Life, 1924-08-07 · page 27 of 36
Life — August 7, 1924 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward automobile advertisement from *Life* magazine (appearing to be from the 1920s based on styling and typography). Pierce-Arrow, a luxury car manufacturer, announces its new Series 80 model, positioned as an answer to customer demand for a smaller, more affordable Pierce-Arrow. The ad emphasizes that despite the lower price ($2,895), the Series 80 maintains Pierce-Arrow's engineering standards through rigorous testing—cars were driven "night and day, winter and summer, over mountain roads, rutted trails, desert sands, gluey mud." The image shows a touring car with passengers, highlighting its practical design. The advertisement stresses performance features (acceleration, power, control, stopping ability) and economy of operation for middle-class buyers who couldn't afford the luxury marque's flagship Dual-Valve Six. This represents early-1920s marketing strategy: expanding market reach by creating a "junior luxury" tier while preserving brand prestige.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A New Size— A New Price 1 Dierce-Arrow has added to its line a new product— he Series 80. The new car is the answer to this question vhich motor car owners have so frequently asked us: “In addition to the Dual-Valve Six, why don’t you build another car, one more modest in size eae in price, so that more people may experience the pleasure and satisfaction of owning and drivinga Pierce-Arrow?” Thenewcaris Pierce-Arrowthroughandthrough—in engineering, in construction, in performance. Itadequately reflects the accepted fine car practice of today and also mirrors the Pierce-Arrow ideal which hasbeen so rigidly adhered to for twenty-three years. Many months were spent by the engineering depart- the country. For months they were driven night and day, winter and summer, over mountain roads, rutted trails, desert sands, gluey mud. And finally the per- fected Pierce-Arrow Series 80 was born. Such unusual methods were necessary to develop a car that would meet Pierce-Arrow standards. The Pierce-Arrow Series SO displays capabilities far above the average. Alert, easy acceleration; adequate power for every conceivable need; ease of control in every situation ; quick, safestopping; economy of oper- ation and maintenance—all of these and more are per- manent characteristics of this new Pierce-Arrow. Al- though no statement of prices mentdesigningand redesigning, building and rebuilding experi- mental models which were re- Series 80's + 7-Passenger Touring Car has been given out previously, orders for “the new Pierce- Arrow” have been accumulat- quired to pass every conceivable laboratory and road test. Then a fleet of the new Series SO cars was put through actual factory production. These stock cars were sent to every part of $2,895 $-Passenger Sedan, $3,895; at Buffalo Coverament Tax Additional Stanparp Equipment .. . Balloon Tires, Pierce-Arrow Four-Wheel Safety Brakes . Flere Arvo Products include passenger cars of toe types; the Plerer Arrvw Dual-Valve Six and the Perce Arrvm Series 89.04 oerce- draws Muto Busses... Reree- Arvets Hesrg Duty Motor Tracls ing for months. The new Series 80 is on dis- play today in Pierce-Arrow showrooms. Our representative in your city will gladly arrange a thorough demonstration. A catalog describing the Pierce-Arrow Series 80 in detail may be obtained from our local dealer or by addressing us THE PIERCE-ARROW MOTOR CAR COMPANY, Buffalo, N. % comicbooks.com