I've also had really good battery luck with my 126. I believe it's partly due to the cool location between the firewalls, and the physical size of the battery used in these cars, and using batteries that can replinished with water occasionally. I've gotten 7 years each out of 3 Autozone standard Duralast batteries. My other cars with batteries mounted in the engine compartment and sealed caps die in 3-4 years at best in the Texas heat.

DG