Life, 1916-03-23 · page 33 of 52
Life — March 23, 1916 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **automobile advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It's a 1915 Studebaker car ad appearing in *Life* magazine (page 537). The ad employs a marketing strategy leveraging **Detroit's reputation as "the Automobile City of America"** to sell cars. Since three-fourths of 1915 American cars were made in Detroit, the ad argues that Detroit residents possessed expert knowledge about automobiles and thus their purchasing preferences were "authoritative." The ad cites 1915 registration data showing Studebaker outsold other cars priced above $500 in Detroit—presented as proof of quality and value. The silhouette illustration shows well-dressed passengers in an open touring car, emphasizing the vehicle's appeal to prosperous buyers. The core pitch: **Detroit knows cars best, Detroit chose Studebaker, therefore you should too.** This reflects early 20th-century advertising's reliance on geographic prestige and expert consensus rather than specifications or performance claims.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
re See Detroit’s Opinion is Authoritative ‘There were 1456 Studebakers registered in all— and using this figure as 100%, the standing of the various cars in Detroit's opinion was shown as follows: Think of Detroit—and you think of automobiles! For Detroit is pre-emi- nently the Automobile City of America. Three-fourths of the cars produced in 1915 were made in Detroit. And of Detroit's 700,000 inhabitants, practically all of them are interested, directly or indirectly, in the fortunes of the industry. Standing back of the scenes, so to say, the people of Detroit have so close and thorough a knowledge of the men in the many organizations, of the standing of the manufacturers and most of all, of the QUALITY of the many cars that it is safe to say that in no other city on h does expert knowledge of cars play so large a role in the buying of cars as it does in Detroit. The 1915 registrations of Studebakers by Detroit residents, according to the official figures, far exceeded those of any other car selling at more than $500. More than 221,000 Studebaker Cars prodaced and sold Ist —Studebaker 2nd—A car selling at more than $2000 90% 3rd —A line of cars from $700 to $1150 85% 4th —A line of cars from $950 to $1500 63% Sth A line of cars from $1000 to $1500 S2% 6th —A line of cars from $850 to $1300 S1% We look upon this testimonial from Detroit car-owners as the strongest one that Studebaker cars have ever received. And there can be no better guidance for buyers unfamiliar with the details of cars than this outspoken judgment of Detroit buyers who KNOW cars and whose opinion is authoritative. See the cars—ride in them—see why Detroit—the city that KNOWS auto- mobiles — makes Studebaker its choice. STUDEBAKER The Car of the GOLDEN Chassis Write for handsomely illustrated cat- alog picturing the cars and giving the Studebaker offers a complete line of high-grade pleasure and commercial cars from $850 to $2500. South Bend, Ind. Detroit, Mich. Walkerville, Ont. complete list of prices. Address all Correspondence to Detroit comicbooks.com