California Man Drives a Million Mile Mustang

Back when Bob Lucas of Santa Ana, California, bought his 1965 Mustang brand new, it was a huge deal to hit 100,000 miles on your car. Well, he’s managed to do it 10 times over in the ensuing 36 years and now has a million mile Mustang he drives daily.

According to an article in the Orange County Register, (via About.Mustangs.Com), Lucas bought it new off the dealer lot in 1964 and has driven it ever since. The retired educator says the Mustang has “never given him much trouble.”

Well at least from somebody not familiar with cars (which the reporter must not have been) because obviously the engine has had to be replaced twice. That’s an indication of some trouble, even if it’s only in terms of wearing out.

Interestingly, Lucas may not have had to replace the engine quite as much if had been a little more diligent about his maintenance. He admits to doing oil changes only when it’s convenient – on an average of 5000 to 7000 mile intervals.

Curious what the record is for most miles in one vehicle? According to Edmunds.com, it would be Irv Gordon, a 70-year-old retired science teacher from East Patchogue, N.Y. He owns a 1966 Volvo P1800 with more than 2.8 million miles on the odometer as of July 2010. In 1998, when the car had reached 1.68 million miles, it earned the Guinness World Record for the most miles driven by a single owner in a non-commercial vehicle.

In case you’re also wondering, the photo above this article is of a 1964.5 Ford Mustang. It was the most representative photo we could find of Lucas’ Mustang. It comes courtesy of Ford.