ErmâŚWhat about the Franklin HiWay?
⌠âNiuYorqCitiâ isnât a company, itâs the user who runs âPonniâ, one of your 5th place finishersâŚ
I was wondering why the numbers werenât adding up, goddamnit gonna have to try and do it tomorrow
Welcome back to the internet! And wow, I thought the Wasp was gonna take the win . Thanks for finishing the round so quickly when you could.
Is there a deadline for the next round or is this just a placeholder for now?
the outcome of the review of Franklin Motors will not affect this scene, as it deals with the Ardent-Bogliq rivalry
March 4, 1947
Clarence placed the business section of the Cincinnati Enquirer carefully next to the ash tray on Jack Chancellorâs desk, as he had done hundreds of times before. Smoke gently wafted from the lit cigarette resting over the lip of the tray.
âItâs good news, sir,â Clarence beamed.
âDoes this come as a surprise to you?â Jackâs gravelly voice retorted.
âN-no, sir,â Clarence replied.
The CEO of Ardent ignored the blatant lie of his sniveling yes-man. Clarence was good for cutting red tape, but didnât have the imagination or bravado to be anything more than a paper pusher.
âGet me John Case,â Jack grunted. âWe took the first round from these Bogliq upstarts. I want to make sure they donât have any ideas about coming back.â
âYes sir.â The administrator soothed as he slithered out of the office.
Jack spent a good ten minutes thoroughly reading and rereading the headline article, Ardent Gives Solid Performance in European Showdown, pausing every thirty seconds to take a drag from his cigarette. Once he finished the article, he lit a new cigarette, rose to his feet, and walked to the window. His office afforded a commanding view of the grounds that hosted Ardentâs premier factory. Workers hustled to and fro, and a brand new Midnight convertible rolled off of the factory floor, making the short drive to the holding lot.
Three knocks rapped on his door.
âCome in,â he called.
John Case, Ardentâs senior engineer, walked through the door and made his way to a seat on the other side of the desk. Jack Chancellor took a drag of his cigarette. He narrowed his eyes and took stock of the gray-haired, withered chief engineer, a man in his early sixties. What he was about to ask was likely going to be the manâs final project. With Case being so old, and the talent of Stanton Glass on display with the release of the Midnight a little over a year prior, a sign that the changing of the guard was only a matter of time.
Still, Jack Chancellor knew that the man had more to give, and now was the time to give it.
âJohn. A fine start with the Starlight. Is the modernization project on track?â
âYes, Mr. Chancellor,â Case replied.
âGood. Good. Ardent is in good position right now. Weâre primed to strike for the top spot. We just need a little edge. Do you hear me, John?â
The engineer arched his brows. â'Have I done something wrong, Mr. Chancellor?â
Jack took another drag, then waved his hand dismissively, a thin wisp of smoke trailing through the air as he did so. âNot at all. Giving you a new project.â
âBut, the Starlight,â Case protested.
Jack cut him off. âYour skill and talent are wasted on bringing an existing model up to snuff. Take it as a lesson, and build me something else. Something to bury these Moldovan upstarts that think they can take Europe from us. SomethingâŚâ
âSleek?â Case finished.
âAnd strong,â Jack added. âWeâve got some new ideas floating around in the power department. Desmond Wainwright can help you with that, Iâll make sure youâre privy to his latest projects.â He moved to his desk and scribbled his signature on a quick note, then handed it to John.
âHow long do I have?â
âTwo years.â
The engineer took a hard swallow. âThatâs not very long.â
Jack jabbed his cigarette into the tray, extinguishing it. âSo what are you waiting for?â
You should see if you have all the workshop items installed, because I really do have taillighs.
