https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viElz-ow5O0
Andy Griffith played a wide variety of roles over the course of his film and television career, but unsurprisingly, he was most well-known from The Andy Griffith Show. It was on this TV show that we got to see Andy play the main role of the widowed Mayberry sheriff in the fictional town in North Carolina for 249 episodes. He was undoubtedly a hit character with his nice-guy persona, seeing as the television show and Griffith himself gained massive popularity throughout the years.
Sheriff Andy Taylor played alongside other popular characters, such as Andy's cousin and deputy Barney Fife, his aunt and housekeeper Aunt Bee, and, of course, his son Opie. It's an absolute classic series that people are still rewatching, even today.
Back in 2012, an 86-year-old Griffith sadly passed away, though memorabilia to remember his legacy became a hot commodity. It should be no surprise that the most sought out collectible is a replica Ford Galaxie Mayberry police car. While the show did feature a good number of cool classic cars, the Mayberry squad cars always used the Ford Galaxie 500. Ford, in general, was a common manufacturer advertised in the show, but it's pretty hard to prove your fandom further than owning one of these cop cars.
Now, there are multiple Ford custom shops that have the ability to recreate the police cruiser with all the proper specifications and decals. In Mount Airy, North Carolina, locals even have annual parades for everyone to bring out their Mayberry vintage police cars with matching uniforms and badges, during what they call Mayberry Days. I'd imagine it's a pretty awesome sight to see if you're in the area. Just think about a whole row of these patrol cars, all with the matching Mayberry black-and-white paint scheme, and tell me that wouldn't be epic!
I think that's an awesome tribute to an extremely successful show, as well as to the legendary actor, comedian, and producer Andy Griffith. He had a positive impact on just about everyone who came across him, and his heartfelt attitude was a big part of what made him so great. I hope they continue the tradition over in Mt. Airy, and we continue to see more of these replica police interceptors driving around.
This post was originally published on October 27, 2020.