Shaft

John Shaft

Lt. Al Rossi

This series alternated on Tuesday evenings with Hawkins (1973) which may have led to the early demise of both series. Contemporary analysts suggested that since the two shows appealed to vastly different audience bases, alternating them only served to confuse fans of both series, giving neither one the time to build up a large viewership.

Shaft's personal car for the series is a 1973 or 1974 Dodge Charger; Silver with blue interior. However, it is easy to distinguish between the 1st Unit and 2nd unit cars. The 1st Unit (or Hero Car) that is used in the scenes with Richard Roundtree has Rallye Wheels and White-lettered tires while the 2nd unit car has Magnum 500 wheels (sans trim ring) and black-walled tires. Both cars feature vinyl top trim, but no actual vinyl top. But, the 1st unit car appears to have a sunroof while the 2nd unit car does not. Lastly, the 1st unit car has functional exterior lights while the second unit car only has functional headlamps.