Generations [LORE, UE4] [FINAL RESULTS]

At this time I have received 8 of 14 eligible entries for this round. A little more than 2 days left in this round, guys!

That said…


Ardent Headquarters

Wednesday, September 20, 1950

Jack stood in front of the yellow-white sedan, arms folded. Its chrome glittered in the sunlight as a high cloud passed on by.

“Tell me what’s wrong with this picture, gentlemen,” Jack growled.

The designers gathered around him exchanged nervous glances, but none spoke up. John Case gazed solemnly at his creation, his lips pursed.

“Come on,” Jack taunted. “No one’s got the balls to tell me what’s gone wrong here?”

“Wrong engine,” Stanton Glass muttered from his position in the middle of the throng.

“What was that, Stanton?”

“Wrong engine,” he reiterated, this time loud enough for all to hear.

Jack nodded emphatically. “It’s bad enough that we couldn’t get the V8 ready by launch. It’s flat out embarrassing that it’s still not ready a year later, and we’re stuck with just a six cylinder. So many of our competitors have eights. ACA. PMI. Olympus. Even those kit car guys have one. And the best we can do is a hundred-ish horses? Out of a 173 six?”

Desmond Wainwright gritted his teeth, but said nothing.

Jack turned around and shot a dirty look at the gathered crowd. “We have to do better. You’re all dismissed.” As they started to turn away, he added, “Except for you, John and Desmond.”

The remaining engineers shuffled away, whispering among themselves. Desmond sheepishly made his way to Case’s side.

“You know,” Jack snarled. “At the rate you two are going, these damn Bogliq upstarts are going to run circles around us.”

“Sir,” John protested. “We did what we could…”

“No excuses, John.”

Desmond’s irritation finally reached the boiling point. “So that’s it? Ask us the impossible, tear us to shreds, and then move on? Is that your plan, Mr. Chancellor?”

Jack blinked in disbelief, taken aback by the outburst. He then narrowed his eyes. “Don’t give me any…”

“Why shouldn’t I give you shit?” Desmond continued. “It’s all you give me. You throw three projects on me at once, but only give me enough staff for one and a half. And then you have the audacity to blame us? What about no excuses, huh, Mr. Chancellor? What’s your excuse for this?”

John put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and turned away from their boss. “Come on, Desmond. Calm down, let’s take a walk.”

Desmond tore the hand from his person and took an aggressive step toward Jack. “Why don’t you take responsibility for YOUR shortcomings, huh? Why does everyone else have to fall on the sword for YOU?”

“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” Jack sneered.

John urged Desmond again to walk away, but was ignored.

“You really want to know? A madman. Someone completely out of touch with reality, and angry because he can’t get his way.”

“I’ll remind you that we have sharehold…”

“Oh, don’t give me that line of shit, SIR. You can get rid of me if you want, hell, you can get rid of Stanton or John or Eugene too. Eventually the shareholders will figure out that you’re the problem, not us. Then where are you going to be, huh?”

“Get the hell out of here,” Jack growled hoarsely. “I’ll have your shit in a box for you.”

Desmond’s face twisted into an eerie smile, and he began to laugh as he walked away. “Thank you, Jack. Prove me right. Again.”

John glanced back and forth between Desmond and Jack, before hurrying to catch up with his friend.

Friday, September 29, 1950

Jack took a deep breath before reaching for his phone’s handset. He plucked it from the receiver and deftly spun 7 digits into the rotary dialer, each pulse click in his ear almost a taunt to his senses.

God Damnit, he thought

The line rang once. Twice.

Dammit.

Thrice. There was a click, and a familiar man’s voice came through the other end.

“Wainwrights.”

“Desmond,” Jack sighed. The line was silent. “Desmond?”

“Yes, Mr. Chancellor?” he replied coldly.

“I… I’m sorry. You were right.” Silence again filled the line. “I thought you were just shitting with me that you’ve been understaffed. Like Stanton does. But no, you’re right.”

“Staffing is your problem, Mr. Chancellor,” the engineer replied, no warmer than before.

“Indeed it is. I seem to have made a mistake in that aspect.”

“And how is that?”

