How does Ann B. Ross use imagery in Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind: A Novel?

Imagery:

"But I tell you, I thought I'd never get over the shock of finding Wesley Lloyd dead as a doornail, slumped over the steering wheel of his new Buick Park Avenue. Steel gray with plush upholstery, parked right out there in the driveway."

I learned right quick that everybody in Abbotsville had the same respect for Wesley Lloyd that I had. It didn't matter that other men towered over him or that they had deeper voices and stronger muscles. When Wesley Lloyd studied a loan application, there wasn't a bigger man in town.