Life, 1926-08-05 · page 3 of 41
Life — August 5, 1926 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Budd-Michelin Wheel advertisement**, not a satirical cartoon. The page promotes a fifth spare wheel for automobiles. The advertisement uses humor to sell the product: it depicts scenarios where drivers wish they had this extra wheel—flat tires, rim damage, spoke breakage, and careless accidents. The illustrated car at bottom shows the spare wheel mounted prominently. The copy emphasizes practical benefits: durability of steel construction, convenience of quick changes, and cost savings versus traditional repairs and towing charges. The tagline "One of these days you'll wish you had this extra wheel!" plays on relatable automotive frustrations. This reflects early 1900s car culture when tire failures and wheel damage were common hazards. The ad targets middle-class automobile owners worried about roadside breakdowns and repair expenses.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
One of these days youll wish you had this extra wheel / When a tire goes flat... . Or when a spoke wheel hits the curb sideways, and splinters. . . . Or when a careless duffer rolls up behind, and bang! into the rear of your car... Then you'll wish you had this fifth Budd-Michelin Wheel. ~~ o4N The fifth Budd-Michelin Wheel car- ries the spare tire. Exchanging a wheel with a flat tire for the extra wheel is a three to four minute job. A few turns on the self-locking nuts at the hub, and the wheel is off. The extra wheel is slipped into its place— the nuts are tightencd—and that’s all over. No more rim changing, and a lot less dirt. ~ NON Even a rugged steel Budd-Michelin Wheel will bend when it gets a hard enough bump—but will bend only, when an ordinary wheel would go to Pieces. Under the old system, when a wheel gave up and quit you had to hike to the nearest telephone, call a service station, pay a towing charge — and then buy a new wheel. A nasty wait, a nasty bill, and a nasty temper. With Budd-Michelins, you take off the bent wheel, put on the ifth wheel, and are on your way. And the bent wheel can always be straightened, good as new, for two or three dollars. ~~ oNA The driver who bumps the rear of your car, when you have a Budd- Michelin, isn’t going to dent the body. That extra wheel on the rear is a tough customer, and when the other fellow gets careless with his brakes, it will give him more than it takes. In addition, how that glistening, stream-lined extra wheel snaps up the rear of the car—makes it look as good going as coming! x os Reasons for Budd-Michelin Wheels? More reasons than room to tell about them. Ask the man who owns five. ... Then when you want that extra wheel, you'll have it! [ Detroit...BUDD WHEEL COMPANY... Philadelphia } comicbooks.com