On September 18, million-miler Irv Gordon and his 1966 Volvo 1800S finally reached their phenomenal goal of hitting the 3 million miles mark, the same distance as 120 laps around the world. They did it near the village of Hope, on the Seward Highway, south of Anchorage in the state of Alaska; the one remaining state where Irv and his famous car had not been together until now.
”It was all rather undramatic,” said Irv. ”We just cruised along and I kept an eye on the odometer in order not to miss the great moment”. At 4.00PM on September 18, the meter ticked over, indicating that Irv and his Volvo had finally achieved those dreamed-of three million miles that they set out to reach many years ago.
“But it has really not been about just getting to the three million miles; it’s more about the trips that got me to the three million miles and what I have experienced getting there,” Irv continues. “I never had a goal to get to one million, to two million. I just enjoyed driving and experiencing life through my Volvo.”
A true love affair
Irv Gordon bought his Volvo 1800 S on a Friday back in 1966 and immediately fell in love. He simply couldn’t stop driving the car – it was a holiday weekend – and brought the car back to the dealership the following Monday for its 1,500-mile service. With a 125-mile round-trip daily commute, a fanatical dedication to vehicle maintenance and a passion for driving, Gordon logged 500,000 miles in 10 years. In 1987, he celebrated his one-millionth mile driving a loop around the Tavern on the Green in Central Park and in 2002, he drove the car’s two-millionth mile down Times Square to international media attention. Since then, Gordon has broken his record every time he drives his celebrated car.
A solid world record
For the 3 million mile record, the car was transported on board a covered truck to Alaska and Irv followed by plane. A few days of driving around got the meter closer to the magic mark and the highway leading to the beautiful Seward peninsula was chosen for the occasion. 3,000,000 miles is by far the longest mileage one man and one and the same car have reached together and this world record is included in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Volvo Cars and Volvo Cars Heritage proudly express their congratulations to an outstanding achievement, done by an outstanding gentleman and his outstanding car! This is by far the best proof of Volvo quality, longevity and reliability one could possibly ask for. And Irv Gordon is the man who has done it.
