Guinness World Records can be viewed in different ways, but that’s what it is: it encompasses both extremely dubious and essentially meaningless records, as well as completely genuine, life-like records. Today we will talk about one of the representatives of the second category of the Guinness Book of Records. According to the publication helical gearBill Hatch, a 94-year-old American from California, applied to register his own record in the Book – the longest period of ownership of a car.
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According to information available to SlashGear, Hatch purchased a new Chevrolet Corvette in 1957 and has carried the car with him ever since. At this point, Hatch has owned this Corvette for more than 69 years.
It’s worth noting that this car was the record contender’s weekend car. In these nearly seventy years, the Corvette has “run” 275,000 kilometers, and the car is in almost original condition: it has a “native” factory engine, and the only significant change is the repaint of the bodywork – after all, age affects the paint first.
The previous record for ownership of a car was 67 years and 314 days, held by Harold Lehman of Indiana, who purchased a Chevrolet 210 in 1956 and owns it today.
Whether this record can be updated automatically, or whether its holder must constantly confirm that he continues to own the car in question, is a question that needs further answer.