FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IRV GORDON AND THE ROAD TO TWO MILLION MILES
Volvo's "Two Million Mile Man's" 36-year, record-breaking journey
NEW YORK (FEB. 6, 2002) -- On June 30, 1966, the Beatles were completing their "Revolver" album. Mike Tyson was born in Brooklyn. Los Angeles Dodger Sandy Koufax was halfway through pitching his final and finest season. And Irv Gordon was in a neighborhood Volvo dealership purchasing a cherry red Volvo P1800, replacing a new car he had recently purchased from another manufacturer that broke down on his drive home from the dealership.
After buying the Volvo, the Long Island native drove the car for the same reasons most people do: to drive back and forth to work (a 125-mile daily round-trip to his job as a science teacher), for fun and for everyday activities. His long commute and his passion for driving caused him to log his first 250,000 miles in less than 10 years. The engine never failed and the car never required extensive repairs. Gordon lived two blocks from the ocean and drove through salt and snow each winter, but the body never rusted. So he kept driving his car.
Gordon hit 500,000 miles in the late '70s. He celebrated his one-millionth mile in 1987, driving a loop around the Tavern on the Green in New York's Central Park. He retired nine years later and took a part-time job for five years as a quality control technician and service writer at a Volvo dealership. With more time on his hands, he made driving his pastime.
Gordon would drive to Cincinnati for coffee, to Denver for lunch, or to Montreal for dinner. He'd drive to Volvo dealerships and car clubs to meet other Volvo lovers. He drove to Mexico. He drove to Holland. He drove to Germany. While in Sweden, he drove to Volvo's headquarters to see where his P1800 was born.
More than 35 years after Gordon took the keys, the car has the same engine, same radio, same axles, same transmission, and of course, the same driver. He is the only person who has ever driven his P1800.
On March 27, Gordon will reach a milestone no other individual has accomplished in the more than 100 years of the automobile: driving two million miles in the same vehicle.
After driving the equivalent of 80 laps around the planet, the Long Islander will log his two-millionth mile in New York City on Broadway, driving up to 44th Street in Times Square, where he'll be the honored guest at Volvo Cars of North America's 75th anniversary party.
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.