Bogliq HQ, Moldova
The meeting of the Board of Directors didnât go as badly as Bogliq Europeâs CEO thought it would. Instead of being fired, he still had his job but the fact that Bogliq only had the 5th largest market share meant that the CEO was not in a safe spot. Bogliq needed to get in the top three or else the CEO would find himself in a lot of troubleâŚ
He was unsure how to proceed; continue focussing on the entry level cars which had worked reasonably this time or expand the product range with something thatâll dovetail nicely with a facelift of the current Bastion?
Decisions, decisions but one thingâs for sure; Ardent needed to be given a bloody nose and he felt he was the man to deliver it!
News and Gossip section of What Car? Oct '49 Issue
News hot off the press! A little birdie tells me that Bogliqâs firebrand CEO wasnât knocked out by Ardentâs body blows, but is spoiling for more action stating:
We had a good product and we had good marketing but we couldn't foresee that
ABR would undercut us in price for the same market sector we intended to
dominate.
I want it to be known that Ardent had a pre-war small car already in play and I
believe that, once you take those cars out of the figures, you'll find that it was,
in fact, Bogliq who had the superior market growth for the last three years!
With our new models arriving next year, you'll see Bogliq at No. 1 and Ardent
will be pushed back into the Atlantic where they belong!
Indeed the Bogliq CEO is talking up a big game but will they be able to back it up with tangible results?
Only time will tell but, trust me on this, things are about to get hot in the near future!
@Jaimz I have sorted out your stuff and updated it on the results, if you want me to do a full write-up I can do, however for now you placed fourth along with bogliq
Donât worry about the write upâŚWe donât mind sniff
Deadline is Wednesday 14th 1200GMT
Out of curiosity, how do you score sellability? Last round I tried to spread it out so i had above 100 in several categories and peak at 121 to get a good sellability score, but I got the same sellability as a car with best category of 86, mind elaborating so next entry (hopefully) does better?
As part of the Marshal plan in 1948, president Truman personally convinced Olympus CEO, Dale Rathbone to invest in the rebuilding effort. Olympus paid a sum of $25 million to help rebuild a factory in Munich Germany. In exchange, a large Bavarian automobile manufacturer signed a cooperative agreement to produce a modest number of Olympus Automobiles between 1950 and 1960. The hope was that this would help Olympus make inroads to the European market. The Gemini was the result of this cooperative agreement, as seen in this ad from a German magazine of the time. The model shown here is from the Executive Trim (Olympus Motorâs new, entry-level trim) as a convertible.
(DM1.500 roughly converts to $1,000 US or ÂŁ700 in 1950, worth approximately $11,000 US or ÂŁ8,500 or âŹ9250 in 2018)
LMC is taking an âif it ainât broke, donât fix itâ approach and updated the Bravos to reflect the changing times and increasing financial freedom.
*price adjusted for inflation
Ganze familie in that little car?! Ah⌠ein kleine familie.
In any case, I am SO LAZY to make an advert right now Will post something before the timer runs out.
That body variant is surprisingly roomy; probably an oversight on development, but Iâm not picky.
It is scored based on both on competitiveness and affordqability, which your affordability was very low
Wow! What a generous loyalty program.
Introducing the 1950 Bogliq Automotive lineup!!!
MY50 Bogliq Bastion
An all new model for 1950, the Bastion has been designed to specifically address the shortcomings of the previous model while simultaneously looking forward to Europeâs glorious futureâŚ
The new Bastion boasts an impressive 50Kw from itâs 2.2L straight six and obtains a top speed of 138Km/h thanks to a smooth as butter âBogglideâ two speed automatic. Capable of seating five in comfort, the smooth engine, decent fuel economy of 15.1L per 100Km and low annual maintenance of $521 combine to produce the businessmanâs dream drive. No longer does the salaryman have to suffer while his boss gets to relax in comfort and largesse!
And all this will only cost $8,176 AUâs!!! So what are you waiting for?
