Man traveling by car across the world makes pit stop in Long Beach
Traveling from South to North America in his Torino, Hector Argiro can now cross Mississippi off his list of places to visit.
News 25’s Lorraine Weiskopf stopped by Chuck Ryan’s Cars in Long Beach. They’ve introduced him to some hospitality in exchange for a fantastic story about Hector’s cross-country voyage.
“I follow my dream.” Hector Argiro has followed his dream for six years, traveling worldwide in his Torino. His voyage began in the southernmost part of Argentina and he traveled to Alaska. However, once he reached the end of the destination in 2019, he decided he wasn’t ready to call it quits just yet. “When this journey ends maybe when I’m tired like Forrest Gump. One day I say I’m tired and I stop the trip, I don’t know.”
The movie buff now has a new goal to travel across the world in his Torino named Balboa. “The name is Balbo like Rocky. It’s good because the character Rocky is saying all the time ‘keep going, keep going.’ He receives a punch, but he keeps going. It’s like the soul of the car.”
If you’re wondering what brought him to Long Beach, Mississippi you can thank the southern hospitality he experienced when he chatted with Drew Parker, grandson of Chuck Ryan, the owner of used car dealer Chuck Ryan Cars in Long Beach. The two crossed paths at a gas station, impressed by his car and story, Parker insisted Argiro makes a stop in Long Beach. “They are my angels on the road here in Mississippi. The food is good and the people are great. I tasted fried green tomatoes, like the movie. Was my first time too.”
The family-owned dealership was thrilled to meet Hector because of his sweet ride and awe-inspiring story. “It’s such an accomplishment and for someone to come tell us why. It’s so cool. We’ve all wanted to get in a car and drive until we can’t drive no more. Car is fantastic. To drive that many miles in a car without AC, that’s a feat in itself.”
The Torino has no AC and a whopping 70,000 miles on it. According to Hector, it will have plenty more before it is retired.
He will travel through Louisiana and then Texas next, crossing off states one by one and in the future, countries.
