1958 Buick Limited

Cosmetically outrageous styling was evident in every aspect of the Limited’s appearance. The rear window was an unbroken expanse of glass. “Mouseholes,” officially known as “ventiports,” disappeared. A new “Fashion-Aire Dynastar” grille dominated the front end. It consisted of 160 chrome-plated squares, each designed with four triangular concave surfaces calculated to reflect a maximum amount of light. They had quad headlamps with broad chrome rear quarter side panels, a unique Limited “Twin-Tower” wraparound tail lamp lenses enclosed in chrome housings and rear bumper ‘Dagmars’ housing ‘Dual Jet’ back-up lamps. Brightwork was liberally applied. For the first time, a Buick looked more like a “Wurlitzer on wheels” than a car. One admirer referred to it as “The Rhinestone Cowboy.” “The Chrome Goddess” had more Chrome and Stainless than any other car ever produced! Perhaps the 1958 Buick overdid it, but this was after all the era of high-flying tail fins and three-tone color schemes. The wheelbase measured the same 125.5 inches as the Roadmaster, but the rear overhang stretched out an extra eight inches, bringing the overall length to just under 19 feet! With prices over $5,000, they were more expensive than most Cadillac models. Power was from a 364 cubic-inch V8 engine using a 10.1:1 compression ratio and four-barrel carburetor delivering 300 horsepower, exactly the same as Ford’s new four-place Thunderbird! Only 839 Limited Convertibles were ever produced.