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Junkyard Gem: 1991 Ford Festiva with 317K miles

Most cars that make it to astoundingly high mileage figures tend to fall into one of two categories: engineering masterpieces that ended up being hard to kill (and got a lifetime of at least the most important maintenance items) or machines that inspired unquestioning love from owners willing to keep opening their wallets for decades to keep them on the road. Today's Junkyard Gem falls into neither of those groups; it's a penny-pinching Ford Festiva, one of the cheapest cars available in its time … and yet it cracked the magical 300,000-mile mark before getting discarded. So, a total of 317,207.3 miles over its nearly 30 years on the road. We just saw a discarded 1989 Honda Civic with a mere 308,895 miles on the clock, and this Festiva comes close to topping this 1993 Honda Civic DX. The highest-mileage junkyard car I've ever found (keep in mind that most cars before the middle 1980s had 5-digit odometers, and most cars this century have unreadable-in-the-boneyard electronic odometers) is this 1987 Mercedes-Benz 190E with an amazing 601,173 miles. This Mercedes-Benz 300D came close, with 535,971 miles. Detroit went to six-digit odometers late in the game, but this 1986 Olds Calais reached 363,033 miles, and this Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor reached the 412,013-mile figure thanks to a second career as a taxi. A Festiva surpassing the 300k mark, though, is not something I ever expected to see. These cars were sold as cheap, no-frills transportation, period. The MSRP on a base-level Festiva started at $6,620 in 1991, or about $12,610 in 2020 bucks. Not many cars could squeeze under that price at that time; the Subaru Justy could be purchased for $5,995, the Hyundai Excel 3-door hatch cost $6,275, and the Yugo GV (yes, it could still be obtained new as late as 1991) had a hilarious $4,435 price tag. Even the lowly Geo Metro, Pontiac LeMans, and Toyota Tercel EZ cost more than this Festiva. Still, this car came with snazzy pinstripes, now faded to near-invisibility by the Colorado sun. You can see the cover plate in the spot where the air-conditioning button would have gone, had the original buyer of this car been willing to squander precious dollars on such frivolity. Five-speed manual transmission, naturally. You could get an automatic in the Festiva, but anyone willing to spend that kind of money on extras would have been able to afford a much nicer Tercel EZ.

Autoblog Minute: Krafcik CEO of Google autonomous vehicle division

We look at how Google's hiring of automotive executing John Krafcik could affect the future of autonomous vehicles. Autoblog's Mylencia Gillenwaters reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] We look at how Google's hiring of automotive executing John Krafcik could affect the future of autonomous vehicles. I'm Mylencia Gillenwaters and this is your Autoblog Minute. Krafcik, a veteran of the auto industry, arrives at Google after serving as CEO of Hyundai and TrueCar. For more on what the Krafcik hire could mean to the industry, we go to Autoblog's Pete Bigelow: [00:00:30] [Pete Bigelow Interview] Google has [00:01:00] an outspoken champion for autonomous driving, in Krafcik who isn't shy about taking to social media to share his thoughts. Krafcik and Google seem poised to move self-driving cars into the next phase of development and it will be interesting to follow along as the tech giant [00:01:30] attempts to change the way we get around. For Autoblog, I'm Mylencia Gillenwaters. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Ford Hyundai Autonomous Vehicles Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video john krafcik google autonomous vehicles

VW Emissions Scandal, New Ford Super-Duty | Autoblog Minute

We got our first looks at look at the 2017 Ford F-250 but it?s Volkswagen that has been dominating the news cycle this week, as the emissions scandal over VW clean diesel engines continues. Autoblog Senior editor Greg Migliore reports on the Weekly Recap edition of Autoblog Minute. Ford Volkswagen Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video ford f-250 super duty