Life, 1920-06-03 · page 35 of 52
Life — June 3, 1920 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Packard automobile advertisement**, not political satire. The page uses a photograph of crowded 1920s Manhattan street traffic—labeled "the 'tight-squeeze'"—to illustrate the chaos of urban driving with vehicles of many makes competing for space. The ad's argument is that individual driver skill matters less than having a mechanically superior car. It presents Packard as the solution to traffic accidents: the car's superior engineering (Twin-Six engine, precision parts, quality steel) gives drivers "positive control" regardless of "the other fellow's" driving ability or car quality. The satire is gentle: the ad suggests that blaming other drivers for accidents is less useful than acknowledging that most cars lack reliable controls. Packard positions itself as the premium alternative—safer, more comfortable, and ultimately cheaper than "riding second class" in inferior vehicles. This reflects 1920s concerns about automobile safety as car ownership exploded, before traffic laws and licensing became standardized.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TBOOOOO OOO OOOO f | | p ! | h a EDSSSSSSSSSOSOOOS OILS ILL LLL SSS LSA The “tight-squeeze"’—an hourly occurrence on every crossing and on every crowded street, with cars of fifty different makes— more or less under the driver's control How Can the Motorist Save Himself from the “Other Fellow” EW YORK CITY recorded N over three thousand motor car collisions last year in Manhattan Island alone. Effective uraffic regulation depends on each individual driver having his car under positive control. If every driver could be as sure of his car as the Packard owner, there would be less congestion, and only the careless driver would get into “accidents.”* ‘FHE Packard people believe that first-class transportation must deliver Safety, Ability, Comfort, Economy and Enduring Value to the highest degree. Choose from the best sources of the commercial parts makers—and your assembled car still will not show these features to the Packard degree. You will get them only by starting. with unified engineering in the Packard manner. Controlling parts by specifica- tions and tests—through casting, forging, machining, heat-treating, finishing and inspection. Paying 12 cents a pound for your steel, instead of taking a chance with steel at 6 cents. You will be led straight to the Twin-Six Engine, with its sure and flexible power, and a greater range of ability in high gear than any other engine in the world. heat-treated through merely To gears and through — not hardened. case- To clutch, brakes, universal and bearings that give you the safety of positive control—Packard designed for the Packard car. T makes little difference whether the other fellow is to blame, or merely subject to the whims and weaknesses of his car. The Packard owner has all the chances of the road discounted, be- cause he is sure of what his Packard will do. He is riding in first-class safety and first-class comfort, It costs him less all around than riding second class! “Ask the Man (Brn Owns One” PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY, Detroit comicbooks.com SDSILSSSA SoA ap op oa a a oa SN LDP LS aS aaa aS ap aa aA aS a aoa a aoa ap SS SaaS a Sa SIS