MY50 Bogliq Belfast
Our future is only secure if we learn the lessons of the past. The new for 1950 Belfast shows that Bogliq Automotive isnât one to sit on its laurels but is constantly chasing improvements for the benefit of its customersâŚ
The Belfast is powered by a gutsy 30Kw 1.3L inline four and posts a respectable 106Km/h top speed. The Belfast sticks with the tried and true three speed manual gearbox for maximum performance and minimum fuss. The interior boasts seating for four adults and the combination of small size, fuel economy of 10.9L/100Km and annual service costs of $277 means that the Bastion is both fun to drive and easy on your wallet!
The Bogliq Belfast will cost $5,807 AUâs so donât delay, buy one today!
Buy Better, buy Bogliq
All New for 1950 - Ardent Estate 400 Series
Safety, sleekness, and strength. These are the three Sâs that Ardent puts in every new 1950 Estate wagon.
All-steel construction and hydraulic assisted brakes give you peace of mind on the road. Standard.
Aerodynamic design, adapted from the Midnight line of sport coupes gives you stability and economy in tough winds. Standard.
A new 102 horsepower Orion six-cylinder engine gives the strength to move at your command. Standard.
Ardent believes in giving you value in every car. Thatâs why the new Estate 400 series wagons have all of these features and more, standard.
And if standard isnât enough, the Estate is offered in three levels, catering to your every desire.
See your local Ardent dealer to arrange a test drive, and see why Ardent is the choice for you.
Thursday July 21, 1949 - Ardent Corporate Offices - Cincinnati, OH
âOne hundred and two horsepower.â Jack Chancellor slammed his fist into the engine schematics on his test. âOne hundred and two horsepower is not enough, John.â
âItâs all I had to give, sir,â John protested.
âYou had the entire design resources of the power division at your fingertips, and all you could come up with was a hundred and two? God damn it, John, you were supposed to be able to pull the balls off a bull with this thing, and youâve made it a goat jockey?â Jack growled.
âSir, Mr. Wainwright keptâŚâ
âDonât put this on someone else, Jack.â
The senior engineer had had enough. He shot up from his chair, grabbed the chair next to it, and flung it across the room. âWill you listen to me, you old jackass?â
Jack was taken aback. He stood up, taking a drag from his cigarette. There was a brief pause. âGo on, then.â
âMr. Wainwrightâs Taurus project is almost two years behind schedule,â John protested, starting to calm down. âThere was no V8 available. I couldnât put anything more than an Orion in. And if you REALLY want to know whose fault that is,â the engineer laughed nervously as he ran his hands through his hair. âItâs yours, sir. For putting too much work on him and not giving him enough engineers.â
Jack set his cigarette in the ash tray, sat down, and calmly folded his hands in front of him. âThis is going to cost us, John.â
âNo, sir. Itâs going to cost YOU. The projectâs almost done. Your golden boy can finish it out. I quit.â
John Case turned and took three steps before his boss stopped him.
âSo thatâs it? Your illustrious career is going to end with, what, a mediocre wagon? Is that how you want to be remembered?â
John turned around and snarled. âWhat do you care? Youâre too stuck in your ways. You donât listen to what anyone says, save for Stanton. Youâd rather run this company into the ground than adapt.â
Jack lifted his cigarette from the tray to his mouth, leaning back as he inhaled. âMaybe not. You know, John, itâs been a long-ass time since anyoneâs had the balls to call me out on anything. But are you right about this? About Desmond?â
âAbsolutely,â he retorted without hesitation.
âAlright then. One more project for you. One to be remembered for the ages. Instead of fizzling out, youâll be remembered,â the CEO made an emphatic gesture with his hands, âas the man who brought Ardent out of the war, and led Stanton Glass to his golden age.â
John rolled his eyes and groaned. âYou seriously want me to work with THAT arrogant son of a bitch?â
Jack nodded and puffed.
John paused for a moment. âIâll consider it.â
Submitted trim: 410 Custom in Spanish Olive. $9750 AUD at 0 markup. Price listed above is inflation-compensated and for the 400 Standard trim.