AHC04 - CAFE Free
Background
America rode into the 70s strong and mighty. In our timeline, conflict in the Middle East led to oil shortages in the US, strangling the economy and pushing the car market to smaller, less powerful, and more fuel efficient vehicles. This also lead to the creation of CAFE regulations, emissions regulations, and the rise of the SUV and minivan.
In this world (similar to AHC01), America found a large supply of oil spanning Texas to California and ended most dependencies on Middle Eastern oil. As such, there was never a need to adopt smaller vehicles as gas remained cheap and plentiful. CAFE doesn’t exist to mandate fuel efficiency, but companies still strive to create fuel efficient products to win over customers. Emissions regulations were adopted, but at a slower rate than the rest of the world. The SUV and minivan were invented, but never saw widespread adoption, leaving station wagons as the dominant family haulers.
Challenge
The year is currently 2020. America is a leading oil exporter and cars have stayed large and powerful since the 60s. Companies know that the way to capture the American market is with a large, RWD car platform with ample power, with wagons strongly preferred for family hauling. Your task is to make a wagon for this alternate America, either as a brand new platform or as an update to an existing one.
TLDR: Create a RWD full size station wagon for the average American family.
Rules
General:
Trim year: 2020
Techpool max: 40M
Wheelbase: 110in min (109.5 with rounding)
Body: 5 door wagon AS VIEWED BY THE GAME
Must be front engine, RWD
No carbon fiber allowed (including carbon fiber wheels and carbon ceramic brakes)
No race parts, including anything with the word race in it, billet steel parts, and semi slicks (you’re doing something very wrong if you’re putting semi slicks on a land yacht).
Engine:
Variant year: 2020
Cylinders: At least 6
Turbo and supercharging allowed (300 SVC penalty for superchargers)
Fuel: regular 86 AKI unleaded
Must pass WES 8
Must have muffler and a 3 way catalytic converter
Car:
Max top speed: 165 MPH (2 MPH leeway here)
Tire size must end in 5
Max tire quality: +4
Brake fade of all types must be below 2.5%
Must have at least 2F, 3R full size seats
Max Cost: 27k
No legacy or open wheeled bodies
No negative techpool
No excessive negative quality (use common sense)
No cheese fests or minmaxing
Cars that meet the rules but go against the spirit are banned
Priorities
Design: The car must look snazzy and modern, even though it’s on the cheaper end of the model lineup.
Prestige: Big cars come with big, powerful modurs. Prime for showing off and one upping other dads at the Fourth of July BBQ.
Comfort: America is big. Long car rides are commonplace. The car must be comfortable.
This will be evaluated with 2F 3R seats, regardless of seating configuration.
Practicality: The car must be able to hold the family and their gear/luggage.
I will ignore the base stat and evaulate this holistically.
Reliability: The car must be dependable enough for anything thrown its way. The last thing the family wants is a breakdown on a roadtrip.
Drivability: A car this size will be tricky to drive in tight areas, but the easier it is to drive, the better.
Service costs: It shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to keep this thing on the road, but the average American has excess money. Insert inflation comment here
Sportiness: It’s not a sports car by any means, but there should be a “smiles per gallon” factor to it.
Price: Even the more budget customers can be somewhat free with their purse strings, but a car than do more for less will be appreciated.
Fuel economy: Fuel is cheap and plentiful, and those oil reserves haven’t dried up yet.
Safety: A car this size should be far from a death trap. Don’t skimp out here.
Inspirations
Mostly for design reference
Buick Regal TourX
Buick Roadmaster (10th gen)
Ford Mondeo
Dodge Challenger
Dodge Charger
Ford Mustang
Chevy Camaro
Chevy Impala
Chevy Malibu
Ford Crown Victoria
Dodge Magnum
Submissions
Naming Convention
Car model: AHC04 - [Username] (AHC04 - Kreator)
Car trim: Car name (ACZ Concur S4C)
Engine family: AHC04 - [Username] (AHC04 - Kreator)
Engine variant: Free (RAAA 8.8L V8 MODUR)
Car files should be submitted through Discourse DMs. A posted ad with a blurb on your car is also required for submission.
Rule Deliberation Ends/Submissions Open: 2026-05-23T03:59:00Z
Submissions Close: 2026-06-27T03:59:00Z
