Life, 1925-09-24 · page 6 of 41
Life — September 24, 1925 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **primarily an advertisement**, not satirical content. It's a Packard automobile ad from Life magazine featuring a testimonial letter from Lieutenant Leigh Wade, a round-the-world aviator who recently flew a Packard Eight from Los Angeles to New York—3,965 miles in seven days without stopping the engine or changing oil. The ad highlights the car's engineering reliability: its chassis lubricator and motor oil rectifier performed so well that analysis showed 98% pure lubricant remained at journey's end. The accompanying photograph shows the 1920s-era Packard automobile in a desert landscape. The tagline "Ask the Man Who Owns One" was Packard's actual advertising slogan. This represents automotive advertising using celebrity endorsement and technical achievement to establish brand prestige—common early 20th-century marketing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
—from Lieutenant Wade’s Letter to Alvan Macauley, President Packard Motor Car Co. New York, N. Y., **°* I would never have attempted such a trip in any other car but the Packard Eight, for I know that the Packard is the only car equipped with the chassis lubricator and the motor oil rectifier. ** These devices enabled us to drive the entire 3,965 miles without once changing oil or leaving the driver's seat to lubricate the chassis. To them, and the wonderful Packard Eight motor which never faltered in the 165 hours and 50 minutes con- tinuous driving, I attribute the success of the run. **** We have suffered no after effects from strain. This is a real tribute to the ease with which the car was handled and its riding qualities. **** ‘The car came through with a perfect score. We had no mechanical difficulties of any kind. I believe we could have turned right around and driven back to Los Angeles without stopping poe either car or motor. NO) Rows Surronson ay °C oe SEVEN DAYS Without a Stop! Lieutenant Leigh Wade, round-the-world fli accompanied by Linton Wells, his “aerial stow: me on the flight, recently drove his own Packard Eigh from Los Angeles to New York, 3,965 miles, w ithe : once allowing either the motor or the car to come to a ang be mileage a was eight times as great as any Tdinary car should be dri i tiven without cha: f motor oil. Yet thanks fer an to the motor oil if analysis of the motor oi owed 98% ‘or oil at the finis| pure lubricant, seine 8% The chassis was thoroughly lubricated w hile the car ‘vas in motion by a mere p fo) very b ull of a plunger eve: . ory S spectacular trip impresses what the owners of 20,000 new Series Packard cars already know— eects -” lubricator and the oil rectifier mean Of parts, smooth, quiet i : ° uninterrupted service, a Perasion and