Life, 1922-08-31 · page 29 of 36
Life — August 31, 1922 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not satire or political commentary**—it's a straightforward automobile advertisement from Life magazine's August 2, 1922 issue. The ad promotes the Chandler Six, a luxury car manufactured in Cleveland. The key appeal combines contradictory concepts: it promises "luxury and economy" by offering a well-crafted, prestigious vehicle at surprisingly low prices ($1,495–$2,375). The illustration depicts an elegant open-air touring car with well-dressed passengers driving past a comfortable suburban home, symbolizing prosperity and middle-class aspiration. The text emphasizes "quantity production" as enabling this price-to-quality ratio—mass manufacturing allows luxury features at accessible costs. For modern readers: this reflects 1920s optimism about manufacturing efficiency (the "genius of quantity production") making upscale living attainable for middle-class Americans—a pre-Depression sales pitch emphasizing affordability without sacrificing prestige.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE - 27 The Conspicuous Success of the Year Where Luxury and Economy Meet New, Low Prices Effective August 2nd, 1922 HE genius of quantity production —as applied to the automobile—has this for its greatest achievement: $1. 4 9 5 It has made possible a car of unimpeach- able good taste and sterling performance at TO impressively low cost. The Chandler Company was a pioneer in this development. It brought out the first light six nine years ago and inaugurated a great forward movement. Its ideals attain their ultimate in the new Chandler car. Here a body of beauty is united to a chassis of might, and for small outlay the owner assures himself years of satisfactory service. Every transportation need is met in the ten superb models. THE CHANDLER MOTOR CAR CO., CLEVELAND Export Dept: 1819 Broadway, New York City Cable Address: “Chanmotor"” Dispatch, a new ‘ sport model of utmost dis- es - ‘ tinction and ultra-smart style. CHANDLER SIX comicbooks.com