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Hey kid, are you going my way?

Car of the Night: The Ford Galaxie 500. Or as Clutch says, Galaxie five oh oh.

1968_Ford_Galaxie_conv.jpeg

I learned how to drive in one of these babies. Same colors, too - fire engine red with a snow white top. The car was old by then, in car years - this was a 68 in 1979 - but still looked factory clean. It drove like a dream - well, when you are 17 and gripping the wheel for the first time even a station wagon would ride like a dream - and I felt immediately comfortable behind the wheel. I was learning to drive in style. The 500 was a beauty of a car; slick, sexy, the kind of car supermodels with white framed sunglasses and deep tans drove.

My father told me that if I passed my driver's test on the first try and kept my license clean for a year, that I could have the car. How kick ass is that? I envisioned myself buying some sunglasses and cruising with my friends down the Wantagh Parkway, cruising past the dunes and the bay and rounding the hairpin circle at the lighthouse just a little too fast, wheels squealing as we pulled into Parking Area 4, stopping just short of the choppy Atlantic Ocean.

Well, things happen. I didn't pass my driver's test. I got into an accident two months after I did get my license and found myself with an open bench warrant about six months later thanks to some unanswered speeding tickets. And my father, bless his misguides soul, gave the car away. Yes, gave it away. Some poor kid he worked with who lost his car in a tragic series of car accidents, job loss, homelesness and maybe there was a hurricane and an orphanage invovled. Really, I don't remember why he gave the car away to this guy, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with teaching me of those valuable life lessons parents are so fond of.

impala66.jpg

That's a '66 Chevy Impala. This was the first convertible my parents had, way before the Galaxie. Ours was a deep navy blue, with a matching top. When the top was down on summer days, mom would let us sit on top of the back seat while she drove slowly around the neighborhood. We'd wave to anyone who looked at us and once in a while mom would get daring and hit one of the main roads. She'd drive a little bit faster and we'd hold on to the folded down top and be scared and fearless at the same time.

That car left us in an unfortunate accident involving an insane senior citizen and a missed stop sign in Brooklyn. My parents cried for days. I still miss that Impala.

Clutch - Spacegrass

Dodge Swinger 1973, Galaxy five oh oh
All the way stars' green, gotta go.
Dodge Swinger 1973, top down, chassis low,
Panel dim, light drive, Jesus on the dashboard.
T-minus whenever it feels right, Galaxy five oh oh.
Planets align, a king is born.

Thanks to Jason for this suggestion (lyrics in comments)
Rev. Horton Heat - Galaxie 500

Previous car entries
74 Dodge Challenger
70 Chevelle and 72 Barracuda

Comments

You take the dog
I'll take the Galaxy 500
You get the cat
I get the cats you don't want anymore

You take the fish
I'll take the bowl
You take the dishes
While you're at it take my soul
But things ain't so bad
Cause i got a galaxy 500

You get the house
I get a cheap motel room
You get a friend
But that should not matter to me anymore
You have a date he's just a friend
I can't believe that this is the end
But things aint so bad
Cause I got a Galaxy 500
Galaxy 500 in a Galaxy 500
Galaxy 500

I'm in my own galaxy 1973
In my own galaxy
You probably would have wanted this too
But it's not air conditioned
No it's not air conditioned
No it's not air conditioned
No it's not air conditioned
It's not air conditioned

Open the trunk
All of my dirty laundry
All of my junk in the yard
And scattered out into the street
You have the thing with my old guitar
I can't believe that you took it this far
But things ain't so bad
Cause i got a Galaxy 500
Galaxy 500
In a Galaxy 500
Galaxy 500
In a galaxy 500

my first car was a '63 Galaxi3 500. 4-door. with the weird 352 truck engine in it. It had two names- Battlecar Galactica and the Groove Bomb. I took the back seat out and lived in it for six months.

You came back just in time! Since you stopped blogging, I've been spending lots of time on ebay shopping 'Cudas, 60's Camaros, Chevelles, Mustangs, Nomads, Challengers, Chargers, Road Runners, and '59 Caddies and Impalas. It hurts. In college, I passed up a couple '63 split window Corvettes that were sellling for $6500 each, and I had plenty of cash. I remember being a few hundred short of a hemi Cuda. I remember Shelby Mustangs being accessible. Now I would need to sell my kids! Aaargh!

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