The Kevmobile (a 1991 Acura Integra) served me well from the summer of 1991 until right before Halloween of 2002. In August of that year, it hit a third of a million miles (333,333.3), and there was much rejoicing (yay...). I was half-expecting it to make it all the way to 400,000 in a couple years...but alas, the stringent new emissions requirements instituted by the state of Texas in 2002 ended up knocking it off the road with a "mere" 338,000 miles under its belt. There simply was too much to fix to justify the cost; I could have sunk thousands of dollars into it and still not passed the re-test. So the "Kevmobile Farewell Tour" began on October 24, and it only took three days until a replacement was found. (The rules required it to be off the road by 15 days after the failed inspection--November 7, in this case--so I had to act fast.) It's ironic that eleven years of faithful service and all those miles couldn't stop it; only the government could...but so it goes. I certainly got my money's worth out of it! (But beware--if you live in Texas and have a car from 1995 or older, they're gunning for you too; if you're about to be inspected, best of luck to you.)
Click here to see the story of the happy day in August '02 when the Kevmobile hit its big milestone.
Even though it's been a few months now, this page (eventually modified a bit) will stick around as a memento of the Kevmobile, with some of the stories of the great times I've had over the past 11 years. (Is this overly-sentimental? Maybe...but you know how we guys love our cars. Besides, think about this: When I got this car new, some of my 2002 sixth-graders were just being BORN.)
And of course I'll have a pic of the new one (Kevmobile 1.2, if you wish) before too long. I may still get that RSX in '04...or who knows--this new one started its time with me having a mere 74,000 miles on it, so I might try breaking some more records. The counting has begun...
FOOTNOTE: I'm not the only one in the CCCC jazz family with a long-lived vehicle. My friend and colleague Kris Berg has an '89 4Runner that equaled the 333,333.3 record on 5/3/03...and even better for him, it passed the new inspection a week later (with flying colors, I might add), so he did manage to break my 338K record a few months later with his long daily commute (and yes, he took pictures too).
