final season in 1979–80; this was an apparent use of product placement in the series.) Rockford is an outstanding driver, on several occasions getting out of tricky situations when being followed merely by skillfully maneuvering his vehicle away. Rockford’s investigative style is to use his wits and a good measure of deception to get useful information from those he interviews. In one episode he is derisively described by a rival private investigator as “the con bull artist”. In addition to posing as insurance investigators and government officials, he sometimes invents preposterous characters and scenarios to confuse people, which usually gets them to reveal some valuable information. He has a portable printing press, which he keeps in his car and uses to prepare business cards that lend credibility to his guises. He is adept at using a lockpick, illegal to possess. His contact inside the police department is his friend, sergeant (later lieutenant) Dennis Becker, who will on occasion, albeit grudgingly, run car license plates and do criminal record checks for him. Rockford in return gives information on criminal activity he digs up to Becker, allowing him to get the credit for any arrests that follow. Rockford shared many personality traits with the lead characters of two of Garner's previous series, Maverick's Bret Maverick and Nichols's Frank Nichols. Rockford was usually unarmed (he occasionally carried an unlicensed pistol – which he kept in a cookie jar in his home – but hardly ever used it) and, despite trying to avoid trouble and use reason and negotiation to solve problems, would sometimes be pressed into a fistfight as a last resort. Military service During the series, it is also revealed that Rockford was wounded in action and awarded a Silver Star while serving in the Korean War with the 24th Infantry Division. After being busted to Private he was promoted to Sergeant after conning the North Koreans to exchange a tank for 400 cases of K rations so his encircled unit could escape; however he was soon busted back to PFC when it was discovered he was running a string of pool halls in Busan and stealing a Major General's car. He also forgot to return his service pistol and gets a call from the army about it after 23 years. A running gag is that, whenever Rockford gets involved with cases connected to members of his old Division, Jim is usually