Jack took a drag from his cigarette, then cleared his throat. “I… I seem to have mis-filed some personnel paperwork. It appears that I somehow fired you last Wednesday. I can’t imagine the kind of numbskullery it would take to make THAT big of a mistake, right?”

“I can,” Desmond shot back.

God dammit, Jack thought, his anxiety level increasing.

“OK, you’re right again. I should never have fired you, Desmond. I need you back.”

“Twenty percent raise,” the reply was immediate, and sure. “Immediate doubling of my staff, and another 20 percent increase over the next two years.”

Jack sighed in relief. “Of course.”

“Oh, and a five percent across the board pay raise for my entire staff, in addition to regular annual raises,” Desmond added.

“Hey now, that’s not…”

“This isn’t a negotiation, Jack. My way, or you find someone else to run Powertrain. I guarantee your Golden Boy can’t do it all himself.”

“Fine, you win.”

Jack could almost hear Desmond smiling through the phone. “See you Monday, sir.”

Jack grumbled and hung up.

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Birmingham CEO Roland Fenster analyses the other cars set to release this year.
Sinistra: “looks like strong competition, but what is front wheel drive?”
Bogliq: “looks a bit too downmarket for us”
ACA: “we had better be careful with this one, looks like something that could steal our sales unless it is slightly lower end”
Ardent: “not bad looking, but looks more family oriented”
Caliban: “this is for a different kind of person than the 7000”

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Deer and Hunt new Repair shop. 9am

Jason sits at his desk, crunching numbers like he always does. Since they started selling cars they the numbers got bigger and they were much more. On one side he loved it. All the data he was getting. Everything what was happening was written in here. Each time the sales went up he got euphoric! Each das the number got bigger and bigger. But on the other hand the more numbers he had the longer it took him to look at them. Maybe it was time to…

“You are already working on the book ?” William was standing next to him, looking over Jasons shoulder.

Jason jumped in his new chair
“JESUS GOD WHAT THE HELL!”

“Oh God. Did i scare you ?”

“OF COURSE YOU DID”

William laughed out loud
“Hahaha. Sorry i didn’t mean to”

Jason straightens his shirt and gets seated correctly again
“So what you want you evil man?”

“Ah right”
William throws a newspaper infront of Jason

“Mhh ?”
Jason takes the newspaper and reads the highlighted text
““…a very good selection for rural owners and farm work, we still hoped that the Fallow would be a bit more rounded of a truck. We felt its motor was just too small to do an adequate job for large loads or for heavy towing work. On the other hand, it looks to be an inexpensive, reliable option.””

“Sooo what do you say ?”, William broke the silence

“Well i say, that we will give him what they want. I have an idea…”


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<Leviathan Motor Company (LMC) - No longer updated - #20 by Chickenbiscuit

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This was a remake of the very first car I submitted. The original version was built in one of the Fall 2017 UE4 builds and has long since been lost to the sands of time. Furthermore, its styling was not up to snuff with what I am capable of now. I tried to maintain the original’s look as much as possible and merely embellish it. Also this is a 1951 model, not a 1949, so there would be some styling updates regardless.


The 1951 Fenton Grand Touring

C Fenton Trunt Company (later Fenton Holdings Ltd. due to corporate reorganization in the late 1960s) caught the established Detroit automakers by surprise in 1949 when the Grand Touring rolled out. New car brands simply didn’t happen; if anything they went away. So when Fenton couldn’t keep up with demand, everyone was – needless to say – flabbergasted.

The man himself Charles Fenton Trunt, could barely believe the success. His car brand was a gamble to save the company from either massive downsizing or outright bankruptcy after it lost its government contracts at the conclusion of the Second World War. But without missing a beat, he jumped on the Grand Touring’s instant success.

“I want this car everywhere in America. I want people to see this car and think, ‘Wow! That’s the car I want to be driving someday’,” he ordered.

Engineering was concerned by his instructions though. The Grand Touring was a low volume car, built with a welded box-steel chassis and complicated race-inspired 4-wheel independent suspension. They were already seeing orders for the car start to back up past available stock.

