Life, 1928-10-05 · page 3 of 48
Life — October 5, 1928 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire page** — it's a straightforward advertisement for Ethyl Gasoline, published in *Life* magazine. The ad explains a technical concept to ordinary readers: "high compression" engines require specially formulated fuel to prevent "knocking" (premature combustion). The copy uses a muzzle-loading gun analogy to make the physics accessible. General Motors Research Laboratories developed Ethyl fluid (tetraethyl lead) as an anti-knock additive mixed into gasoline. The ad claims this allows car manufacturers to build more powerful engines while eliminating the knocking problem ordinary drivers experienced. There is no political satire here — it's educational advertising promoting a commercial product as solving a real automotive problem.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
GASOLINE + ETHYL= high compression pe, OSIMUIICE ‘OU are hearing much about “high com- pression’’. ..“high compression engines” ..“high compression fuel”. . .“high com- pression performance.” “What,” a great many car owners are ask- ing, “does ‘high compression’ mean to me?” Here is a simple explanation: Each cylinder of your engine may be likened toa muzzle-loading gun. The cylinder is the gun; the piston is the bullet; and the mixture of gasoline and air is the powder charge. The tighter you pack the powder charge in the gun before firing, the greater the force to the bullet. Similarly, the tighter you squeeze —or compress—gas vapor and air in the com- bustion chamber before ignition, the greater the force of the piston’s stroke. In other words, the higher the compression the greater the power. Higher compression in a gasoline engine is obtained by decreasing the size of the combustion chamber—either by mechanical design or by carbon for- mation. wee Up to the advent of Ethyl Gasoline, the compression of automobile en- gines was limited by the compression limits of gasoline. For gasoline is not a perfect fuel. It explodes too soon (“knocks”) and loses power when squeezed beyond a certain point. That is why General Motors Research Lab- oratories developed ETHYL fluid, a com- pound which controls the combustion rate of gasolinesothatas engine compression is raised the “knock” is eliminated. And that is why oil companies are mixing ETHYL fluid with gaso- line to form Ethy/ Gasoline—the standard high compression fuel. ye ee Within the last year, car manufacturers have been able to produce new models of higher compression and greater power. But the most immediate benefits of Ethyl Gasoline are found among the millions of owners of cars of ordinary compression, because with its use in such cars carbon becomes an asset. Ride with ETHYL. See what a great difference it makes on hills and in traffic. No “knocking.” Less shift- ing. Faster pickup. Stop atan ETHYL pump today—it bears the emblem shown at the left. ETHYL GASOLINE CORPORATION, 25 sae To York City, 56 Church Street, Toronto, Ont., Can. ETHYL GASOLINE comicbooks.com