I’m looking at a book about vintage Chevrolets, and I remember reading this. Supposedly, the styling dept. thought having a red, blue, white taillight configuration would be cool-forgetting that blue lights (in the USA) are reserved for police vehicles. I heard that sveral thousand chevies were produced before the error was caught-do any of these cars survive? 
Ralph, blue lights are not reserved for police vehicles everywhere. I know areas where they indicate the personal vehicle of a volunteer fireman responding to a fire call. And in any case you’d be looking for what the laws on taillights were in 1958 – otherwise it would be an ex post facto law.
Where did you hear this?
The standard color of lights for emergency vehicles (police, fire, etc.) in the 1950’s was red. I know because I got pulled over by enough of 'em between '57 and oh, say, '65.
It was some significant number of years after the '50’s before blue lights came into vogue for police cars.
Looked in the mirror and saw a red light blinkin’
The cops was after my hot rod Lincoln
From the song “Hot Rod Lincoln” by George Hamilton 4th, circa 1958.
That would be George Wilson, though sometimes credited to Charlie Ryan who recorded it later.
This sounds like a great urban legend. 
. . . and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.
Blue police lights came later. Someone decided (or figured out) that they were more distinguishable than red lights. At that point some state laws had to be revised to require motorists to yield to the blue police lights because some of the laws had been written to only require yielding to flashing red lights.
According to This site Charlie Ryan wrote and originally recorded the song, and it was his version that became a hit in '57. I do believe I have a version by G. Hamilton 4th on a 45 RPM record, though it may well be a “B” side cover of the original.
In any case, the song itself is pretty good evidence that there wouldn’t have been any problem with blue tail lights on a '58 Chevy.
To add to what Polycarp said, the rules on emergency lights vary from state to state. For example, Minnesota only allows blue lights on the passenger side of the vehicle.
While looking that up, though, I also found this:
That should say on the passenger side of authorized emergency vehicles.
I believe that UK law states that one cannot have red lights on display except on the rear of a vehicle, but I think blue lights are fine - rows of blue LEDs are quite popular with a certain section of the population. Of course, this has very little to do with 1958 US law or the Chevy Impala…
I think this law referrs to the blue dots you put in the center of the tiny brake lights on the older cars that somehow makes the light more visible.
Granted, I wasn’t around in the 50’s or 60’s, but I was always told that the blue dot brake lights were to be able to tell if the brakes were on because someone was just slowing a little, or if they were standing on the brakes in an “oh, crap” sort of stop. If the blue dot came on, then it was a significant stop, and you should lay on your own brakes as not to hit the poor guy in front of you.
Yeah, I probably could have been more clear on that. I was double checking the emergency vehicle law and found that one. I had no idea what they were referring to, so I posted it to see if anyone else knew.