1958 Pontiac Star Chief 4-door sedan in Tropicana Turquoise and white. Car photos by classiccars.com
In case you’re counting years, this car was the “boldest advance” since the 1908 Oakland, according to Pontiac advertising. That’s quite a statement, isn’t it? But like all hyperbole, there is some truth to it. Previous Pontiac owners would find this all-new ’58 to be strikingly new and innovative compared to their current, now obsolete models. Let’s take a closer look…
I’m lovin’ the two-toned rocket motif on that Bonneville!
Pontiac brochures and print ads were really over-the-top and artistically beautiful in 1958, and would continue to be so in the following years. It isn’t on YouTube, but there was a sensational ’58 Pontiac TV commercial that really grabbed your attention. I’ll transcribe: [Images of lightning strikes and booming thunderclaps] (Is the world ending?) [Voice of God announcer]: “SOME-DAY…people will live on space stations orbiting the earth! SOME-DAY…there will be [some other exciting thing]. But at Pontiac, SOME-DAY is NOW, with a totally new kind of car! [Images of car details from dramatic angles]. Drive the BOLD NEW PONTIAC at your dealer’s today and SEE FOR YOURSELF! No car in history ever left yesterday so far behind!!”
Heh, heh–that’s one way of putting it. 🤣 But to appreciate how completely changed the ’58 Pontiac was, we have to compare it with last year’s model:
1957 Pontiac Super Chief 4-door hardtop. (GM photo)
According to Consumer Reports, the ’57 Pontiacs were powerful, solidly built cars that were a good choice for the driver who wants to go places in a hurry. “It rides tight to the road” and “can be driven fast with ease and confidence in its handling.” However, the (manual) steering was quite heavy (but more precise than average); and the ride was rather stiff, with “the passengers joggling up and down” over concrete expansion joints on the highway.
So for ’58, Pontiac is an all-new car, with changes designed to build on its strengths and correct its weaknesses. There is an all-new body and chassis (shared with Chevrolet)–longer, lower, and wider in the spirit of the times. The V-8 engine has been bored out to 370 cubic inches for more power. The suspension is new, with coil springs in the rear to replace last year’s leaf springs. Plus there’s more room inside, a bigger trunk, quad headlights and taillights–basically a whole new personality that has little in common with the Pontiacs of old.
Despite its newness, Consumer Reports was less than taken with the ’58 Pontiac, calling it a “classless car”–varying little in size, room, or performance from other cars across the price spectrum. The engine was bigger than (but not as smooth as) Cadillac’s. It was only an inch shorter than Cadillac, and utilized a Chevrolet body shell! And if you pick one of the higher models and load up with options, the delivered price could easily get very close to Cadillac territory.
Pontiac claimed, “Only the wheels know where the bumps are!”
But CR had another complaint. The new coil spring rear suspension raised Pontiac’s ride from rough to very comfortable. However, due to the rigid link mountings, there is now increased noise and vibration inside the car. (Chevrolet had this same problem). CR felt that the well-advertised new X-frame resulted in more body shake than previously. Handling now rates as good rather than very good (“although few American sedans do better.”) Well, as the saying goes, you can’t please everybody.
In this price class, CR rated the Oldsmobile, Dodge/DeSoto, and Mercury ahead of the Pontiac. The Studebaker-based ’58 Packard came in dead last, LOL!
Now that we’ve covered the technical aspects, let’s focus on a few visual details that make these fabulous Pontiacs so special:
The front end was really simplified and cleaned up compared to the rather overwrought designs of 1956-57. Quad headlights, of course. All ’58 cars look more spectacular with sparkling, star-like reflections on the chrome!
No fins–but the afterburner taillights thrust rearward in a dramatic way!
That sidespear! Chieftain, Star Chief, and Bonneville each had their own unique designs.
Bonneville convertible cockpit. It does seem like you’re driving a starship!
Incredible!
Instrument panel detail.
GM publicity photo
Yes, the 1958 Pontiac was one amazing car. But if this ’58 was the Boldest Advance in Fifty Years, what can we say about the 1959 Pontiac?
“Who in the world built this beauty?” Who indeed? I mean, if the 1958 Pontiac was so “once-in-a-half-century” revolutionary, what do you call this? A complete and total departure from the past, and in only one year! About the only thing visually linking the 1959 Pontiac to previous models is some upholstery patterns and the high-beam indicator light in the shape of an Indian head!
