Life, 1919-03-13 · page 6 of 42
Life — March 13, 1919 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising content**, not satire or political commentary. The page celebrates Ralph De Palma's land-speed records set at Daytona Beach using a Packard Aviation Motor car, achieving 149.72 mph across multiple distances (1-20 miles). The "cartoon" elements are modest: a portrait medallion of De Palma and a photograph showing mechanics working on the racing vehicle. These serve as visual documentation rather than satirical commentary. The text emphasizes Packard engineering excellence and pivots to promoting Packard trucks for commercial transportation, arguing they could improve American business efficiency. The closing tagline "Ask the Man Who Owns One" was Packard's actual advertising slogan. This represents **early automotive marketing**: leveraging racing achievements to build brand prestige and credibility for commercial vehicles.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
All Official World’s Records Broken by De Palma and His Packard Car Packard Aviation Motor Drives Car 149:72 Miles Per Hour at Daytona Beach. Establishes New Figures for all Distances from 1 to 20 miles In five days’ racing, beginning February 12th, Ralph De Palma has broken every official world’s record on the straightaway with his new racing car, equipped with the Packard Aviation Motor. He has established new records for 1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles, 4 miles, 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles and 20 miles—hanging up the startling figures of 24.02 seconds to the mile, at the rate of 149.72 miles per hour. ThePackard Aviation Motor || now holds all | records on straightaway and circular tracks for all distances from 4 mile up to 616 miles. BECORD DALAKING PACKARD, RACING CAR equeero wn AER! Motors OF wSeco t IBECONOD MADE AT SHEEPSHEAD Cay DOL EHSAN e ase (Ser HAT gives even greater interest to this achievement is the fact that many of the earlier records were long held by the German-made Blitzen-Benz car. It seems peculiarly fitting that this new De Palma- Packard record, which breaks the last hold of the Germans on transportation records, should be achieved by the Packard Aviation Engine — the engine which was the fore- runner of the Liberty Motor that broke the German su- premacy in the air. @@ The real significance of De Palma’s Packard achieve- ment is the Packard engineering principles that made it possible. No one knows better than the Packard Company what can be accomplished by intensive study with any problem of transportation — whether of passengers or freight, by motor oarriage, by truck, by airplane, on land or in the air. DE PALMA. World’s Records made by DE PALMA with the Packard Aviation Engine Imile - +--+ 2 Smiles - 10 miles - 15 miles - 20 miles + 8 min. $4.20 sec. a ENC INCH ALN CHAE T, ENGI, Think of the positive force exerted by this specialized Packard personnel of 18,000—working intensively on transport’ tion problems! Think what is already being done—and what more can be done in the future — to apply the lessons of De Palma’s racing car in a practical way to the Packard Passenger Car and Motor Truck! Lessons of engine design, of car design, of truck design, of balance, of the application of power, of getting the work out of the car. Getting the work out of the car! There is not a problem before the business world today of more acute, practical importance. The motor truck equipment of America as it stands could deliver 30 per cent more transportation than it is giving today. The Packard Company says that because it has devel- oped the method and put it into effect with nearly two thousand Packard Trucks the country over. v@ The man who has a transportation problem to solve cannot do better than to discuss it with his local Packard Branch or Packard Dealer. No charge. It is not even necessary that he be a Packard owner or driver. The object is Service rather than immediate sales. “Ask the Man Who Owns One’’ PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY, Detroit Ccomicbooks.com