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Author Topic: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later  (Read 3249 times)

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Offline Chris

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Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« on: July 18, 2009, 02:58:07 PM »

The last time Rachel Veitch bought a car, gas cost 39 cents per gallon, Lyndon B. Johnson was in the White House and "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" was a hit song on the radio.

Nearly 600,000 miles later, the 90-year-old Florida woman still drives her 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente every day.

Veitch said the classic car — which boasts automatic transmission, frosty air conditioning and a "lousy" 15 miles per gallon — has been featured in several car shows across the country and took her all the way to Pennsylvania in 2007 for her 70th high school reunion. Classmates and neighbors alike are sick of the same old story, she said.

Veitch's dream car saw its lone renovation about 12 years ago, after she got a speeding ticket for going 92 mph in a 55 mph zone.

"After that, I put in cruise control," she said. "You can't hold her down, she's a feisty old girl."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533803,00.html
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Offline Gratiot

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Re: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2009, 11:32:14 AM »
Quote from: Article
Classic car experts say the 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente would likely sell for about $3,000 in mint condition, or up to $12,000 if it was restored to new. But Veitch says she'll never sell, and she packs a .38-caliber handgun in case anyone tries to take her chariot for a ride without her.

"Somebody's going to go down with me if I get in that situation," Veitch said. "I'm not going down alone."

Veitch, who will turn 91 next month, said she last renewed her driver's license in 2003 and scoffed when officials told her she did not have to take another driving test.

"I said, 'This is ridiculous, you should be testing me," she said. "It's a lot of baloney."

With any luck, Veitch said, "Chariot" will end up in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., a testament to a woman who cared for a single car for 45 years.

Asked if she considered trading in her car under President Obama's "Cash for Clunkers" program, which gives $4,500 to motorists who trade in older cars with poor gas mileage, Veitch replied: "He ain't gonna get mine. I'll die fighting for her."

 :cheersmate: :lmao:
I love it!
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Offline Toastedturningtidelegs

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Re: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2009, 07:27:28 AM »
Quote from: Chris on July 18, 2009, 02:58:07 PM

The last time Rachel Veitch bought a car, gas cost 39 cents per gallon, Lyndon B. Johnson was in the White House and "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" was a hit song on the radio.

Nearly 600,000 miles later, the 90-year-old Florida woman still drives her 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente every day.

Veitch said the classic car — which boasts automatic transmission, frosty air conditioning and a "lousy" 15 miles per gallon — has been featured in several car shows across the country and took her all the way to Pennsylvania in 2007 for her 70th high school reunion. Classmates and neighbors alike are sick of the same old story, she said.

Veitch's dream car saw its lone renovation about 12 years ago, after she got a speeding ticket for going 92 mph in a 55 mph zone.

"After that, I put in cruise control," she said. "You can't hold her down, she's a feisty old girl."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533803,00.html
Wow! it's one of those "crappy" american cars I keep hearing about! :whatever: :-)
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Offline jtyangel

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Re: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2009, 07:32:41 AM »
Toasted, they weren't always crappy..this is from 1964 after all :-)


Quote
Veitch's dream car saw its lone renovation about 12 years ago, after she got a speeding ticket for going 92 mph in a 55 mph zo

What a firecracker. THIS is who I want to be when I'm old. Seriously, this is what I'm hoping for by taking care of myself: a concealed weapon, driving around at 90 still, and attitude with a smile! Love it! :-)
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Offline Toastedturningtidelegs

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Re: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2009, 07:46:09 AM »
Quote from: jtyangel on July 21, 2009, 07:32:41 AM
Toasted, they weren't always crappy..this is from 1964 after all :-)


What a firecracker. THIS is who I want to be when I'm old. Seriously, this is what I'm hoping for by taking care of myself: a concealed weapon, driving around at 90 still, and attitude with a smile! Love it! :-)
Well they aren't crappy now either. For a time in the late 70s and 80s they had their problems but I don't think that is the case now!
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Offline jtyangel

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Re: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« Reply #5 on: July 21, 2009, 07:49:44 AM »
Quote from: Toastedturningtidelegs on July 21, 2009, 07:46:09 AM
Well they aren't crappy now either. For a time in the late 70s and 80s they had their problems but I don't think that is the case now!

Settle down...I'm yanking your chain :-)
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Offline Toastedturningtidelegs

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Re: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« Reply #6 on: July 21, 2009, 07:57:38 AM »
Quote from: jtyangel on July 21, 2009, 07:49:44 AM
Settle down...I'm yanking your chain :-)
Which is what I was doing to the Foreign car fans here!  :-)
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Offline Eupher

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Re: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« Reply #7 on: July 21, 2009, 09:24:50 AM »
Quote from: Toastedturningtidelegs on July 21, 2009, 07:46:09 AM
Well they aren't crappy now either. For a time in the late 70s and 80s they had their problems but I don't think that is the case now!

All the problems that plagued American car manufacturers in the past pale in comparison to the one that they're confronting now:

Gummint Motors, courtesy of Lord Zero

(Yeah, I know, Mercury's a Ford product and Ford didn't sell their soul to Obama -- yet. But let me tell you sometime about the polished turd I bought in 1993, built by union workers out of Chicago, known as a Ford Taurus. It'll curl your hair.)
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Offline Chris_

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Re: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« Reply #8 on: July 21, 2009, 11:23:18 AM »
Quote from: Toastedturningtidelegs on July 21, 2009, 07:27:28 AM
Wow! it's one of those "crappy" american cars I keep hearing about! :whatever: :-)
Of course not.  Those crappy cars are made by GM.   :fuelfire:   :-)
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Offline Toastedturningtidelegs

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Re: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« Reply #9 on: July 21, 2009, 12:09:13 PM »
Quote from: lug-nut on July 21, 2009, 11:23:18 AM
Of course not.  Those crappy cars are made by GM.   :fuelfire:   :-)
Sorry I got my crappy cars mixed up! :-)
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Offline Gratiot

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Re: Florida Woman, 90, Behind the Same Wheel 559,000 Miles Later
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2009, 08:28:04 PM »
Quote from: Eupher on July 21, 2009, 09:24:50 AM
All the problems that plagued American car manufacturers in the past pale in comparison to the one that they're confronting now:

Gummint Motors, courtesy of Lord Zero

(Yeah, I know, Mercury's a Ford product and Ford didn't sell their soul to Obama -- yet. But let me tell you sometime about the polished turd I bought in 1993, built by union workers out of Chicago, known as a Ford Taurus. It'll curl your hair.)

On a side note.  Those union workers can't help that they 'were' forced to use substandard materials and penalized, at that time, for pointing out quality defects along the assembly line.
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