Mr. Allen Swift ( Springfield , MA.) received this 1928 Rolls-Royce Picadilly P1 Roadster from his father, brand new - as a graduation gift in 1928.
He drove it up until his death last year.....at the age of 102 !!!
He was the oldest living owner of a car from new. Just thought you'd like to see it.He donated it to a Springfield museum after his death.
It has 170,000 miles on it, still runs like a Swiss watch, dead silent at any speed and
is in perfect cosmetic condition. (82 years)
Just thought you would find this of interest....
The moral of this story is to drive a Rolls-Royce Roadster and you will live to be 100. Kids must have been more responsible back then. I know lots of people who buy their teenagers a car as soon as they are able to drive only to have it wrecked soon after. But if you bought them a RR, would they take better care of it?
ReplyDeleteWe have one out in the yard that is 40 years in the family. We have a 50 Ford, a 53 PU Truck and a 57 Chevy. There are two babies out there a 97 Buick and 2004 Ford The Ford belongs to me but it is in Western kansas somewhere. The good news is that they are all paid for and some of them run.
ReplyDeleteWhat they don't tell you is that Mr. Swift is over 7 feet tall. That's some car, folks.
ReplyDeleteHe's not over seven feet tall. Liar.
ReplyDeleteBut, he took care of his danged car.
Beautiful car, better story.
ReplyDeleteNothin' will squash a possum quite like a pre-war Rolls. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing...and I'm embarrassed by my own consumerism to an extent. Good lesson.
ReplyDeleteIt's not always a matter of consumerism...
ReplyDeleteI drove my first car until it's mechanical problems ended up with it overheating and breaking the block. I drove my second car until we had our kids and needed a larger car. I drove that car until it was wrecked by a family member and totaled.
The next car may have been the victim of consumerism. I sold it and bought a new car with 3x the gas mileage and an automatic transmission (I like standards, but nobody else in my family does). That's the car I'm driving now.
If they built all cars like they built Rolls Royces, I'm sure more people would keep their cars longer.
Gives credence to that adage "they don't build 'em like they used to".
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that one, Andy.
Hey everybody! Thanks for chiming in. I thought that was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteI've posted a video on this Titanic of a blog before about an old lady that had this car...well, let me see if I can find it...
Ahhhhh! Here it is: http://andysredneckramblings.blogspot.com/2009/07/if-you-like-old-cars-or-old-people.html
BTW, Paul, the "Andy" that commented about dude being 7 feet tall is a different Andy.
So, don't be calling him a liar. I'm the liar...he was probably just joshin' around.
Dang, the avatars do not show up on my phone. You should fix that.
ReplyDeleteSorry, other Andy.
Paul, I am sure that the other Andy will forgive you.
ReplyDeleteHe is that kind of a guy.
And...I can not fix that. Heck, I can not even figure out how to put comments in bold print, or italics.
ReplyDeleteOr, especially how to turn text upside down.
I suck.
Andy, trust me, if you had had the pork chops that I cooked last night, you would KNOW SUCK.
ReplyDeleteMan, that is cool! How did you do them italics and bold lettering?
ReplyDeleteI read about your failure of pigchops last night. Well, even the best chefs send a dish to the hounds, or to Mr. Insinkerator every once in a while.
Just sayin'...
There is nothing to forgive, except Andy thinking it's funny to post pictures of tiny people standing next to giant cars.
ReplyDeleteNever trust an Andy, people. Never.
I wish my folks had bought me a brand new car when I graduated, but, alas I got a 73 Vega. Not really one you would want to hang on to and immortalize. Just sayin.
ReplyDelete