(first posted 11/11/2015) We’ve covered more 1958 Chevrolet’s here than what I thought. However, for this I have upped the ante by riding in this Impala for an extended length of time. This was also the most roundabout way I’ve ever encountered a car to write about. Buckle up, because this will all eventually make sense.
About five or six weeks ago, I met our very own Jim Cavanaugh at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana. It was a fantastic museum (covered here, here, and here by Jim Grey) that provided a new sense of appreciation for all things Studebaker. The exhibits also covered the Studebaker brand carriages with four or five presidential carriages on display, including the carriage Abraham Lincoln rode in on that fateful trip to Ford’s Theatre in April 1865.
I even sat in a Studebaker for the first time ever. I finally quit playing with the shift lever long enough for Jim to take my picture.
As Jim and I were discussing the (de)merits of the 1958 Packard, also referred to as the Packardbaker, a gentleman approached us and asked “Isn’t that the ugliest front end you’ve ever seen?” We then begin a lively conversation. A few minutes into our conversation, this gentleman, who had introduced himself as Todd, asked where we were from, stating he lives in Jefferson City, Missouri. As Jim starts laughing and I pick my jaw up off the ground, I tell Todd that I, too, live there. Come to find out Todd and I know of some of the same people and some of the same cars around this area. It’s truly a small world.
Todd and I exchanged contact information and agreed to meet in a week or two for lunch. With both of us having a few major disruptions and distractions that prevented anything timelier, we were finally able to meet on November 6.
In his email making final arrangements, Todd said he would pick me up at work and to keep an eye out for a 1958 Impala. In the sea of earth toned cars and crew cab pickups that populate this area, it wasn’t very difficult. When I sat down in Todd’s Impala he said he had something terrific lined up – we were going to go visit another gentleman named Wes. That visit is equally memorable and will be covered at a later time.
Quickly after entering the boulevard, Todd pulled into the McDonald’s a few doors up the street. I was impressed – Todd has an eye-popping 1958 Impala and we were sitting in the dual lane McDonald’s drive through just inches between people oblivious to the world around them.
So how was the ride?
Following Harley Earl’s dictate for longer, lower, and wider, the 1958 Impala was definitely different than the 1955 through 1957 Chevrolets. For a while I owned a 1955 Chevrolet Two-Ten; entry and exit was rather straightforward with seating height being not too far off from that of a kitchen chair. The only gremlin was the dog-leg in the A-pillar. For Todd’s Impala, one does need to squat a bit for entry with the A-pillar still making its presence known. That said, the Impala feels to sit a bit higher than my 1963 Ford Galaxie, my best source of comparison.
At this point I do have a confession. Prior to this, I was a Powerglide virgin. I had never ridden in any car with a Powerglide and had absolutely no experience with them. Therefore, I was paying attention, hoping to hear, feel, or sense the upshift. It never happened. Well, maybe once I had a vague indication there was an upshift. It simply wasn’t perceptible.
Part of the lack of detection could be explained by the exhaust system. It is certainly not loud, and is rather like what might be if Tammy Wynette would have ever sang Donna Summer’s Love to Love You, Baby – it’s rather surprising and it certainly gets your attention.
After getting our food and merging onto US 54 for the ten mile trip to see Wes, I finally regained my wits well enough to ask the vital question of the day. What’s under the hood?
It’s a delightful eyeful. Todd told me while this was already a 348 powered car and the tri-power setup is something he added. He had found the intake somewhere out east and wanted it on his Impala. The three two-barrel carburetors are working in perfect harmony.
Speaking of things out east, Todd found this Impala in Virginia. Purchased new by a preacher in North Carolina, Todd had been looking for a 1958 Impala for a while. On a lark one day, he looked on eBay and found this car ten minutes before the auction ended. He low-balled and won the auction.
To say Todd’s car is an attention getter is mildly understating things. First, one simply never sees a 1958 Impala on the street. Second, the color – called Anniversary Gold to commemorate the 50th anniversary of General Motors – is a shade that so successfully mixes subtle and bold. As we pulled into the McDonald’s, a group of inmates working on the landscaping of the state office building next door all stopped and gazed in amazement. While driving down US 54 we received several thumbs-up from motorists.
