Life, 1916-06-29 · page 27 of 41
Life — June 29, 1916 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **car advertisement**, not political satire. The page promotes the 1915 Studebaker Series 17 SIX automobile at $1,085. The photograph shows a luxury car on a fashionable urban street ("On Fifth Avenue or on the Road"), establishing the vehicle's prestige. The advertisement's strategy is to claim **value despite price**: the car offers features (50 horsepower, comfort, appearance) comparable to vehicles costing $250-$400 more. The "authoritative opinion" sections cite sales data from Detroit (car manufacturing hub) and California (extensive road infrastructure) to prove the Studebaker outsells competing vehicles in the $500+ category. The phrase "Car of the Golden Chassis" suggests elegance and worth. For modern readers: this reflects early automotive marketing emphasizing practical specifications and comparative pricing to justify premium cost—a strategy still used today.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
On Fifth Avenue or on the Road, always the Car of the Golden Chassis 7} 'T $1085, this Stude- baker SERIES 17 SIX offers a degree of character and dis- tinction in motor car design that is equalled only by cars costing Trom $250 to $400 more. With full 50 horse power that scorns the steepest hills—riding comfort unexcelled, and appearance that impels pride in owner- ship, the Studebaker SIX furnishes indisput- able evidence of the fact that such value in a motor car is not necessarily governed by price. On the road as on the busy thoroughfares of every city throughout the country, this Stude- baker is proving its unchallenged reputation for comfort, stamina and refinement. * * * Detroit’s Opinion is Authoritative— In Detroit, the city that produces three-fourths of the country’s cars—where people know cars from the technical and manufacturing sides better than they do in any other city on earth —more Studebakers were registered according to official figures for the year of 1915, than any other car selling at more than $500. * * * California’s Opinion is Authoritatwe— In California, the State of wonderful roads and weather — the State where people have more miles of good roads to drive over and more opportunity to use their cars than in any other state in the Union—the official figures for the year of 1915 showed 15,718 Studebakers registered —2,895 MORE than any other car listing at more than $500. * * * Studebaker offers « complete line of high-grade cars from $850 to $2500, ‘Write for handsomely Illuetrated catalog picturing the care and giving coms plete list of prices, All prices F, 0. Be Detroit. Permanent exhibit of Studebaker cars in Marlborough- Blenheim Arcade, Boardwalk, Atlantic City, N. J. STUDEBAKER South Bend, Ind. Detroit, Mich. Walkerville, Ont. Address all correspondence to Detroit More than 242,000 Studebaker cars produced and sold *Fifty Horse Power 7 Passenger SIX $1085- comicbooks.com