Life — December 2, 1915 — page 32: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts an elephant—a creature of immense power and size—as "the first high-power car." The elephant carries a small carriage on its back with a figure inside, while tiny humans ride atop and alongside it. The joke plays on the term "high-power" by literalizing it: instead of an automobile engine with high horsepower, Life's artist presents an actual powerful animal. This appears to be Christmas-themed holiday satire, likely mocking early automobile technology or advertising claims about new cars' power and capabilities. By reducing the modern marvel of motorized vehicles to absurdity—replacing them with prehistoric animal power—the cartoonist pokes fun at contemporary automotive hype or the era's fascination with mechanical "progress."