CSR 93 - Securing the company (car)
As always, it would be appreciated if you aren’t sure about the rules around the CSR, that you follow the link to the general rules for this competition by clicking here
The story
Madrid, Spain
January 2019
The time has come around once more for the large Spanish alarm and security company Brosegur to look into replacing their current fleet of company cars that are offered to their higher ranking employees/salespeople within the company.
Brosegur has had a very strong deal with Volkswagen for a number of years, offering their branch sales directors and branch managers Volkswagen Passat TDIs for the past few years as a company car that not only they could use for business use but that they could also take home with them and use themselves. Unfortunately, the relationship has gone sour since the emissions scandal and with rapidly changing regulations across the nation, it is time to swap over from the devil’s fuel and into petrol-powered alternatives.
The time has now come around to gather all the execs within the company to determine what would be best for their employees to have. The times have changed, some believe that similar cars to the Passat just won’t cut it anymore as the rise of brand image amongst other things have taken over, and many have left the company to work for others due to better working conditions and a nicer company car. Not only will they have a say, but once they have narrowed down the options, they will ask their employees which cars they prefer.
Restrictions
- Model year 2019 or older
- Trim year must be 2019
- Minimum 50 safety
- Minimum 5 full seats
- 95 RON unleaded fuel only
- Catalytic converters obligatory
- Maximum trim emissions of 40
- Maximum loudness of 35
- Maximum engine ET of 48
- Maximum car ET of 48
This round features very few restrictions and the limits are mostly to do with laws. I wanted to open up submissions to all sorts of categories hence the generous engineering time amounts and no minimum drivability, sportiness etc.
What is important is this…
MAXIMUM TOTAL MONTHLY COST OF $500
“Wait… what?”
Correct, $500 pcm. How? Did you really think that a company would buy these cars outright? This CSR is different, we’re not talking a maximum budget to buy the cars, the company is going to be leasing the cars from the company and taking on all the relevant costs of running them as well. This means that you really need to find the best balance of the cost for the car and the costs to maintain and run it.
Click on the following link to calculate the monthly cost of your vehicle: MONTHLY COST CALCULATOR
You will need to make a copy of this for yourselves as it is view only.
“So how does this work?”
- Monthly cost for the car, for the sake of simplicity, is simply the cost of 50% of the car divided into 36 months (assuming the car is worth 50% of its new purchase price after 3 years, basically). This is the price @ 0% markup, as the company will be buying lots of them and there is no need for one.
- Registration tax in Spain applies to vehicles within certain carbon dioxide emissions brackets. Although not 100% accurate, I’ve compared emissions levels to fuel consumption ratings and put these into brackets instead. This tax is then spread over the 36-month lease.
- Road tax is based on “fiscal horsepower”, something implemented in CSR 75. This is based purely on the size of the engine and the number of cylinders. Nothing more, nothing less. That means smaller engines benefit here, although this is a minor cost. The amount is paid every year, meaning the yearly cost is divided by 12. The cost is based on the tax rates in Madrid and they have been converted to dollars at a 1.14 rate.
- Servicing costs are… well servicing costs. The amount has been divided by 12 since this is a yearly cost.
- Calculations for fuel are based on the assumption that the cars will cover 1500km per month for business usage only, as this is what the company will pay for. Any privately made journeys will be paid by the employee. Fuel cost is estimated at 1.20 euro per litre and converted to dollars at a 1.14 rate.
Anyway…. More stuff!
Other requirements/permissions
- Advert for any submission must be posted on the thread
- All mods from Workshop are permitted
Criteria/judgment
Yeah, you know how there weren’t many minimum requirements… Well everything is important
- FIRST AND FOREMOST. Professionalism! These cars are going to be used by the sales team and they must have a professional appearance. You WILL be marked down sending in a poorly thought out design in bright pink paint. The execs choosing the cars are all old farts about five years from retirement that can’t look past these things.
- Drivability. The best and the worst of drivers will be having this, we need to cater to all.
- Comfort. Some will be doing numerous journeys, some very long, in these vehicles so they need to be comfortable for that purpose.
- Sportiness. Late to an appointment? In Spain, you’re never on time! You never see these cars going near the speed limit so they need to be able to shift and get around a corner well. We aren’t talking sports car performance though.
- Prestige. Just… brand image. Nothing else.
- These aren’t just business cars, they’re cars for the employees as well and they all have diverse requirements. Skiing holidays? Families? Trips to the beach? They must be practical.
- Saving money on the budget helps, but this large company already has the money set aside so isn’t a major issue, it’ll just give the bosses an even larger bonus!
Simply put, just make a really good solid all-rounder that looks like it is up for the job. What car is that exactly? That is entirely up to you. Another Passat rival? One of these crossovers everybody loves? A big premium car? An MPV? Everything and anything is possible (to an extent)
As always, the same naming system applies!
Car and engine model name: CSR 93 - “username”
Car trim: Brand, model and variant of car
Engine trim: Engine model/variant
Deadline is Friday 18th January @ 23:59:00 CEST (GMT +1)
Submissions open as of Wednesday 9th January @ 20:00:00 CEST (GMT +1)
Submission opening time is subject to change should there be any major dispute over the rules that haven’t been finalised prior to this time.
Should anything happen during this time, for example, an update that breaks anything, this can be changed to allow people to fix their entries.
Please do not rush your entries, take all the time you need, within the obvious limitations of course.
