MOTOR-mad Irvin Gordon entered the record books when his beloved Volvo clocked up more than THREE MILLION miles. And incredibly the 70-year-old's runaround - which he bought in 1966 - has NEVER broken down. The retired school teacher bought the coup for $3,500 after a three hour test drive with a friend. He averages 60,000 miles a year - but can do as many as 100,000 miles. Irvin was even awarded a Guinness World Record for his accomplishment.
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MotorTranscript
00:00King of the Road, Irv Gordon, has been driving his 1966 Volvo T1800 for 46 years.
00:21With a staggering 2,994,000 miles on the clock, he is set to break the 3 million mile barrier.
00:30My friends used to think I was slightly nuts, but now they're very impressed that the car's getting the attention that it's getting.
00:42They're waiting to see that it gets to 3 million miles off, so they're very enthusiastic about it.
00:47Irv from Long Island, New York, began his love affair with the Volvo in 1966 when he laid eyes on the car for the first time.
00:54I paid $4,150, which was a whole year's salary for me.
01:00I put 1,500 miles on the car the first weekend I owned it.
01:03I just couldn't get out of the car. I was having such a good time.
01:06I just spent all Friday night, all day Saturday, all day Sunday, came back Monday for its 1,500-mile checkup.
01:12Driving an average of 60,000 miles a year, the 70-year-old's travels have taken him all over America, even around the world.
01:20In 2009, the car received the Guinness World Record for the highest vehicle mileage, clocking in excess of 2,721,000 miles.
01:31I've always liked driving. Everybody has to have a hobby. Some people drink, some people take drugs. Driving is my drug of choice.
01:38As you might expect, all those miles have required a lot of maintenance work.
01:43Today, Irv has paid for 157 oil changes, 120 lots of transmission fluid, 30 drive belts, and 150 different points and plugs.
01:53Not to mention the thousands of dollars he spent on petrol.
01:57I like to drive, so I could be spending it on, I don't know, golf, I could be bowling, I could be doing whatever.
02:03I choose to spend my time at the gas station, keep flinging the car up.
02:07In just a few months time, the car is expected to reach 3 million miles.
02:11But after 46 years, Irv is finally ready to say goodbye.
02:15So if you have a spare 3 million dollars in the bank, then this classic could be yours.
02:20Oh, it's for sale. I'm entertaining offers of a dollar a mile. I like driving a new car.
02:24They have air conditioning and power everything and power seats and heated seats and nice stereos and all kinds of wonderful safety equipment.
02:33All the things that my car doesn't have.
02:35But until he finds a buyer, Irv will continue hitting the highways and clocking up more miles.
02:40You know, the miles just add up after 46 years. Keep driving and driving and driving.
02:44I've never gotten tired of this one and I still enjoy driving it.