LI man’s Volvo nears 3M miles

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Every car owner knows tires and plugs have finite life-spans – biological clocks, of sorts, set by mileage, climate and maintenance habits.

Eventually, if keeping a vehicle alive is important enough, they’ll even have to overhaul the engine.

It’s been important to Irv Gordon, who’s twice refurbished his prized Volvo p1800’s heart.

Once at 680,000 miles, once at 2.7 million.

Now, with his cherry-red preoccupation purring like a showroom kitten and a lifetime’s worth of road trips in the rearview mirror, the 73-year-old owner and his 1966 coupe are approaching a threshold no horseless carriage on record has crossed before: 3 million miles.

Gordon’s sporty two-door already ranks atop Popular Mechanics’ longevity list – the magazine’s “Million Mile Club” counts no other vehicles over the 2-million mark – and it’s been 15 years since the Guinness Book of World Records saluted him for racking up the most miles driven by a single owner of a noncommercial vehicle. But such recognition hasn’t slowed man or machine, and in September the odometer will flip to a number of mythical significance.

“I like driving it,” Gordon said.

That’s a typically plainspoken comment from the East Patchogue retiree, who was just starting his teaching career when he paid Volvoville of Huntington $4,150 for the fresh-off-the-line beauty. It wasn’t his first new car: Gordon had previously owned a pair of troublesome Corvairs, including a ’65 Corsa that broke down four blocks from the showroom.

“I had to get it towed back,” Gordon said.

But that awful luck proved a blessing.

“I have to thank GM,” he noted. “I’d never even considered buying a foreign car.”

Three million miles later, he can’t imagine driving anything else. The p1800’s historic mile will be crossed during a media event in Alaska, one of two states where the coupe’s rubber has not yet met the road. Gordon would prefer to do it in Hawaii, but Volvo made the Alaska call, and the devoted driver has no complaints, noting the carmaker has already awarded him newer models for crossing the 1 million and 2 million milestones.

(He still has the gifted 2002 C70, plugging along nicely at 116,000 miles; he gave the 1987 model to a friend in Holland, where it’s still going strong).

Gordon’s legendary ride has included many brushes with fame – Tim Allen, Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, Matt Lauer, Jim Belushi – and he’s attained a celebrity all his own, appearing on “The Tonight Show” and in national television commercials. He’s also graced print ads and posters adorning showrooms and mechanics’ garages, as well as press releases, pamphlets and other Volvo marketing collateral promoting the 3 million-mile event.

Among the releases in the milestone marketing packet: “Safe Driving Tips from America’s Most Undistracted Driver,” in which Gordon advises motorists to lose the cell phone and expect the other guy to do something stupid. There’s also a rundown of Gordon’s favorite highways – Route 66 and, yes, the Long Island Expressway make the list – and slices of Americana gathered over 47 years behind the wheel. Cleanest restrooms? Mississippi. Best cup of joe? “Any roadside Waffle House.”

There’s no real measure for quantifying Gordon’s marketing value, but Volvo North America spokeswoman Laura Venezia said the carmaker recognizes a singular opportunity.

“Irv is unique,” Venezia said. “We definitely have something on our hands that most car manufacturers would die to have.”

Gordon first wrote to Volvo when the p1800 hit 250,000 miles, and then again at 500,000, to compliment the manufacturer’s solid craftsmanship. He received laconic replies – thanks for writing, buckle up, have a nice day – but in 1976, as he rolled toward 750,000 miles, Volvo revealed that it had been closely tracking the p1800’s history, as compiled by Volvoville, the only shop to service the car.

The carmaker invited Gordon to appear in a print ad featuring several longtime owners, and he soon struck up friendships with various Volvo executives.

“I got invited to kids’ birthdays and executives’ weddings,” he noted. “I sort of became a member of the Volvo family.”

The 1 million-mile plateau was celebrated with a 1987 luncheon at the late, great Tavern on the Green in Central Park, where Gordon had the car up to 999,999 miles and had to circle the parking lot to hit 1 million. The car’s 2 millionth mile was marked in 2002 with a celebrity-studded Times Square press conference.