Since my beginning of driving a 1990-91 Nissan Maxima, I’ve rotated through a total of four vehicles. Some I’ve driven on and off, all I’ve owned for only about two or three years. Except one.

The Orion. The car that went through hell and came back.

Orion was nothing special at first, a 1991 Toyota Camry. 4-cylinder 2.0L block, automatic transmission. I was gifted the car in 2004, but didn’t start officially driving it until 2005. I was issued it after an accident I had gotten into with my parents’ Mazda 929, who didn’t trust me with their “high-end” vehicle anymore.