The Car Shopping Round 87 – Scotty Doesn’t Know
Minneapolis – September 2003
27 year old Scotty is caught in a conundrum. He currently drives a heavily modified Ars Astaroth FX-T that is very much inspired by The Agile and the Angry. As it stands, he’s expecting his first child with his wife Tanya in a few months. With that baby on the way, it’s time for him to part with his baby and get a new car that is more sensible for a dad.
That being said, Scotty still wants something fun to connect him to the road. Something along the lines of those sporty “factory custom” compacts and subcompacts on the market, or “factory rice” depending on who you ask. As can be expected from young newlyweds expecting a kid, the budget for the new car is a little tight and limited to no more than $15,000, but naturally even cheaper is better. With safety of the little one in mind and the Minnesota winters, RWD cars are out of the question, while something that does not rust from the factory is a requirement. A four door is not an absolute necessity but would be preferred, as access to the required back seat would be easier. What is unacceptable is a small 2+2 sport coupe. A baby seat cannot fit in one of those.
In terms of performance, running costs come first with the budget, so that puts V8s out of question, or dare he say even V12s or ludicrous V16s. He’s eyeing high-revving or turbocharged 4-bangers but bumping it up to 6 cylinders wouldn’t be out of the question. Tanya will seldom drive his car, if at all, so he’d like to keep it manual as a focused driver’s car. As a sporty car, it better not be slow, so Scotty is looking for something that can hit 62 mph in 7.5 seconds or less. He also still wants style from the car, be it in the exterior looks and interior amenities. Scotty would also like to eventually tinker with it, so he doesn’t want to have to deal with anything too complicated.
- Ad required
- Trim year must be 2003, model and family/variant can be older
- Wheelbase limit from 2.40m to 2.65m (you can hover over the body in the selection menu to see the actual wheelbase that isn’t rounded up/down)
- Maximum price $15,000 at 0%
- Engineering time: max 37 engine, max 35 trim
- Production units: max 40 engine, max 100 trim
- Minimum 22 mpg (maximum 10.7 L/100 km)
- Minimum 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) of 7.5 seconds
- Back seat required (no +2 or +3)
- CD player required
- Minimum 90s standard safety
- 91 RON only (87 AKI)
- Maximum 6 cylinders
- No RWD
- No racing parts or semi slicks
- No limited production/no mass production parts
- Catalytic converter required and maximum 45 loudness
In terms of stats, I will be looking at drivability and sportiness first and foremost, then also comfort, safety, prestige, practicality, reliability, fuel economy, and service costs.
Non-stat things that I will strongly consider are looks, number of doors, body style, and chassis/body materials and quality.
Lastly and importantly, be sensible. Scotty is abandoning the life of rice (somewhat) and will not waste his time looking at ludicrous cars.
Deadline: October 29 at 17:00 EDT (GMT -4)
As usual, stick to the typical CSR naming scheme and PM me the car. Make sure to post the ad in the thread before the deadline.
Entries will remain closed for the first 24 hours to leave time to solve any possible issues with the rules.
Link to previous round: CSR 86 - A Time of Crisis
Link to full CSR ruleset: The Car Shopping Round Rules and Stats
