Saab announced that if any original Saab owner in the country drove their car 1 million miles, they would receive a new car.  Well, Peter Gilbert of Wisconsin succeeded in winning this challenge with his 1989 Saab 900 SPG.  His vehicle is now in a museum with it original engine and turbocharger.

It used to be that it was a big achievement for a car to still run at 100,000 miles. Most cars at this point had been towed in by road service. And, around this mark, it was necessary to rebuild the engine and transmission.  In the 90’s, vehicles were lasting about 150,000 miles.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says that the average lifespan of a car is around 128,500 miles or about 12 years.  The reason that these numbers are low is because most people don’t maintain their cars.  Motorists neglect doing simple maintenance, which will cut down the life of their vehicles and have them making calls for emergency roadside assistance.

Motorists who purchase vehicles today should easily expect their vehicle to reach 200,000 miles.  Of course, this is assuming that you perform routine maintenance.