1958 Volkswagen Beetle
The 1958 model year brought the most consequential visual change the Beetle had seen in years: a new rectangular rear window roughly double the area of the oval it replaced, along with a taller, wider windshield and thinner A-pillars.
The front turn signal lights moved to the top of the fenders, the engine lid was redesigned, and a new dished steering wheel and flat accelerator pedal replaced their earlier counterparts.
The result was a noticeably more open, lighter-feeling car than the tight-glassed Beetles that preceded it.
Motor Trend named the 1958 Beetle the Best Foreign Car in the $1,500 to $2,000 price range and rated its parts and service situation as likely the best in America.
Power came from a rear-mounted, air-cooled flat-four displacing 1192cc, fed by a single Solex carburetor and backed by a four-speed manual transaxle. Output was rated at 36 horsepower, and performance was unsurprisingly modest (top speed around 68 mph), but that was beside the point for a car positioned as reliable, economical transportation.
Volkswagen of America sold 78,261 Beetles in the US for 1958, and the model remains among the more desirable postwar Beetles for collectors drawn to the combination of the opened-up glasshouse and the relatively simple early mechanicals.
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