www.csua.org/u/wy5 -> news.yahoo.com/ny-man-nears-3-millionth-mile-beloved-66-064816153.html
Irv Gordon poses for a picture in his Volvo P1800 in Babylon, NY, Monday, July 2, 2012. Gordon's car already holds the world record for the highest recorded milage on a car and he is less than 40,000 miles away from passing three million miles on the Volvo. more away from passing three million miles on the Volvo.
Irv Gordon drives his Volvo P1800 in Babylon, NY, Monday, July 2, 2012. Gordon's car already holds the world record for the highest recorded milage on a car and he is less than 40,000 miles away from passing three million miles on the Volvo. BAY SHORE, NY (AP) -- It just keeps going, and going, and going. Gordon's small, red two-door has well more than 2 million miles on the odometer, the equivalent of nearly 1,176 times across the globe. The retired schoolteacher from Long Island hopes to reach the 3 million mile mark by next year. He has held the Guinness World Records mark for High Mileage Vehicle since 2002 and was the first person to hold that record. He bought his beloved car on June 30, 1966, for $4,150 at the age of 25. Gordon originally wanted the convertible Volvo with air conditioning, but it was too expensive. Gordon's car has just enough room for him and his essentials. His front bumper is filled with pins of his mileage achievements. And his trunk overflows with the many car parts he thinks he might need when on the road. Gordon has been taking road trips since he was a kid and continued through his adult years. He says he would just tell his family to pack their things and hit the road. Gordon's two daughters went on his road trips until they outgrew the tiny red car. His odometer doesn't have enough digits to display the actual mileage, but Gordon has tune-up records verifying it. With trips to Montreal, Texas and Michigan in just the last month, the last leg of his trip should not be too hard. It took him 21 years to reach the first million miles and 15 more years to reach 2 million. Most of his trips are for auto shows, but he also takes trips across the country just for a good cup of coffee. The avid driver believes in taking care of his car, and he doesn't let anyone else drive it. Jordan Weine is a mechanic at Bay Diagnostic, an auto shop based in Brooklyn and a Volvo expert. He says because Gordon takes care of his car, he is able to get high mileage without much change to the car's original mechanics. The car still has the original engine, though it was rebuilt twice in the car's lifetime. If it is not messed with, it will grow," said Weine, who hasn't worked on Gordon's car. "And there are very few redwood trees and the same goes with this. There are very few people that can achieve 3 million miles." It is clear that Gordon loves his car and he can't imagine getting rid of it. Joe Brusack, a mechanic who worked on his car when it was on its millionth mile more than 20 years ago, said it's come a long way. "I think it was just amazing that he got this far," he said. Gordon himself is surprised every time he gets into his car and edges closer to his 3 million mile goal. He has to get that fixed before he can hit the road again. Volvo has sent Gordon to trips around the country and the world to represent Volvo in auto shows. "I don't think (just) any car could do it," said John Maloney, president and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America. "It is a combination of a car beloved by his owner that has gotten Irv to this mileage." Gordon thinks that his Volvo will last way longer than 3 million miles.
Irv Gordon drives his Volvo P1800 in Babylon, NY, Monday, July 2, 2012. Gordon's car already holds the world record for the highest recorded milage on a car and he is less than 40,000 miles away from passing three million miles on the Volvo.
Independent voter o 7 hrs ago I bought a 2 year old '62 Volvo P1800, Red, just like the one in the picture. Never had any problems with it untill 1968 when I saw the new Dodge Charger. The Charger attracted my 1st wife, the next of my dumbest mistakes.
Joe Mama 6 hrs ago That's not very many miles for a Jeep. I am a certified mechanic and have owned many Jeeps, and I have worked on many Jeeps with over 500,000 miles. I had one '87 Jeep Cherokee come in a couple years ago that had 625,XXX miles on it.
Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania o 7 hrs ago Pretty cool, however, "back in the day" cars were made to be rebuilt. It would be interesting to see what his actual maintenance and repair costs have been. You can keep anything running as long as you are willing to pay for parts and labor!
D D 7 hrs ago I'd be willing to bet the cost of parts and labor over the years is less, probably significantly less, than what he would have paid in car loans and interest every 4-5 years for the last 40+ years.
It would be interesting to see how much money he has spent on the car since then for repairs to date. The engine rebuilds alone (if they were complete rebuilds) wouldn't have been cheap.
However, starter motors, alternators, carbs, valves, water pumps, etc. I'm suprised that the rod bearings and rings lasted that long between rebuilds, if that is the case........
Stenton23 o 2 hrs 57 mins ago That is a beautiful automobile! Between the bi-monthly "Check Engine Soon" and "Service Engine" lights, I thought it would be more economical to get rid of the damned thing in favor of a Ford.
warcat59 o 3 hrs ago You can tell he has really taken good care of this car. I miss cars that were well put together and easy to maintain. How long has it been since you've seen a car with pushbutton door handles like this?
Albany, Georgia o 8 hrs ago Imet the guy who has the million mile mercedes at an ace hardware store in Buford Georgia. I told him, "nice car," he said, "its got a million miles" Couple of months later he show up with this volvo guy on popular mechanics.
Las Vegas, Nevada o 5 hrs ago My sister had a 65 version of the same car. My old '66 coupe De Ville had over 400,000 on the odometer and only had one tranny rebuild. They just don't make cars like that any more, but if you take care of them, they will always get you back home.
Mr Nice Guy o 1 hr 12 mins ago I currently own a 1972 Mercedes 280sel 45 with only 27,000 miles on it. It sits in my garage and I don't know what to do with it. It is perfect and belonged to Grandfather, he bought it new and I inherited it. I was thinking of donating it to the salvation army or letting a car-less poor family take it.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma o 2 hrs 28 mins ago Today's cars arent built to last more then 5-10 yrs max. Car company's dont make money if you are keeping cars 25 yrs. One of the things I have learned in my life is that you get what you pay for. I have had a few cars in my life, 1 is a chevy s-10 pickup which I still have and it has 263000 miles on it. But I have had 2 Mercedes, my current one is a 2004 E320 which has 138000 miles on it, and still rides like it did new. Mercedes has shown me they know how to build cars that last and lets the customer get the value out of their car. I see having this car for the next 15 to 20 yrs with no problems. American car companies dont want to build cars that last that long and until they learn this they will having problems with sales.
Asheville, North Carolina o 2 hrs 55 mins ago I have a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 240,000 miles on it so far. Of course it broke down on the highway twice last year, so now it mostly stays in the driveway and I drive the car.
Visitors look at an aircraft on display at the Farnborough International Airshow, Farnborough, England, Monday, July 9, 2012. clinched the first big deal of this year's Farnborough Airshow on Monday with a firm order from Air Lease Corp.
Fed ready to do what is needed to meet goals: Williams COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (Reuters) - The US Federal Reserve is prepared to do more to bring down unemployment that is far too high and to steer inflation back up to the central bank's 2 percent target, a ...
More Fed ready to do what is needed to meet goals: Williams COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (Reuters) - The US Federal Reserve is prepared to do more to bring down unemployment that is far too high and to steer inflation back up to the central bank's 2 percent target, a top Fed o...
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