Life, 1927-05-05 · page 43 of 46
Life — May 5, 1927 — page 43: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Packard automobile advertisement**, not a political cartoon or satire. The page features a luxury car ad from what appears to be the 1920s-1930s era. The tiger illustration above the car is purely decorative imagery meant to evoke power and majesty—supporting the ad's central message about the car's "power" and performance. The tagline "The supreme combination of all that is fine in motor cars" positions Packard as the luxury standard. The copy emphasizes Packard's engineering superiority: responsive acceleration, sustained performance through city driving and mountain grades, and unmatched "traffic agility." The closing line "Ask the man who owns one" was Packard's actual advertising slogan, appealing to status-conscious buyers by suggesting owner testimonials validate quality. This reflects 1920s-30s marketing when automobiles were still relatively exclusive luxury goods, and Packard was a prestigious American marque competing against other high-end manufacturers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“The supreme com: bination of all that is fine in motor cars” Power + The soft purr of the Packard motor hardly hints its vast re serve power. Yet a touch of the accelerator and the great car leaps forward with the eagerness of a living thing. In its swift response to the driver's will lies the promise of superb and sustained perform: ance. Mile after mile through the starts and stops of the crowded city, hour after hour on the long pull of the mountain grade, the Packard proves superior to all requirements — Packard power now Teigns supreme, A s kK THE MAN Packard design—widely imitated but never equalled—has long been recognized as an outstanding combination of smartness, beauty and comfort. And Packard power -now unsurpassed in any motor car— offers matchless traffic agility, hill climb- ing ability and, when emergency demands it, speed. Packard distinction— Packard power! A combination of qualities which has re- stored to many thousands of new owners their waning zest in PACKARD“ WHO OWNS ON comicbooks.com