Picture: Rachel Veitch

Thanks to a deep recession that has many people considering priorities in life, the average length of time Americans spend driving a single car has never been longer. Most people now expect to hold on to their cars for about 71 months, or nearly six years. The age of the average car on the road has also hit a record high; 10.8 years.

We have no doubt that Rachel Veitch’s 1964 Mercury skewed those results in some way. Fox News reports that after almost 50 years of driving the same old Mercury, the 93-year-old Veitch is ready to hang up her car keys forever.

The 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente has racked up 576,000 miles with Veitch behind the wheel, and has suffered just one accident in that whole time; a rear-end collision back in 1980. Veitch has taken impeccable care of her car, which has outlasted her 3 marriages. She keeps detailed records of every fill-up and oil change, and even has a log of her average MPG.

But March 9th was the last day Veitch will ever drive. After blowing a blatant red light, Veitch removed herself from the road, knowing that her poor eyesight made her a danger to others. Veitch seems hopeful that famed car enthusiast Jay Leno will perhaps purchase her Mercury and preserve it for posterity.

It was a day that was bound to happen, and we have nothing but respect for Veitch, who has shown how far a little diligence can go towards preserving a car for the long term.