Grabbing attention was the intent of the 1958 Chevrolet, particularly the Impala. After losing out in the sales race to Ford in 1957, the Impala was meant to recapture some mojo for Chevrolet. For an industry in which sales were down over 30% in 1958, the Impala helped Chevrolet recapture its number one position in the sales charts. To top it all off, the 1958 Chevrolet was a one-year wonder as GM introduced totally different cars again for 1959.
Chevrolet did not want to lose sales to anyone, even its corporate cousins at Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick. While that sounds odd now, that was the mindset in the 1950s. In an effort to not lose these sales, a person could specify options on their Impala that could easily push the sticker price up toward $4,000 when a new Oldsmobile 98 hardtop coupe started at $3,937.
One likely factor in the success of the 1958 Impala is basic good taste. For instance, the same 1958 Olds 98 hardtop I just referenced was slathered in chrome from stem to stern.
On the flip-side, the Chevrolet had corporate policy limiting the amount of chrome and ornamental doodads that could hang from its Body by Fischer. While size, engine displacement, and accoutrement were the measure of luxury in 1958, many people then had the same sensibilities as today and didn’t want the bumper crop of gingerbread.
A second factor could be the competition. As luck would have it, Wes has a 1958 Ford Skyliner, one of the retractable hardtops from that year. I was also fortunate enough to ride in it; a comparison will happen at a later date.
Since I have mentioned gingerbread, I realize my continued excitement from riding in this Impala has provided about 600 words between asking how it rides and actually answering the question. Maybe it’s a teaser of the highest variety or what happens when you lack of any type of outline before pecking away at the keyboard. So how did it ride?
Chevrolet heavily touted their all coil suspension for the 1958 Impala. Their advertisements weren’t wrong; it does feel like you are riding on air. The route we took is one I’ve taken countless times in a multitude of vehicles. This was hands-down the smoothest ride of any of them. At speed – while I couldn’t see the speedometer well, I think Todd was running about 60 miles per hour – one could occasionally feel a little bit of a mild bobbing sensation emanating from the rear of the car.
Here’s a promotional film Chevrolet made for 1958. Forward to 5:50 to skip hearing Pat Boone croon about whatever he crooned about and to see some action. This video shows the Chevrolet’s suspension being mightily worked by stunt driver Joie Chitwood, so you can arrive to your own conclusions. This video also provides a second definition of “riding on air”.
Road noise is mild and significantly less than some newer cars I’ve driven. This includes having the windows down as it has been unseasonably warm, with the temperatures that day approaching 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Once upon a time one could drive and carry on a conversation with the windows down.
When we arrived back in Jefferson City, Todd and I stopped to take these pictures. Of course, his Impala drew more attention by a couple of my co-workers taking a smoke. As Todd was chatting with my co-workers and I was taking pictures, Todd observed the amount of dirt on his Impala. He lives west of town and his house is a respectable distance down a gravel road. He figures any rock chips or other body damage can be easily fixed.
Todd gets it; cars are meant to be driven and that is exactly what he does with his.
Related Reading:
Nice writeup Jason, and pretty cool that you scored a ride in the car..
Hmmm need to go to the Studebaker Museum someday…
Would you describe the ride as “Jet Smooth?” (Or did that ad campaign come later?)
I enjoyed the essay–a fun read!
It still amazes me both that (1) GM and Ford had the resources to do those one-year-only major restylings, and that (2) GM had all that commonality of basic shells of the full-size cars, yet could “differentiate” them so.
Not that you should have mentioned it, but ’58 was the first year for those dual headlights. J.C. Whitney’s answer: some crappy add-ons to update your ’57 Chevy or Ford. They sure look dumb now…
Those are actually more convincingly stock than the factory dual headlight pods on ’58 Studebakers and Packards
Weird they didn’t even make the chrome trim line up to help hide them
Rarely seen huh may be I should start shooting some of the US cars I see here theres at least one Impala about Ive seen it on a car lot twice but it keeps vanishing, nice cars though Ive always liked the 58 Chevs.
