The Ford Galaxie is a full-sized car that was built in the United States by Ford for model years 1959 through to 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford's full-size range from 1958 until 1961, in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race. For 1962, all full-size Fords wore the Galaxie badge, with "500" and "500/XL" denoting the higher series. The Galaxie 500/LTD was introduced for 1965 followed by the Galaxie 500 7-Litre for 1966. The Galaxie 500 prefix was dropped from the LTD in 1966, and from the XL in 1967; however the basic series structuring levels were maintained. The "regular" Galaxie 500 continued below the LTD as Ford's mid-level full-size model from 1965 until its demise at the end of the 1974 model year.
The Galaxie was the competitor to the high-volume full sized Chevrolet Impala.
First generation (MY 1959)
The 1959 Ford range was introduced in late 1958 with the Fairlane 500 as the top trim level. During the 1959 model year the Galaxie was added to the range as an additional trim level, assuming the top position from the Fairlane 500. The Galaxie was offered with the same sedan and hardtop body styles as the Fairlane 500 whilst the Sunliner and Skyliner convertibles were moved across from the Fairlane 500 range. Styling varied from the Fairlane 500 with the addition of a Ford Thunderbird-style C pillar on all but the Sunliner. Although a separate series from the Fairlane 500, 1959 Galaxie models carried both Fairlane 500 and Galaxie badging.
In keeping with the era, the 1959 Galaxie was a chrome and stainless steel-bedecked vehicle with optional two-tone paint. It was the very image of the ostentatious late-1950s American automobiles, though somewhat tamer than its Chevrolet and Plymouth competitors. Ford advertised "safety anchorage" for the front seats. The parking brake was now a pedal. Seat belts, a padded dashboard, and child-proof rear door locks were optional, while a deep-dished steering wheel and double-door locks were standard.
Among the models was the Skyliner, moved upward from the Fairlane 500 model, and featuring a retractable hardtop that folded down into the trunk space. This feature, complicated and expensive, left very little trunk room when folded down. Power retractable hardtops have since been used by luxury manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and Cadillac, but in all these cases the vehicle was a two-seater, allowing a much smaller top mechanism than the Skyliner's. Not until 2006, when the Pontiac G6 convertible, Peugeot 206 CC (in Europe) and Volkswagen Eos appeared, did another mass-market model with a rear seat appear in this category.
A fixture also was the previous year's 352 V8, still developing 300 horsepower (220 kW).
Source: Wikipedia
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