Life — May 13, 1915 — page 52: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It appears in *Life* magazine from May 13, 1914, promoting the Baker Electric Coupe at $2,475. The ad emphasizes value: the vehicle is "identically the same beautifully designed, expensively equipped Coupe which heretofore has sold for $2800"—a significant price reduction. Baker Motor Vehicle Company of Cleveland, claiming to be "the world's oldest manufacturers of electric cars," lists competing models (Double Drive Brougham at $3,000; Roadster at $2,000). **Context for modern readers**: This reflects the early automotive era when **electric cars competed seriously with gasoline vehicles**. Electric cars were considered reliable, quiet, and prestigious—particularly appealing to wealthy buyers. The price-cutting strategy suggests market pressure, likely from Ford's mass-produced gasoline Model T (introduced 1908), which eventually displaced electrics by the 1920s.