Life — January 13, 1927 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 7 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.