My ’66 Tempest had the two-speed Super Turbine 300, which I think was very similar to the Powerglide. You could barely tell the shift point like you described. The CVT in my Fit reminds me of it a lot!
The second earliest of dad’s cars that I remember (the first being his red/white ’56 Bel Air four door hardtop). It was in silver blue (the promotional color in the dealer showroom book) and had a small block in it although at seven years old it never occurred for me to ask which variant. Most likely a 283 two-barrel, as that would have been the easiest to sell used once the 59’s come out.
I know its not a popular opinion, but I’ll take a ’58 over a ’57 any day. Don’t care which model, option series, whatever. While I love the ’55’s, and consider the ’56’s a reasonably restrained rendition of the change-for-change’s-sake, the ’57 to me has always been the most overrated care in Detroit history. I just don’t get the looks.
For ’58 Chevrolet really got it right. Probably the most attractive ’58 out there with the possible exception of Chrysler and DeSoto, which were the killer cars of ’57. And I’m really impressed that the seat fabric is intact. That has got to be impossible to replace if it goes. Dad’s, being silver blue, had the same seats but in blue and silver tones.
Then again, you’re talking to a guy who isn’t grossed out by the ’58 Packards. I actually like the Hawk, in a wierd kind of way. They certainly were an improvement over the incredibly ugly ’57’s.
+1. I also prefer the ’58 to the ’57 Chevy. I think the ’58 Chevy was the best looking of all the GM cars that year. And I completely agree with your assessment that the ’55 Chevy was the best, the ’56 was a good redo, while the ’57 was a head scratcher. I guess people just want their ’50s cars to have some kind of prominent fins…
I was surprised by how much I liked the Packard Hawk in person. The one they have there is stunning.
+2 As a kid, ’58s made much more impression on me than ’57s. And ’59s made more impression still. How radically styling changed back than! Wonder what the depreciation was like on a ’57 after two years?
Same here, I’d much rather have a 58 or 59 Chevy than the 55-57s. The 58 and 59 have a much more “Junior Cadillac” feel to them.
Beautiful car, and so great that it is being driven regularly. I also love the “small world” aspect of how you met Todd and got to ride in the Impala.
I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but my Uncle Bill had a ’58 Impala that he bought new and drove for over 40 years. I rode in the back seat a couple of times in the late 70s, and even from the cheap seats, a ride in a ’58 Impala is a pretty vivid experience! I managed to dig up a photo my aunt took when the car was new:
I will admit that standing in a museum full of Studebakers, I kind of yawned when Todd started talking about his 58 Chevy. But seeing it is something different. This is a stunning car, especially in gold. I have never been in one of these, what a great experience.
The 58 is a fascinating design that might as well carry Harley Earl’s signature across the hood.
I can’t wait to read about how these compare subjectively with a 58 Ford (which was definitely not an iconic styling job.)
The ’58 Chevys have been lost in the shadow of the vaunted ’55-’57s for too long. Good to see the ’58 finally getting some love. I’ve always liked them too.
What a car, and being used properly as well.
Looking at it from the rear, I can’t help thinking Humber Sceptre Mk1. Or is it just me?
Makes me think I must write up my Humber Sceptre experience one day
Good call Roger, the whole car echoes the styling really. The Sceptre Mk1 was a pretty nice package, the story I’ve heard is that it was first intended to be a Sunbeam.
Definitely do a write up!
My folks had a 58 Brookwood and 1 of my many uncles had a 58 Nomad. My mother came to believe that our 58 was a huge lemon (though it’s possible it was no worse than any other car on the road) and as a consequence we would never own another new Chevy and even used ones were my father’s car which she never drove. My uncle would own his 58 Nomad for 6 years, trading it for a 64 Country Sedan.
