Cars that refuse to die..

[vr4Legacy]

Just came across this article whilst bored at work

10 Cars that Refuse to Die - Kiplinger

I can't say I'm surprised Subaru made it on the list.

[porcupine73]

Now we need to start the list of cars that refuse to live!

[upflying]

Originally Posted by porcupine73

Now we need to start the list of cars that refuse to live!

I can name a few.
Jaguar
Cricket
Yugo
Pinto
Aztek
anything from British Leyland
Neon
Pacer
Le car
X19
Smart
Gremlin
Bricklin
Vega
Corvair
B210
That Northern Ireland star from "Back to the Future"

[tibyABv6]

cars that were driven gently and serviced regularly are the once that last the longest.

[blown96bird]

Most ford vehicles that are v8 and rear wheel drive last almost forever. exception to the v8 rule is the f150 with the 300 i 6 not much hp but more torque than a 351 and lasts for ever. I have 2 1996 ford thunderbirds v8 one has 400k on the original motor it is a little smokey though.

[Euchre]

How in the world was the VW Beetle (all air cooled versions) left off that list?
Sure, some might need to have the battery box replaced with a wooden crate, but it is really insanely hard to completely kill one of those things.

Some vehicles don't die, even though you wish they would. Some examples:
Most pickup trucks.
Chrysler Corporation K-Cars. Tell me you haven't seen one of these things rattle, creak, and wheeze down the road in the last week, month at most.
Chrysler Minivans.

Of course if any of you haven't seen what is quite possibly the most abusive test of a vehicle in history, check this effort by Top Gear on the Toyota compact pickup (known as the HiLux to much of the world):

Killing a Toyota part 1 - Top Gear - BBC - YouTube

Killing a Toyota part 1 - Top Gear - BBC - YouTube

[vr4Legacy]

I believe they left Body on Frame trucks/suvs off the list, conceding that they can run forever.

To the Beetle comment, I think they went with cars from the current era, also the New Beetle/ VW in general reputation has probably tainted it somewhat.

On the Accord, they gave credit to the Civic too, but mentioned that most get abused by the tuner market, making them fail prematurely, but Accords in general aren't.

[Euchre]

I know they left out proper trucks on purpose. I just mentioned the Top Gear thing for the sake of our expanded discussion here.

I wouldn't say they stuck to 'new' cars, as a couple of the models or model lines mentioned are over 15 years old. I don't know why they picked the Jeep Cherokee either, as I've seen plenty of those die fairly readily.

I don't really agree with upflying's list, as I see several in there like the Pacer, Gremlin, B210, and Pinto that are disproportionately durable. Fair number of those are more like cars we wish would die that won't.

[Wagondude]

1+ on the Pinto. I totaled out an LTD with a '73 pinto in about '86 or so. I hung a new front clip on the Pinto and drove it for several more years untill the gear lube leaked out of the rearend and killed abearing in the diff. The car still ran like a top when I hauled it to the salvage yard. Sometimes I wish I had just bought another axle and kept the car going.

[Mootsfox]

Originally Posted by Euchre

How in the world was the VW Beetle (all air cooled versions) left off that list?
Sure, some might need to have the battery box replaced with a wooden crate, but it is really insanely hard to completely kill one of those things.

Last time I was in a Beetle, I was crammed in the back with two others and the seat shorted the battery and set it on fire. That was an exciting way for it to die.