Hybrid Beaters League

It’s a hot sunny day at Storm Automotive’s Nevada Manufacturing Plant, where a team of bold engineers from several car companies have met by Luke’s request.

Luke stepped out of the doors after letting everyone bake in the hot Nevada sun for ten minutes, his casual attire consisting of just a pair of jean shorts covering his otherwise Twilight Blue body, as he carried cool water on a tray from inside.

After passing around the glasses of water, he stood in front of the group, then said, “Hot, isn’t it? Unfortunately, this is what it will feel like in the near future if we don’t do something now. Let me get straight to the point. We need better cars. We know that there’s a need for alternative fuels, but we need a stop-gap to reduce fuel consumption. There is, however, a problem.”

Luke stayed quiet for a couple seconds, a pause for dramatic effect.

“Hybrids are not the answer to our crisis. As good as they’ve gotten, they’re not good enough. They cost too much for the common man to afford one, they have appalling performance compared to just about anything else on the road, and the mining for battery components is horrific for the environment. Add to that the fact that every car company seems to think that a hybrid has to stand out so everyone can tell what it is, and it leaves little to the imagination as to why no one other than rich eco-freaks seem to buy them.”

Luke motioned to the car he’d driven to work that day, a rather old Storm Surge 4XR Hybrid.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? This was our first step into Hybrid technology, and is an example of the problem at the same time. It needs expensive Premium unleaded gasoline to get 49.1 miles per gallon when it was brand new. Underneath the belly of the vehicle, there’s two large 288 volt NiMH battery packs to turn the electric assistance motors to give it 49 MPG in the city. As it’s the Extended Range version, it only seats 4 people because the rear bench was replaced with bucket seats to shed weight.”

He stepped over to the Surge, then spoke again.

“You might be asking what my point is. It’s as simple as this: This Surge was manufactured in 2004. It is 2018, and the batteries have long since given up. Worse still, we stopped manufacturing new NiMH battery packs in 2010, and dismantled the production facility for NiMH battery pack assembly in 2012. What this means is that if I wanted to keep the Surge going, it would need Lithium-Ion batteries retro-fitted in order to keep going.”

He stepped back in front of everyone, waiting a few seconds before continuing his speech.

“The thing is, I don’t want to keep making hybrids. The only reason we did so in 2004 was as a snap response to the incoming fuel crisis and the environmentalists going hybrid crazy. We jumped on a bandwagon and rode it for 14 years. What I’m looking for today is something different. What I have to propose today will change the automotive world should all of you, the owners and operators of your respective car companies, agree to this challenge.”

Luke waited for the quiet mumblings, murmurs, and whispers to dissipate, then said what was truly on his mind.

“I’ve gathered all of you here on this hot day to give you a chance to join me in the creation of the Hybrid Beaters League. The goal here is to outperform the conventional hybrid with pure gasoline power, a stop-gap that we can work with instead of wasting our resources building Hybrids and forcing all the other companies to do the same. I will hand out some papers that have all the needed information, and I wish you all luck in this task. Oh, and one more thing before I send you all on your way: This is a challenge, and while everyone wins because of the cars you will be making, the best car overall will be the car I replace my tired old Surge with. The environmentalists don’t like it much when I drive my Bogliq Ambassador too much, so I need a modern car to drive in public.”


Rules:

Year: 2018

Price @ 40% markup: $26,000 or less.

Safety: Above 40.

Fuel Economy: 50 MPG (US) Minimum
(60 MPG UK) (21.25 km/l) (4.7 l/100km)

4 Doors (Or more, but no two door cars.)

Edit: Four Seats (Or more.)

Regular Unleaded Fuel Only

Highest Importance: Drivability, Comfort, Safety, Emissions, Reliability, Fuel Efficiency
Moderate Importance: Running Costs, Cargo Volume, Acceleration (0-62mph), Price, Practicality, Utility
Lowest Importance: Prestige, Sportiness, Environmental Resistance.

Tiebreaker: Lap around Automation Test Track

Steam Workshop Mods Only.

No Barth Bodies, please.

Deadline is December 26, 2016 @ Midnight, US Central Time

Naming Scheme:

Model: HBL – (Username)
Trim: Car Name
Engine: HBL – (Username)
Variant: Engine Name

All Cars will be Reviewed at the end of the challenge.

Edit: I feel, for the spirit of good competition, that thecarlover’s 20’s eco car body needs to be disallowed. I’d like to see variety instead of just one body style.

13 Likes

Looks at title: oooohhhh a challenge I could possibly enter my Apollo in
reads 4 door rule: :’(

Well I’ll try to make a new car for this if I have the time, I do quite like making eco cars (although they’re usually more sporty than drivable)

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I did the 4 door rule to cut out supercars, even though I knew there was a chance it’d collect up a few other designs in the wake of that decision.

As for “Why four doors? Why not 3 door hatches or two-door coupes?” There’s actually a simple reason for it. How many doors does a Toyota Prius, a Chevy Volt, a Storm Surge, etc. have? All of them have four doors. Some of them are 5 door hatches, sure, but they all have doors to that rear seat.

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I don’t remember if the apollo even had rear seats :laughing:

I :heart_eyes: a little when my CSR winner was mentioned, but I then :sob: when I realised you’re going to replace it!

I will just have to :persevere: and build you a better Bogliq so that I can ultimately :triumph:!!!

:grin:

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It’s not being replaced. Luke just needs a daily driver to replace his aging Surge. The Ambassador is still his weekend car.

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Well, I was actually thinking about something like this the other day. You’ve beaten me to the punch and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Time to start rightsizing!

3 Likes

looks and sounds good something different. how will each category be scored? What is the difference in scoring between the categories?

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I have three different multipliers I’ll be applying to the groups. While the numbers, for now, will be kept secret, I assure you, there is a difference between the three main groups of importance.

As for within the categories, they’re all weighted the same, with the exception of fuel efficiency, which is weighted slightly higher than the rest.

Each car’s score will be the sum of the different categories. Essentially, the best car will have the highest overall score. In the event that two cars have identical scores for some odd reason, the tiebreaker will be a lap around the test track where the fastest car wins.

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I can already see my struggle in deciding what type of interior to use already. Do I want the extra comfort or the extra economy and less weight. Knowing me it’ll probably be the economy and light weight though.

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A shame that my Egotron wouldn’t make the cut, it’s only 100k+ higher than the price limit. But it does net you 125 mpg. The fuel savings will pay off in twenty five years.

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i’m also assuming 4 seats is implicitly forced?

Four seats or more, yes.

one question. there a restriction on the body years?

oh no…

don’t tell me you’re planning to use that body.

nah i was planning on another one (the 4 door rule) was just curious

No restrictions on bodies, so long as they have 4 doors or more.

soooo

you’re only gonna see this body then. might i suggest that you make this body not allowed??

it’s too easy to get 50mpg out of this body while still having more than enough power

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Probably not a bad idea to disallow that body. I’d like to see some variety. As much as I like it, there’s only so much one can do with just one car body.

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I’d recommend you to make practicality and utility more important otherwise even if you banned this body, people will clutter around the 2nd most aerodynamic sedan body.

2 Likes