Life, 1918-04-18 · page 33 of 40
Life — April 18, 1918 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a political cartoon** but a **corporate advertisement** for the Franklin Automobile Company (Syracuse, NY), appearing in *Life* magazine circa 1917-1918. The page presents performance data comparing Franklin cars favorably to competitors: 135% sales increase versus 12% for other luxury cars. It highlights efficiency metrics (fuel economy, tire mileage, oil consumption, power output) through bar charts and test results. The rhetoric appeals to wartime values of **efficiency and conservation**—a major theme during WWI. The ad frames Franklin ownership as patriotic waste-reduction: "Does your car deliver Service—without Waste?" It claims that if all Americans drove Franklins, the nation would save "Four Hundred Million Gallons of gasoline and $192,000,000" annually. The accompanying illustration shows a typical period sedan in profile. **Modern context**: This represents early automotive marketing using data visualization and appeals to civic duty rather than luxury or status—reflecting 1910s-era values and wartime resource consciousness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Why Franklin Sales Increased Last Year 135% against the 12% Increase of all Other Fine Cars How far di 20 to 25 Miles toa Gallon of Gascline ae fe the ‘Average of FRANKLIN Owners Ordinary Conditions. (433 Average of 179 stock cars’ in special test July 13, 1917 At what point do 10.205 Miles to a Set of Tires you invest in ‘Average, of of FRANKLIN Owners, 1s , over a period of 5} years another set? 4000 5000 How much does 800 Miles to uke Aine of Oil RY Average, FRAN! LIN Owners 800 Lose Sedan New York to Chicago.) Nov. 20, 1915, made 1046 100 Mile Non-Stop, Low-Gear ur. “Test. by Ilo Gans Sept. 24.014 a No one else talks 8442 Power delivered to Rear Wheels this feature, Why? é ‘Test by Worcester Poyiechnic Institute, LOLt 100 you? | td nats { ERE, publicly placed, are the records of the The Franklin Car has answered—and the people Franklin Scientific Light-Weight Car. They are of this country have heard the answer. reduced to their simplest form; their full significance For it is an absolute fact that if all cars were as 2 facts,—not futile assurances ; } Prophecy; Hundred Million Gallons of gasoline and $192,000,000 d to performance—not promises. a . % : worth of tires every year. sie, These records explain at once why sales of the It is sienific hat the Franklin is still advanci fo Franklin Car increased last year 133%, compared to tis significant that the Franklin is still advancing wed the 12% increase of all other fine cars. —solving cold weather starting—getting big results lers, Waste is under indictment in this country. The even from low grade gasoline—minimizing care and spirit of the times calls for constructive, efficient adjustments—bringing tire mileage to a still higher economy. The economy which will impair neither level and reflecting advance style in body design. = your activities—nor the Nation's resources. Applied to These are Franklin features worth your imniediate motor cars, this spirit has lized into the blunt de- inspection—for they have a direct bearing on your mand :—Does your car deliver Service—without Waste? motoring satisfaction in 1918. FRANKLIN AUTOMOBILE COMPANY Syracuse, N. Y. comicbooks.com