[cbatrody]

Man drives Toyota 1 million miles in 9 years, gets a free Toyota



Toyota Tundra owner Victor Sheppard has, for the past 9 years, driven 125,000 miles a year in his pick-up and the Japanese firm has now rewarded the 1-million-mile driver with a special prize.

A brand new Toyota Tundra.

Sheppard bought his Tundra new in 2007: it was one of the first assembled at Toyota’s Texas plant and the Houma, La. resident has used it intensively since then for commuting between Virginia and North Dakota.

Greatest hits of Top Gear: in pictures

The Tundra, a U.S. relation to Top Gear’s ‘indestructible’ Toyota Hilux, still has its original engine, gearbox and paint. “Most people can’t believe how much on his truck is original,” said Ron Weimer from Sheppard’s servicing dealer Greg Leblanc.


As a reward for 117 visits over nine years, the car dealer has been making Sheppard’s Tundra famous; it even posted an image on its Facebook Page of the odometer hitting 999,999 miles.



Now, Toyota’s engineers want the Tundra back, so they can spend months stripping it down and see how all the components have held up to such intensive real-world use. This, they say, will help make future models even more reliable.

“Having a million-mile truck in as pristine condition as this one with original parts is a truly rare find,” said Mike Sweers from Toyota’s technical department. “Our team plans to tear down the entire truck, bumper-to-bumper, top-to-bottom to evaluate how the quality and safety we designed, engineered and built into the Tundra has held up to over one-million miles of real-world driving.”

And Sheppard’s reward for handing over his well-used Tundra? a brand new 2016 model – which, impressively, is his 16th Toyota Tundra…


Source:
http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-...ts-free-toyota

[VIPER_SRT]

125K/yr means more than 10k miles per month. Man... that's some serious miles and a lot of sitting, takes a toll on one's health. As they say "Sitting is the new smoking". I wonder whats the cost of the maintenance and repairs over those 9 years.

[Otomobil]

Originally Posted by VIPER_SRT

125K/yr means more than 10k miles per month. Man... that's some serious miles and a lot of sitting, takes a toll on one's health. As they say "Sitting is the new smoking". I wonder whats the cost of the maintenance and repairs over those 9 years.

I am currently averaging around 3500 Miles a month since past four years. This commute is only to work and back. I feel so guilty with my share of the carbon footprint. And i have been alternatively using my Trusted 07 Camry and 12 honda Accord for my commutes. The current odometer reading on the camry stands at 225000 Miles.

[amitoj]

Something doesn't add up.
The article says that the new one will be his 16th Tundra. He has owned the current one since 2007. The Tundra name first appeared in 2000. So, from 2000 to 2007 he went through 14 Tundras? Assuming he was logging the same miles back then too, that means each of those Tundras lasted him roughly 50-60K miles??

[cbatrody]

Here's What the Toyota Truck Looks Like After 1,000,000 Miles





Vic Sheppard (left), owner of the Million Mile Tundra, exchanges keys for his new Tundra with Toyota chief truck engineer Mike Sweers.





Source:
http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/heres-...-mi-1776141464

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20...CLES/160519921

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Something doesn't add up.
The article says that the new one will be his 16th Tundra. He has owned the current one since 2007. The Tundra name first appeared in 2000. So, from 2000 to 2007 he went through 14 Tundras? Assuming he was logging the same miles back then too, that means each of those Tundras lasted him roughly 50-60K miles??

Or he probably owns a fleet. Seeing his high usage pattern, I doubt he is just a private user!

[Turbanator]

Our own HVK should qualify for such generosity in case Mahindra is reading this. Last time I met him, his Scorpio had done over 3 Lac Km ( if I remember correctly ) more so due to the different terrains his car has being to.

[Viju]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Or he probably owns a fleet. Seeing his high usage pattern, I doubt he is just a private user!

Exactly. 1,25,000 miles every year comes down to an average of 342 miles / day (550 km / day). To do that on his own, he must not have been doing much else in life for the past 9 years! This must definitely have been a fleet vehicle with heavy usage.

At the same time, it speaks even more about the reliability and durability of the vehicle, especially if it was not baby-footed by a single, caring owner.

I hope to see my Honda Odyssey touch the 2,00,000 km mark trouble-free!

[bigron]

Reminds me of my Original Hyundai Sonata Gold. Covered 3,23,000 KMS if i remember correctly. Picked it up in 2003 and sold it in 2009. Not a lot was done to the car and still had original paint. We did go through a suspension overhaul and engine head work. It was a good car and cemented my love for Hyundai.

[studentonwheels]

Originally Posted by VIPER_SRT

I wonder whats the cost of the maintenance and repairs over those 9 years.

Its a Toyota. I doubt it would have been much

[blackwasp]

Wow! That's a feat in just 9 years. Shows us the reliability of Toyotas!

There was a similar case of a Skoda Fabia owner. - http://www.carscoops.com/2013/07/ger...iesel.html?m=1

As a true German, Kirchhoff meticulously planned the moment his Skoda’s odometer would show 999,999 kilometers so that it coincided with a trip to the Skoda Museum in Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Wow! That's a feat in just 9 years. Shows us the reliability of Toyotas!

There was a similar case of a Skoda Fabia owner. - http://www.carscoops.com/2013/07/ger...iesel.html?m=1

The difference is one is a family car and the other is a pick up truck used for work and let me tell you, they lead a pretty rough life these pick ups.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

The difference is one is a family car and the other is a pick up truck used for work and let me tell you, they lead a pretty rough life these pick ups.

True. I remember the top gear episode where get try to kill a Toyota Hilux. And they failed!

[ScorpMan]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Our own HVK should qualify for such generosity in case Mahindra is reading this. Last time I met him, his Scorpio had done over 3 Lac Km ( if I remember correctly ) more so due to the different terrains his car has being to.

Its close to 4.5L Kms as of now (IIRC).

[cbatrody]

I guess the highest mileage ever recorded was 3 millions (still running) by Irv Gordon, a New York native in his 1966 Volvo P1800 coupe on 18 September 2013.

It took him more than 20 years to hit his first million miles in 1987 and another 15 years to achieve two million miles in 2002, but a road trip to Alaska further cemented his place in the record books as the car surpassed three million miles.

This car and its owner were awarded a Guinness World Record for “highest vehicle mileage” in May 2014, and last time when checked, Irv was back behind the wheel of his vibrantly painted Volvo as he guns for 4 million miles on the car.


Source:
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/18/i...million-miles/

http://www.indystar.com/story/money/...volvo/2908911/

http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobile...tml/?a=viewall

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/...ehicle-mileage