Life, 1924-12-25 · page 3 of 37
Life — December 25, 1924 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **car advertisement**, not political satire. The Nordyke & Marmon Company (Indianapolis) advertises their new four-door Marmon Sedan, priced at $3,295—only $130 more than an open car model ($3,165). The ad's humor plays on the emerging market shift: closed cars were becoming standard, yet still commanded premium prices. Marmon claims to be "the first of the fine car manufacturers" to reduce this price differential through volume production and manufacturing efficiency. The classical building imagery in the background appears decorative, suggesting luxury and prestige rather than carrying specific satirical meaning. The tagline—"It's a Great Automobile!"—is straightforward marketing. This reflects 1920s automotive industry competition as closed vehicles displaced open-air models.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE - | Only #130 more than an open car~ For this luxurious four-door Marmon Sedan ‘ARMON is the first of the fine car manufacturers to cut down the high differential in price which has existed between open and closed cars. Now you can get a true Marmon Sedan—100 per cent closed car—built on the famous, durable, matchlessly performing, standard Marmon chassis, for only $130 more than an open car. This Sedan is not to be confused with the justly popular “coach” type. After you have studied its detail, realized its solidity and unstinted magnifi- cence—you yourself will say there is nothing to compare with it among fine closed cars at anything like the price. Its price is made possible by volume production, and new manufacturing efficiency methods. Fall size balloon tires standard equipment. coro? New Maron STANDARD SEDAN, $3295 - New MARMON OPEN ae Cars, $3165 + De Luxe Crosep Mopets, $3455 To $3975 All prices f.0.b. Indianapolis + Tax extra NorpDykKE & MARMON COMPANY Established 1851 INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA comicbooks.com