Life, 1927-01-13 · page 9 of 39
Life — January 13, 1927 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes early automobile ownership through humorous anecdotes. The main narrative mocks the complications and expense of car ownership—including breakdowns, repairs, and unexpected costs that accumulate during a trip to Boston. The cartoon "Office of the Man Who Thinks Up the License Numbers for Automobiles" depicts a cluttered office overwhelmed with license plate combinations, satirizing bureaucratic absurdity in vehicle registration. The "Automobile Mathematics" section exposes the real cost of car ownership, showing that while advertised at $1,199, actual expenses (freight, taxes, insurance, incidentals) total $9,022—nearly eight times the sticker price. This was likely meant to satirize aggressive marketing tactics and hidden costs facing early 20th-century automobile buyers, making car ownership appear far more expensive than advertisements suggested.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life Such Fun! “FY dear, we motored all the way to Boston, and I never’ had such a wonderful trip in my life! Oh, ¥ of course it rained—it would have to rain that day of all OFFICE OF THE MAN Oh, and that reminds me of the funniest thing! There was a little hole in the awning on top, you know, and Leila was under it and she was absolutely deluged! So she made George change seats with her and so George was deluged, too! I nearly died!’ Oh, and the funniest part of it was that George had_ his new suit on and he hadn't brought any raincoat and by the time we got to Boston he was the funniest- looking sight! I just had to scream! Oh, I almost forgot, we days! WHO THINKS UP THE LICENSE NUMBERS FOR AUTOMOBILES. had a puncture or a blowout or some- thing just this side of Hartford, and George and Will had to get out and fix it right there in the pouring rain and I never heard such language in all my life! I said to Will, I said, ‘Will, if you can’t drive a car and be a gentleman, too, why, you ought not to drive a car.’ But it really was ter- ribly funny! Really! “Oh, and then some- thing happened before we got into Worcester —the carbon or some- thing broke down, you know, and we had to get a garage man and when he got through fooling around he charged Will thirty dollars! Well, my dear, that made Will simply blow up, and the way he talked to that garage man was a caution! But I said to him, I said, ‘Will, the garage man_ probably knows his business, and you don’t see me ing, do you?’ ill gave me the nastiest look! But finally he had to pay, of course, and all the rest of the way to Bos- ton we simply razzed the life out of him about it! “And then when we got to Boston it was so late that all the restaurants and hotel dining-rooms were closed and we had to eat at a funny little place where you sat on stools! And a Distracted Husband: ‘vere DID MY WIFE DRIVE PROM HERE? NE ARM FREE WHEN YOU NE Casper: WELL, you s SOME DAY I HOPE TO OWN A CAR, the one George was sitting on had something the ter with it and it just collapsed and George got the most awful bump and we simply howled! “Why, I wouldn't think of parting with that car for a million dollars!” Tip Bliss. Automobile Mathematics ADVERTISED cost of the car Gace Freight on buyer. . War tax Extra equipment Insurance Incidentals Actual cost of the car... Cash paid down by the pur- comicbooks.com