And Pontiac and Chevrolet solved their body noise and vibration problems. The changes mainly involved the coil spring rear suspension linkage and other refinements.
I can tell you that the “Jet-Smooth” 1959 Chevrolet (which shares its platform with Pontiac) is one of the smoothest-riding cars I have driven. There is a good balance between softness (lack of harshness over bumps) and feeling level and solidly planted on the road. Pontiac’s coil springs are even softer than Chevrolet’s, but Pontiacs supposedly still had good handling because of “Wide-Track Wheels” which provided more stability.
Well, even the “boldest advances” eventually end up here–in the junkyard along with everything else. Sad, really.
And when was the last time you even saw a 1958 Pontiac (outside of a car show)? I remember two in my locality, one of which I photographed (above). Both were in junky condition–one was parked in somebody’s yard; the other in a small parking lot along with a few other antedeluvian wrecks. This was around 1990 or so–all gone now.
“A bold new car for a bold new generation.” If you mentioned late ’50s Pontiacs to members of today’s generation, would they even know what you’re talking about (or care)? Even the Pontiac name itself is no more, as the brand was wantonly tossed away when GM was in the throes of bankruptcy.
1958 Pontiac Chieftain 2-door hardtop
Well, I still know and care, and SOME-DAY if I find a nice one (and I’m in the right mood), I might even become a Pontiac owner myself!
Further CC reading:
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: The Forgotten 1958 Pontiac Makes Its First Appearance on CC by Paul Niedermeyer
This is one of the most interesting features available on the 1958 Bonneville, the “inside sliding sun visor”. I’ve done a cursory search but can’t find a reference here on CC.
Thanks for the close up look at this year of Pontiac. They really did go totally all in on the space age imagery, and I too feel it was to good effect. It’s particularly impressive to me given just how stodgy Pontiacs looked just 5 years before. Around about this time last year I ran into 2 1953 models (I wrote about one at least) and they definitely looked like something from an entirely different age, what with the “suspenders” treatment and the prominent indian heads.
As I look at these, I cannot help but think about how expensive and difficult the painting of these must have been at the factory. It seems that putting a highlighting color on the sidespear is much more difficult than just painting a contrasting roof.
In 1958, you could buy any size car from GM, as long as it was huge. Or a Corvette. No wonder Rambler sales took off.
In my option: The Pontiac is the most visually attractive model of all the bloated, one-year-only 1958 General Motors cars.
Optioned with the 4 speed Hydramatic automatic transmission, power steering and their excellent in dash factory air conditiong, this was a pleasant all-weather driver.
A MUCH better car than the same shared basic body Chevy.
I LOVE the 58 Chevy. That said, this Pontiac is a thing of Beauty.
I do think the “sidespear” would look better if it was a little smaller, but I still would take one. Better than the Olds, IMO (although, I’d gladly own one of those as well).
As far as the 59s, LOVE them all- CBOP and Cadillac.
Like most all cars from the era, they aren’t “Just Cars” they are works of Art, that you can actually drive. I wish this were still true in car design. Makes me wonder, when did cars change from actual ‘Designed for looks’ to just ‘appliances’?
I know efficiency & safety had a strong hand, but if one can still purchase a Jeep Wrangler (I own a 2016) which is neither efficient or ‘safe’, they could still design / Build cars that LOOK good.
YMMV
In My NOT so humble Opinion, the entire GM 58 line was a giant step forward. Only Cadillac didn’t receive a massive redesign. These cars became larger and more opulent in every aspect. My preference is 58 over 59 across the GM lineup. The worst of 59 was the flat top 4 door hardtop. But Pontiac, like the other 58 GMs was clearly a BOLD and Beautiful change. Of course, as many know, I’m a devoted advocate of the * TOO much is NEVER enough * philosophy. I’ve seen proposals of GM 59 cars, before the actual 59s, which were further extensions of Those glorious excessively over chromed LAND YACHTS! Of course nothing built today comes close, 😒
1958 was the first model year with significant input by Pontiac General Manager Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen. He arrived when there was barely enough time to retool the hood and decklid to eliminate the twenty-year old Silver Streaks from the 1957 Pontiacs. By the time he was promoted to Chevrolet, the only vestiges of the old Indian Chief other than the name were the red Indian head high beam indicator and the midline “Star Chief” moniker.