Ask the Man Who Owns One" - Packard Automobiles (The Automobile Magazine, Dec 1902)
The pattern
This still is filed under Price-anchoring offer.
Define
A higher reference number is shown first so the real price reads as a concession, not as a starting bid.
Mechanism
People judge a price against the first number they see. The anchor must be a real comparison or it collapses.
Verdict
We have a credible reference the buyer will accept
Why it works
The ad disqualifies part of its own audience - it names no price and says plainly that it will not compete on one - so choosing the car becomes an act of self-classification rather than a comparison, and the prospect who stays has already accepted the premium. 'Ask the man who owns one' outsources proof to owners, which no printed claim can match and which costs the advertiser nothing; it also hands the reader a next step that does not feel like a sales call. Note the restraint in the setting: the famous line is the smallest important thing on the page, set bold at body size, so it reads as advice rather than as a slogan.
Steal this when
Use this when you cost more than the alternatives and you have owners who talk. Say out loud that you will not compete on price, then make the referral - not the purchase - the call to action.