My 1st Powerglide experience was in a 71 Vega rental car. I’ve also driven an SS 396 Malibu with Powerglide and a 70 Impala. No, you don’t feel that shift into “high”, usually around 45-50 MPH. But depending on the car, you wind up asking yourself: “what’s the big deal about 6 speed automatic transmissions?”.
Nice write up Tom
How did the ride of the Impala compare with your 1963 Galaxy?
That Impala is very good looking. I have always liked the looks of the 58 Impala and I can’t help but wonder how GM offered one of the most attractive looking cars of 1958(the Impala) and also managed to offer one of the most ugliest ones (the 58 Oldsmobile) that same year.
The 58 Impala and the 58 Oldsmobile 88 are a case study on how a corporation can be bipolar.
I’ve always loved the ’58 Impala. To me, it was the best looking Chevrolet of the Fifties, and the best GM product of ’58. My family had a ’58 convertible in the same color scheme as Syke’s, silver blue with blue and silver panels, with 283 and Powerglide. The featured car is gorgeous in gold with the contrasting earth toned upholstery. Oddly enough, I also have a taste for the ’58 Ford, so I look forward to the article on that one as well.
Just a thought on the Packard Hawk front end… hmm, the Daimler SP250 came out the next year. Influence?
Disclaimer: my grandfather’s penultimate car was a non-Hawk ’58 2-door Packardbaker, and I wanted it sooo bad back then.
I know the 1958 Impala well, as it was my older brother’s first car – bought for $10. A convertible in pink with a white convertible top. Spent hours going over every inch of that car, cleaning and waxing it. To get needed parts, our dad bought a Del Ray. It ended up at my grandmother’s house since she never did learn to drive, but had a garage and room available.
It is a very attractive design. A standout between the over-valued 1957, and the ugly bat-winged 1959. It deserves attention.
To get a copy of a 1958 Chevy Impala, you have to have a few rolls of thousand dollar bills. What we got for $10, was instantly worth thousands more once it became road worthy.
1958 Impalas were rare when new in small town Midwest but the other models were not. My paternal grandfather bought a new six-cylinder Bel Air four-door sedan in 58 – two tone navy and baby blue – and eight-year old me thought it was pretty special, as you can tell here, shortly after we took delivery. I even got to start it up and to “shift gears” for him when we went on road trips. Nice to know I’m not the only one who thought the 57 was/is overrated. The Bel Air had nice trim and a pretty deluxe interior given that it had been, up to this point, the top of the food chain for Chevy.
My dad, too, had a ’58 Bel Air 4-door sedan company car back then, I remember taking it on a lot of family excursions, it was a fairly nicely appointed V-8, as I recall. There were a lot of Impalas in the L.A. area, the father of an elementary school friend had a new one, and my friend was always drooling over it. The overrated tri-fives were just last year’s model back then, the ’58 was pretty cool, and as the sixties wore on they were long forgotten. Never understood the latter day love for those cars. And btw, I’m sure I’m in the tiny minority, but I loved those ’58 Oldsmobiles, they were a tour de force in their own way, and made our ’55 Olds look like yesterday’s news.
I distinctly remember seeing my first Impala on display at the local county fair so must have been summer of 58. IIRC the Impala was introduced later in the model year, or at least IN dealers did not get many until later on. The one at the fair was a coupe in that salmon pink Chevy offered. I’m sure I drooled over it – I remember the details even now: the cool rear seat speaker grille in the center of the seat, fake vent on the rear of the roof, unique roofline, triple taillights. A very good beginning for Impala, if a little too rich for our prim and thrifty Midwestern neighbors at the time. I can see how it would have been just the ticket for SoCal, in coupe or convertible form.
Yes, Don, I think you likely are one of few who thought the 58 Olds was cool. As much as a new car nut as I was, I still loved my aunt’s 55 Olds right up until it was traded in 61 for a new Ford. IMHO the 55 is a classically handsome design and you could still have held your head high in yours in 58, Now I did love my cousin’s new 59 Olds convertible – it was a sensation that immediately made the 58 look old!
