Irv Gordon's Fact Sheet
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IRV GORDON'S FACT SHEET
667 OIL CHANGES, 50 BILLION SWEDISH MEATBALLS AND OTHER
TRIVIAL-BUT-TRUE FACTS ABOUT IRV GORDON'S VOLVO P1800
AND HIS JOURNEY TO TWO MILLION MILES
Long Island's Irv Gordon to achieve record-breaking two million miles in his
shiny red 1966 Volvo P1800 on March 27 in Times Square, New York
NEW YORK (FEB. 6, 2002) -- Most car owners feel lucky if their car reaches 100,000 miles. In his shiny red 1966 Volvo P1800, Irv Gordon has had that pleasure nearly 20 times in his quest to become the first person to drive two million miles in the same vehicle.
The Long Island native and retired science teacher expects to reach the two-million mile mark on March 27 in Times Square, New York, as he attends Volvo Cars of North America's 75th anniversary party at Times Square Studios on 44th and Broadway.
Two million miles is a lot of tanks of gas. In fact, in Gordon's car, it's 6,400 tanks of gas, according to his estimates. Among the additional events that Gordon can best recollect for his Volvo:
- Oil changes: "667. Changing your oil every 3,000 miles is the best insurance policy for your car."
- Spark plugs: "400. The car is a four cylinder, and I changed the plugs every 20,000 miles like I'm supposed to."
- Illegal u-turns Gordon made: "Zero! I'd never make an illegal turn. In this car, are you kidding?"
- Failed starts: "Not once. Not even on the coldest of mornings."
- Parking tickets Gordon received: "Two. I got one in New York City. I parked my car on the delivery zone of an apartment building while I was dropping off a package to my girlfriend. The doorman told me he'd watch the car for me. I came back five minutes later. The doorman was gone, and a ticket was on my window. The other ticket was in my hometown for an expired parking meter. It happens."
- Replaced engines: "None. It's the original engine, though I had it rebuilt at around 675,000 miles."
- Replaced transmissions: "Zero. It's the original transmission."
- Tires: "More than 80 tires have rolled the P1800. Most people keep their car long enough for only eight or so."
- Coffee spills: "None! There is no drinking or eating or smoking in my car. That's the rule. I'll chew gum or have a Lifesaver, but that's about it."
- Number of times a car in front of Gordon accidentally left on its turning signal: "I think I've seen it happen just about every day."
- Number of drive-in movies seen in the P1800: "I'd say I've seen at least 50 -- it would have been a lot more had they not done away with them. My favorite movie that I've seen in a drive-in would have to be "2001: A Space Odyssey," for obvious reasons."
Driving two million miles is no cruise around the neighborhood. In fact, two million miles is the equivalent to four round-trips to the moon, something not even Neil Armstrong can claim. Other equivalents to two million miles include:
- Laps around the Earth's equator: 80
- Trips from New York to San Francisco: 668
- Hours driving in a 15 mph school zone: 133,333
- Free flights with average airline's frequent-flyer-miles program: 83
- Volvo P1800s laid end-to-end: 960 million
- Inches: 126.7 billion
- Kilometers: Not applicable. Americans do not use the metric system
- Trips around Shea Stadium's base paths: 29.3 million
- Compact disc copies of ABBA's Greatest Hits placed side-by-side: 25 billion
- Number of Momma Gunborg Johansson's Swedish meatballs placed end-to-end: 50.6 billion
- Number of trivial-but-true two-page PR fact sheets placed end-to-end: 5.2 billion
Contact:
Sören Johansson,
Volvo Cars of North America,
949-341-6719,
sjohan44@volvocars.com.
Media:
Photographs of Gordon are available for download at
For an invitation to Volvo's 75th anniversary party and Gordon's two million milestone, contact
Eric Davis,
612-338-3900,
eric@modernstorytellers.com.