Denny Duplessis of Ithaca is on his way home from the moon, riding in his 1973 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon.
OK, not quite. However, if such a trip were possible, the old wagon with 490,127 miles on it, would almost be home now.
When the car had around 300,000 miles on it, Denny, his wife Rhonda, and friends were at a campfire and discussing how far the moon was. The conclusion was 500,000 miles there and back.
"I then decided 'My car has been to the moon. I need to bring it back,'“ Duplessis said.
His goal is 500,000 miles. Duplessis estimates it will take some time, especially with most of his business, Denny's TV Antenna Service, being local now.
"I used to average around 1,500 miles a week,“ Duplessis said. "Now that we are known, it's about 400.“
It was pure luck when Duplessis found his current wagon about 15 years ago, after being in the market for a good used vehicle. He was headed to work, missed his turn, and the driveway he chose to turn around in had the car hidden in the driveway.
"I knocked on the door and bought it right there,“ Duplessis said. "It had 168,000 miles on it and was in really nice shape.“
However, with an additional 322,000 or so miles on it and years of Michigan weather, the car has began to rust and the body does not look so good.
"I have only had to do regular maintenance to it,“ Duplessis said. "The internal parts of the engine have never been worked on.“
The only time it has ever stranded the Duplessis family is when Duplessis ran out of gas.
He hasn't had a car payment since 1980 and estimated he's spent about $3,000 on maintenance costs during that time. The Duplessis family of five considers the old station wagon their all-time favorite family car.
"One of the only reasons I will ever quit driving it is because of the rust,“ Duplessis said. "I will always have my eye open for another one.“
