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Actually, during the series' production from 1955 to 1959 (it's been in reruns around the world ever since), Mathews drove everything from a '54 Olds 88 through a '59 Dodge Coronet; but that '55 Buick personified the character as much as his crisp fedora and snub-nosed .38. "The first cars were actual California Highway Patrol units, borrowed from the CHP." "They had the Special 48 coupe body, Century engine, and Roadmaster brakes. These were among the first cars built specifically for police use." Buick built 270 of these "Century 68" two-doors, half with three-speed column-shift manual transmissions and half with slushy Dynaflow automatics. All served with the CHP and just two are known to survive.

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