I thought the 58 Pontiac and Cadillac were OK, but for my money the Chevy was the most handsome of the GM quartet for the year. The Buick and Olds looked fat and over-chromed by comparison.
One thing I forgot to add earlier – did these cars have the coolest steering wheel ever? I think Impalas used it from 1958 to ’60. There was just something about that color coded “boomerang” style with the crossed flags that made you smile when you slipped behind the wheel. Just a handsome, handsome car all the way through.
Your closeups of details on the Impala made me think. I owned a ’59 when I was young, so my eyes and hands still remember it. The big sculpturing on the ’59 was wilder and maybe a little more attractive, but it didn’t have any details at all. The big shapes did all the work.
The Impala has big shapes plus details plus details on the details! Each taillight on the Impala has its own subpod. The rear bumper is prefaced by a rocket with stripes on its side. The roof has a lap-over that looks like it could be a leather piece, and the fake air gets fake-exhausted by a fake airscoop. (Why didn’t they cut out the holes and achieve real Flo-Thru Ventilation, since they were already taking the trouble of installing the scoop?) All carefully designed and nicely sculpted, while the big shapes are clumsy and malproportioned. Seems like an odd misuse of design talent and tooling expense, even by 1950s standards.
I had a buddy in junior high (late 70’s) who had a nice 58′ Bel Air with 283 powergilde.
My main memory of it was it rode like a dump truck.
His dad had a Nova with that little 4 cylinder, that rode ok but sounded like a bucket of bolts and shook like crazy.
I think it was a 70″.
They were a big time GM family.
This gold color and interior combination is perfect on this ’58. I always thought these were ugly and a big letdown from the tri-fives. But looking this restored example has really warmed me up to this body style. Even with it’s new X “safety frame”. And the 348 tri-power is just icing on the cake. Looking forward to the ’58 Skyliner comparison.
Don’t miss this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlqY-zvdESQ
If the link doesn’t work, search “Pat Boone sings Smoke On The Water”.
Don’t miss this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlqY-zvdESQ
The video was missing the fine print at the bottom: “Professional Driver on a Closed Course. Do Not Attempt” – And I’m talking about Pat Boone’s Crooning, not the ’58 Impala over the ramp demonstration. (LOL)
Seriously though, like many said above, the Tri-Fives always seem to get more love and attention than this beauty, but I for one love these Impalas. I am not really in the ’57 Chevy being overrated camp, but that could be influence from my Dad. He wanted a ’57 SO bad, but could not afford one as a young teenager at the time. He instead bought a slightly used ’56 Model 210 and learned to love it all the same. But when the movie American Graffiti came out, he quickly fell in love with the featured ’58 driven by Ron Howard’s character, and began to rethink his favorite ’50’s car.
I can’t say I disagree. That Red and White combo was awesome on these but the special edition Anniversary Gold on featured car is just beautiful.
Another time machine photo:
Thanks for a fine write-up on one of the most attractive cars for 1958. Interesting how it came together through pure serendipity.
Even as a “Ford” family, we had to admit the light metallic blue with white roof ’58 Impala hardtop driven by our elementary school sixth grade teacher was a pretty nice car. Parked in the school lot next to the third grade teacher’s ’58 Ford Custom 300 two door sedan make that poor Ford look pretty dowdy.
Both Mrs. Ludwig and Mrs. Mott were great teachers, only the former had the flashy, sweet car that grabbed out youthful attention.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 58 Impala outside a car show or parade. It’s really a beautiful car, in its way, and the Chevy W engine is one of the best-looking powerplants, with its staggered valve covers.
The deep gold works well, I think the hardest part of the 1958 Impala for me to take was always the beach-towel seat colors, restrained a little bit here.
The Chevy pulls off the new ’58 look far better than its GM cousins. Probably the most unique Chevy ever, since it only lasted one model year. Wonder what the real reason was for this one year only style? The ’58’s were bigger and heavier than the tri-fives and I could see how this may have shocked Chevy customers. But the ’59’s were just as big and heavy and the batwing rear offputting to many. Designs for the ’59 probably started in ’57 or even before. Did the Forward Look over at Chrysler panic them? The ’58’s were not everyone’s cup of tea and ’58 was a deep recession year, but back in ’57 when the ’59’s were designed GM didn’t know that.
