Life, 1927-05-05 · page 6 of 46
Life — May 5, 1927 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily a luxury automobile advertisement**, not political satire. The Stearns-Knight company (Cleveland, Ohio) markets their car as "America's most luxurious Motor Car." The only cartoon element is the decorative header illustration showing a horse-drawn carriage with a driver—a visual metaphor comparing the car to traditional transportation. The accompanying text "The Spirit of the Thoroughbred" suggests the automobile possesses qualities of a fine horse: responsiveness ("do not drive"), smoothness, and reliability. The ad emphasizes the Knight motor's technical superiority (smooth, powerful, carbon-free), available in 17 body styles, priced $8250–$4650. This is marketing copy exploiting nostalgic associations with equestrian excellence to sell modern automobiles to wealthy consumers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The thnill of directing the new STEARNS-KNIGHT HERE’S a thrill in its beauty of line; in the supple strength of its unique coachwork; in the uniformly high quality of materials used through- out. But most thrilling of allis the unprece- dented performance of its famous Knight motor! Smooth and pow- erful from the first—improving with every year of use—forever free from carbon and valve troubles—as in the The Spirit of the Thoroughbred With the thoroughbred you never “push on thereins.”” His response is always instant and whole- hearted... This same spirit lies in the new Stearns-Knight, the car you direct, but do not drive. Daimler, Voisin, Peugeot and a few others of the recognized world leaders in the luxury car group. A thrilling car to direct. Speed di- vorced from vibration. The car of your dreams is here! The new Stearns-Knight is now avail- able in 17 body styles—a complete line of six and eight cylinder models. Prices range from $3250 to $4650 at Cleveland. THE F. B. STEARNS COMPANY + CLEVELAND + OHIO Stearns- Knight cAmericas most_Lixurious FHfolor (Car the qu on had was tion tim mar out comicbooks.com