Posted on 06/17/2011 6:40:06 AM PDT by Mikey_1962
10) Olds Cutlass Ciera(GM A-Bodies)1984-1996
9)Geo Prizm 1989-2002 The what? Here’s the story, in short: It’s a Toyota Corolla with a different nameplate, and everyone knows Corollas last forever.
8)Subaru Wagons(All of Them) 1990-Present If all of these failed to start tomorrow, thousands of college professors in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest would have to walk to class.
7)Volvos (Rear-Wheel-Drive Ones)Dawn of Man-1996 To some extent, these are the Subaru wagons’ spiritual and actual predecessors. Volvo's secret? It basically built one car for 25 years under a variety of nameplates.
6)Ford Crown Victoria/Mercury Marquis 1992 - 2011 If these can handle police pursuit and taxi duty, they can handle you.
5)Fiat 500 (in Europe) 1957 - 1975 basically, a lawnmower with a roof. Only a handful made it to the states since they top out around 50 mph.
4) Mercedes 300D/300TD 1975-1985
3)Honda Accord 1976 - Present
2) BMW 3-Series 1982 - 1990
1) Jeep Cherokee 1987 - 2001 We’re going to make an exception to our ‘no-trucks’ rule for the Jeep Cherokee. For one thing, it’s not really a truck — the first small crossover SUV, it did not have the traditional body-on-frame construction. But it did have plenty of the Jeep toughness (and a straight-6 engine) built in, and many of these are still roaming America’s secondary roads — and Europe as well, in a turbodiesel variant. Interestingly, even as Jeep came up with the upmarket Grand Cherokee (somewhat less reliable, natch), it kept cranking out the old model, basically due to consumer demand. Oh, one more truck exception? The original Toyota 4-Runner.
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How about a Dodge or Plymouth with a slant 6 engine?
Accura - Parents have a TL - God what an incredible car. Can’t believe it’s a V6.
FWIW, I owned two of the vehicles on this list a month or so ago. I still have the 1997 Honda Accord (built in Ohio).
Nobody was interested in paying anything close to Kelly Blue Book on my 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis. I had kept it because it made a handy second car when the kids were home on a visit from college. I made it a point to drive it at least a couple times a week and keep it maintained. Mechanically, it was sound, but the paint was fading. There were electrical problems with the windows (not worth fixing since the A/C still worked geat) and other minor issues.
I really didn't need it any more since the kids all had their own cars now. So I took pictures and put it on Craig's List at just a little over Kelly Blue's value. I got a couple of inquiries from people who wanted me to practically give it away so they could use it in a demo derby. Then I got a serious call from a guy who wanted to give it a test drive.
It turned out he was a well-educated black man. He had me test drive it over to a notary about 7 miles away, paid me cash very near my asking price (the guy was so pleasant, I came down a little), then he drove me home, title and keys in his hand and cash in my pocket.
The guy obviously appreciated the value of a well maintained vehicle even if it wasn't going to win any beauty contest.
Anything with GM’s 3800 V-6 engine runs an amazing long time. Yeah, I know the rest of the car falls apart around it.
I have several early (1986 to 1997) Volvos. Most folks think they are the genius children of Viking stock, but the truth is they are some of the earliest examples of outsourcing in the auto industry. The rear wheel cars all used Dana 30 rear axle assemblies (Ford), a combination of Chrysler and Bosch fuel systems, Japanese electronics, German wheels, and the list goes on. What makes them worth keeping is the fact that they are relatively easy to maintain, and the little tractor motors run well over 300,000 miles with no more than an occasional oil change.
Been to the Baja twice. 1968 and 1975. As a spectator.
I have to agree on the Geo Prizm. Bought one in ‘90. Commuted 90 miles round trip from Bradenton to Tampa for 4 years. Moved to Ga ‘95 and commuted in ATL traffic for a number of years, and then sold it around 1999 to an acquaintance. Darn if I didn’t see it on the road still chugging along just a few weeks ago.
My 1998 with 150,000 on it is doing the death rattle from the catalytic converter. I'm thinking new exhaust, but then I want to put a re-build on the motor if I'm going to do that (I don't think it's burning oil, but it is slowly leaking from several areas). I'm not the original owner, I bought it last year. My guess is, they racked up miles driving between NM and CO, and then it sat for a while and the seals/gaskets dried out a bit.
I would really like the Saab version of the hatchback Suby WRX. That would totally be my middle age crisis car.
Hear hear for Slant 6 engines. One of the very best built American engines of all time. They do not die. And very rebuildable because of all the *meat* in the block and heads.
Back when the Bugs ruled! The glory years of off-road racing. ;)
Had one of those, too.
Started, EVERY TIME, all the time.
I loved my 240. Roomy, reliable, nondescript. Until I got rear-ended while stopped at a red light. Totalled. Sometimes I wish I had gotten it repaired.
That matches my commute. I was sad to sell it.
Dodge with slant-six. I had one from ‘73 to ‘78.
That's serious old-school, steam punk durability.
Shovels tamped the last dirt on their graves when the weakness of the sheetmetal gave way to the spirit, and suspensions shuffled off their mortal coil. If you press your ear to the ground, you can still hear the engines running.
My wifes 1996 Jeep Cherokee has 315,000 miles on it. The straight 6 has at least another hundred thousand in it. Unfortunately we live in New England and the winter road mix has rusted the bed of the body away from the rear bumper to the front seats. It looks bascially like a Flintstone mobile inside but the straight 6 is one sweet engine.
The 3.8 liter was a notorious gasket eater/coolant leaker, but once you replaced the craptastic gaskets with real ones, it made a damned fine engine.
I had a 2001 3.8 liter supercharged Buick Regal GS that had to have the intake gaskets replaced, the EGR valve replaced, and the coolant sensor replaced, all before 40,000 miles (and all shortly after the warranty was up - ugh). I should have kept it, as it ran nice, and my commute was only adding about 7,500 miles a year after getting things fixed. I still see it running around today.
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