Life, 1919-02-20 · page 6 of 34
Life — February 20, 1919 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire page** — it's a straightforward advertisement for the Packard Motor Car Company, published in *Life* magazine (page 278). The ad announces that Packard is resuming civilian car production after World War I, having previously devoted manufacturing to war work. The company emphasizes quality control, noting they possess six million dollars' worth of finished parts enabling smooth production restart. Key selling points include: stable pricing (no wartime inflation), superior quality (particularly their famous Twelve-Cylinder Engine), and reliability. The tagline "Ask the Man Who Owns One" was apparently Packard's actual marketing slogan. This reflects post-WWI economic conditions when manufacturers pivoted back to consumer goods.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY Resumes Production of Cars and Trucks NNOUNCEMENT that the famous % Twin-Six Packards are now avail- able is welcome news to thousands of waiting purchasers. Events of the past year have done more than any words of ours could do to fix Packard as- cendancy in the minds of the thinking men of the world. The principle of the Packard Twelve-Cylinder Engine is established before all men as the most advanced and practical development in modern motor construction. GETTING BACK INTO PRODUCTION When the Packard concern stopped making passenger cars and went on 100% war work, it had on hand finished parts to the value of six million dollars. These parts were all of the finest material, finished in the careful painstaking way of the Packard organization. No compromise on qual- ity, no slightest lowering of standards owing to difficulties in the material situation or the speed- ing-up process. Whatever the pressure or conditions, this organization knows but one standard of quality, and that is the best. It will be clear to all that the possession of this stock of finished parts enables us to resume production more quickly and smoothly than otherwise would be possible. NO CHANGE IN PACKARD PRICES Packard prices are based on cost of material. There was no rise in Packard prices during the war period, based on what the traffic would bear. There is no lowering of quality and con- sequently no leeway for reduction of price at this time. It is not easy for the motor car owner to de- tect reduced quality in cars, in time to compare it with a quoted price. Packard responsibility for the service the car gives is the best insurance a car owner can have. One reason this insurance means so much is the fact that the Packard Company produces a greater proportion of all the parts that enter into its car than any other automobile concern in America. You cannot well have responsibility without authority. And just to the extent that a maker depends on factors outside of his control, must he contend with varying standards of quality and impair the authoritative nature of his guarantee. “Ask the Man Who Owns One” PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY DETROIT comicbooks.com