Life, 1918-03-28 · page 2 of 40
Life — March 28, 1918 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **commercial advertisement**, not satirical content. It promotes the Templar automobile, manufactured by the Templar Motors Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio. The advertisement's pitch is straightforward: the Templar is "The First Truly Economical Car," positioned to appeal to both wealthy and poor buyers. The copy contrasts the expensive large car with the cheap small car, positioning the Templar as superior because it offers quality *and* economy—meeting "the rich man's demand" (quality) and "the poor man's need" (economy). The vehicle illustration shows a simple open-air automobile typical of the early automotive era. Specifications and pricing information appear in small text. This represents standard early-20th-century automotive marketing, not satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Pubtisted every Thurut 3K NG, C me First Truly Economical Car | NTIL NOW, the owner of a superlatively good car owned a large car,-expensive to operate. And the owner of a small car owned a cheap car—also expensive to operate. | The Templar i is not merely light in we' ight, and | moderate in size, it is also superla ative in quality, and | therefore inexpensive to operate. | It is luxuriantly comfortable. It_is the most completely equipped car in ) America. And it has a smooth, lively, powerful motor, | | Templar built, which gives this quality car quality | | performance. It is the rich man’s demand:—Quality and Economy. : It is the poor man’s need:—Economy and Qualit It is the wise dealer's opportunity. | Write to us, nickel . Chrome-Var Qushed with *) less bearings, tail bearings. Choice of three standard colors, The Templar Motors Corporation 2200 Halsted St., Lakewood, Cleveland, O. Body Styler and Prices. 0, b Cleveland Vitalic Top -Valve Motor wo Pussenger 7 Exctosed Bodies Custom-Built to suit purchaser