S m a r t C a r s

No, it's not Click 'N Clack or a fact center for car enthusiasts -it's the most frequent question I get: What cars did Max drive? That being said and the following being laid out in a pretty little table... don't ask me about this again!

What it Looks Like	Make & Model	Where it was used
	Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet	This was used only in the black and white pilot episode, "Mr. Big."
	Sunbeam Tiger	Used in the opening shots of seasons one and two. This car was used throughout the series in various episodes - well symbolically at least. See next entry.
	Sunbeam Alpine	A Sunbeam Alpine was actually used in lieu of the Tiger in various episodes. A 4-cylinder, the Alpine was re-badged and striped to look like a Tiger because there was more room to stow the cannon.
	Volkswagen Karmann Ghia	This cute Ghia was used only in the opening shots of seasons three and four as a promo for Volkswagen. Darn!
	Ford Mustang	Used as the Chiefs car, this car appeared in several fourth season episodes.
	Opel GT	The Opel was used only in season five for the opening credits and driven in a few episodes.

For what it's worth, Max drove three cars through out the series -but there were a few exceptions.

His main machine was a red Sunbeam Tiger convertible. For the sake of trivia, Don Adams owned this car -it was part of his payment. He later gave it to one of his daughters and she wrecked it. He then spent all kinds of money fixing it and gave it to another daughter, who also wrecked it. Ouch.

The second Smart car was a blue Karmann Ghia -which comes out of the Volkswagen line. It was featured in the opening shots, but not in the episodes. Apparently showcasing the Ghia was tied in with Volkswagen's advertising. Ghias were always my dream car -despite the fact that all I can afford is a 10-year-old Cavalier.

The third car was the gold 1969 Opel GT which was used only during the last season. This particular Opel was resurrected as junker in the movie Stripes. The Opel is yet another product of crass consumerism as it was featured as a part of advertising for the show.

There were a few occasions where Max used a different car during the episodes. A Sunbeam Alpine (shown above left) was often substituted for the Tiger because was easier to mount Max's spy do-dads under its hood.

A Citroen was used in "With Love and Twitches" (shown at right).

Max also drove the Chief's car -a Ford Mustang. In the pilot episode, the opening scene showed Max driving a Ferrari 250 GTCabriolet.

Another mustang, Z The Zebra Car, (shown at left) was used in "Satan Place" and "Our Man in Leotards." It was really the Chief's car but Max won it in a raffle.

According to Smartian Sue, the car was created by George Barris, who's resume includes creating the Munster cars and the Batmoble.

The Zebra Car has seen a lot of mileage, appearing in" Marriage on the Rocks" with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.

And to round things out, there's also this red convertible, which appeared in "Weekend Vampire."

I'm not sure if this was the company car or what, but all we have of it is this appearance.

Fun bonus: As I mentioned in the Feb. 23, 2016 installment of my blog, you can see part of the sound stage in one of the shots.

OK folks, considering my vehicle knowledge doesn't extend too far past pumping gas, that's all the info I can give on this topic. I'm a hack newspaper reporter -not an Indy driver.

For more vehicular info, check out Carl's GS FAQ and Pete's page on the cars.