“Sir, how are we to get this car to everywhere in America? There are orders backed up as it is,” one of the lead engineers protested.

Fenton Trunt did not like this protest one bit. “Do I have to do your job for you!?” he retorted. “You either figure out how to build more of this car or figure out how to build each one faster! As for the orders, let marketing take care of that.”

Marketing did take care of that. Ads went up everywhere like this one for the 1951 models:

They made sure to backlog orders, provide discounts while spinning the pricing to come out even, and went so far as to send personalized letters to people on the waiting list. Meanwhile C Fenton Trunt Company’s engineering department worked tirelessly to expand production. In addition to more shifts and plans for another factory, the chassis was changed from welded to riveted and from box-steel to C-channel which made it quicker to produce and also saved weight. They also changed the window framing to avoid expensive and hard-to-manufacture wrap-around windshields. The original wire wheels were changed stamped steel with a decorative hub-cap. And probably most significantly, they changed away from fully hand-made interiors on the base V8 model.

By mid 1952, Fenton Trunt was getting his wish as surplus stock was finally able to be accrued, though it never lasted long. The success only continued, so much so that the other automakers had started to take serious notice.

On 3 April 1952, Fenton’s right-hand man and also the president of C Fenton Trunt Company – Everette James Haverford – came into his CEO’s office carrying a memo. He placed on the desk and made one simple remark “Well?”

Fenton looked it over. “A buyout offer…?”

“A big one,” nodded Everette. “From the biggest.”

Fenton gave a quick scoff and then grinned ear to ear at his partner. Everette got the message.

“That’s what I thought.” he smirked back. “My gut says they’re up to something. Aaaaand they don’t want… our competition,” he slowly stated back while glossing over the memo one more time.

“Well then, lets give it to them then.” Fenton replied.

“Yes, sir!” Everette said and then turned to leave. Before he exited the office however, Everette relayed one parting query. “Just a thought. This isn’t going to last forever. What do you propose as our next step?”

Fenton, who had already resumed his activities, looked up, pen still glued to the documents on his desk. “Tell you what. Lets get dinner tonight and we’ll talk about that.”

And that fortuitous day was the day when a buyout request sealed FHL’s fate as one of the greats. Because little did their competitor know, they had no intention to sell out and the request triggered the founding of the now ubiquitous Everette brand.

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Lore post here.

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ACA HQ: Lansing, Michigan. | October 31st 1946

Almosrt one year has passed and the ACA factory is back up and running, producing new cars throughout the day. While not the best car on the market, the Model 38 was received well and managed to keep selling…

Conway steps into his office with Louise waiting for him there.

Louise: Ah sir, are you all ready for your flight this afternoon?

Conway: Yep, got everything packed. Have you sent that letter the design team yet? I need them to hurry up with the design of the new Model 48. I want that done ASAP.

Louise: Yes sir, they’ve called back saying that it’ll be done by next month and that retooling the factory can start before the year is done.

Conway: Good, that’s the kind of news I want to hear. I don’t want to appear as if our company is behind to Lord Mach of course.

Louise: Well, hopefully the negotiations go well sir.


4 years later…

ACA HQ: Lansing, Michigan. | December 29th 1950

4 years have passed since the ACA factories reopened. The Model 48 was released to a decent success and after two years of negotiation, the ACA, Caliban partnership went through, with ACA providing support to Caliban US…

Conway steps into his office with Louise waiting for him there.

Louise: Good morning sir, how was the meeting in Detroit?

Conway: About as well as you can imagine, everyone complaining at each other, shareholders bitching about how they want to see more profit. Any new mail for me?

Louise hands Conway a fat stack of letters

Conway: Perfect, lemme flick through all these then…hm…Maine Motors…right…hahahahahaha. These guys wanna sell cars in Maine. Good luck there, I’m pretty sure Ardent’s pretty much king there. Oh, another new Bog…Bogliq. Right, why the hell did they choose such a hard name for a company. No wonder why hippies buy that crap. Huh? Louise? Who the hell are Sinistra?

Louise: Not sure, I heard about them a month ago from Susan. She says its one of the most comfortable car’s she’s been in.

