daily driver

It’s been ages since I’ve done a fleet cockpit photo, so I decided to give the good girl Novastar one for the books, considering she’s my daily driver at the moment. She always had this luxury feel; it never felt functional or barebones like Orion. Even Vesuvius, my Jeep Grand Cherokee limited felt more utilitarian than this.

 

And yes, while I was technically assigned Vesuvius, the vehicle is not suitable for daily 100-mile drives any longer. With no A/C in the heat of August and still stuck in 3rd gear (making it terrible for Interstate driving), I was assigned to use the heavy cruiser for the time being.

 

But you couldn’t complain with this Mazda 929 for comforts. While I did despise the cassette player and the analog clock, the rest I definitely enjoyed; cruise control at 30mph, volume controls on the steering wheel, heated leather seats and fog lights. And how could I forget about the auto-climate control system? That was an extremely ingenious system. I also loved how the instruments seemed to wrap around me, not just straight-on like the Jeep.

 

Well, at least it gave me better gas mileage than Vesuvius.

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I’ve had some people asking me about Orion’s interior, specifically the inside. So I decided to grab this shot before I headed out; considering it’s Monday and all. So what’s going on here?

 

Well first, you get quad power outlets, leather boot for the shifter, pedal plates, steering wheel cover, rubber liner for the handbrake well and while it’s not visible, a temperature/compass/clock on the floor of the console. I also have a neck brace on the seat belt to make it more comfortable when driving long distance.

 

Upper section you get to see my radar detector (which works better as a scanner for everything else BUT police radar), a notepad to jot down something quick and an dolphin amulet I had bought from Pigeon Forge a few years ago.

 

The blue switch does light up, and controls the runner lights on the windshield sprayer nozzles; they’re a bright blue, and illegal to drive with in Tennessee. So I have a manual switch to control them separately from the main lights. The hole to the left of it was for another switch that toggles with a nice green light, and is supposed to be setup for a pair of fog lights in the near future.

 

So yes, my cockpit ladies and gentlemen. Now you know what it’s like to be at Orion’s helm.

 

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