Volvo to clock up 3 million miles

It just keeps going, and going, and going.

No, it’s not a battery. It’s Irvin Gordon’s 1966 Volvo P1800S.

Gordon’s small, red two-door has almost 3m miles on the clock, the equivalent of nearly 1,176 times across the globe.

The retired schoolteacher from Long Island has just 34,000 miles to hit the mark.

72-year-old Gordon drives his Volvo everywhere. He has held the Guinness World Records mark for High Mileage Vehicle since 2002 and was the first person to hold that record.

“It’s just a car I enjoy driving,” he said.

He bought his beloved motor on June 30, 1966, for $4,150 at the age of 25. “It was a whole year’s salary,” he said.

Gordon originally wanted the convertible Volvo with air conditioning, but it was too expensive. He paid extra to have an AM/FM radio, though. “It was $10 extra, and at that time, $10 was a lot. But an AM/FM radio was a big deal.”

Gordon’s car has just enough room for him and his essentials. His front bumper is filled with pins of his mileage achievements.

Even his license plate says “MILNMILER.” And his boot overflows with the many car parts he thinks he might need when on the road. “I have a set of everything,” he said. “If I have it, then I am not going to need it.”

Gordon has been taking road trips since he was a child and continued through his adult years. He says he would just tell his family to pack their things and hit the road. Gordon’s two daughters went on his road trips until they outgrew the tiny red car.

“They just couldn’t fit in the back anymore. That is when I bought the station wagon,” he explained. “Volvo, of course.”

Now divorced, Gordon takes road trips alone. With trips to Montreal, Texas and Michigan in just the last month, the last leg of his trip should not be too hard.

It took him 21 years to reach 1m miles and 15 more years to reach 2m. Gordon averages 85,000 to 100,000 miles per year. Most of his trips are for auto shows, but he also takes trips across the country just for a good cup of coffee.

“I have had coffee in every state,” Gordon said. “I am my own travel channel.”

The avid driver believes in taking care of his car, and he doesn’t let anyone else drive it. “That’s why I bought my girls their own cars,” he said.

Jordan Weine is a mechanic at Bay Diagnostic, an auto shop based in Brooklyn and a Volvo expert. He says because Gordon takes care of his car, he is able to get high mileage without much change to the car’s original mechanics. The car still has the original engine, though it was rebuilt twice.

It is clear that Gordon loves his car and he can’t imagine getting rid of it.

“Why would I want to get rid of it?” he asked. “Kind of like a good woman.”