My Favorite Ride: Driving a 1991 Toyota pickup 'until it falls apart completely'

Bob Kissell spent a lot of time on the road during his career, putting about 1.4 million miles on five cars he bought new and drove for business from 1986 until his 2019 retirement.

There were three Toyota Camrys, one Toyota Corolla and one Volvo station wagon.

Most of those miles, about 80% he reckons, were driven on Indiana roads. But he's ventured by car many times to Chicago, Wisconsin and southern states as well.

Kissell still has his 2005 Volvo. He also mucks around Bloomington in a 1991 Toyota pickup with a curated selection of bumper stickers on the tailgate and back bumper. They range from an anti-Interstate 69 one, "Fix the Roads We Have," to one that claims "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington."

Which is untrue, since the car is a truck and it's never been even close to New Hampshire or the seven-mile road to that mountain peak. "I sincerely disagree with my friends' contention that the truck would never make it," Kissell said.

"Each of the stickers has some connection or inside joke associated with my travels. I claim half-jokingly that the stickers are the reason that the truck is still running in one piece."

The Volvo has nearly 400,000 miles on the odometer, and the truck, well, its actual mileage is a mystery.

The odometer stopped working a decade ago, and it's stuck forever at 209,408.6 miles. The truck has accumulated many more in 10 years, so I figure it's surpassed 250,000.

Which means it qualifies for My Favorite Ride's recent search for cars and trucks at least 20 years old and with 250,000 miles or more driven. The Volvo is one year shy of the 20-year mark, but I'm counting it since it's been on the road a whopping 377,187 miles at last count.

"While the Volvo may not last to 400,000 miles, I will try to get it that far," Kissell said, and I'm confident he will. He credits Don Seader and crew at World Wide Automotive for keeping these vintage vehicles going.

Being self-employed all those years, it was important that his cars start up every time, wherever he was, "and they have."

Kissell said if a vehicle is well maintained and serviced, it should last as long as a refrigerator. And what, you may ask, is the life expectancy of a refrigerator?

The internet says 10 to 15 years, with a caveat: "The refrigerator’s lifespan varies by the model, so don’t rely on its age alone."

The same is true for automobiles. Volvos have a reputation for longevity on the road. I have friends in North Carolina who drove an old, dark green Volvo sedan for decades.

(Attention Richard Hart and Sally Hicks: If you're reading this, which is unlikely, do you still have that big, old box of a car? And I'm sorry I made fun of it so many years ago.)

Kissell's Volvo wagon has been kept in the garage and doesn't seem to have any rust. He didn't send me a picture of its bad side, because it doesn't have one; never been dented or wrecked. He said transmission pithing the past several months has caused "some occasional hiccups," but the car keeps on driving.

He switched from beloved Toyotas to a Volvo so he could transport his touring bicycle.

Maybe he should stow a bike in the bed of that 33-year-old pickup, which is not as dependable as it once was. He uses it to haul junk, not venturing far from home.

"The truck actually runs quite well," he said, although the air conditioning doesn't work. "I never drive it out of the county so if breaks down, I can walk home. That happened about two years."

It does have a bad side, where it was hit 20 years or so ago.

"I plan to continue to maintain the truck modestly," he said. "Until it falls apart completely."

Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Man's 2005 Volvo, 1991 Toyota pickup still motoring past 250k miles