Starsky Didn’t Like The Gran Torino
Actor Paul Michael Glaser, who played Starsky and did most of the driving on the show, wasn’t actually a big fan of Torino. In fact, he hated the car. He wasn’t fond of the steering, suspension, driving feel, and design. He later admitted that he tried to break the car numerous times while shooting the show (via IMDB).
If you watch any of the old episodes, you can see that often he hit the curb when parking or drove the car as he stole it. The Gran Torino proved sturdy. But the set mechanics had to repair it overnight so the shooting could continue in the morning.