Let’s not forget that California is a coastal state
I’ve seen my share of cars that spend their whole lives very close to the ocean, and it ain’t a pretty sight. The salty sea breeze eats them alive! These are usually guys that literally live less than a mile from the ocean and don’t/can’t garage their cars.
Those poor cars experience the worst of all situations . . . oppressive summer heat which burns the paint and bakes the interior, plus the sea breeze, which eventually rusts them out
Let’s also not forget that California doesn’t have safety inspections. So some of these cars that may not be rusted out haven’t exactly been taken care of . . .
Mine was a California car, first bought by my dad and it spent 14 years in exactly the conditions you described, a mile from the beach and no garage. In addition it was used for skiing trips to the mountains. Never had a spot of rust on it.
Totaled at 323k miles when my son hit something in the road that split open a tire, while maxed out in a corner with trees right up to the shoulder. That Oak tree didn’t even shudder a bit.
Only washed when it rained, at least as long as my dad owned it. My sister got it next, she might have run it through the car wash on occasion. She lived near the coast (two miles) and skiied also.
@WheresRick–I owned three AMC vehicles–a 1965 Rambler Classic 550 with the 199 cubic inch 6 cylinder engine, a 1968 Javelin with the 232 cubic inch 6 cylinder engine and a 1975 Pacer X with the 258 cubic inch 6 cylinder engine. The engines were just different versions of the same basic block. I liked the AMC products because they were different than the other cars sold at the time. I didn’t purchase any of the cars new. AMC cars tended to depreciate more quickly which made them good buys as used cars.
I owned two Ford Bronco IIs. They were great little 4 x 4 vehicles that were versatile and handy to have. I really miss the '91 expecially. The '85 was good, but a bit underpowered. The '91 had plenty of power, and got decent mileage, yet would go through just about anything in 4 wheel drive. Even the Escape, which started out about the same size as the old Bronco II has gotten much larger.