Life, 1920-11-04 · page 45 of 60
Life — November 4, 1920 — page 45: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **automobile advertising**, not political satire. It's a Studebaker car advertisement from Life magazine's early 20th-century period. The ad promotes the "Special-Six" model, emphasizing its mechanical superiority: a 50-horsepower detachable-head motor, 119-inch wheelbase, and capacity for five passengers. The copy stresses "rare efficiency, smoothness and economy." The image shows five well-dressed passengers (appearing to be women in period hats) enjoying an open-air drive through a scenic wooded area—a common advertising trope suggesting leisure, comfort, and social status associated with automobile ownership. The tagline "This is a Studebaker Year" uses a marketing catch-phrase typical of the era. There is **no political cartoon or satire** on this page—it's straightforward commercial advertising designed to appeal to affluent buyers during the automobile industry's early expansion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SHE-SIN SPECIAL-SIX E mechanical excellence of the SPECIAL- SIX—its unusual performance in the hands of owners—goes beyond the great resources of power of its motor. It is a matter of the design and construction of each unit, whereby perfect co-ordination is secured with every other unit—and the result is rare efficiency, smoothness and economy in operation. 50-H. P. detachable-head motor; 119-inch wheelbase, giving max- imum comfort for five passengers. All Studebaker Cars are equipped with Cord Tires —another comicbooks.com