American Cars of 1958

[Monksdream]

October 30--1958 Buick Limited



The Ultimate in 50s Kitsch

As the decade of the 1950s progressed, the Big 3 car companies competed to see which one could produce a model us folks in the 21st Century usually say as having the most “bling.” Auto historians, critics of popular culture, and regular car guys tend to agree the 1958 Buick Limited was the epitome of excess in an era when excess in automotive design wasn’t just expected, it was required. That could be a matter of some debate. Cars in the early to mid 1960s got even longer, heavier and more ridiculous in appearance than any car Detroit produced in the 1950s. Let’s save that discussion for a later time.

When it comes to customizing how could anyone today possibly come up with anything to add to the inherent bling in a ‘58 Limited. It was already overloaded with bling when it came off the assembly line. Anyone restoring a junker they found in a barn or old garage will spend a fortune in re-chroming all that metal trim. It’s everywhere on the car. One doesn’t know where to begin to describe all the square inches -- make that square feet -- the amount of chrome the GM designers and marketing executives believed was necessary to entice potential buyers.

It’s all in the details, as the saying goes. And the ‘58 Limited has a boatload of them. Let’s start with a not so noticeable feature. Look at the chrome trim on the roof above the front and rear windows on the black sedan. Notice the curve. It’s at the same degree of arc as the trim on the body that begins at the rear wheel well and runs through the rear and front doors all along the front fender and over the quad headlamps. That
‘Sweepspear’ side trim was a Buick styling hallmark that began in 1949. Quad headlamps were a design feature on every model that year, no matter who made it.

Moving along, one can’t help but notice the slanted hash marks -- three groups of five. What distinguishes the ‘58 Limited from other models in the Buick lineup is when you bought one, you knew you were getting the top of the line because other models like the Century and the Special only had two groups of five hash marks. Those hash marks were also slanted at just the right amount of angle to impart a sense of dynamism, to make it look fast even though it was standing still. It was Detroit’s way of expressing -- one could say comparing -- passenger cars to Americans’ interest in rockets and jet aircraft. Car designers called it “the Forward Look.”

Fins were in during the 50s, also an expression of the new Forward Look. They became more pronounced and garish as the decade neared its end. The Buick tail fins were massive in 1958. Only Chrysler produced larger fins that took up what seemed like the entire rear portion of the car. They were trimmed in chrome as well, with the strip starting near the rear window. Note the chromed inlays in the red plastic rear signal lenses.

The car makers like to make sure someone in the car behind you knows what you’re driving. The designers installed a Buick badge above the license plate between two thin chrome strips. Just more bling.

Finally we come to all that chromed steel behind the rear wheel well that extends around the rear of the car of what is a truly massive rear bumper. The exhaust pipes were hidden inside what looks like a bullet casing. The rear bumper probably weighed as much as a 1958 Volkswagen.

One other design element is apparent in the ‘58s. Look at how both the sedan and the more stylish convertible appear to sit so low to the ground. It was another trend in styling that year besides the required quad headlamps.



After the end of World War II, American cars got not only longer but wider. Trunk space in full size sedans looked like they could hold a hippopotamus. Due to the additional weight from bigger engines and transmissions, the front portions added to the massive appearance. Car makers today couldn’t install what the auto writers called “gunsight” medallions above the headlamps. They would be immediately stolen. Notice the spotlights before the sideview mirrors on this light blue convertible.

Rocketship styling prevailed in the ‘50s. Even the front turn signal light had to look like the nose cone of a rocket. Bullet attachments, sometimes tipped in black rubber, were a common feature. The bumpers usually wrapped around the front wheel wells. More than anything, those chomed squares -- 160 of them -- defined what over-the-top styling was all about. In its sales literature, Buick justified all that needless expense by saying, "shaped in a design to maximize the amount of reflective light".



Buicks were considered one step below Cadillac in price as well as being a reflection of social status. This stunning red convertible sold for more than $5200 in 1958, a couple hundred more than an entry-level Cadillac. The sedans went for $5400 and weighed just under 5,000 pounds. That is two and one-half tons of automobile. Only Lincoln’s Continental was heavier that year.



Buicks were noted for their sumptuous interiors, and the Limited versions didn’t disappoint. Button and tuck leather seats in the ‘58 convertible and Limited sedan instead of vinyl in the lower end models. A padded dashboard. Leather trim on the doors. Chrome inlays around the steering wheel and instrument panel. Don’t overlook the famous “Wonder Bar” radio, with auto-set push buttons, made by GM’s Delco division. Since this is a convertible, the front seats were split and hinged for ease of entry into the rear seats. Look at the chrome trim at the top and along the sides.




If you could afford it, you could order a ‘continental kit’ for the spare tire to allow for more trunk space. But what for? The trunk space was already so spacious a spare tire wouldn’t taken away that many square feet. There it was just the same, the spare inside a metal casing, with more chrome, sitting on top of an elongated platform that only made the car longer and out of proportion to its overall look. It was also how the dealers could shake a few hundred extra dollars from the pockets of customers. And a few hundred dollars in 1958 would now be worth a few thousand.

