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2026 Chevrolet Suburban ReviewCars from the Andy Griffith Show
In this walk down memory lane, we return to the idyllic streets of Mayberry for a look at some of the most interesting cars from The Andy Griffith Show.
Our Favorite Cars from Mayberry
The Andy Griffith Show, a long-running sitcom from the 1960s is loved as much for its whistling theme song and Sheriff Andy Taylor character as it is for the perfectly pleasant town of Mayberry and its population of happy country folk.
The cars from The Andy Griffith Show, of which there were many over an 8-year span, are perhaps of equal significance. Whether you watched the show when it originally aired or the endless reruns in the decades since there’s no missing the tremendous array of cars from The Andy Griffith Show as we look at below.
1960s Ford Galaxie Patrol Car
Of all the cars from The Andy Griffith Show, Sheriff Andy’s Ford Galaxie patrol cars are easily the most prolific. Starting with a 1960 Fairlane Galaxie four-door sedan, the sheriff was seen behind the wheel of a new black-and-white Ford every year thereafter.
A new Ford Galaxie was provided every season to be used as the squad car. Based on the long list of Ford vehicles seen throughout all 249 episodes of the show, the Blue Oval clearly saw the value in this type of marketing. A classic example of a Hollywood hero car, these Andy Griffith Galaxies have earned a spot in the history of cop cars – real or fictional.
1954 Ford Customline Sedan
In season three, bumbling but well-meaning Deputy Barney Fife decides it’s high time he has his very own vehicle. After perusing the newspaper classifieds, he lands on a 1954 Ford Customline sedan. Fun fact – while browsing the listings, Barney notes a 1949 Hudson Terraplane for sale, but this particular model from the now-defunct automaker Hudson actually ended production in 1938.
Hilarity ensues when the audience learns Barney has been swindled by Myrt “Hubcaps” Lesh with gas station attendant Gomer Pyle remarking the car needs everything from plugs, points, and pumps to bearings, valves, and brakes.
1933 Ford V8
Keeping the Ford theme alive, but going back a couple decades is the 1933 Ford that Mayberry town drunk Otis buys after one of his regular stints inside the jail to sober up. The constables are understandably nervous at the prospect of the old boy getting loose while fully sauced, but Otis ends up selling it to Charlie Varney after a few rides behind the wheel – sober.
The name of this episode happens to be “Hot Rod Otis”, a nod to the popularity of these 1930s Fords as platforms for hot rod modifications.
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/4
Shifting gears from domestics is the exotic 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 that Aunt Bee ogles during the “Goober Goes to a Car Show” episode. There were few sports cars, let alone imports, seen on the Andy Griffith Show and this Italian stallion is a seriously rare beast. At the time, it was THE hot car with a price tag around $14,000. For comparison, a loaded 427 Corvette stickered for about $5,000.
The Rosso Cordoba-finished example that shimmered at the auto show was powered by a screaming 3.3L V12. Too bad Aunt Bee didn’t take it home at the time – today these Ferraris are worth more than $3,000,000.
1958 Edsel Pacer
Though the Edsel division of Ford Motor Company was short-lived, it turned out some serious head-turners like the turquoise 1958 Pacer drop-top that Barney drives during his return to the Andy Griffith Show with full-color episodes.
In the show, Barney wrongly refers to it as a 1960 with a 1961 front end to suggest that he may once again have been swindled. Either way, this blue stunner was one of fewer than 2,000 convertibles made during the single year of production making it one of the coolest cars from The Andy Griffith Show.
1965 International Harvester Metro Mite
Trading in Dolly the horse and her delivery cart, the Mayberry milkman shows up in a baby blue 1965 International Harvester Metro Mite with “DOGWOOD DAIRY FARMS” lettered on the side.
Part of the long-running, 1938 to 1975, series of Metro Vans that also included the Metro Lite and Multi-Stop, this step-van delivery vehicle featured a body built by Metropolitan Body Company and an International Harvester Scout drivetrain. The days of milk delivery vans are all but gone, but this cool old Metro Mite would make a heck of a cool food truck today.
1955 Ford Fairlane Sunliner
During season six, Aunt Bee decides it’s high time she learned to drive, so she buys a 1955 Ford Fairlane Sunliner convertible. New that year, these top-line Fords were known for a “Fairlane stripe” rendered in stainless steel along the body sides and a pretty two-tone paint job – though Aunt Bee’s car is painted all black.
Shortly after buying it from Goober, who teaches her to drive, she comically sideswipes a tree. One of the many later discovered goofs is that she is supposedly being taught to drive a manual with “3 on the tree”, but a Ford-o-Matic emblem can be seen on the Fairlane’s trunk meaning it had an automatic transmission.
1960 AMC Rambler American Deluxe
From a company – AMC – that was absorbed by Chrysler decades ago, the 1960 Rambler American was based on another defunct automaker – Nash – with slight modifications intended to deliver a car easy on consumer wallets.
The first generation of these compact two-door sedans ran from 1958 to 1960 with a thrifty straight-six as the sole motor and a sticker price that was around the lowest of any domestic vehicle at the time. It was a vehicle made famous as one of the cars from the Andy Griffith Show when Mayberry mechanic Goober Pyle disassembles one and then reassembles it inside the courthouse – to fix the carburetor.
1963 Lincoln Continental
A car that needs no introduction, the 1963 Lincoln Continental from the “Man In a Hurry” episode ends up stranding Malcolm Tucker in Mayberry for the day due to a clogged fuel line.
Part of the fourth-generation Continental, this big four-door sedan sat on a stretched Ford Thunderbird platform and was powered by a thumping 7.0-liter V8, which would grow to 7.5 liters in 1966. Known for its rear-hinged doors, the convertible version is also indelibly stamped in the history books as the car that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in. But rest assured, the Conti’s use in The Andy Griffith Show is quite light-hearted with no shortage of horsing around with the Pyle cousins.
1961 Cadillac Fleetwood 75
Another big American land yacht of a car, the 1961 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 seen on season three of The Andy Griffith Show was the longest, heaviest, and most expensive model available from the Cadillac 70 Series that was in production for some 50 years.
Always fitted with a V8, there’s no way to tell if the example on the show was a limousine or sedan as an internal glass partition was the only differentiator. In standard fashion, Barney Fife gives the Caddy a parking ticket – for being too long – only to discover it’s registered to the governor of North Carolina who is going to make a personal visit to Mayberry.
