A DRIVER has racked up an incredibly high mileage on his favorite car.
Irv Gordon dove the same Volvo for over 50 years, racking up an astounding 3.2 million miles on his beloved car.
Astonishingly, that mileage would be enough to drive to the moon 14 times. However, piling on record-breaking miles was never his intention, he just wanted a car that he could rely on.
After two bad experiences with new cars, Gordon bought a Volvo P1800 in 1966 and immediately put 1,500 miles on it in just a week.
He didn't need to travel often as a school teacher, he just loved to drive the car.
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“Obviously, I like to drive,” Irv said.
“It’s my way of relaxing and getting away from it all.”
Gordon quickly got his Volvo to 250,000 miles without ever needing a repair outside of his regular maintenance, and he wrote to Volvo about how pleased he was with it.
“We’re happy you’re happy with the product, don’t forget to buckle up,” Volvo replied.
He wrote back to them at 500,000 miles, then one million miles, and eventually Volvo gifted him a new 780 coupe. It could never replace his P1800 though.
Volvo took Gordon on as a brand ambassador, which allowed him to display his pride and joy to other Volvo fans across the United States and Europe.
He even got to take a tour of the same factory where his Volvo rolled off the factory line.
Somehow, through all of these exhibitions and over three million miles, the car kept running perfectly for Gordon.
Of course, it took some TLC to keep everything up to snuff. Some parts were destined to wear out, but they were replaced and the engine could be rebuilt.
Throughout the constant cycle of refreshing, the engine block and transmission stayed completely original.
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Gordon said he would never let the car stop running, and if it ever died on him he would find a way to fix it.
“No such thing, it’d never happen. If it didn’t start, I’d find out why it didn’t start and fix it," he said.
After 52 years of owning the car and driving it to the title of the world's highest mileage car, Gordon died at the age of 78 in 2018.