Conway: Damn. I wasn’t expecting that from a start up… Louise, send a letter to the design team. I want them to try and get them to make next year’s car to be more comfortable. Well anyways, looks like Lord Mach’s making a new sports car. Can’t wait to get those Whittingmore brothers to shove our latest 300 CI plant in that, I’m pretty sure that Mach’s gonna be happy about that. Anyway’s that all?

Louise: Yes sir. Ah, you’ve got a visitor downstairs.

Conway: Ah, yes that’ll be our new lead designer, Ross Becker…


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Cardiff, 1st January 1951. Lord Mach I’s residence.

Lord Mach sat in a luxuriously ornamented table. As usual, Mach had gathered his colleagues and advisors for, a New Year’s lunch, but this time two new people were present there. Lady Nell was present, as well as a young toddler; Mach couldn’t help but glance at both Nell and the child, knowing that child’s existance was his mistake, although partially relieved by the fact that he would be the next Lord Mach.

On the opposite end, Zacharias, his economic advisor, and Brown, lead designer of his cars sat looking at Mach. Mach raised his cup of wine.

Mach: “I want to thank all of you for sharing this meal with me one more year. This is going to be an important year for us, starting what I expect to be a fruitful era for the company now that we are backed by the Auto Corporation of America to operate in the United States. I want to thank Lady Nell, my beautiful wife, and my child for being the reasons I keep doing what I do each day. Here’s hope for this company to go on for decades to come.”

After a short applause and a meal full of expensive, exotic dishes, Zacharias excused himself out of the event. Walking into his office and locking the door, he opened one of his drawers, taking a syringe and a small flask labeled ‘morphine’. He loaded the syringe, making sure he had not left any bubbles in it, and started pushing it into his skin.


Two months later.

Mach and Brown had met at the workshop, with Brown writing a letter.

Brown: “That’s the plan Sir. We’ll be sending the engineers at ACA the blueprints for the Type SC for them to rebadge it.”

Mach: “Good. The more support we get from ACA, the better. By the way, get working on a replacement for the Thunder as well. We shouldn’t forget about our domestic market either.”

Brown: “Yes Sir.”

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All eligible Round 2 entrants have been received. I am now processing the round.

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Motor World Review, August 1951

Model Year-In-Review Edition

Best Entry Sedan – 1951

Bogliq Mutineer Entrance

Relative Rating: 100.00

Our pick for Entry Sedan of the Year, 1951, has us all feeling a bit blue, but in a good way. The 5-seat Bogliq Mutineer Entrance fits the bill for us this year in the commuter/family category

Under the hood is a 121 cubic inch four good for 70 horses. The engine itself is a simple, straight forward affair, but this year Bogliq came up with a new, 4-speed manual transmission to mate to it. This takes the otherwise uninspiring engine and gives it life similar to its competitors.

We found all 5 seating positions to be comfortable compared to others in the class. Trim is pretty typical, with vinyl seating surfaces, woven weather stripping, and a chrome-accented painted dash.

On the road, the Bogliq has reasonable manners. It is neither top of its class nor bottom, but a good compromise all around. Straight line performance to 60 takes a leisurely 16.7 seconds, though it uses 20% less fuel than anyone else in the category, so this can be forgiven.

It is also not the cheapest in the classs, but still manages to undercut other competitors at the same time.

Bogliq’s tagline is “Buy Better. Buy Bogliq.” This year, they are on the money with that assessment.

Best Upscale Car – 1951

LMC Captain Series 6

Relative Rating: 93.51

Certainly, there has been an explosion over the last few years in premium and luxury offerings from various manufacturers. This category was the most crowded this year, but of those, LMC’s Captain Series 6 stands out.

Powered by a 158 horsepower 281 V8, with power sent to the rear by a 4-speed manual, the Captain gives one of the most thrilling rides in the class. Skidpad handling was the best of all in class, and its acceleration was second best, attaining a 0-60 of 11 seconds flat. Top speed was clocked at just shy of 119 miles per hour.

Interior trim is below average for this class, with seating for four, an AM radio, and Swiss-action in-dash clock.

