Buick Limited
Buick Limited
1958 Buick Limited

When asked to describe the minuses of the Buick Limited, one critic summarized it thusly: "Dreadful styling, high thirst, gargantuan size, and barge-like handling: There's no bigger or flashier example of the best and worst in late-50s American cars."

Rushed to market to halt slumping Buick sales, the Limited was decorated rather than designed. Its grille was composed of 160 chrome squares, each styled with four triangular concave surfaces to reflect the light. The body-colored side insert panels featured slanted hash marks for no apparent reason. Heavy chrome surrounded the taillights, and the bumpers featured a pair of "Dagmars," so-named in honor of a busty female TV personality.

The Limited failed to arrest Buick's sales slide, and the model was gone the following year.


Last updated June 21 2011: 2:05 PM ET
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