, compact motor develops 43 horsepower at 2100 revolutions per minute. Top-Valves are completely enclosed and operate in an oil vapor —think what positive, quiet valve action this assure: The three-bearing cranksh is integrally counterbalanced to such nicety that vibration is practically eliminated. The net result is a motor of intense liveliness, remarkable flexibility and extraordinary power for its — Templar built throughout. To appreciate what the T: plar means, think of the ve finest motor car you know any- thing about, The Templar is such a car on a smaller scale,—even to the easy riding qualities. We are selecting Distributors and Dealers throughout the country, in keeping with the exceptional character of the Templar Car. The Templar Motors Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio 2200 Halstead Street, Lakewood es f. 0. b. Cleveland \ suit purchas Ns Styles and Pri F Passenger To four Passeuse i comicbooks.com