Long-term testing predicts this will be one of the most durable upscale cars available this year, and also one of the cheapest to fuel and run. This goes hand-in-hand with its relatively low purchase price.

Overall, we feel that the LMC Captain is a good bargain for the money, and its pulse-pounding performance is something to behold.

Best Other – 1951

Caliban Type SC

Relative Rating: 100.00

One hears the words “kit car” and conjures the image of a hotrod cobbled together in someone’s garage. Caliban’s Type SC buries any such preconceived notions, and shows that a kit car can be something to be reckoned with on the road.

Though not huge at 195 cubic inches, the V8 under the hood utilizes advanced technology, giving it 152 horses. This in turn lets the Caliban shoot to 60 in under 10 seconds, and top out at 115 MPH. But its small and agile body, along with clever tuning of the suspension, gives it the absolute best lateral handling of any car we tested this year.

One might expect a car with such bravado to cost quite a bit, but the Type SC has a relatively low cost, making it an attractive option for a Baron of the Boulevard.

The Caliban is a road cruiser, through and through. Those in rural areas should abandon any idea of purchasing this, as rough, broken rural roads are not compatible with this low-slung rocket.

Caliban claims that Type SC “takes the lead.” Verdict? Guilty as charged.

Best Engine – 1941

Dominion 244ci V8

(+5.00 Relative Rating bonus for this round)

Of the engines put before us this year, we are most impressed with the 244 cubic inch V8 from Dominion. It puts out a respectable 138 horsepower, while coming in a relatively light package for a V8. As well, lab testing indicates that the 244 is one of the most reliable of the current offerings. For that, Dominion Motors receives our Best Engine award for 1946.

Entry Sedan Class Reviews

Epoch Model 20

“…tradition of an unbeatably low purchase price continues. What has been left behind was the old underpowered 31 cubic inch engine. A new 85 horsepower straight-six gives new life to an old brand. Unfortunately, it still drives like an ox cart…”

Pros: Lowest purchase price by far, best in class reliability
Cons: Flat out terrible handling, low practicality and comfort
Relative Rating: 87.88

Ardent 410 Custom Sedan

“…seating for 6 people in reasonable comfort. Also, despite good manners, nimble handling on paved roads, and solid straight-line performance, we found it was a little less than pleasant on a rutted, muddy road, seemingly characteristic of all recent Ardent sedans. Fuel economy is also off the mark…”

Pros: Good comfort, best in round handling, fastest car in class
Cons: Worst in class offroad, poor fuel economy, low reliability
Relative Rating: 87.88

Upscale Car Class Reviews

Sinistra Emperor Mk.2

“…bizarre front wheel drive contraption. It liked to just sit there and burn rubber, or to wander off the road in hard turns. This newcomer also has a big question mark when it comes to long-term reliability…”

Pros: Strongest I6 engine, very comfortable and prestigious, best in class top speed
Cons: Poor reliability, round-worst drivability, high purchase price
Relative Rating: 75.32

Olympus Virgo Deluxe

“…spendiest car of the group. The interior is, bar none, the most comfortable for both drivers and passengers. Unfortunately, the engine is a bit underpowered, and the automatic transmission didn’t help its case at all. In addition, the test car developed some disconcerting noises during our time with it…”

Pros: Best in round comfort, best in round prestige
Cons: Worst in round reliability, highest purchase price, poor handling on rough roads
Relative Rating: 71.43

Vermillion Bismarck V8 DualMatic Deluxe

“…from having one of the best engines in the industry to one of the most underwhelming. In a big cruiser and mated to an automatic transmission, this makes for a less than exciting drive. In every way, the Bismarck V8 is just mediocre…”

Pros: Relatively low purchase price, decent rough road handling
Cons: Worst in class performance, poor safety
Relative Rating: 71.43

Dominion Ensign DeLuxe

“…a worthy consideration for those looking to crack into the upscale market, without the premium price tag. It looks the part, but doesn’t drive it. Handling issues and blind spots plague the Ensign. On the bright side, it does have what we believe to be the best engine of the year…”

Pros: Best in round engine, low purchase price
Cons: Poor drivability, poor economy, relatively low comfort, poor safety
Relative Rating: 73.83 (including bonus)
Side note: Fixture violation (no mast antenna to support the radio). Future violations will result in Relative Rating penalties.

