Peter Gilbert is a traveling salesman from Glendale, Wisconsin. Until recently he drove a Saab 900 SPG, which he had purchased new in late 1989.

Now the Saab is in the Wisconsin Automotive Museum in Hartford, where Gilbert drove it -- for the last time -- on December 3. The car is gray, and not especially interesting to look at. But Gilbert drove it over a million miles, equal to more than 40 trips around the planet.

Gilbert credited his car's durability to regular maintenance and luck. He went through 22 sets of tires in 17 years, as well as eight collisions with deer, including one that punctured the radiator.

The Wisconsin Automotive Museum features cars that are mostly of importance to Wisconsin, such as locally-built Kissels and Nashes. It also has a Hudson Essex Terraplane -- which is a car, not a plane -- and a large layout of Lionel trains.

Saab had originally considered putting Gilbert's car in its museum in Sweden, but declined. Gilbert had hoped to get a new car from Saab, but didn't. [12/10/2006]

February 10, 2012