A 58 WHAT?

[Guest Scott Roberts]

It seem's that the 58 buick is buick's red hedded step child. I know, I have one. Yes, I know it's covered in chrome and stainless steel (Which my dad and I have been polishing and removing dents from for two months) But it is still a nice buick. It is very similer to the 56, and the 57. It is nothing like the 59 and 60, yet I don't feel people give the cars The credit they are due. We have a 1958 buick special 46R with a three speed manual trans, the car is warwick blue with a 411 interior. It is rather plain for a 58 buick the only option the car has is power steering. Maybe that's what appeals to me is the rarity of the car due to lack of options and a manual transmittion. I was a Ford and Pontiac lover until this Buick came along now I'm hooked. So hooked that when the opertunity arose to get a 1935 model 47 I did. Now I have two buicks to restore. What's your opinion on the 1958 buick??????

[Steve Braverman]

The '58 Buick is my favorite 50s car.

[Guest Skyking]

58 Buicks are great cars...... Restoring one these days one would have to take a second mortgage out just to rechrome it.

[Bhigdog]

I was always told that if you can't say something nice don't say anything............

Sooooo. I will say it's prettier than a 58 Olds, a mud fence, and a train wreck. There, my Mama would be proud of me.

Enjoy your 58. All that matters is that YOU like it. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it for many years.......Bob

[old gto]

<span style="color: #3333FF">No doubt 1958 was a good year for GM design...I`m a BIG pontiac fan, and the 58 Bonny is on my short list of cars I`d love to have. And your Buick is ALMOST as pretty as it`s (Pontiac) sister! </span>

[Dave@Moon]

I've seen several books and/or articles that mention Harley Earl's by then failing eyesight as a partial explanation for the 1958 GM line. There's no doubt that 1958 was probably the first year that GM was clearly behind both Ford and Mopar in design. The Buick was arguably the least progressive of GM's designs that year.

It certainly was the glitziest, and the most extreme. The 1958 Limited had <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">200 pounds</span></span> of <span style="text-decoration: underline">purely decorative</span> chrome trim. That does not count bumpers, grille, switches, door handles, or any other part on the car that'd be there chrome or not. It was over-the-top during an era when extravagence was a given.

Personally I don't like it as a work of art, but I love it as a piece of history (see my avatar at left). While the lines (especially the oddly curved hood) & trim do way too much to add visual weight to an already heavy shape, they do give the car a flavor of an age that is long gone. Great designs are timeless ('53 Studebaker, '48 Cistalia, '48 XK120, etc.). The 1958 Buick is of an age that barely lasted through the model year.

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For another perspective, I offer this conversation with my 11 year old son at the 2003 Buick 100th Aniversary meet in Flint, MI:

<span style="font-style: italic">"Dad, I think I get the 1958 Buick now"

"What do you mean?"

"The 1958 Buick is the Hummer H2 of 1958."</span>

I think he said it all (and yes, those are direct quotes).

[Reatta Man]

All,

Please remember that in those days, cars were not about MPG or rebates. Many cars were sold to make a STATEMENT.

And, whether you like it or hate it, when you pulled up in a '58 Buick in October 1957, no one was likely to confuse your car with anything else on the road. And, they probably associated you with your car.

So, don't judge a '58 through '08 glasses. Fifty years will do a lot to your perspective.

Personally, I always thought the two-door hardtops were great looking.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Me, I would give my eyeteeth to have a 58 Buick Station Wagon...

[Guest Skyking]

How many here remember the red 58 Century convertible that was in the swap meet at Flint in 2003? That was one outstanding car.

[Rusty_OToole]

My uncle George loved 1958 Buicks also 1958 Oldsmobiles. He had at least 2 of each (not at the same time).

When they opened the 401 hiway (interstate to you) in 1962 he took me to Oshawa (35 miles away) in the big Buick at 110 MPH. It was like riding on a water bed. A 110 MPH water bed.

In those days you could make a trip like that and pass only 2 or 3 cars.

[Reatta Man]

Hey, you can still do that today in Houston. It's called "driving to work."

Only difference? Those two or three cars would be rolling cash registers, er, highway patrol cars.

[Big Beat]

If a '58 Buick was anything like my '58 Chevy (which of course it had to be), then I'm sure it was a very nice car.

But styling-wise, I much prefer the early to mid-fifties Buicks. Up until '56 they were just great. But Buick kinda dropped the ball in '57 and was totally lost in '58. Both were one-year-only bodies that sold poorly. Going by 50's perceptions, they were simply unpopular because of that bloated, overdecorated, graceless styling. Today, they're cool out of kitsch and sheer perversity

[Guest 4buick7]

As a collector car the '58 Buick is great. It captures a time in history. It projects an optimistic attitude and captures the feeling of the times, the 1950's. It's basically a time capsule and definitely popular with Buick lovers. The Limited series has to be among the most excessive styling exercises rivaled only by the '58 Lincoln and Oldsmobile and the '59 Cadillac.

Personally, I've never cared for it. I first saw the "new" '58 Buick in Sept of 57 when we used to snoop around the car dealerships to see the new models before they were officially introduced to the public. At the time I thought it was an over-chromed barge. However, I was a college student driving a sports car so big American cars weren't my thing. I've heard the '58 Oldsmobiles and Buicks described as looking like "someone stood back and threw tinsel at them".

However, I must admit they've stood the test of time pretty well. I've learned to appreciate them for what they were and what they've become in the collector world. The convertibles and the wagons are especially interesting and the going price of the Limiteds illustrates their popularity.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When I bought my '47 Buick woodie years ago, I took it into the Auto Club to transfer the ownership. I thought it was a great looking car although it needed a lot. The clerk was a friend of mine so she felt comfortable in giving me her opinion. She said "I hope you're not offended but that is the ugliest old car I've ever seen". Although that was the only negative comment I've ever heard on the car, it's one I remember. We all have our opinions.

1947 Buick Super Estate Wagon