1958 was the first year the US experienced a recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Unemployment topped five million. The launch by the Russians in October 1957 of the Sputnik satellite put a scare into Americans. Domestic auto production declined to roughly four million pieces compared to the nearly eight million sold in 1957. Buick sold roughly 7,100 Limited sedans and about 4,000 convertibles. This means the models available on the collector market are scarce. That doesn’t necessarily make them more valuable. Just about any convertible Detroit made that year would sell at a premium. But sedans and coupes don’t interest the high-dollar collectors. The average price is around $30,000 for a restored ‘58. Cadillac convertibles and Corvettes restored to original condition are worth well over $100,000 to serious collectors.

To close out, the Buick Limited was equipped with power brakes as standard. One should hope it came that way. Stopping nearly two and one-half tons of automobile with a manual braking system is a terrifying thought.



No review of a car model would be complete without including images of the station wagon version. As one can see, a ‘58 wagon, called the Caballero, was one ponderous mass of steel and glass, not to mention all that chrome. The wagons didn’t have the hash marks. They were replaced with a side panel, trimmed in chrome, intended, no doubt, to induce an added sense of aerodynamism to a vehicle that, for all intent and purpose, handled no better than a school bus. Note the thick chromed weather stripping around the windows. Another feature is the absence of a side pillar that separates the front and rear doors.



During the 50s TV came into its heyday. By the end of the decade nearly every American household had a television. The amount of revenue the Big 3 networks generated from advertising grew astronomically. The 50s really was a period of unprecedented economic growth. The car makers spent millions on TV ads. But it was expensive. Many ad campaigns then, as now, were broken down into 20 to 30 second spots. Just enough tease that was broadcast many times throughout the evening.

There were, however, still plenty of magazine ads. National circulation for general interest publications like Life, Look, the Saturday Evening Post, were delivered weekly to millions of subscribers. One advantage to a magazine ad was the ability to hold a reader’s attention for a longer period of time, allowing him or her to fantasize about the latest models. They promised freedom, luxury, adventure, excitement and enhanced social status.



Here we see a depiction of 50s Mom and Pop and the Kid peeking over the dashboard taking in the scenery. Who painted the highway white? Magazine ads often compared cars to aircraft. Or rockets. Apparently the marketing executives wanted customers they weren’t simply buying a car. They were buying a terrestrial aircraft.



Since Buick decided its Limited sedan was on par with Cadillac in 1958 it was advertised that way. Men in tuxedos. Women in furs and evening gowns. The chromed hulk is parked in front of some stylish setting that suggests wealth and opulence. This wasn’t a car to be driven to the corner grocery. This was a car meant to be seen and admired.



Economic expansion during the 1950s that by the end of the decade, more than a third of the US population lived in suburbs. The percentage would reach nearly one-half by the time John Kennedy took the oath of office in January 1961. This ad for a Buick, yellow no less, depicts a suburban family bringing out the shine in this chromed out hulk. The makers of Simoniz products were certainly grateful.



The notable thing about this magazine ad is the two-page spread. Buick spent a lot of money on this ad. Look at the fine print. The folks in the ad department didn’t create all that copy if it didn’t believe potential buyers would read it. The red sedan with a white top (two tone paint jobs were popular) seems to be flying out off the page.

For the Record--The Numbers, Please
1958 Buick Special Models, Prices, Production
Special (wheelbase 122.0)
Weight
Price
Production
4-door sedan
4,115
$2,700
48,238
Riviera hardtop sedan
4,180
2,820
31,921
convertible coupe
4,165
3,041
5,502
Riviera hardtop coupe
4,058
2,744
34,903
2-door sedan
4,063
2,636
11,566
Estate 4-door wagon
4,396
3,154
3,663
Riviera Estate 4-door hardtop wagon
4,408
3,261
3,420
Total 1958 Buick Special




139,213
1958 Buick Century Models, Prices, Production
Century (wheelbase 122.0)
Weight
Price
Production
4-door sedan
4,241
$3,316
7,241
Riviera hardtop sedan
4,267
3,436
15,171
convertible coupe
4,302
3,680
2,588
Riviera hardtop coupe
4,182
3,368
8,110
2-door sedan
4,189
--
2
Caballero 4-door hardtop wagon
4,498
3,831
4,456
Total 1958 Buick Century




37,568
1958 Buick Super Models, Prices, Production
Super (wheelbase 127.5)
Weight
Price
Production
Riviera hardtop sedan
4,500
$3,789
28,460
Riviera hardtop coupe
4,392
3,644
13,928
Total 1958 Buick Super




42,388
1958 Buick Roadmaster Models, Prices, Production
Roadmaster (wheelbase 127.5)
Weight
Price
Production
Riviera hardtop sedan
4,668
$4,667
10,505
convertible coupe
4,676
4,680
1,181
Riviera hardtop coupe
4,568
4,557
2,368
Total 1958 Buick Roadmaster




14,054
1958 Buick Limited Models, Prices, Production
Limited (wheelbase 127.5)
Weight
Price
Production
Riviera hardtop sedan
4,710
5,112
5,571
Riviera hardtop coupe
4,691
5,002
1,026
convertible coupe
4,603
5,125
839
Total 1958 Buick Limited




7,436
Total 1958 Buick




240,659*

All Buick models for 1958 were equipped with 90-degree, vertical in valve V-8 engines. Displacement was 364 cubic inches. They developed a maximum of 300 horsepower at 4,600 rpm.