About four out of five women bought the 1926 Overland Six (automobile) because of its “tremendous power.”  Or so says the full-page ad in the 1926 Ladies’ Home Journal.

For those who slept through Social Studies class, the 1920s were an amazing time in American history. A fine home in a good neighborhood sold for less than $5,000.  In 1924, WLS radio signed on the air. The station’s call letters stood for “World’s Largest Store,” and it was launched as a promotion tool for Sears Roebuck.

In 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote. Pause for a moment and think about that. I’m a 50-year-old baby boomer and my mother was born before women had the right to vote.

The 1920s also saw an increase of automobile advertisements in women’s magazines. (In 1910, only 5% of women were licensed drivers.) The women were not driving these iron beasties, but they were (apparently) gaining a voice in the decision-making process.

And the number of women drivers increased as the years went by. Perhaps they were inspired by Alice Ramsey. In 1909, this 22-year-old made automotive history when she drove across the country in her 1909 Maxwell DA.  Top speed of the four-cylinder, 30 horsepower engine was 40 miles per hour.

Tremendous power was a radically new concept to women in the 1920s.

The 1926 ad promised "tremendous power" to women who purchased this car