Fla. Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later

rockin'robin

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The last time Rachel Veitch bought a car, gas cost 39 cents per gallon, Lyndon B. Johnson was in the White House and "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" was a hit song on the radio.

Nearly 600,000 miles later, the 90-year-old Florida woman still drives her 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente every day.

Go, Granny, Go.

Veitch, of Orlando, credits her meticulous care and near-obsessive dedication to her car -- she calls it "Chariot" -- as the reason it's still turning over every morning, year after year after year. The retired nurse maintains an exhaustive collection of maintenance recordsand changes the oil every 3,000 miles.

"When I buy gas, I write down the mileage, the date and how many miles per gallon I got," Veitch told FOXNews.com. "I've never been a destructive person and I've just taken care of everything, except my husbands."

Veitch, a mother of four, bought "Chariot" in February 1964 from a dealer in Sanford, Fla., for $3,289. The car has outlasted her three marriages and has gone through eight mufflers, at least 17 batteries and three sets of shocks. Its odometer recently clicked 559,000 miles.


"My Chariot has never lied to me or cheated on me and I can always depend on her," Veitch said. "My last husband and I divorced in 1975 and he took the 1972 Pontiac we had and I kept Chariot. I'll bet he's traded cars half a dozen times by now and I still have my Chariot, my faithful pal."

Veitch said the classic car — which boasts automatic transmission, frosty air conditioning and a "lousy" 15 miles per gallon — has been featured in several car shows across the country and took her all the way to Pennsylvania in 2007 for her 70th high school reunion. Classmates and neighbors alike are sick of the same old story, she said.

"People don't want to talk to me anymore," Veitch said. "They're tired of hearing about my Chariot."

Veitch's dream car saw its lone renovation about 12 years ago, after she got a speeding ticket for going 92 mph in a 55 mph zone.

"After that, I put in cruise control," she said. "You can't hold her down, she's a feisty old girl."

The car also survived a rear-end collision while Veitch drove along I-95 in Georgia in 1980. She was not injured.

Classic car experts say the 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente would likely sell for about $3,000 in mint condition, or up to $12,000 if it was restored to new. But Veitch says she'll never sell, and she packs a .38-caliber handgun in case anyone tries to take her chariot for a ride without her.

"Somebody's going to go down with me if I get in that situation," Veitch said. "I'm not going down alone."

Veitch, who will turn 91 next month, said she last renewed her driver's license in 2003 and scoffed when officials told her she did not have to take another driving test.

"I said, 'This is ridiculous, you should be testing me," she said. "It's a lot of baloney."

With any luck, Veitch said, "Chariot" will end up in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., a testament to a woman who cared for a single car for 45 years.

Asked if she considered trading in her car under President Obama's "Cash for Clunkers" program, which gives $4,500 to motorists who trade in older cars with poor gas mileage, Veitch replied: "He ain't gonna get mine. I'll die fighting for her."

Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later - Auto - FOXNews.com
 
Can you imagine someone like Rachel today buying a 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid brand-new and holding on to it in 2055? Me? Id get soo bored having the same car for 45 years. I wud rather drive different cars when I get a chance and funds for that. I stopped driving my ZX2 Escort after 8 years and went Isuzu because I was simply bored with the Escort.
 
no, today's cars suck

yep! They do suck!....give me a classic, and I'd be proud as a peacock!.....I've had over 50 cars (all bought myself). My fav's were the '55 Chevy, '60 Ford Falcon, '64 Mustang and '86 Camaro. The best running car I had for a very long time was the '91 Chevy Lumina. Now I'm driving a Lincoln Continental, not all that happy with it, all the bells and whistles....but I'm again....looking for a 5 speed transmission (hehe). Bored & tired of the automatics.
 
Got a kick out of reading the update story....she took better care of that car than she did her 3 husbands!....:giggle:....she's an oldie....but a goldie!....now legally blind and can't drive anymore....wondering if Leno will buy the car?...And another :giggle:...that Obama ain't gonna get it!
 
Wow, 92 out of 55!!!! Impressive!!! It's easy to go fast if the car is small.

559K over 45 years is not too bad. Just think if you drove 12K which is average time 45. 559K isn't too far off.

I bet that if you added the miles you drove in EVERY cars you owned over the years and then come up with a # over 70 years, it may be more than 559K depending on how much driving you do.

I agree with others. I wouldn't want to be stuck with one car for 45 years.

I don't think that an average collector will want to buy a car that already has 559K.
 
Got a kick out of reading the update story....she took better care of that car than she did her 3 husbands!....:giggle:....she's an oldie....but a goldie!....now legally blind and can't drive anymore....wondering if Leno will buy the car?...And another :giggle:...that Obama ain't gonna get it!

Fk'ed Leno. My uncle have his 65 Comet with a 289cid V8 and 2 doors....
 
Fk'ed Leno. My uncle have his 65 Comet with a 289cid V8 and 2 doors....

they made such sweet gassers
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