...I seem to recall that there were quad lights before '58, which ran into legal problems in some states, and it took until '58 before they were made legal in all. You have to be really old to remember this stuff. Sealed beams/ headlight diameter/number of headlights/glass or plastic; all this stuff was dictated by federal and state laws...
The 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham had quad headlights as well as the 1957 Chrysler New Yorker. There are probably others but those are the 2 that come to mind.
If you have a lot of money, the Kansas Roadmaster probably could be brought back . You would probably be seriously upside-down on it, however.
They were not mandated; they were made legal. A couple of states wouldn't allow them, and it was a PIA for the manufacturers to have to provide a two-headlamp system for just those states.
At least some models of Mercury, Imperial, Lincoln, Desoto, and Nash had or were available with quads as standard or optional. (I'm not that smart - I googled it).
Some thoughts: -- There also was a Roadmaster with a single-piece backlite. http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/buick/57bu/bilder/7.jpg -- The Lincoln didn't have quads in 1957. Rather, they were a combination of headlights and "road lights" per the brochure. http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/lincoln/57lin/bilder/2.jpg -- Most 1957 DeSotos and all Chrysler and Imperials were available with duals or quads. The 1957 Firesweep was only available with duals, while the Adventurer was only available with quads because by the time it was introduced mid-year, quads had been approved among the 48 states. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oCp9vpY6kFo/UQARKE1jCYI/AAAAAAAADHk/fUeyDn6GB1g/s1600/57+new+york+a.jpg https://ccmarketplace.azureedge.net...13392602-1957-chrysler-crown-imperial-std.jpg
The only 3 piece rear window 57 Buicks were specials and centurys. There was a model of 57 Roadmaster that had a “faux” 3 piece, but it was only a couple pieces of stainless that made it look that way.
I'm only going by the photos that came up when I googled 1957 Lincoln Premier (sic) photos. Apparently the Premiere came with either singles or quads.
HJE indeed oversaw the production '58s. The initial styling studies for '59 were 'continuations' of the '58s, when the 'mutiny' (under Earl) occured around March of '57, and the '59s design program shifted a bunch of gears. When HJE retired on 12.01.58, the production '59s were already out, so he oversaw some 60 model year programs, too. I got some randy feelings for some of the '58s (Cad, Pontiac & Buick) :