ACA Corona V8 Twin Power

“…not particularly good road manners, which are exacerbated on country roads. This seems to be more of a sheep in wolf’s clothing than anything else. A shame, as we are fond of the 303 V8…”

Pros: Good engine, relatively good performance
Cons: Poor drivability, relatively low comfort and prestige for the price, poor offroad
Relative Rating: 68.83

PMI Usurper Sabre V8

“…lovely 185 horsepower 318 V8. The Usurper Sabre continues a tradition of performance, making it to 60 in 10 seconds flat, and being able to hit just shy of 119 MPH. While it handles competently, the level of comfort just doesn’t rise to our expectations…”

Pros: Good performance and handling, relatively low purchase price
Cons: Poor comfort, poor safety
Relative Rating: 92.21

Other Class Reviews

Birmingham 7000 Sarthe

“…just plain outrageous. The 7000 is a pure adrenaline sports car, but it just seems to miss the mark of any established category…”

Pros: Highest in round prestige and top speed, reasonable reliability
Cons: Highest in round purchase price, poor comfort, mediocre handling
Relative Rating: 79.55

Fenton Grand Touring

“…big and heavy V8 that manages to be underpowered. It’s more like what you’d get if Townsend Coachworks built the Caliban…”

Pros: Good comfort, good handling
Cons: Poor reliability, relatively mediocre performance
Relative Rating: 88.64

Deer and Hunt Fallow

“…a very good selection for rural owners and farm work, Deer and Hunt has addressed deficiencies in the previous motor with a new V8 engine. This did cause the price of the Fallow to tick up slightly, but it is still a good value…”

Pros: Low purchase price, high reliability, best in round offroad
Cons: Poor comfort, utility still on the low side
Relative Rating: 88.64


Overall Relative Ratings are now in the OP and will be updated round by round.

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Bogliq USA HQ, Early September, 1951

Bogliq USA Corporate HQ, CEO Konstantin Bogliq’s office

“Would you like another piece of cake sir?”

“No thanks Eustace, just a coffee thanks, I’ll take it in my office…”

Konstantin left the victory party and headed up to his office. It was a huge call for Bogliq to invest in monocoque machine presses but it paid off, big time!

Motor World loved the new Mutineer and so did the American public. Bogliq dealers were screaming for more stock and the factory had put on an extra shift to keep up with demand.

The massive success of the new Mutineer and the long term investment embodied in the radical new technologies showcased by Vision: One meant that Bogliq was all over the automotive newscape. Bogliq USA was currently at the top of the tree in the American market and Konstantin wanted Bogliq to stay there…

But how? Konstantin mused. The Alpha Four was really old tech and while solid, the design was showing its age, plus it had no room for expansion. Bogliq would need multiple engine sizes and types to keep ahead of the curve and the Alpha Four wasn’t an easy engine to make variants of. Bogliq also needed to build a bigger sedan to appeal to larger families so the Alpha Four simply had to go.

Decisions, decisions… Konstantin needed some quiet time to contemplate Bogliq’s future but, for the moment at least, the present was looking very rosy indeed!

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I have to ask a stupid question, how are we pronouncing the Bogliq trim level “Entrance”? I get the feeling I’m doing it wrong.

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It should be pronounced “N-Trance” as in En Trance not as in “the building has a front entrance”

e.g.
If the accent is on the second syllable, then entrance is a verb meaning “to enchant, charm, or enamor” — “You will be entranced by the movie; the scenery looks so real you will swear it is growing in the theater.”
entrance - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/entrance

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September, 1951 - Sinistra Motors Headquarters, Nevada

“Damn it, Luke! Your front-wheel-drive contraption is a nightmare.” Mark Jasper said, tossing a copy of Motor World Review on Luke Sinistra’s desk.

“I told you, understeer is going to be something we have to work out. This will improve.” Luke shot back, glaring at Mark. “What isn’t going to help us is that everyone else is going with V8 engines. As much as I love our straight-six engines, we need something to match that.”

