1958 was a bad year for Buick. Economically, 1958 was a recession year, but Buick's garish, overly-chromed design didn't help with sales, either. One of the gaudiest ever, the 1958 Buick's grille consisted of 150 squares filling the entire front of the car below the headlights with chrome torpedos housing the parking lights at either side. The trim started on either side of the hood, formed an "eyebrow" above the quad headlights, wrapped around and continued along the side, dropping in front of the rear wheel, contouring above the wheel and finishing at the back bumper. The rear fender featured large chrome laden "delta wing bomber" panels begining just behind the front door and continuing to the taillight housing. Taillights were mounted in large chrome housings that began at the bumper and met up with a chrome "fin" atop the fender. A massive rear bumper completed this grossly over-chromed design. (Note: The author owned one of these vehicles and can attest to the cost of moving 4,500 lbs. of car around at 8.5 miles per gallon - even when gas was cheaper. It certainly would go in the snow, though.).