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Car longevity concerns several things: maximum service life in either miles or time (duration), relationship of components to this lifespan, identification of factors that might afford control in extending the lifespan. Barring an accidental end to the lifespan, a car would have a life constrained by the earliest part to fail.[1] Some have argued that rust and other factors related to the body of a car are the prime limits to extended longevity.[2]
[edit] BackgroundAn automobile is a highly engineered collection of complex components, each of which has its own lifespan and longevity characteristics. The MTBF of some components is expected to be small, as the easy replacement of these is considered part of maintenance. Other components, many of which have high replacement costs, are expected to have a longer life; however, a large longevity may very well require replacement of several of these, raising issues of economics. While the motivation for pursuing longevity can be varied, the fact is that the economic trade-off of purchase versus repair will be part of the equation; though, many factors, such as whether the car is classic, outweigh pure economics. Too, the desire to extend the life of an auto that is paid off, by fighting "Planned obsolescence", might be considered as part of the bill of rights for drivers. The life of the auto, as the collection, follows, according to a very common model, a bathtub-like pattern. After an initial phase where failure may be likely (hence the offering of the warranties by the dealer), there may be a long period of unlikely failure, as the probabilities will be low. Many cars have exceeded 100,000 miles and even 300,000 miles; some have approached a million miles. For many of these, the efforts at maintenance have not been excessively costly. Given that the auto has been around for a little over 100 years, what cars become, and remain, classic and the maximal lifespan for any car are open-ended questions. Perhaps, interest in longevity beyond that related to purchasing used vehicles will improve the science of predicting car life, with such things as a life table for cars. [edit] High mileageMany car manufacturers support a "High Mileage" club[3]. Volvo and Honda are among the automakers who sponsor official high mileage clubs for drivers with over 100,000 miles (160,000 km) registered. Sikorsky (columnist, and author of "Drive it Forever") sponsors a "High Mileage" club with over 4,000 members. Several forums allow discussion of techniques and experiences with trying to extend longevity. Many non-commercial vehicles (both auto and truck) have exceeded 1 million miles. For instance, in 2007, Irv Gordon had accumulated 2.6 million miles in his 1966 Volvo P1800.[4] [5] In 2006, a 1995 Dodge Ram was reported to Chrysler as having gone 1 million miles.[6] A very long running car is a 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D in Greece of Gregorios Sachinidis that has reached 2,858,307 miles[7] before retiring to a Mercedes-Benz museum in Germany. Another was the 1963 Volkswagen Beetle belonging to Albert Klein of Pasadena, California that had racked up to 1,442,044 miles on 25 Jan 1993.[8] AARP Magazine featured several long-running cars (over 200K miles) in its July 2009 Issue.[5] [edit]Sikorsky, and others, have developed lists that itemize steps that a car owner can take, or identified operating and maintenance rules,[5] to ensure maximal longevity. Yonger provides the following list, "10 secrets" for long car life.[9]
In a public economics sense, Kasmer argues that retrofitting autos with a newer transmission would extend the lifespan while at the same time increase fuel efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and prevent the sudden influx of discarded vehicles into the waste bin as cars are junked to be replaced by a modern vehicle. [edit] References
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