Lifestyle

Ride or Die: Our Love for Classic Cars/Trucks Continues On

By Spring Sault | January 18, 2018

Trucks and cars that are not only dependable but look fantastic in their old age (unlike some other things in life, unfortunately), have inspired drivers and owners to maintain them and keep them up for years following their original sale. The choice to give them up can sometimes only be as a result of the owner’s inability to maintain their original working parts, or keep them roadworthy and insured. Like the Timex tagline, they “…take a licking and keep on ticking.” And, here in Texas, we often have the ability to maintain the bodies of our vehicles much longer than those to the north of us, who have the issue of salt on their winter roads causing premature erosion.

Ride or Die: Our Love for Classic Cars/Trucks Continues On

Photo: Facebook/FORGELINE

ISeeCars.com recently reviewed the top models of cars and trucks that owners were able to keep for 15 years or longer. They even included the details on how each particular model compared. They compiled the list into a top-15, noting that while these vehicles were kept for more than 1.5 decades, the average new make and model (nowadays) is kept for 6.5 years (based on 2015 data.) And, considering the value of a new vehicle drops by an average of 11 percent when it’s driven off the dealership lot, valuing a truck or car for more than a decade can make great financial sense. Examining more than 650,000 used cars from the model years 1981-2002, which were sold from January through November 2017 (filtered by whether the sale took place through the original owner), ISeeCars.com found that Toyota dominated the list.

Photo: Facebook/Squarebody Social

Here, however, we like to daydream about the types of makes and models we love to drive in the Lone Star State, for work or play. Some Texas properties require vehicles that are workhorses, while others simply require commuter rides. That being said, here are some of the trucks and cars that we’ll ride in until they die. (See how we worked that new lingo into the description for our old-school rides? We thought you’d like that!)

1. Ford Bronco