N.Y. man nears 3 millionth mile in beloved ’66 Volvo – Bottom Line

While buying a new car is a status symbol for many folks, Irvin Gordon takes pride in keeping his old jalopy going. And going … and going.

The Bay Shore, N.Y., retiree expects to hit 3 million miles in his 1966 Volvo P1800S sometime next year. And he has held a solid lock on the Guinness Book of World Records since 2002 when an entry for High Mileage Vehicle was created for him after passing the 1.6 million mile mark.

“It’s just a car I enjoy driving,” the 72-year-old former teacher told The Associated Press.

Before his retirement Irvin clocked 125 miles a day commuting. But he is an inveterate road-tripper. Before his divorce he would routinely pack up the family and head off to Canada, the Midwest, Texas. Even today, divorced and with his children grown, he continues to pile on the mile traveling alone.

“I have had coffee in every state,” said Gordon. “I am my own travel channel.”

Irvin said it took him 21 years to reach the first million miles, another 15 to get to 2 million. Now, however, he’s driving more than ever, an estimated 85,000 to 100,000 miles annually as a retiree.

Ironically, he loves to go visit auto shows. But he’s looking, not buying. He said he has no interest in retiring the old Volvo – as a 93-year-old Florida woman did earlier this year when her 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente was put to pasture with 576,000 miles on it.

via N.Y. man nears 3 millionth mile in beloved ’66 Volvo – Bottom Line.

Strange Random Car Quote:

“If someone were to ask me for a short cut to sensuality, I would suggest he go shopping for a used 427 Shelby-Cobra. But it is only fair to warn you that of the 300 guys who switched to them in 1966, only two went back to women.” ― Mort Sahl

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Buyer of Stolen Pissarro Work Suffers Hefty Loss – NYTimes.com

Image via Wikipedia

Sharyl Davis thought she was in luck 25 years ago when she bought a charming market scene by the Impressionist Camille Pissarro from a San Antonio art gallery for $8,500. But since 2003, when she took the print to Sotheby’s to sell, her luck has been running the other way. The unknowing buyer of a stolen Pissarro, “Le Marché,” will not be compensated. As it turns out, 30 years ago the French police reported the work stolen from a museum in Aix-les-Bains. After Ms. Davis tried to sell the print, the United States government seized it as contraband.

Last year a French museum guard with an ostensibly remarkable memory said she recognized the man who consigned the work to the Texas gallery as the thief who had passed by her in 1981 on the day the print was stolen. And then last week a federal appeals court rejected Ms. Davis’s claim that, because she was an innocent owner, she should not have to forfeit the print.

via Buyer of Stolen Pissarro Work Suffers Hefty Loss – NYTimes.com.

Strange Random Thief Quote:

“A man who has nothing can whistle in a robber’s face” – Juvenal

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• Art Litigation: Second Circuit Finds No “Innocent Owner” Defense To National Stolen Property Act Seizure (copyrightlitigation.blogspot.com)
• Camille Pissarro and MoJo. (montyenglish.wordpress.com)
• Great Works: Lordship Lane Station, Dulwich (1871), Camille Pissarro (independent.co.uk)
• Ten Pieces of Inspiration #16 (thesimpledollar.com)
• France’s Rouen revisits its impressionist past (guardian.co.uk)
• Standing out from the crowd (theage.com.au)