Rod Taylor starred in the aptly named TV series "Bearcats," the main feature of which was a reproduced 1914 Stutz Bearcat.

The time period was a bit tricky, though; the show had all the hallmarks of a Wild West setup, and it did take place in the southwestern states, but it was actually set in 1913 and 1914, using the impending First World War as a plot point fairly often. This is later than most definitions of the Old West, though for the show, that just meant they could incorporate more toys than was the norm.

Toys like the titular Bearcat, an early American luxury car. Such a vehicle would have been a strange sight along the Mexican border around 1914, and the show made the most of that fact. The stars, Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole, cut a dashing figure across the west in their somewhat-faithful period garb, working as freelance "adventurers" (mercenaries, in fact, but always on the side of justice).

Despite the presence of established-star Taylor, who had already starred in Hollywood classics such as "The Time Machine" (1960) and "The Birds" (1963), the series didn't even last a full season, cancelled by CBS after it consistently lost in the ratings to ABC's more traditional western series "Alias Smith and Jones."

It's unfortunate, especially for the unofficial third star of the series, the authentic replica Bearcat the producers commissioned specifically for the show, at what at the time was great expense.

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