CarChoice - CarChoice Magazine. (WORK IN PROGRESS)

You could do that, that will definately gain some stars :wink:

#NEW RULES!

Thank you very much for this detailled review. I really appreciate it as I am curious to compare my ideas of the assignment to the solutions of other clever “engineers”.

It looks like the Scarab is the allround matter-of-fact vehicle with no real weakness that pleases the buyer in all situations but sets nowhere a benchmark except for its balance.

The Defiant has the more exciting design, features the tauter and more agile handling and provides some extraordinary construction that sets it apart in its segment, although its refinement lacks a little in details.

I’d really like to see some more comparable cars, hopefully each unique and different from the two already shown.

Nobody else entered that issue. Thanks for feedback :smiley:

It’s just a matter of time before it gets more discovered. If you want you can try PMing some users that have active companies and see if they want to enter.

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Oh, pity. Just two? Will there be a test in your magazine anyway? Might be a nice duel between Scarab and Defiant.

I have a fitting van ready in my lineup. It may needs a late trim with powerful engine. I ll give it a try this evening. :slight_smile:

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Last issue was 5 cars :hushed:

Can’t wait to see the 'van!

@CMT is right - my Scarab is a good jack-of-all-trades first car. However, your Defiant has more vivacity in its road manners, and also looks like it. Now, onto my entry for this third issue.

In 1998, NMC released the Argosy, a minivan with an optional third row and hence seating for up to seven people. Although a variety of engines were available, the largest was a 3.2-liter V6 - the largest one that could fit in the Argosy’s engine bay. Coupled to all-wheel drive (standard with this trim, optional on all others) it endowed the Argosy with a surprising amount of pace and poise, and not just for a minivan. This trim level also had a premium interior and CD player (again, both optional on lesser trims) to make those long journeys that little bit more comfortable.

This is the largest engine I could fit in the Argosy, to the point that turbos won’t fit - but why would you want to use those when the Argosy is already fast enough (and sounds better to boot) without them? It does require premium fuel, though, but this is no drawback since this has been the minimum standard for some time in Europe, where the bulk of Argosy sales came from.

The crisp styling of the Argosy has aged very well - although it was launched almost two decades ago, it still holds up very well against newer opposition styling-wise. But wait! There’s more!

Unusually for a minivan, it has a double-wishbone front suspension, mulitlink rear end, and a six-speed manual gearbox - another sign that the Argosy came from a time when engineers had free reign and were unfettered by environmental and economic pressures. Those components all contribute to superior dynamics compared to other vans, though.

Surprisingly, the Argosy 3.2 V6 AWD can reach over 160 mph due to its good aerodynamics and ample power. Even more amazing is its 0-60 time of 6.2 seconds, considering that it weighs almost four thousand pounds - and that’s without any passengers onboard! Those figures are still faster than most other vans (or MPVs, as Europeans and Australians call them), though, and that high curb weight contributes to its extraordinary stability. Combined with minimal understeer (a by-product of fitting 245-mm wide tires front and rear), you end up with a minivan that you must think twice about challenging in a drag race away from a stoplight, or at a track day!

While expensive for a minivan (estimated price: $23400), it was cheap for a car with nearly 300 bhp, but the option of seven seats made it effectively unique - no other passenger car in its class at the time combined such dynamic ability with a very high degree of practicality. The Argosy would be updated over time, and only went out of production in 2015 when advancing age made it obsolete. Today, the original 3.2 V6 AWD is so commonplace that used examples are still quite cheap, but this may not be the case for much longer given the fact that we will hardly see its like again. Get a decent example while you still can!

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Oh damn, I just did a special 2011 10th-Anniversary facelifted special model of my 2001 Familia before I read that my opponent actually sends a 1998 model into competition.
So I decided to take the “normal” already existing premium variant of the Familia to challenge the NMC Argosy - everything else just won’t be fair. Familias predecessor is a 1987 model, so this won’t be comparable either.

So it is a pure concience that both cars actually allow for a nice competition as it was never designed for any issue. The CMT Familia Avantgarde emphasizes comfort and superb long-distance travel with the possibility to hunt the one or other true sports car on the Autobahn without lacking qualities on either rough and disrepaired or new and twisty roads. In contrast to its rather moderate other models, Avantgarde features electric differential, sequential gearbox and a 3200ccm V6 (same engine size is another concidence as well). The basic design of the engine is the well-proven “Advanced V6” that won’t cause any trouble. Despite its immense interior space, Familia’s size is still well garageable.

So the CMT Familia now becomes a serious competitor for the NMC Argosy 3.2 AWD that closes up very fast to Argosy’s taillights. If it can even overtake… well, you’ll propably read in the next issue.
From what I have seen so far, the scores of the NMC are much higher, I don’t know how he managed to get these fascinating results. But at least, in real life the CMT will be far better for the everyday familiy use that a van is normally designed for.





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You’ve made a Mercedes van with Mitsu headlights! [color=red]HELP[/color]

No, the taillights are Lancer-ish. :wink:

But why not trying out something weird? The way I adjusted them made them fit perfectly to the bulky shape of that body.

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While your car is faster and lighter, it lacks aero appendages, is less powerful, consumes more fuel and is purely front-drive. It also exhibits more body roll and isn’t as accelerative. But since it is cheaper, more reliable, and looks decent enough to boot, it makes a convincing case for itself. However, a redline of just 5800 rpm is too low for a performance variant of a family van, and a single-clutch sequential gearbox is too unrefined for a car of this type. Still, it’s a break from the norm, but will it be too little too late for something introduced three years after the Argosy?

I guess it’s like this: NMC builds a superb sports car with the additional quality of being a van, while CMT builds an excellent van that features a good sportiness.

BTW: Horsepower did not increase if I had allowed the engine to rev higher. Even the scores sank together with reliability although everything remained green untill 6300rpm. The game actually says that 5800 is just perfect.

I haven’t seen the results of this face-off in more than a week. I want to see this thread continue for several more issues at least, and with more entries in each one.

Edit: Welcome Back @JACsterandOlibob. It’s good to see that you have not left this magazine thread behind.

Once the summer break ends I’ll be much more active (new one every other day)

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@abg7 New magazine issue coming soon! @CMT !!! See first page for details.

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Damn it. I got Automation and made a killer cabriolet but that was issue one. Anyway. Looking forea to submitting something in the future.

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Look at top of page 1. You can enter this issue coming :wink:

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No, I’ll sit out the FWD stuff because it sucks and I’m not good with tuning suspension for it. Next issue, maybe.

######Best way to expand your company is to fail

Yeah dont worry next issue is supercars so… yeah

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