There’s not much more that I can add here that wasn’t in today’s CC for the 1958 Thunderbird. Admittedly, it wasn’t really the first of the genre; the Studebaker Hawk–or even its predecessor, the 1953 Starliner coupe–can make that claim. But the Hawk wasn’t successful, and the Starliner wasn’t yet self-aware enough to know and target the market niche that could have been its salvation; they were both relegated to being prophets of a coming age.
The Thunderbird certainly didn’t suffer on that account: it knew exactly what its market was: the aspirations of America’s middle-class strivers; always ready to embrace a vehicle to set them apart from the masses: “America’s Most Individual Car”. That truly sums it up, doesn’t it? The era of the “individual car” or “personal car” was now upon us, and things would never be the same, even if the individual car soon became very much a mass-market car. Oh well…exclusivity has its price: a Mercedes. But that was still in the offing. In 1958, the Thunderbird gave notice that the big American sedan was soon to be a dinosaur.
Can’t argue with this one. The Thunderbird also gave notice that GM’s divisional structure, set up by Alfred P. Sloan, would eventually become a dinosaur, too.
Eh, dunno about that, during this same time Ford was trying to set up a divisional structure much like GM, there was a Ford, Edsel, Mercury, Lincoln and Continental Divisions, which soon imploded on itself, leading to Continental re-insertion into Lincoln and the merger of Edsel in to Mercury, creating the short lived MEL(Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln) Division, which lead to Lincoln-Mercury which even without the loss of Mercury still lingers in a coma like Sonny Von Bulow.
Not to mention the Thunderbird which was the Ford Division’s highest end car became a fancy low end Torino/Monte Carlo fighter by 1977, again, chasing GM’s lead.
That was a really strange era at Ford. It was as though the company was at war with itself. On the one hand, they press the multi-divisional structure a-la-GM with a new Edsel, an expensive Mercury, the Continental, etc. On the other hand, and at the same time, the company was actively undermining that structure with a Continental Mark III that was nothing but a regular Lincoln, and the flashy stuff like the TBird and the retractable hardtop going to the Ford Division instead of the up-market lines. Also, with Ford moving upmarket and Mercury down, Edsel got squeezed out of existence almost immediately. I believe this second phase was the handiwork of McNamara.
Ford quickly abandoned its effort to match GM division-for-division. It killed the Edsel and Continental Divisions and merged Lincoln and Mercury into one division.
In the long run, GM’s divisional structure collapsed upon itself. Successful companies follow the Ford (and Toyota) model of selling a wide variety of vehicles in several price ranges under one brand.
GM spent most of the 1960s reacting to Ford’s marketing moves, not the other way around. The Monte Carlo was one of the few times that GM beat Ford to the punch in discovering a new segment.
The first AMT 3-in-1 kit that I bought was a 1959 T-Bird. Given the styling excesses going on at GM and Chrysler at the time, the T-Bird was restrained in comparison. T-Birds weren’t sold in Mexico so they truly were aspirational.
The most fascinating irony of 1958 is that despite the truly enormous amounts of money the Big Three spent on restylings, only two cars sold very well — the T-Bird and the Rambler American.
The latter was the biggest irony. Here’s a total repudiation of the holy grail of Detroit: Planned obsolescence. The American was a revival of a really old and never particularly good design. And it was stripped to the bone; no more high-end trim and hardtop and convertible body styles. Yet the American sold like hotcakes. Here was the pivot point away from Detroit’s singular emphasis on “full-sized” cars.
The T-Bird did point to a major trend in the American auto industry — the rise of distinctively styled coupes. But the American arguably pointed to an even bigger trend — the end of a one-size-fits-all mentality.
Indeed, the 1958-60 American came as close as any post-war American car to copying the VW Beetle. It was the antithesis of Detroit’s bigger, glitzier, more powerful theocracy.
That’s remarkably revolutionary when you stand back and think about it.
Why am I now seeing ads on here? Am I going to have to abandon this site like I did with TTAC because of them?
It’s called “income”. We all deal with it.
Hey cool, PN could use some income because he’s been doing this for years just cause it’s fun.
Happy to see a few ads to support the site. I don’t object at all.
I’m a former long time professional mechanic recovering from burnout. This site is very therapeutic for me. I’m liking cars again. A few ads is nothing. Thanks everyone for contributing.
I make a point of giving them a click once in a while, even if I just close them right away. What’s a click or two to throw a few sheckles into the coffers to keep this going?
Try firefox (or a browser related to it) with the Noscript and Adblock-plus addons. It’s the only way I can survive the web with my dialup connection. (the addons won’t work with Explorer, though).
I’m glad the ’58 Chevy didn’t make the list. Wasn’t that a Deadly Sin?
> I’m glad the ’58 Chevy didn’t make the list. Wasn’t that a Deadly Sin?
Too late, Zackman nominated the 58 Impala.
