1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Sedan

"YOUR PRIDE WILL PERK UP whenever you're seen in your '58 CHEVROLET. One look at those low, wind-whisked lines and you know you're bound to be noticed. An you'll find still more to be proud of in the quick, sure way Chevy responds to your touch. There's just something about Chevy's low, straining-at-the-bit beauty that makes people sit up and take notice. And the way this Chevrolet moves! It's got quick-sprinting power and a reassuring way of keeping its poise, even on sudden dips and curves. Another big reason you'll be prouder of a Chevy is that it's the only honest-to-goodness new car in the low-price field. There's a new X-built Safety-Girder frame . . . new Turbo-Thrust V8* . . . a choice of new standard Full-Coil suspension or a real air ride*. Cars just don't come any newer! Make it a point to stop by your Chevrolet dealer's real soon. What he's selling is high on pride but low on price."

A soft tropical evening light nicely emphasizes the surface sculpture of this Chevy Bel Air. With the 1958 models, Chevrolet followed the general industry trend to boxier and more angular shapes. Yet, even Chevrolet’s experienced designers needed some time to get used to the new proportions: because there weren't big package advancements, these cars look pretty heavy and not very elegant. The 1957 Chevys, in comparison, sported softer shapes, which gave them a more eye-pleasing appearance.

Recurrently setting the trends in American automotive design, Harley Earl and his GM designers had been spoiled by their own success for years. The picture changed in the mid-1950s, when Chrysler leapfrogged GM with Virgil Exner's "Forward Look" design. GM had flaunted the longest, lowest and widest looking cars in the industry for years, but suddenly they'd become runner-ups. Earl's answer to the threat was more and more flamboyancy and even more chrome. The flashy front end of a entry-level Chevrolet now easily could rival even the grille of a much pricier Buick. It was a dead end road.

The pressure that Chrysler's 1957 "Forward Look" models had put on to GM's designers, and attempts to save costs by using even more shared parts within the GM divisions made the 1958 Chevrolets a one-year wonder. Good so, we think. Already next year's lineup featured much better looking cars. The designers got the proportions right, this time.

1958 Simca Aronde Super DeLuxe

"This great Simca is wider, longer, more powerful and luxurious than any other imported car in its price class. It was chosen above all others after a two year search by Forward Look engineers for the one car that would carry the Chrysler Corporation banner into the the imported field. For, here's economy motoring at its luxurious best with room for all the family. Superbly finished inside and out, beautiful designer interiors grace its passenger section, and luxurious reclining seats are standard equipment.

The engine that makes the Super DeLuxe the Economy King of cars is the famous SIMCA Whispering Flash. Official tests have proved its performance of 41.6 miles per U.S. gallon of lowest-priced fuel. (51-plus per Canadian Gallon) The single throat carburetor is fitted with economy induction jets. The ignition system helps save gas because of its quick, sure starts. SIMCA's 4-speeds-forward synchromesh transmission helps this great and rugged engine to even greater, more enjoyable, operating efficiency. And the engine is up front . . . where it should be for extra safety. Now, more than ever, with the addition of the Super DeLuxe there is a car of Chrysler excellence in every price bracket."

Being the youngest of the established french carmakers, Simca had made quite a steep career in short time. The company was founded by Henri-Theodore Pigozzi in November 1934, to license-build Fiat cars in France. After World War II, Simca began developing its own constructions. The first generation of Simca's Aronde, launched in 1951, enjoyed massive popularity, and throughout the 1950s, Simca was constantly among the three best selling car companies in France. To further increase production capacity and market share, Simca bought Ford's manufacturing plant in Poissy, and with this acquisition, another model was added to the lineup: the Vedette.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Chrysler faced the same dilemma as Ford and GM: because of an economic recession, compact cars were all the rage with the consumers in 1958, while the traditional full size models were sitting like ducks at the dealerships. Smaller independents like Studebaker and Rambler could cash in, because the "Big Three" had completely missed out on the trend. Until their own compact cars were ready to hit the road in the early 60s, the companies followed different strategies to cope with the demand for models in this new segment. GM and Ford simply began importing cars from their European subsidiaries. Because Chrysler had no European branches, French carmaker Simca came into consideration for a collaboration. Ford held 15 percent of Simca's stock since the sale of its Poissy plant. Chrysler happily took over these stock in 1958, and began importing Simcas to the U.S.. Over the years, Chrysler constantly increased its share in Simca until it finally bought the company in 1967.

1960 Buick LeSabre 4-door Sedan

"It's a great thrill to drive a LeSabre for the first time, but don't stop there. Drive other cars in LeSabre's class and see if you can find a ride as cushiony, and automatic transmission as smooth, handling as sure and responsive. Chances are you will be happy to return to LeSabre."

A 1960 Buick, we think, is one of the most impressive looking cars you can find in Cuba, and its design clearly is one of our all-time favorites. The Buick look for 1960 is also an interesting evidence of far-reaching change within GM's design philosophy and leadership: albeit being "just" a facelift of the all-new 1959 lineup, this car marks a new era at GM styling, as it is the first Buick showing Bill Mitchell's new styling direction.

Already the 1959 Buick was an outstanding design. Yet, despite being the fruit of an internal disobedience of the young GM design management, including Mitchell, against Harley Earl, it still bears a strong influence of GMs design czar, who always had favored lots of brightwork and rather soft, voluminous shapes. After setting the trends in American car styling for more than three decades, Earl seemed to have lost its mojo in the latter 1950s. Suddenly, even Chrysler models looked much more modern and leaner than GM's increasingly garish looking chrome monsters. Adding insult to injury, the recession in 1958 made customers strive for economic and smaller "compact" cars. Customers stopped embracing GM products. When Earl went into retirement in December 1958, GM was in trouble. Luckily, Earl's protégé and successor Bill Mitchell had a clear vision and did act quickly. The 1960 Buick is a good example for this transitory phase at GM design.

A comparison with the 1959 Buick shows very different detailing of otherwise very similar cars. The garish "Fashion-Aire Dynastar Grille" with its many small chromed pyramids that should maximize the reflection of light, had to go, as well as the extreme tailfins of the 1959 models. The 1960 Buicks still featured full-on jet-age design. Yet, a much cleaner concave front grille made room for headlights that resembled contemporary aircraft engine pods and extended into the front doors, while the tailfins became leaner and cleaner. Mind you, they still looked endlessly long. Overall the Buick now appeared rounder and softer, with a nice play of volumes and an emphasis on horizontal lines that should become a signature element of Bill Mitchell's new "Linear Look" design philosophy.