“I come to you with a complaint about the driveline and you tell me the problem is we need a bigger engine. They were doing burnouts in our luxury car, Luke!”

“I know that. But we can do lazy engines if we must. Just get me a damn V engine in the next car. I don’t care what you have to do, just make it happen. Borrow, beg, or steal the components needed and make it work.”

“We don’t have any reference materials, no research or development time in V engines. What you’re asking will take us years.” Mark said.

“I designed a front-wheel-drive in two years. You can do a V8 in one. Here, I’ve even made a small-scale model of what you’ll need to build in my spare time. Just scale it up.” Luke said, opening a filing cabinet and removing the small V8. He removed the tag labeled ‘Special Prototype #1’ from it, then handed it over to Mark, who seemed amazed by the complex little engine.

“Two cams. That makes a lot of sense. That solves the problem. I’ll get to work right away. Thank you for solving the design crisis! Just make it bigger.” Mark said, before running out of the office. The rest of Sinistra’s Engine Design Team could hear him yelling, “We’ve got a project! Luke needs a V engine!”

Luke closed the door in his office, turned on the phonograph, and started playing some reasonably peaceful classical music. “That will give us an edge, no doubts about that.” he said to himself, giving a light chuckle. “Can’t possibly mess up making the engine we need now.”

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But it still works, it is the lowest trim, right? :thinking:

It is the entry level tier for private buyers, yes. But the barrel bottom scraper is the Engage trim, as in the cheapest price to engage customer interest, geddit? :sunglasses:

The rest of the trims are named with similar concepts in mind, lol, and I got the idea from playing the Light Campaign… Helps keep the trim’s role in check.

Engage: Basic trim

Entrance: First decent trim for private buyers

Entice: Extra sweeteners to get customers to pay more

Enthuse: Performance trim to generate enthusiasm in our customers!

Empower: Luxury/GT trim to allow our customers to own the roads!

Hopefully that clarifies my line-up structure a bit better for you! :star_struck:

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Cardiff, 18th November 1951. Lord Mach’s office.

Mach and Zacharias are once again reviewing the results that year, with the company of Brown, lead designer for Caliban. Mach is eyeing the magazines Zacharias has once again imported from the United States. He smiled slightly as he reached the end.

Mach: “The Type SC is the sports car of the year, gentlemen. Good job, but I have a question for you, Brown.”

Brown: “Yes Sir?”

Mach: “They keep saying our engines are technologically advanced despite them being a simple two valve design. What are they on about?”

Brown puts a greasy OHV head on Mach’s desk, complete with its rockers and pushrods.

Mach: “I swear if you have stained my desk I will make you clean it with your tongue.”

Brown: “This is what they mean, sir. While we use an overhead cam, they use this system called overhead valve, also known as pushrod. These manufacturers are perfecting it as we speak. My point is that technology they are not 100% familiar with is going to be advanced technology to them.”

Mach: “I see now. How is our brand valued, Zacharias?”

Zacharias: “We are the second favourite, Sir, only Bogliq is ahead of us.”

Mach: “Is there any way we can take that from them?”

Zacharias: “I would suggest an aggressive campaign, Sir.”


(@HighOctaneLove you play this however you feel you need to :wink:)

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Birmingham HQ, Alabama:
Roland: the 7000 was a flop. I think we have exhausted our premium cars, we need to go downmarket or we could be in trouble
Chief designer Reginald: don’t worry, I have something cooking up already; would you care to have a look?
Roland: sure, hopefully you know what you’re doing…

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ACA HQ: Lansing, Michigan. | December 10th 1951

Conway storms into the design room

Conway: The hell is this?! What the hell is going on. "Poor drivability, relatively low comfort and prestige for the price, poor offroad". What the hell are you guys doing?! Dammit, our reputations fucking ruined. Dammit, Dammit, Dammit!

Design Staff: Sir, I don’t know, we designed it to specification.

Conway: Well clearly that specification was shit. Listen, I want a new fucking car to replace this travesty of a model ASAP. In the mean while, improve the current car, make it better, I don’t give a damn what you do just make the damn car sellable. Otherwise we’re knee deep in shit…

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