Life, 1928-07-26 · page 35 of 36
Life — July 26, 1928 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **Packard automobile advertisement**, not political satire. The page promotes luxury cars through messaging about quality engineering and rigorous testing. The central image depicts a **horse racing scene**—a thoroughbred being tested for speed and stamina. This is a **metaphor**: just as breeders condition champion racehorses, Packard conditions its automobiles through "million-dollar proving ground" testing. The accompanying smaller photos show Packard vehicles in various settings (driving, parked). The ad's tagline—"Ask the Man Who Owns One"—was Packard's famous slogan, positioning the car as luxury-class transportation. The price range ($2,275–$8,725) indicates this was high-end, aspirational advertising for 1920s-era wealthy consumers. The horse metaphor suggests **prestige and breeding**: owning a Packard meant possessing something as refined and carefully developed as a thoroughbred racehorse. There is no political commentary here—this is purely corporate marketing using equestrian metaphor to convey automotive excellence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ACH succeeding model in the long line of famous Packards has been a little nearer to that perfect combina- tion of fine car qualities which is the Packard goal. For Packard, in thirty years, has slowly learned how to achieve beauty of line without loss of roominess and comfort, how to provide abundant power with- out excess bulk and weight, how to give long life and economical operation com- bined with unsurpassed performance. And ona million-dollar proving ground providing every possible facility, Packard still constantly studies new develop- ments which mean continued leader- ship, and tests the stamina and perform- ance of Packard cars—under conditions far more severe than they will ever be called upon to meet in service. The Packard proving ground and test track are the final practical laboratory where the Packard Six and the Packard Eight must constantly prove before a staff of technical critics their fitness to go forth bearing the family name. Packard cars are priced from $2275 to $4550. Individual custom models from $3875 to $8725, at Detroit PAC K-AcRe-D AS K THE MAN wuHoO OWN Ss ONE A calt from a long line of blue blooded thoroughbreds, expert attention, careful conditioning —then the private test to prove its expected speed and stamina comicbooks.com