Life, 1926-05-27 · page 4 of 44
Life — May 27, 1926 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire page** — it's a straightforward automobile advertisement for the Chrysler Imperial "80" model, appearing in Life magazine. The ad uses persuasive marketing language typical of 1920s luxury car advertising, emphasizing: - Design elegance ("flatness" and "line") - Performance (80 horsepower, speeds up to 80 mph) - Craftsmanship quality - Capacity (2-7 passengers) - Smoothness and steadiness on roads The dramatic typography and full-page layout reflect period advertising conventions. There is no political or social satire here — this is commercial promotion aimed at affluent readers. The phrase "You owe yourself a ride" is simply a sales appeal encouraging test drives.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CHRYSLER IMPERIAL 1 And we ask you to expect from it more than the finest of previous fine cars has ever offered. At first glance, you cannot fail to note a new perfection of design— a fleetness, if you please, of line and a taste and beauty in coloring that accurately predicate great things. You will next be fascinated by a luxury and attention to the niceties of detail that excel the finest craftsmanship of America and Europe. Bur, after all, these are externals, and the Imperial “80” serves you even better in the serenity of its operation than in the eye-appeal of its unusual grace and beauty. Not alone does the Imperial “80” give you the speed ability of 80 miles an hour, and all of the surety of 92 horse- power, but the way it transports you at all speeds and on all roads is a revelation of the supreme state to which Chrysler has brought the art of motor car design and manufacture. We might well be accused of ex- aggeration should we attempt to describe the superlative ease of Imperial “80” motion—the way itflows from asnail’s pace to G0, 70 and 80or more miles per hour; the way it flashes in and out of traffic, nimbly distancing the fastest and finest on the road; its incompar- able steadiness even at highest speedsand onroughest pavements. You must know the Chrysler Imperial “80” to experience the utmost in luxury, suavity and enduring soundness which the highest skill in fine car building now offers. We invite you—indeed, we urge you, to ride in the Imperial “80” —confident that you too, like the hosts who already acclaim it, will pronounce it the greatest car you have ever known. ‘RO UTMOST LUXURY FOR 27407 PASSENGERS YOU OWE YOURSELF A RIDEIN THIS FINEST ¥ CARS Wt OFFER you the Chrysler Imperial “80” as, literally, the finest of cars. comicbooks.com