Gary Seven: Did the novels ever explain...

[Mr. Laser Beam]

how his predecessors managed to get themselves killed in a car crash?

I mean, what were they even doing in a car in the first place? Gary had that transporter vault which could beam him anywhere. Why didn't the previous agents use something like that?

 

[Jinn]

how his predecessors managed to get themselves killed in a car crash?

I mean, what were they even doing in a car in the first place? Gary had that transporter which could beam him anywhere. Why didn't the Supervisors use something like that?

You might want to check out chapter 29 of From History's Shadow.

Spoiler: From History's Shadow

They were investigating the presence of the Certoss on Earth, then a Certoss agent shoots at the car's tire and they crash.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ And there's a reason they had to be in a car while they were doing that?

I mean, since they were Gary Seven's predecessor agents, surely Seven's apartment and computer were all originally theirs. Why didn't they use the Beta-5 computer?

 

[Jinn]

^ And there's a reason they had to be in a car while they were doing that?

I mean, since they were Gary Seven's predecessor agents, surely Seven's apartment and computer were all originally theirs. Why didn't they use the Beta-5 computer?

After doing a bit of re-reading, it seems they were visiting and questioning suspicious employees of an important military project. The most recent one turned out to be a Certoss, fled in his car, so they followed him in theirs. In general I'd imagine Aegis agents wouldn't use teleportation unless necessary, to minimize the danger of arousing suspicion.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

It would seem there's also a comic book ("We Have Met the Enemy") that gives an alternate explanation: that agents of "Counter Strike" had deliberately run them off the road.

 

[Enterprise1701]

^ And there's a reason they had to be in a car while they were doing that?

I mean, since they were Gary Seven's predecessor agents, surely Seven's apartment and computer were all originally theirs. Why didn't they use the Beta-5 computer?

Transporters are not the end-all solution to everything. What if they needed a car to carry many large objects with them for the mission at hand? What if the enemy had a car? They can't capture a foe by send a moving automobile into their tiny apartment base. Or maybe since they were trained Aegis agents, they were confident in their ability to win car chases as necessary. Or they happened to be slackers who drank alcohol on the job. Beta-5 does not biometrically nanny her charges 24/7 for drugs. Or the enemy caught them by surprise with superior cloaking equipment. Or the enemy was a human sniper who could not be distinguished from passerby civilians by remote sensing.