Life — September 15, 1904 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Tale of the Auto-Car" This is a humorous story with illustrations about an early automobile ride gone wrong. A chauffeur drives a lady passenger at dangerously high speed, hitting dogs and causing general mayhem. The vehicle repeatedly breaks down despite the chauffeur's confident assurances he can "drive the biggest car that ever man has made." The satire targets early automotive culture: the reckless speeds, mechanical unreliability, and the social pretension of automobile ownership. The chauffeur's repeated failures—a punctured tire, engine overheating, brake failure—mock both the technology's immaturity and the hubris of drivers who operate these temperamental machines. The accompanying dialogue and illustrations emphasize the automobile as a source of danger and embarrassment rather than progress.