Why My Truck Will Outlast Me 0
From yesterday’s local rag:
Tell it to Mike Duran, manager of the Fairfax, Va., franchise for Ziebart, once the nation’s busiest rust-proofer. “If you bought a car in the ’70s, you’d have holes in your fenders three years later unless you went straight from the showroom to someone like us,” said Duran, 49.
(snip)
The improvements are helping cars’ longevity. In 1977, half of all U.S. passenger cars lasted until they were 10.5 years old, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates. Their travel lifetime was 107,000 miles. By 2001 – the latest year tallied – median longevity was 13 years for passenger cars, and their travel lifetime was up to 152,000 miles.
A companion story featured the rust-bucket Hall of Fame. Oddly, it didn’t mention my Chevette with the custom floorboard–custom made of 3/4 plywood by moi.
Yugos, any year and everywhere.
Fiats, no longer sold in the United States.
All pre-1980 sports cars.
VWs through the ’80s, especially Beetles and Rabbits.
Japanese imports through much of the ’80s, especially early Datsuns, Honda Accords, Datsun 280Zs, and Toyota Celicas, Corollas and pickups.
Chevy Vegas and Caprices.
Early Ford Aerostars and Dodge Caravans.
Light trucks, foreign and domestic, especially their tailgates, well into the ’90s.
Land Rovers of the ’80s and ’90s, especially those with external door hinges and/or spot-welded fenders.
