1957 Chevy (from superchevy.com
1957 Chevy (from superchevy.com)

I left a meeting recently and found a 1957 Chevrolet ahead of me at a stop light. I have had a love affair with that particular model since the mid-60’s when I was old enough to drive. I see the 1957 Chevy and other older models every so often nowadays.

Why do some cars last ten years and end up in the scrap yard? I have a 2005 Chevrolet Impala with 338,000+ miles on it. I bought it with 42,000 miles. Yes, I’ve had some large maintenance bills over the years, but it never got to the point where I had to decide not to make the repair.

Taking care of a car is very much like taking care of our bodies. When regularly maintained, they run a long time. I change the oil in my cars religiously every 3,000 miles. However, the transmission fluid is something that many people never check or change.

Years ago, I had a 1996 Chevrolet Lumina. Around 125,000 miles my transmission failed. It cost more money that I wanted to pay at the time, but I did. I put another 200,000 miles on it before I scrapped it. I learned my lesson well. My latest car went 225,000 miles on the first transmission. Can I get 200,000 more miles? I expect so.

Cars, as our bodies, require attention. We can jump in our cars and drive them almost anywhere without thinking about them. We treat out bodies the same way. We continuously do things without taking the proper maintenance. What is required maintenance for the human body, you might ask?

Consistent attention to balanced nutrition is one. A serious and continuous lapse in key vital nutrients leads to disease. Exercise is another one. We need exercise to maintain our youth. Don’t believe me, read my longevity book (Longevity Secrets for Healthy Aging). Stress relief is mandatory daily. How many times a day do you perform some type of stress relief? Stress is the genesis of 80+% of all doctors’ visits.

Our bodies require more daily attention than our cars to live a long life. A 1957 Chevrolet is only 60 years old. Yet, percentage wise, there are far fewer of them in working order today than a comparative number of sixty-year-old people. Yes, they made fewer cars than people – I will concur with that thought. The issue is that many more 1957 cars could be on the road today if taken care of properly over their lifetime.

Unlike our human bodies, we can spend money to fix an old car and make it functional again. We can spend more money to make it look like new. However, money does not guarantee functionality or looks for us to regain our youth.

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