I heard that Harley Earl, in his last days at GM, originally called for the ’59’s to be lightly re-styled ’58’s, then went on a European vacation only to have Bill Mitchell re-design the entire line in his absence. Why the panic? I know the ’58’s were widely panned, but Chevy did re-capture the number one sales position this year, something it lost to Ford in ’57 and ’59. Must have cost GM a fortune in re-tooling costs to scrap the unamortized ’58 design after only one year.
Yes, it was the Forward Look Chryslers that a GM designer saw coming out of a Chrysler plant in the late summer of 1956. The 58 model line at GM was put to bed by then, but a crash program of all-new 59s got underway. This was why every 1959 GM Car from Chevy to Cadillac shared the same basic bodies. The GM B and C bodies finally started to diverge again by 1961, and really did so in 65.
….only to become more alike again with each new generation. By the late ’80s the B (now H) and C bodies didn’t even get different lengths and wheelbases.
Good stuff, thanks for sharing!
It always amazes me how flashy late 50’s cars were in their styling.
One of my all time favorite cars. This one is a beaut!!!
I’m a ’57 fan, have been since about 1964 when I was 7 years old. Didn’t like the ’58 then … not sure if I really LIKE it now, but certainly appreciate it more when reading the erudite and passionate comments from CC’ers. I know I’ve ridden in full-size Chevies from 1954, 1956, 1964, 1969, and driven a ‘ 75 and maybe one downsized late -’70’s Caprice, plus a few FWD Impalas, but don’t think I’ve ever been in a ’58. Thanks for the ride, Jason.
boy,that 58 impala in American Graffiti was one pretty thing wasn’t it and the
chrome reverse wheels! woo wee! Maybe after that movie 58 chevs finally
began to gain some respect
“What a gal. What a night. What a car!”
http://youtu.be/3p3XC7jh_kE
I first read about this commercial 20 years ago in David Halberstam’s book, The Fifties, but unfortunately was unable to actually see it until it showed up on YouTube, some time within the last 10 years.
This artfully filmed color spot by Campbell-Ewald was produced by Kensinger Jones and directed by Gary Snitzer. Along with this one, this team also created two others that are among my favorites: The “rolling orange” spot for the 1959 wagon, and the “Castle Rock” spot for the 1964 Impala convertible.
All bucked convention at the time, by being short on spoken words, and long on impactful imagery.
Interesting commercial. In today’s attention span deficit media we could have told that story in 30 seconds tops. With a happier ending.
I guess with it being wedged in between the iconic ’57 and bombastic ’59, we all forget about the elegant ’58. You’ve given me a new perspective.
Our new neighbors had one when they moved into our burgeoning suburb back in the day. In that blue green that was popular across GM that year. And you’re right, the Chevy is the most modest of the ’58 GMs!
“iconic ’57 and bombastic ’59” … brilliant!!
I don’t know, Jason. That Impala looks just as festooned with chrome as the Oldsmobile. It does look a lot less dumpy, though.
The 58 to me, after the trim and clean 55-57s, looks like a nightmare in the same way a 56 Lincoln compares to a 58.
Nice work.
My brother had a 58 Impala in the same color as the Oldsmobile above. it was 1966 and this was his first car. There were holes in the floor board of the back seat and he had to push up on the automatic shift lever in order to start the car. Also, the muffler had a hole in it. This is all he could afford since he had just gotten his first full time job at the shipyard.
Mom was appalled and forced Dad to help my brother to get a better car. One day, my brother pulled into the drive way with a white 63 Galaxie with A/C and automatic. Now, that was a car!!!
Your not feeling any shifting in the PowerGlide may be because there was none to feel. For at least one year, possibly only 1958, they offered a TurboGlide which was identical to a Buick’s Dynaflow in that it used only the torque converter for all of the Drive function. Slightly sluggish but with absolutely no shift to feel.
