Don’t tell this to Irv Gordon
What most people don’t realize, is that Gordon’s Volvo has had the engine replaced/rebuilt 3 times, and major transmission work. It is no more original than your granddaddy’s axe 9where you replaced the handle and the head-but it’s still his axe!)
Model Ts were antique by the 1950’s and rarely seen outside of shows or parades.
Which gets me thinking - sure, in most parts of the US, the sight of pre-WWII cars on the road in the 1970s would have been very unusual. What about Appalachia, though? Could one see old 1920s-era pickups, Model As, and so on, as daily drivers in West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, or elsewhere in deep rural Appalachia in the 1970s?
sigh Of course, the Benz Diesel is an exception. I was thinking more of cars many more people bought. Back then 100,000 miles was considered a car’s “three score and ten” and few people expected more and fewer would take the car that far, with all of the rust.
On the other hand, yesterday I saw an Austin America operating under its own power, a state rare enough when they were new. There are always outliers in any discussion of automobile reliability.
No.
Growing up in Milwaukee, we always had a Model T in the garage until about 1985. Didn’t everyone?
When my wife and I were married 10 years ago, we hired a Model A and its owner/driver for the day. The guy had a couple of nice antiques that he hired out for special events. He advertised in the yellow pages.
I can’t imagine that anybody was driving a Model T Ford by 1950-by then, cars were so much better (in braking, handling, performance, and comfort) that only an eccentric person would drive one. For another thing, the “T”'s brakes were TERRIBLE (mechanically actuated drums, rear wheels only). You could not stop with modern traffic! I’d wager that stopping from 45 MPH (about top speed for a T) would take over 150 feet! Also: no heater, so self-starter, no radio. Only Jed Clampett would be driving one! Finally: in a collision, the “T”'s occupants would be killed (no seatbelts). Cars that seemed to stay around though, were the 1960’s Plymouths-those cars seemed to last forever.
Well, sigh aside, what modern cars do you see being so vastly superior? What should I go out and buy from the mid 90s-mid 00s that is going to last 500,000 miles? Are they all that much better, or are there select models that IYHO are extremely well made?
You can’t go wrong with a Honda. They’re well-neigh invulnerable.
Or a Toyota. In this country at least, you’re paying a bit extra for the Honda brand and style, but if you don’t mind being suburban, a Toyota will arguably give you as good or better reliability than a Honda.
I’m a bit biased, since my mother works for a Honda dealership, but Toyota’s are certainly good cars. If you’re going for a hybrid, though, you’re better off with a Honda, than a Toyota, as there’s not quite the demand for Honda’s, so they’re cheaper and you don’t have to wait to get one.
Probably a part of my own bias is that in Australia, Toyota is famous for having a dealership or at least a spares place in just about every town with more than two houses in it. Hondas are seen as much more stylish, but also more urban (they are HUGE with the Asian market here). Toyotas have part of that market covered, but also the 4WD and pickup/ute/truck market pretty much owned. Even the racist rednecks in the outback are strangely quiet when it comes to their beloved Japanese motoring.
So what is the expected longevity of Toyotas and Hondas in terms of mileage? 200,000? 300,000?
With proper maintence 300K, easy.
Superior to the junk built in the 50s-70s? Pretty much anything. Not just for longevity, too. Speed, handling, braking, safety, you can name the criterion and modern cars are better, except for having the room to spread my fat ass. Other comfort features are better, though. And the likelihood to survive a crosscountry vacation without needing a major repair is reduced to zilch. Remember that Chrysler nearly went broke honoring its 5 year/50,000 mile warranty in the 60s while Hyundai has had twice the warranty for long enough to see if it was a bad idea but they still offer it.
Your Dart is exceptional. Around here it would’ve been reduced to a pile of limonite (with the Slant 6 chugging away in the middle) thirty years ago.