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Under the Influence

Paul Michael Glazer wasn't a fan of Starsky & Hutch's famous Ford Torino

It wasn't originally meant to be the TV detective duo's car, but a twist of fate led them to red and white.
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Red and white 70's car on display behind gold rope.
A 1974 Ford Torino used in the television series "Starsky & Hutch" on display at the Imperial Palace auto collections in Las Vegas (Wikimedia Commons)
Under the Influence27:26Cars Are The Stars: Automobile Brands in Hollywood

An action series called Starsky & Hutch hit the small screen in 1975.

Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson and Dave Starsky were plain clothes, streetwise detectives who chased dope dealers, muggers and other assorted criminals. Starsky & Hutch drove a very distinctive car.

Two men, one at left with dark hair and one at right with blond hair, stand outdoors laughing, wearing in jackets with large, spread collars.
David Soul, at right, the American actor with his co-star Paul Michael Glaser in the long standing and very popular series of Starsky and Hutch, one of the first of 'New York Cops' series. (Keystone/Getty Images)

It was a souped-up Ford Torino – painted bright red with a crisp white stripe down both sides. That paint job made the car famous.

The show was an Aaron Spelling production, and Spelling had wanted a Camaro for the series, but for some reason, couldn't secure one. So they settled for a Ford Torino, as part of the Ford/Studio TV car loan program.

Little did they know their second-choice red Torino would become famous. So famous, that Ford would factory-build 1,200 Gran Torino Starsky & Hutch Special Edition cars for the 1976 model year.

Paul Michael Glazer, who played Starsky, hated the car. He thought it was ludicrous that two undercover cops would drive around in a sensational fire-engine red sportscar. But that red and white Ford Torino may just be the most remembered aspect of that TV show - and is still instantly recognizable today.

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