The only way to use Low was to place the transmission in Low and shift to Drive when speed was attained as desired.
I don’t get the “basic good taste” or “Chevrolet had corporate policy limiting the amount of chrome and ornamental doodads” parts of this post. As a little kid it was obvious to me that all the 1958 GM cars were festooned with as many shiny trim bits as possible in order to distract buyers from the fact that although they were either all new or in the case of the more expensive brands thoroughly facelifted, they were also completely out of step with current trends. Baroque was out and space age was in, but all the GM’s were fat, rounded and heavy looking, and gratuitously sculpted all over the place – peak Harley Earle.
Each trim level of all of them was denoted by having even more chrome trim than the one below. The exception was the Buick Limited, which was actually more tastefully trimmed than lowlier Buicks.
The Impala has front fender top chrome ornaments, a bunch of little fake louvers on the front fender (just stamped into the steel on lowlier models), a big fake chrome scoop with strakes in front of the back wheels that doesn’t even make any possible sense, some chrome hash mark trims on the spear shape leading to the back bumper, and a fake chrome ventilation outlet above the back window. Plus all the wide chrome down the sides with the major wide chrome spear having a section with black stripes and after that a section with the center filled in with I guess satin chrome or paint. (I realize a lot of the “chrome” is stainless steel, otherwise known as “bright trim”.)
The Impala features eight separate lights in front and six in back (two more than the lower models). The front turn signal are tiny B-52 engines.
When the next year models came out with all new and even lower, wider, and longer but sleeker and lighter looking bodies (well, maybe not the Cadillacs) it confirmed what GM had been up to in 1958. I’m sure that few buyers of the seemingly totally new 1959 Chevys or Pontiacs knew that they were riding on the same all new at the time 1958 chassis.
Of course the 1958 Impala is an amazing period piece, but IMO it is the worst Chevy design ever by far.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion – even if it provably wrong.
Hemming’s review of the beautiful 1958 Impala
As to not feeling the shift, could the car have had aTurboglide? You definitely don’t feel anything but a smooth flow of power with that unit.
My only ride in a ’58 Impala was in one that had Tuboglide, air suspension, a 348 4 bbl and was shod with butyl rubber tires (if you have never heard of them, look them up; they absorbed bumps and road noise like a wet sponge). That particular Impala was the smoothest, softest riding car I’ve ever experienced with the possible exception of a 1960 Lincoln.
Thanks, Jason, for another great article and photos. I think of 1958 as the year that the designers at GM lost their minds, except at Cadillac and at Chevy with this Impala from Bill Mitchell. I recall reading that both Oldsmobiles and Buicks carried 23 lbs. of chrome plate in 1958. Each. If that isn’t the definition of ‘slathered,’ I don’t know what is.
Powerglides in good condition under a light throttle do shift smoothly its only under WOT that they get harsh or when well worn and out of adjustment, I owned one of the latter in a 6 cylinder 68 Holden, We only got served up the Bel Air for local assembly and Ive never seen a 6 they all seemed to have the 283 manual 3 speed and I havent ridden in one since I was about 10 but I like the looks, they were popular new here after the slow selling unpopular 57 two retreads of the 55 didnt work then Vauxhalls did 4 years of their 58 PA Velox and they sold extremely well in the same showrooms , go figure.
Nice. A few years ago I saw an identical ‘58 Impala in the parking lot of the liquor store up the street from us in Toronto. I spent a good few minutes checking it out before I went home – it would have likely been gone before I could go home and return with my camera. I had better luck with another ‘58 Impala at the Distillery car show several years earlier, capturing a white one that looked like Ron Howard’s ride in American Graffitti.
The Studebaker Museum hosts Cars and Coffee events the first Saturday of June, August, September, and October from 8am to 10am. Besides free coffee and donuts, the real treat is free admission to the museum.
For anyone planning on being in the midwest during the summer and early fall, could be a worthwhile day-trip, especially for those who have never been to the museum.