Sorry, but I just don't get the "magpies" part of the question. British slang?

I did not know that about them being attracted to bright objects. I learn something new from my furry friends every day. Thanks, Ace.

It's all crows where I live, but they, too, like shiny things.

They don't bother the cars, though; too many people walking around them during these outside car shows. After the cars all leave, they eat up all the discarded food and smoke the discarded cigarettes (and roaches) that they find. Then they get stoned and yell and screech until dawn.

I keep telling people: "Don't drop yer roaches on the ground...the crows get them and then it's a lot of noise"

Yes, I think that's true; Corvids in general like shiny things. Sometimes I throw out my leavings for them, and later I'll find a coin, a tab from a can or some other little shiny thing on my back deck. If they like you, they'll sometimes leave little gifts, and they seem to assume that we all like shiny things...

the '58 GMs have always been my favorite '50s lineup from the General. '59 is a great path from there but one wonders what fabulous chrome behemoths would have rolled off the line in '59 if not for Chrysler's Forward Look and its market success.

It's no wonder that the Belaires of that era are so plentiful.

Same chassis, tho... and the 59's looked so much wider and longer!

I've seen some of GM's design proposals for 1959 before Virgil Exner's 1957 Chrysler design lineup sent outgoing GM's design boss Harley Earl's team back to the drawing board, and they're like the '58s, but even shinier and heavier-looking. They're very cool in a "chrome and glass overload" sort of way.

That said, I agree with you about GM's '58 lineup. They have a lot of presence.

I also think it's a pity that Chrysler's exciting new styles were rushed into production before the bugs were worked out. The 1957 cars badly damaged Chrysler's long-held and well-deserved reputation for good quality, well-built cars.

I sometimes wonder if Chrysler would have been better off to wait for the 1958 model year to debut the "Forward Look" lineup.

My Eyes! Where are my sunglasses!

You might need welder's goggles.

'Rocket 88' with a full afterburner!

The speedometer in this baby goes all the way up to Ludicrous Speed.

Oh, My Great Fang... so much shiny chrome! *Begins to lick* 'Hush now, don't even ask"

This is what America was built on slick style, spacious comfort, lots of shiny chrome & engine power.
This was nicknamed "The Rocket".

Oldsmobile’s 1958 models were powered by its Rocket V-8 which rightfully holds a position of tremendous stature in American performance history.
By the late 1950s, the engine had grown to 374 cubic inches, and if you were looking to get your big Olds really moving, you went for the "J-2" engine option.

Thank you, Arctos.

(I see a Bear!)

Pay no attention to the bear.
And thank you, Io!

The Jet Age. Gotta love it. And... I always thought it was a pity that no one ever flips the fuel fill to show how they are hidden in so many late 50's cars. A woman had one of these was a customer at the filling station I worked at after school. 17K original and OEM tires, in 1975!

Hidden fuel caps even into the '70s. My first car was a 1972 Chevy Malibu. The cap was hidden behind the license plate.

I always thought plate-doors were kind of... common. 55-6 Cadillacs, 55-7 Chevies, 58 Olds... these were sometimes hard to find! I remember bending a plate down looking for a cap. Even the 65-6 mustangs had that filler on the rear panel... 60-s Cadillacs had a 'rear grille' with a hatch in it until they put it behind the plate

I know where the filler cap is hidden... ;)

While I was in college, I worked as a filler attendant at a gas station when one day, a fleet of 1950s era cars rolled in for a fillup on their way to a car show.

I felt badly for my poor young coworker who couldn't find the filler caps on most of them, but I couldn't help laughing along with the various cars' owners either.

In fact, some of the cars' owners were surprised that I knew where they were. Being a total car nerd can be both useful and amusing sometimes.

FUN FACT: The 1958 Oldsmobile 98 and the '58 Buick Limited have the most chrome per square inch that any other mass-produced car. That's just one of the things that I like about them.

Great shot of a very nice, top-of-the-line 98! *fav*

"FUN FACT: The 1958 Oldsmobile 98 and the '58 Buick Limited have the most chrome per square inch that any other mass-produced car. That's just one of the things that I like about them."

I knew there was a reason I was drawn to this vehicle! Can't get enough o' that shiny stuff!