Autoblog

Long before Henry Ford got into the business, and about a year before Daimler and Benz had a go at it, came "La Marquise". Running on coal, wood and paper, the 1884 steam-engined four-wheeler is considered the oldest running car in the world. And it's going up on the auction block at Pebble Beach next month.

La Marquise has a top speed of 38 mph, and completed a 19-mile road-course demonstration in 1887 with an average speed of 26 mph. That kind of velocity was enough for the car to uphold its record as the fastest in the world... when De Dion-Bouton made another car – a three-wheeler – for La Marquise to compete with in the world's first car race.

The automobile was built for the Count De Dion in France by De Dion-Bouton et Trepardoux, the company in which the nobleman was part owner. Remarkably, some 123 years later, the car has only had two owners since. You could be the fourth if you've got the $1.5 to 2 million the car's expected to fetch at auction. (Leno, we know you're reading this....)

Follow the link to view La Marquise on film.

[Source: Gooding & Company via CNN Autos and RideLust.com]

MotorTrend.com discovered Ben Johnson who traded his Pontiac GTO for a Honda Accord back in 1977 and never looked back. The Goat had been eating a hole in Johnson's pocket because of the era's high gas prices, so he picked up one of them new fuel-efficient 1976 Honda Accords, which was the first model year for what has become one of the best selling vehicles of all time.

The amazing part is that Johnson is still driving his Accord after 30 years and almost 300,000 miles. Of the 13 million Accords sold over the years, Johnson believes his to be the oldest one still in operation. His VIN number proves it's older than the one Honda itself has housed in its Tokyo museum. He's also learned that only models built near the end of the first model year were exported to markets other than the U.S., so it's unlikely there exists an older example outside of this country.

Being a car nut, Johnson has modified the Accord a bit with an aftermarket stereo, high-performance shocks and tires and a custom carburetor system. He'd also consider selling the vehicle, but only to a museum or similar organization that would display it as part of an exhibit on how rising energy costs can change the nation's buying habits, just like they did back in 1976.

[Source: MotorTrend.com]

UPDATE - Johnson purchased his Accord in 1977, not 1967.