Saw that. Oh well… My father had a Belle Aire wagon. I was 6 years old, but I still remember thinking it was not a pretty car, especially compared to the 57s.
Looks like the 58 escaped the DS list, from a quick search of the articles.
I never thought I’d say this…..but I’d donate to keep the crap off this site. I wonder how much it would take to keep this place clean?
My nomination for 1958 CCOTY is the 1958 Dodge Custom Royal.
Not only is this ’58 Dodge a sharp looking car and the worst of Chrysler’s quality gremlins had been tamed, this was the first year for the Mopar big block or “B-engine”. For 1958, Dodge used a performance-tuned version of the then-new 361 big block in their “D-500” performance package, while the Chrysler 300 held onto the 392 Hemi for one more year.
Initially available in 350cid (1958 only) and 361cid displacements, the B-engine family quickly expanded to include the 383 and 413 in 1959, 426, 440 (1966) and later the 400cid displacement (1972). The B-engines ultimately supplanted the early Hemis in performance and industrial applications, as well as passenger car use. The later 426 Hemi was also developed from the B-engine and shares many parts.
1958 was also the first year that Chrysler adopted the reliable Carter AFB 4-barrel carburetor, the second year for their torsion-bar front suspension, and the third model year for the Torqueflite 3-speed automatic transmission. A winning combination! This car had the beginnings of so much technology that, with continual refinement, would underpin many Mopars right through the 70’s and beyond.
+1, although my personal favorite 58 Mopar is the Plymouth.
Ford and GM dropped the ball in 58, whereas Chrysler was at the peak of their game with the best looking year of forward look cars, along with the splendid technical achivements listed above by BOC.
My dad had a 58 Plymouth but it was a flathead 6 / 3 speed. About as much chance of him getting a Dual Fury 318 in those days as Dr. Niedermeyer buying a 4 speed Starliner…
My award passionately and firmly goes to the debut of the Chevrolet Impala.
No, I’m not a real fan of the styling, but the impact it had on the US auto industry cannot be overlooked.
I feel that way probably because I learned to drive in an Impala, cruised in one, owning three of them so far.
I’ve got to agree on the ’58 Impala, it was the first edition of what quickly became the definition of what American cars were for the next 15 years. I can’t think of another car that “fit in” in almost anywhere the way a Chevy Impala did.
It was also the first of many times when Chevy (probably) introduced a model to react to a trend started by Ford, namely the Fairlane 500 the previous year.
Zackman, I would need to agree as well. The Impala of 58 said a lot about what was to come. Within not too many years, you could order up anything from a stripper byscayne to a loaded to Caddilac level Chevrolet. 1958 was the start of this trend. It is also not too much of a stretch to pin the whole blame for the Brougham era that became the reductio ad absurdum of this trend.
As a lifelong Chevy fanboy, it pains me to state this…
…but I’ve run into a number pf people over the years who would own a Ford or one of the more premium GM brands (back when there were four of them), but never a Chevy.
I believe this is where it all began, although the perception took decades to take hold, reinforced by varying degrees of Greatest Hits and Deadly Sins at various times on the part of both.
Perhaps most important to this discussion, the Squarebird was a “screw Mercury” car. Ford division stepped firmly past Edsel straight into L-M territory here, and never let up.
Was the ’65 Mercury Park Lane quieter than a Rolls-Royce? Maybe, but it was Ford’s LTD which was marketed that way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r18YRP-jWAY
Sure, the ’67-’73 Mustang/Cougar showed a clear hierarchy, but I perceive the contrast with GM especially from the 70’s-now is that Ford set the pace, equipping their vehicles however they wanted, and if Mercury/Lincoln wanted to differentiate themselves they’d have to go to even higher trim and equipment levels. Of course such thinking killed Mercury but Ford became stronger than ever.
But for Chevrolet, it seemed especially in the mid-size and compact models, Chevies became merely cheaper Pontiacs/Buicks/Olds/GMC’s. While Chevrolet always stayed GM’s market share leader, from 50% in the sixties to close to 70% today, the overall market share of GM relative to everyone else has fallen from 53% in the 70’s to about 20-22% today.
A recent blurb in The Truth About Cars signals a change at GM…apparently there will now be upper-level packages for Silverado that take the brand clearly into GMC territory. I hope they’ll do the same with the cars and finally match or exceed Ford on features and options, like AWD in Malibu/Impala…long available in Fusion/Taurus.
If the Thunderbird was a “screw Mercury” what was the Corvette to Pontiac, or the GT-R to Infiniti?
I’m not disagreeing (or agreeing!) with you, just discussing 😉 I’d like to of seen a Lincoln or Mercury version of the Thunderbird. I should do a photo chop.
They kind of did–the Mark III was based on the ’67-’71 T-Bird. A Lincoln or Mercury version of the Squarebird would have been interesting.
