Life, 1925-10-01 · page 2 of 36
Life — October 1, 1925 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Cadillac automobile advertisement**, not political satire. However, it uses ironic framing typical of 1920s advertising. The headline "You Made These Lower Cadillac Prices" credits consumers for the price reductions through their purchasing loyalty. The accompanying illustration shows a large luxury car floating above a working-class open touring car, visually contrasting Cadillac's premium positioning with claims of affordability. The text quotes a Cadillac executive attributing lower prices to consumer demand and General Motors' manufacturing capacity—a self-congratulatory message common in corporate advertising of the era. The satire (if intended) appears subtle: the irony that "the public" receives credit for corporate pricing decisions. For modern readers, this reflects early twentieth-century marketing strategies emphasizing consumer agency while serving corporate interests.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
You Made These Lower Cadillac Prices When all is said and done, it is the public which has made possible these lower prices on the new 90- degree Cadillac. If the Cadillac market had not grown steadily to its present large proportions, it would be utterly impossible to produce and sell at the present prices such an ultra-fine car as the new Cadillac. If the number of Cadillac buyers who can be securely counted upon year after year were curtailed by even so much as twenty-five per cent— the first cost of the Cadillac must of necessity be very much higher. Thewholeworldconcedes Cadillac’s capacity to build cars beyond com- pare —and Cadillac says of this new car:— “With all the wonderful facilities of Cadillac and General Motors at our command, this is the very best car we can now build—but thanks to you good people who buy Cadillacs year after year, we have been able to bring the prices to a point where there is nothing in the world to com- pare with the new Cadillac, either in first cost or in after economy.” Standard Line Five-Passenger Brougham, $2995; Two- Passenger Coupe, $3045; Four-Passenger Victoria, $3095; Five-Passenger Sedan, $3195; Seven-Passenger Sedan, $3295; Seven-Passenger Imperial, $3435. Custom Line Roadster, $3250; Touring Car, $3250; 3250; Five-Passenger Coupe, get Sedan, $4150; assenger Suburban, $4285; Seven-Passenger Imperial, $4485. All prices quoted F. O. B. Detroit. Tax to be added The privilere of deferred payment, over a. twelve months’ pend, is gladly given on any Cadillac car General Motors Export Eempany, New York Cadillac Motor Car Company of Canada, Lid. Oshawa. comicbooks.com