 Several Los Angeles locations were used for "Bay City", and uniformed police officers were seen wearing "BCPD" shoulder patches.Fans of the show applied the code name as a nickname for the Ford Gran Torino that Starsky owned; the general public picked up on it, and the car has been known since (incorrectly) as "Zebra Three", or more correctly the "Striped Tomato".Originally, the show's creator, William Blinn, was to have Starsky drive a green and white high performance Chevrolet Camaro because he remembered one that he had previously owned.