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| Full color 10" x 13" ad for their X-100 Motor Oil from a time when what the motor oil in your engine was being asked to do was different from what it had been asked to do. There is a picture of a toll booth on the Merritt Parkway in Greenwich where a few cars are stopped at the "Only Stop Sign in 52 Miles" to pay the dime required to travel on this four-lane roadway. The headline warns that the "Roads of Tomorrow here today - prove need for 'X' safety factors in Motor Oil" and the text discusses how motor travel is different now and how the protection must be different. The claim is made that this is the first and only oil "For Sustained Speed and Extreme Conditions". This ad is larger than my scanner bed so the outer edges of the ad will not be visible in the scanned view. |
May 19, 1941 Life magazine |
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$8.00 |
View Shell 3 |
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| Full color 9 1/2" x 13 1/2" ad for their X-100 Motor Oil. The ad has a picture of a two-lane roadway running parallel to a train track with a streamliner cruising along. The headline, referring to the modern automobile that uses Shell's X-100 Oil, says They keep pace with 'the Streamliner'". The text talks about this modern oil and how it is designed for The Roads of Tomorrow". |
July 14, 1941 Life magazine |
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$8.00 |
View Shell 7 |
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| Full color 9 1/2" x 13 1/2" ad for their X-100 Motor Oil. The headline informs us that "Most engine wear caused by Acid Action from 'On and Off' driving" and offers the "Unique 'X' Safety Factor in Shell X-100 Motor Oil conteracts Acid Action". There is a drawing of a town where a Burgandy car has taken a trip starting at a house, made three turns and stopped, two more turns and stopped again before making a curve and stopping at a Farm Market. This is the kind of driving that will elevate your cars Acid Action that Shell is trying to help you survive. The text describes how these short trips do not allow your car to properly warm up which begins the chemical action that will cause more engine damage than wear will. |
October 10, 1949 Life magazine |
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$8.00 |
View Shell Oil 8 |
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| Full color 9 1/2" x 13 1/2" ad for their X-100 Motor Oil. The ad has a picture of a gold colored-car stopped on the road with its hood open and a long arm reaching out and holding a test tube filled with a green bubbling acid. There is a creature with horns and a long wispy tail floating above the arm and looking at the reader with eyes as unforgiving as a dog whose feeding is overdue. The caption claims that "Your engine makes this much acid every day,,,And it's Acid Action - not friction that causes 90% of engine wear!". The headline then claims that "NEW alkaline Shell X-100 Motor Oil neutralizes Acid Action" and the text gives more details, first about the chemical aspects of this product then about it being a Heavy Duty Motor Oil which will also clean your engine. |
August 20, 1951 Life magazine |
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$8.00 |
View Shell 6 |
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| Full color 10" x 13 1/2" ad for their X-100 Motor Oil. The ad has a picture of the creature with two horns who is holding a glass filled with fiery acid which the headline explains that "Your engine makes this much Acid every day...And it's Acid Action - not friction - that causes 90% of engine wear". The text claims that this "New Alkaline Shell X-100 Motor Oil counteracts Acid Action" and that it is "Fortified with alkaline 'X' safety factors". |
1952 Life magazine |
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$8.00 |
View Shell Oil 4 |
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| Full color 9 1/2" x 13" ad for Shell X-100 Premium Motor Oil. The ad has a picture of a group of happy children riding the hardened steeds of a merry-go-round. The ad headline informs us that "5 horsepower drives this merry-go-round. Your car can get 5 to 10 more horsepower with New Shell X-100 Motor Oil Premium". The text talks about what the Shell Research people have done to allow such a wonderful oil to be produced. |
August 15, 1955 Life magazine |
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$8.00 |
View Shell Oil 2 |
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| Full color 9 1/2" x 13 1/2" ad that is for Shell X-100 Motor Oil. This ad shows a crowded department store during Christmas time and they are zooming in on a very crowded escalator where the ad says that "10 horsepower lifts 8,000 people an hour". The ad headline says that you could "Get 5 to 10 more horsepower from your Car this winter". That sounds pretty good, how do I get it? "New Shell X-100 Motor Oil Premium can give your car a horsepower increase that may be as great as the power needed to lift thousands of Christmas shoppers on an escalator. Here is the reason: In the kind of driving you do mowt - short trips around home - your engine doesn't get a chance to warm up, especially in wintertime. Conventional motor oils, which have to be warm to flow freely, act as a drag on engine horsepower. This drag is eliminated when you use X-100 Motor Oil Premium because it flows freely in a cold engine. You can get 5 to 10 more horsepower the moment you start down the road. X-100 Premium gives an important extra protection to your engine, too. It stops acid action, the major cause of engine wear". |
