Three million miles, or 4.82 million kilometers in case you live in the metric part of the world. That's more than six times to the Moon and back. Quite a lot to ask from a car, isn't it?
Of course, it's likely that no new car will do what Irv's Volvo P1800S has done. With all the electronics generating random errors and the way too expensive replacement parts which that be only accessed by special tools we expect new cars will end up in a junk yard faster than you can blink twice.
Still, in theory, these ten could make it:
10.) Volkswagen Kombi
Forget your Jetta TDI! TDI engines will break, and you won't be able to fix them. That can't happen with the Brazil VW Kombi. It's basically a T2 refined for 45 years, packed with a water-cooled 1.4-litre four banger from a VW Fox. Even Brazilian children will be able to fix it on the street, probably for the end of the world as we know it.
Suggested By: hummer4douche, Photo Credit: Isar21
9.) Land Rover Defender
If you can keep the rust away, you will always be able to fix it according to brett41:
Don't laugh. There is no airbags, abs, traction control or stability control to go wrong. Very little electronics. It's basically the same car as it was 20 years ago except for a Ford Transit diesel engine, which has a good reputation for reliability. The biggest worries seem to be the differentials. But again they are relatively simple to fix and there would always be parts for them, for a price.
Suggested By: brett41, Photo Credit: kingofthebigmacs
8.) Morgan 3-Wheeler
The Morgan Three Wheeler is not the last word in reliability. In fact, Alex Roy's had the right side exhaust fall off one day for no apparent reason. Still, it's easy to fix, parts should be available forever, and it's a safe guess since no man can last for that long with his spine functioning as the rear suspension.
Suggested By: Automatch- the Avanthusiast, Photo Credit: Alexandre Prévot
7.) Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
Oh yes, the Veyron could do three million miles as long as VW is willing to produce the parts. The gazillionaires who own these things could probably get new parts machined anyway. With Veyron owners, price is not an issue.
Think about the Veyron for a second. It had to be faster than anything with a licence plate. They made it so bulletproof that you don't even have to run the engine to cool down after you just went flat out over 250 mph...
Suggested By: Stigicide, Photo Credit: Dryheatpanzer
6.) Ford Falcon LPG
Here's a tip for you from down under:
There is a genuine answer to this question. A Ford Falcon running on LPG.
When used as taxis these cars regularly do over 600 000 miles on the original engine and without any major work on the rest of the car apart from the usual brakes and shocks. The only reason they get taken out of service is because in Australia a taxi must be replaced when its four years old.
I have no doubt a Falcon would reach 3m miles if it had a careful owner and was used on long trips.
Suggested By: Richarbl , Photo Credit: yercombe
5.) GMC Sierra V6
PilotMan has a pretty good reason to think that an RWD V6 pushrod would do the trick:
The key to a long term vehicle is one that can be repaired at an affordable rate, this means you doing the repairs with cheap domestic parts. A TDI Volkswagen is a very bad idea unless you love changing high pressure fuel pumps that are freakin expensive. Diesel's last forever but their expensive fuel systems do not. New VWs exceed their repair costs at only 130K miles, not a good long term vehicle choice.
My suggestion would be the new Chevy 4.3L V-6 in a rwd pickup. That pushrod motor will require less maintenance than a DOHC, the long, twin cam timing chains stretch and require replacement at about 100K miles. The new 4.3L looks like a short LS3 motor which is kind cool but also means that it's a ver compact and simple motor. Ford, Dodge, Toyota only offer DOHC V6s.
Anyone can work on a pickup with any part serviceable in a home garage. Need to do a transmission swap, no problem just jack up the truck enough for the bell housing to clear the frame rails when you slide it out on your floor jack. Need to change a starter or alternator, easy as pie since you can literally hang a hammock in that gigantic engine bay while working on that small V-6.
I would go with a manual 6-speed (if available), 4.3L GMC, 2wd reg cab pickup as something affordable to own for 40 years.
Suggested By: PilotMan, Photo Credit: General Motors
4.) Nissan Tsuru
Here comes another blast from the past! Gamecat235 likes the fact that the Sentra is still produced in South-America:
I am submitting a non USDM vehicle. The Nissan Tsuru. The B13 Nissan formerly known here as the Sentra, is still manufactured and sold in Mexico and South and Central America. And this engine/frame/transmission is as simple as they come. and tried and tested will last forever.
I could easily see one of these vehicles, with a manual transmission clearing 1,000,000 miles with regular maintenance. 3 million with a devoted owner and some above average maintenance.
Suggested By: Gamecat235 , Photo Credit: Nissan
3.) Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
You get in, you move things around, and as long as you don't blow up the turbo, nothing will stop you.
Suggested By: Brian, The Life of , Photo Credit: lydia_shiningbrightly
2.) TX4
If these can survive London traffic, they can survive anything. ranwhenparked voted the TX4 to second place:
I know they're not without their flaws, but I would think a London Taxi TX4 would stand a good chance of making it into the millions with careful maintenance. RWD, body-on-frame construction, robust diesel engine, and a minimum of electronic toys and gadgetry.
Suggested By: ranwhenparked , Photo Credit: kenjonbro
1.) Toyota 70 Series
You can still buy these new in Australia, Africa and Asia. We all know old Hiluxes can win wars, but the 70 Land Cruisers are just as tough.
Suggested By: SWITAWI, Photo Credit: Brynja Eldon
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
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