Carsales Staff•22 Jun 2013
NEWS
Volvo's September appointment with three millionth milestone
Veteran P1800 and solitary owner Irv Gordon are headed for a date with destinyIt's not like Irv Gordon really has anything more to prove. The retired science teacher already holds the record – verified by the Guinness Book of World Records – for the most miles driven by a single owner in a non-commercial vehicle.
But the 73-year old Long Island, New York resident achieved that when his 1966 Volvo P1800, which he has owned since new, had travelled just 1.69 million miles when it broke the previous record. That was in 1998. 15 years on the P1800 has travelled 2.99 million miles and Gordon expects the odometer to trip over again at some point in September.
During his first 10 years of ownership Gordon was recording 125 miles every day commuting to work. The long weekend that he took the delivery of the car, back in 1966, he drove 1500 miles and brought the car back to the selling dealership on the Monday for its first service. Within 10 years he had already driven the car half a million miles.
"The best way to explore America is by car," Gordon says. "I challenge everyone to go out and see as much as possible. Find your own journey and reason to believe because you only have one life to live. No matter how many roads I've been on, there's always one I haven't taken. That's what makes it exciting."
Gordon's high-mileage Volvo first came to the world's attention after it passed the two-million-mile mark in 2002 in New York's Times Square. For the three-million mile occasion he plans to be driving through Alaska, one of just two US states he is yet to visit.
"It's not about getting to the three million miles; it's about the trips that got me to the three million miles," Gordon said. "I never had a goal to get to one million, to two million. I just enjoyed driving and experiencing life through my Volvo.
You can read more about Irv Gordon and his Volvo at the website set up to commemorate the history shared by car and owner.
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Written byCarsales Staff
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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