December 5, 1955 Life magazine |
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$8.00 |
View Shell Oil 12 |
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| Full color 10" x 14" ad that tries to sell you on their Shell X-100 Premium Motor Oil. There is a drawing of a factory where they are dipping molten metal and pouring it into a mold. The writing under the picture says "8 horsepower lifts 10 tons of molten iron" and the headline just under that says that "This new Motor Oil can give your car 5 to 10 more horsepower this winter". The ad tries to convince you that it takes the same amount of horsepower to lift a ten ton ladle of molten iron as you would get from using their oil. In addition to this, the oil also stops acid action which they feel is the major cause of engine wear. |
January 9, 1956 Life magazine |
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$8.00 |
View Shell Oil 9 |
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| Full color 10" x 12 1/2" ad shows a drawing of a can of Premium 10W-30 oil pouring three different blends of oil. The ad headline claims that "It saves you gasoline while it stops the major cause of engine wear". This ad is larger than my scanner bed so the outer edges of the ad will not be visible in the scanned view. |
November 17, 1958 Life magazine |
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$7.50 |
View Shell Oil 1 |
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| Full color 9 3/4" x 13 3/4" ad that is for Shell X-100 Premium Motor Oil. At the top of this ad it says that "The most important 30 seconds in the life of your car is when I check the oil level and ask: 'When did you last change your oil'". The ad then contains a drawing that shows a smiling Shell Oil man holding the dipstick from a car that he has just checked the oil from. The ad text then says that "Shell X-100 Premium is 3 motor oils in one. It gives you unfailing lubrication at all engine temperatures. 1. When you start your engine, Shell X-100 Premium is like a LIGHT oil, flows freely to vital engine parts. 2. During warm-up, Shell X-100 Premium adjusts 'thermostatically' to a MEDIUM oil to give moving parts exactly the required lubrication. 3. When running hot, Shell X-100 Premium acts like a HEAVY oil, does not thin out dangerously at high speeds. 1 out of 2 cars are now using oil that is 'worn out'. Samples of motor oil were taken from over 15,000 cars in a nationwide survey. Analysis of these samples showed that 54% were contaminated - in fact, worn out and unfit for use. Your oil may be worn out - that's why it's important for your Shell Dealer to make this check". |
August 31, 1959 Life magazine |
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$7.50 |
View Shell Oil 13 |
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| Full color 9 1/2" x 13" ad that talks about the importance of Changing your Oil as often as recommended, and when you do, replace it with Shell X-100. There is a picture of a Shell attendant checking the oil on the dipstick of a customer's car and trying to determine how it looks. The headline claims that "The most important 30 seconds in the life of your car is when I check the oil level and ask: 'When did you last change your oil?'". The ad goes on to say that "1 out of 2 cars are now using oil that is 'worn out'". The ad explains the claim about this oil being 3 Motor Oils in 1 by gently explaining how a multi-grade oil works. |
October 19, 1959 Life magazine |
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$7.50 |
View Shell Oil 5 |
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| Full color 9 1/2" x 13 1/2" ad that talks about The most important 30 seconds in the life of your car!. Pictured in the ad are three time periods, ten seconds apart, in the life of your car. The first is at Ten Seconds when it says "In 10 seconds, your Shell Dealer lifts the hood and removes your dip stick". The second picture is at 20 Seconds when it says that "only 10 seconds more to check the oil level". The third picture is marked 30 Seconds and it says "and another 10 to ask "When did you last change your oil?". The text asks "In just 30 seconds your Shell Dealer can make this vital check. Remember, even if your engine has a safe level of oil there's a good chance you need an oil change. That's because your oil has become contaminated with sludge, metal particles and carbon. Why you should change to X-100 Premium Shell X-100 Premium gives perfect lubrication from the word "go" because it's a 3 motor oils in one. It's light a light oil when you start your car...lets your engine turn over easily. As your engine warms up, it performs like a medium oil...gives moving parts the exact lubrication needed. And at high speeds, X-100 Premium acts like a heavy oil...won't thin out dangerously. And this fine motor oil does more. It keeps your engine cleaner...keeps metal surfaces rust-free. Your Shell Dealer is the man to see". |
June 6, 1960 Life magazine |
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$7.50 |
View Shell Oil 10 |
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