Originally Posted by BillGrissom

The cable series The Walking Dead is now ~2 yrs after civilization fails. They still find cars that start up, usually 1995-2010 U.S. gasoline sedans. I doubt the batteries would still have a charge and not sure the gas would be good. Diesel fuel should be good for a decade, as long as no condensation gets in to grow black slime. Supposedly a W123 300D automatic can be started by rolling down hill, though I don't think that works on my 1985 CA model (1986+ tranny, I understand). Most reliable would be a diesel w/ manual tranny, if you always stop on a hill. Even better, a diesel 2-wheeler you can kick-start.

Another Hollywood comment is the 1970's Datsun 4 cyl in the movie Into the Wild. The rich dad (w/ Caddy) denigrates his kid's car, and the kid himself gives up on it (~1990) and leaves it in a dry wash. If you read the book, the park rangers found the car w/ no tag, applied for title and used it as a department car for decades, saying it was the most reliable vehicle they ever had. All the kid needed to do was dry out the distributor cap after the flash flood, and not stupidly run down the battery trying to start it.

Notice the reviewers avoided trucks. 1950-60's U.S. trucks seem to live forever. Probably because they are simple, the owners don't give up, and they always have utility value. Today, the prices are getting outrageous. Everyone wants to affect the look of a stubborn rancher.