"1-Adam-12, 1-Adam-12, please respond to a 10-101 ... sighting of tropes seen in this episode":
The Alleged Car: While the officers' usual car is in the shop for routine maintenance, they drive a spare, which is colloquially referred to as "The Beast." Basically, the car is worn out and, due to high mileage and abuse on the beat, is in poor mechanical condition and used very sparingly (i.e., only if the other spare patrol cars are in use). In fact, "The Beast" is fewer than 300 miles away from mandatory retirement (and likely, an early date with the junkyard unless it's bought at auction as a fixer-upper). Both Malloy and Reed take turns behind the wheel but struggle with the car's poor driveability and multiple engine and equipment issues, and it's not long before the transmission slips out of gear – parked while Reed and Malloy pursue a robbery suspect on foot – and it rolls into a tree, destroying the car.
