When people buy a new car they hope it will last for many years and log more than 100,000 miles. With the average age of cars in the U.S. at more than 11 years there is no doubt drivers are keeping their vehicles longer than they used to. For many, driving an old car with high mileage is a badge of honor.
I used to count my family’s 1998 Subaru wagon among the most enduring cars on the road. But now I know better. According to a new study from iSeeCars, a Boston research firm, our old car doesn’t have nearly enough miles on the odometer to make the list of longest-lasting vehicles.
The iSeeCars survey looks only at vehicles that have traveled 200,000 miles or more, and nearly all the winners are trucks and SUVs typically used as work vehicles by construction contractors, livery companies and other businesses whose vehicles are almost constantly on the move.
Indeed, only one car, the Toyota Avalon, made the overall top-10 list. I suspect this has something to do with the Avalon’s favored status among Northeastern snowbirds who regularly drive back and forth to Florida.
Crankshaft Journal 