Life, 1918-10-31 · page 6 of 34
Life — October 31, 1918 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not satire. It promotes the Franklin Car, manufactured in Syracuse, New York. The ad emphasizes the car's fuel efficiency (20 miles per gallon versus 10,000 miles per tire set versus the usual 5,000), durability, and economic value. It highlights that the Franklin depreciates slower than average cars and has won economy tests. The ad references wartime conditions (mentioning "war-time motor service" and a quote from Secretary of Labor W.B. Wilson about patriotic work), suggesting this advertisement dates to the **World War I era**, when fuel and tire conservation were national concerns. The illustration shows a well-dressed couple beside the automobile in what appears to be an industrial or dock setting, positioning the Franklin as a practical, economical choice for concerned citizens.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE FRANKLIN CAR And the Present-Day Standard of Motor Car Service Frequently. special conditions give new sig- nificance to old facts. And nozw is the time when conditions give added importance to the long established economy facts of the Franklin Car— a steady day-by-day delivery of 20 miles to the gallon of gasoline— instead of the usual 10 10,000 miles to the set of tir - instead of the usual 5,000 For when the Nation is geared to tremendous effort, the aid of an efficient automobile can do out the vitally necessary econo- and tires. much to bri my of gasolin The simple Franklin facts speak for them- selves. If all cars were as efficient as the Franklin, on the basis of its daily performance, the auto- mobile owners of the country would save this year 400,000,000 gallons of gasoline and would cut their tire bills $192,000,000. For sixteen years the Franklin Car has de- livered an economy consistently ahead of the times. Besides this performance in the hands of own it has won every prominent official economy test ever held. Moreover, the Franklin depreciates 50% slower than the average car—an important fact today when conditions demand that motor cars give longer service than ever before. Its ability to render this remarkable economy and long life is due to engineering principles involving the simplicity of Direct Air Cooling, Light Weight and Resilient Construction, as opposed to water cooling, heavy weight and rigid construction. The Franklin Car delivers a war-time motor- ing service simply because the Franklin Company has held true to the principle that the main object in owning an automobile is transportation, with the greatest comfort, safety and reliability—at the least expense. . FRANKLIN AUTOMOBILE COMPANY, SYRACUSE, N. Y. Orders ror Franklin Cars for be filled in the order of their * You can tell a real patriot by the way he works—Full-time work by both war delivery will ipt by our dealers, loyers and wage earners will win the war.""—W. B, Wilson, U. S. Secretary of Labor