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Associated Press
Last update: December 05, 2006 – 12:19 PM
MILWAUKEE — Traveling salesman Peter Gilbert of Glendale, Wis., drove his 1989 Saab 900 SPG more than 1 million miles over the course of 17 years. The durable auto survived eight collisions with deer, including one that punctured the radiator.
"I couldn't kill that many deer with a gun,'' said Gilbert, a financial services salesman.
He recently donated his car to the Wisconsin Automotive Museum after Saab verified it had driven 1,001,385 miles. The transmission was rebuilt at 200,000 miles and the hood and a few other parts replaced after the deer collisions, but otherwise it has original equipment.
Gilbert bought the Saab for $29,000 on Nov. 30, 1989 and took meticulous care of it. He used premium, synthetic oil in oil changes, changed the tires every 45,000 miles and strictly followed the maintenance schedule.
"People who get tremendous longevity from a vehicle almost always have taken great care of it,'' said Joe Wiesenfelder, senior producer for Cars.com, a website for car lovers.
Gilbert drove the car seven days a week, racking up the miles as his work took him through rural Wisconsin.
"When I hit 600,000 miles, the car still wasn't burning oil,'' Gilbert said. "That's when I thought it could go a million miles.''
Originally from Britain, Gilbert fell in love with the Swedish cars during the 1960s, when they won a number of European road rallies. He once raced his at the Road America track in Elkhart Lake, hitting 135 mph at one point.
"I was taking the lead in a race for a while,'' he said.
But Wisconsin's harsh winters took a toll on the car. Its sporty exterior still looks good, but road salt has rusted its frame. Gilbert realized it might no longer be safe if he hit another deer or had a serious accident.
"There was no point in driving the car any longer,'' he said. "Even though it might have gone another million miles.''
He had it detailed and parked it at the Hartford museum, which houses a number of rare vehicles, including a Nash built in Kenosha in 1916.
Then Gilbert bought another Saab.
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The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. —Bertrand Russell
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