I agree on the Thunderbird but we cannot let 1958 pass without mentioning the 1958 Buick Limited and the Olds 98. Actually we could just mention the entire GM lineup for 1958. If these had sold well at all there would have been a worldwide shortage of chrome.
Extra, extra, read all about it! Chromium mines empty! Bill Mitchel placed on suicide watch!
Thats what the space program was for….duh.
A fact surfaced when I was in engineering school that 1958, even with the recession and lowered sales, set a record for production of zinc die castings for the US auto industry, never to be matched again.
One look at a 58 Olds or Buick tells us that this is most certainly true! 🙂
I was mulling this topic over the other day (I figured that we would see it soon) and completely forgot about this car. I was going to dub 1958 as the year of the dud. (A dud dub?) The entire 1958 GM line was a 1 year wonder, and none too fondly remembered today. The 58 Ford was a ruination of the graceful 57, and the 58 Mercury was no improvement either. The 58 Lincoln and Edsel were flops. Chrysler fell on its face due to word of mouth about quality, although (imho) the 58s were the best looking of all of the Forward Look cars. I think the TBird might have been a winner here even if it had sold 4 thousand units.
I will (once again) be the contrarian. There was one other success besides the Rambler American: the 1958 Studebaker Champion Scotsman. Admittedly, by 1958, South Bend measured success differently from everywhere else. Cheap was in for 1958, and the Scotsman was far and away the most overtly cheap car since perhaps the Model T. Painted trim and hubcaps surrounding a drivetrain from the late 1930s let everyone know that you were either nearly broke or a Class-A skinflint.
In the alternative, since 1958 was the year of the dud, then the honor should go to the biggest dud of 1958 – the Packard Hawk. Sales totaled 588, if memory serves. A very expensive trim job on the Golden Hawk, and a very sad way for Packard to make a final swirl before going down the drain.
Behold, the Scotsman!
I’ll disagree with you just a tad here. Check the prices on 1958 Pontiacs in Hemmings nowadays if you think that the 1958 GM line is none too fondly remembered today. I think they’re even higher than ’58 Caddies or Impalas.
OK, then, none too fondly remembered by me. I am shocked that not everyone agrees 🙂 Actually, I was thinking of the Oldsmobiles and Buicks, and even the Caddies were overshadowed by the finny 59s. But you make a good point. The 58 Bonneville and Impala are certainly well thought of.
JP, you make a good point — 1958 was the peak of bechromed excess. Not so coincidentally, engineering and production quality hit bottom.
Sputnik led to a period of national soul searching (What? We’ve taken a back seat the Commies?!), but social commentators also started railing against the ridiculousness of American automobiles. Romney’s complaint about “dinosaurs” in the driveway hit a nerve. The Rambler American was such an unexpected hit precisely because it so militantly challenged the prevailing Detroit ethos.
I’m hard-pressed to suggest another post-war year that is so epitomized by automotive duds. Even the peak of SUV insanity doesn’t have such a distinct point in time.
This was the year that Detroit group think hit its zenith, but the resulting malaise never went away. Indeed, it still insinuates itself in the auto industry — with debilitating results. Iconoclasts akin to Romney are still needed to challenge unexamined assumptions about what consumers really want in an automobile.
1958? It pains my Oldsmobile loving heart to say this but… Give me a Thunderbird with every possible option.
I wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone by failing to include these photos of the 1958 Belvedere convertible I owned from 1966 to 1998. These were taken in 1995 (or so). All original paint and exterior trim; seats redone as original sometime in the 1980’s. The top was replaced just before I bought the car.
Needless to say, T-bird or no T-bird, I think the Mopar fin cars did it again this year.
That is beautiful. If I owned that and sold it, I would probably regret it later.
I’m in love.
Wow she’s purty. This thread desperately needed something aesthetically pleasing. Thanks!
I think I basically agree with JPC and was wondering what loser (IMHO) was going to get the nod. Had forgotten about the squarebirds. Had two of them parked near my house that I shared a few months ago. They are gone now and guess I forgot about them as soon as they disappeared.
I liked T birds, just less then vettes for 56/57 but I really liked the squarebirds for the 3 years of this style. Good job finding a winner in an otherwise loser year.
It was a poor year – pains me to say that, because I’m a 1958 model; and also because of the great advancement in nighttime driving came in that year. That’s right; quad headlights; which unlike square headlights or even composite headlights, actually improved driver visibility.
The year was one of unchecked bloat and swell; and the stylists seemed not to know what to do with those new headlights.
I’d agree with the consensus: the swelled-out, misnamed “Squarebird” was the most significant. I’m not sure it’s any more desirable than any other car of that year…but it did signify a market shift.
I would humbly suggest the ’58 Ambassador. It was arguably the first “senior compact”, a plusher standard Rambler with a nicer interior and longer wheelbase. It lasted in one form or another until 1974, not a bad run.
Something that hasn’t been nominated but should be for 1958 is the Austin Healey Sprite.