Benz and Company Advertising Artwork, 1920s

The love affair with the automobile was and remains a global phenomenon. It had to be done before 1926, as Benz is still an independent firm and has not yet merged with Daimler. What is it trying to say?  The woman is hugging the car, as she would hug a man. The automobile remains a masculine object, hard and square. And she is dropping her skirt -- perhaps about to offer herself to the owner of the car, or the car itself? This is about joy, yet at the same time about the binding of one, as this woman will not be as mobile as she thinks.