Ford Galaxie: Америкалық толық көлемді автомобильдері

American full size car

The Ford Galaxie is a car that was marketed by Ford in North America from the 1959 to 1974 model years. Deriving its nameplate from a marketing tie in with the excitement surrounding the Space Race, the Galaxie was offered as a sedan within the full size Ford range throughout its production run. In the full size segment, the model line competed against the Chevrolet Impala and Dodge Polara (the latter, also receiving a nameplate inspired by the Space Race). The model line was assembled by Ford in multiple sites across the United States; four generations of the model line were produced. The Galaxie was also produced locally by Ford Australia and Ford Brasil, adopting commonality from the third generation 1965 design. TOC

In 1958, a concept car was introduced called "la Galaxie" which incorporated the headlights into pods inline with the grille and a reduced front profile. For 1962, all full size Fords wore the Galaxie badge (replacing the Fairlane entirely), as higher trim series took on Galaxie 500 and Galaxie 500XL badging. For 1965, the higher content Galaxie 500 LTD was introduced as a flagship model. For 1966, the nomenclature was revised slightly. Alongside the introduction of the higher performance Galaxie 500 7 Litre, the Galaxie 500 LTD became the Ford LTD, with the Galaxie now becoming the mid level full size series (above the Ford Custom/Custom 500). For 1967, the 500 7 Litre was phased into the Ford XL; along with the LTD, the Ford XL was slotted above the standard Galaxie/Galaxie 500. The Galaxie remained slotted as the mid range full size Ford into the 1970s between the Custom and the LTD (the XL was discontinued after 1970). After the 1974 model year, Ford dropped both the Galaxie and the Custom in favor of consolidating its full size sedan line to the LTD (the Custom 500 remained in production for fleet sales).

The 1959 Ford range was introduced in late 1958 with the Fairlane 500 as the top trim level. 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 up market from the Fairlane 500 and featuring a retractable hardtop that folded down into the trunk space. This feature was complicated and expensive, and 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 .

The 1966 four door sedan version of the Galaxie was also produced in Brazil under the names Galaxie, Galaxie 500, LTD and Landau from 1967 to 1983. Two units were used as the presidential car until 1990. Some of these ran neat ethanol (E100), and had 28 gallon fuel tanks. The Brazilian production started in 1967, and finished in 1983. The 4 door sedan was the only body version available for that market. The 1967 Brazilian Ford Galaxie was visually identical to its 1966 American counterpart. For that year model the only available engine was the Y block v8, with a two barrel carburettor. During the production, the 1967 body (or 1966 for the American market) remained and received face lifts through the years. The main face lift was in 1976, when the headlights became horizontally oriented, and the front end resembled the 1965 Lincoln Continental. Also from 1976, the V8 Windsor engine with a two barrel carburettor replaced the Y block and became the only available option until the end of the Brazilian production in 1983.