Life, 1919-08-28 · page 6 of 40
Life — August 28, 1919 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not satire or editorial content. It's a Packard Motor Car Company ad promoting their Twin Six engine, specifically its "reserve power" system. The ad argues that having extra engine power held in reserve—power you don't constantly use—is economical. The cooling system diagram demonstrates engineering sophistication. The text emphasizes that Packard's design uses power efficiently: "Power is used only in moving the car—not in excess, merely to keep the engine turning over." The small illustration labeled "Ask the Man Who Owns One" was apparently Packard's slogan, inviting potential buyers to consult current owners. There is **no political cartoon or satire** on this page—it's straightforward automotive marketing from Detroit.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HE. is @ scientific principle many a motorist overlooks. No matter how fast or how slow you want to go, you cannot go right un- less your car has reserve power—rightly applied. Until a man has driven the Packard Twin Six he will never know ex- actly what that means, Ample cooling system of the Twin Six Motor “Ask the Man Who Owns One” Low Cost of Packard Reserve Power TH everybody reading about motors, talking about motors, swapping motor experiences, you might suppose that the basic facts of motor engineering would be generally known by this time. Yet even such a fundamental prin- ciple as the economic value of re- serve power is not understood by one motorist in ten. Some car owners take years to wake up to what it is costing them to compromise in the matter of power. Why should a man have to wear out one compromise car after another before he learns that it costs more to operate such a car than a car of high reserve power? The man who has been through it all knows that the very reason why the Packard is good for 75 miles an hour is the reason why 25 miles an hour, day after day, costs less from the Packard than from the car of lower power. In the Packard—the power is there—in reserve. It costs you nothing unless you use it. You call on it when you want it—and not unless you do want it. The Packard Twin Six Engine is a motor of live moving parts. Power is used only in moving the car—not in excess, merely to keep the engine turning over. The basic design of the Packard Twin Six motor has been wonder fully justified during the past few years of both peace and war work, so that any changes that may be made from time to time will be merely in the nature of refinements. The Packard people are trans portation experts. They have more to tell you on this subject than any other organization in the world. You can ask them to discuss your car problem without obligation. It is to your interest and profit to do so. PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY, Detroit comicbooks.