The exterior shots of the Charles Townsend Associates office usually showed a variation of three different cars parked out
front. In the first season of CHARLIE'S ANGELS, viewers learn that the yellow
Mustang belongs to Kelly. The orange Pinto is Sabrina's and the sleek blue and
white Cobra belongs to Jill. After Jill leaves for a racing career, her car remains
out in front of the office and is often seen being driven by her little sister, Kris.
Not only does Sabrina leave Townsend Associates two years later, but she leaves her car as well. Her replacement, Tiffany, gets it and passes it on down to her replacement, Julie. With all this second hand use going on in the show it would be easy to assume that the three automobiles
were company cars. Wrong! In the
episode "Harrigan's Angels", Harrigan is wowed by how classy the three cars are compared to his old clunker. The Angels tell him that the cars belong to THEM and not the company, thus he assumes they make a pretty
penny. Kris even has the audacity to tell him that her Cobra was "just a little
something" she picked up!*
Contrary to the Angels claiming they own
their cars is a comment Bosley makes in one of the earlier episodes, "The Killing Kind".
After Sabrina endures a high speed chase and runs off the road, she phones Bosley to inform him of what has just occurred. Bosley whines that she has just damaged a second company car that month. This may seem to be the most reasonable explanation of who owns the vehicles, especially considering that
Townsend Associates carries the insurance policies on the cars ("Angels on Wheels"), but is it true? Considering all the plot holes in "The Killing Kind" (see episode review for details) it may not be wise
to use this episode to merit any facts on "Charlie's Angels". Also, it seems
very peculiar that the Angels would not own their own cars. There have been many
exterior shots of Kelly's house ("Angel's Child", "Target: Angels", "Angels Belong in Heaven" just to name a few), but her
yellow Mustang is the only car ever shown in the driveway. And would Charlie
actually allow Bosley to use a company car to travel out of town in "Angels on Vacation"?
As eccentric as Charlie is, he probably would. With the comment made in
"The Killing Kind" and the one made in "Harrigan's Angels", it is almost impossible to decipher who owns the cars. This puzzle may be one only an Angel can solve.
Kelly's Mustang has survived numerous car accidents
and two explosions. Her first Mustang was blown to bits in "Angels on Wheels",
but is replaced with an exact model by Hugh Morris, a wealthy entrepreneur who's business the Angels save from corruption. Three years later her second Mustang explodes when a bomb disguised as Tiffany's
birthday present is slipped into the back seat ("Toni's Boys"). Kelly must be
awfully fond of yellow Mustangs, because she continues driving one right into the very last episode ("Let Our Angel Live").
The sporty white and blue Cobra suits both Jill's and Kris's personality to perfection. Jill - the flashy athletic girl who always had her eye on a man with money ("Dirty
Business" and "The Prince & the Angel"), was always dressed to thrill and wouldn't be caught dead in anything less than
a hot little sports car. Kris was also very fashionable and no less would have
picked out something sleek and attractive if she had picked a car out on her own. Since
Kris spends her entire life trying to emulate Jill (see "Kris Munroe -An Angel Grows Up"), it is quite possible that she would
buy the exact same car as her older sister. The snake design may have been a
little too much for her cheerful demeanor, but as Kris matured, the car and her seemed like old friends.
Very much unlike Jill, Sabrina wasn't materialistic at all. No goofing around for this pistol packing cherub! She bought
herself a bright orange Pinto and drove it like it like it was a chariot, without apologies.
Sabrina's car reveals much about her personality. She satisfied her needs
with practical surroundings. While Kelly, Tiffany, Jill, and Kris all lived in
houses, Sabrina stayed in an apartment building. As her fellow co-workers pranced
around in beautiful sweaters and designer slacks, Sabrina wore blouses and jeans. Sabrina
Duncan was simple and down to earth.
It should no doubt come as a shock that Tiffany Welles, with her superior attitude,
would be caught driving in a bright orange Pinto. This was the biggest faux pas
the directors of the show would ever indulge in. It seems so illogical that Tiffany
would drive that ugly orange car, let alone the fact that it was totally used! Tiffany
had class like no other Angel. Viewers would be more prone to picture her being
chauffeured in a limousine or driving a ritzy town car. While interviewing comedienne
Margaret Cho for DETOUR magazine, writer Dennis Hensley noted the strange combination of Tiffany and her car. "If they really wanted Shelly Hack to catch on, they wouldn't have stuck her with a Ford Pinto!" But Tiffany must not have been too ashamed of the little compact car, for she claims it to be her's when
detective Harrigan admires it after meeting the lovely trio.
Since Tiffany was from the east coast, it makes sense that she would probably need
a new car upon arriving in California. Julie, however, already lived there
and must have had her own vehicle before being employed by Charlie Townsend. She
is seen driving a car in "Angel in Hiding", but that was most likely her friend Harry's car.
Lucky for her, the Pinto suits her personality just as it did Sabrina's. Even
though she was a hot model, Julie didn't seem stuck on herself, nor accustomed to luxurious items. Like Sabrina, this heavenly Angel lived in an apartment and would even move into a smaller one after her
roommate died ("Angel in Hiding"/"Attack Angels"). The orange Pinto represented
her well and although she was only seen driving the car two times ("He Married an Angel" and "Let Our Angel Live"), she seems
extremely comfortable in it.
And let us not forget faithful Bosley! Like
Kelly, he would drive the same car throughout the run of the series. As one would
imagine, Bosley's car matched his sensible lifestyle. His car was a brown and
blue station wagon that carried the entire team when necessary.
* This scene was omitted from
“Harrigan’s Angels” when the show aired on TV Land
