Although it isn't the fastest or greatest car ever made, the 1958 Chevrolet Impala is my dream car. Work on this automobile began in mid 1955,at a time when the potential sales of the 1955 automobiles was not so apparent. Clare Mackichan's design team and designers from Pontiac started to establish the basic packaging and dimensions for shared General Motors A body in June; in October, Harley Earl (GM styling vice president) had caught his eye on the first styling sketch that directly influenced the finished Chevrolet product. This car could not have come at a more opportune time.
Chevy had scheduled a complete makeover of its cars in 1958. Usually, the 50s designs were all about being lower, longer, and wider; the 1958 Chevrolet Impala was a rounded and congenial design with plenty of visual excitement. It contained the triple taillight clusters, dual headlamps, etc. It was, of course, offered as a hardtop or convertible like the Bel Air. It was a complete transformation. Underneath new body was new chassis, suspension, and the engine. the standard perimeter-type frame was replaced by a unit with rails laid out in the form of an elongated "X." Chevrolet claimed the new frame would afford increased torsional rigidity and allowed fro a lower, yet still roomy passenger compartment. The rear suspension was redesigned with coil springs instead of leaf springs. Engineers wanted an engine a little larger for the bigger 1958s. It was also a V-8 but displaced 348 cubic inches. Labeled the "W" engine, the compact 348 had wedge type combustion chambers and was initially offered in two states of tune: the basic unit with a single four-barrel carburetor developed 250 bhp (brake horsepower), while the variant with three two-barrel carbs was rated at 280 bhp. All in all, this car was just made to keep up with competition, even though the name is still very popular.
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