Looks like you have a lot pf shit on your plate, take the time you need.
When will it open?
It’ll open shortly after reviews are done. I have no idea when that’ll be. How long is a piece of string?
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Is there going to be reviews today or did QFC take all the time and energy?
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We’ll see, QFC takes time but not energy. I’ve done the actual information gathering and judging, it’s just writing left.
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I reckon a piece of string is however as long as one cuts it?
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REVIEWS 1.4: AND THE REST
(Alternate title: Haha, review machine go brrrrrrrrrrr)
Reviews for:
- @WangMaster_420 - Waimo Saroma
- @Executive - Hakaru CJ CJM
- @Mikonp7 - Renwoo Merci OpenTop
- @GassTiresAndOil - Armor Highland
- @Maverick74 - CESMA Colombe
- @Conan - Brampton Sports Saloon
- @Elizipeazie - Anhultz E2100
- @kobacrashi - Reduit WK-54
- @Knugcab - Saarland Kardinal
- @Petakabras - Saeta Corcel Special
- @Interior - Schnell 2/5 Deluxe 5000
- @Arn38fr - Aileron Automobiles C50
- @Bbestdu28 - 246 Dauphine
- @Lotto77 - P&A Sportsman Straight 4
(Armor, Dauphine, Hakuru, CESMA, Anhultz, Schnell, Brampton, Reduit, Saarland, Renwoo, P&A, Corcel, Aileron, Waimo)
Oh my god, it’s full of cars. There was no good way for me to break between luxury and standard, so… Everything at once.
(Armor, Dauphine, Hakaru, Brampton, Reduit, P&A, Walmo)
If you have bought a sedan in the last 10 years, we are practically begging you, take care of it. These are pieces of automotive history, cars that should last for decades. Nobody told the manufacturers, so we are telling you. In our testing, half the sedans on the market are prone to “wear spirals” - where a little bit of initial wear makes the car more prone to future wear, and things break all at once. Do it yourself, or get a really good mechanic - because sedans of this generation are all prone to breaking. Worst of all, there’s no rhyme or reason to it. We can somewhat excuse the lacklustre durability of the budget Waimo Saroma, but when the more expensive cars like the Reduit and the 246 have the same issue? Something is rotten. (Out-of-universe: Half the cars were very close to the point of torque or RPM stress. I am not going to judge it harshly this time as it wasn’t super clear, but it poses an issue - a little bit worse quality, and it gets strain).
(P&A)
You know, spotting one of these is a rarity - for good reason. The car uses a surplus plane engine - which has one big issue. See, when the government was buying planes for the war, they could afford to spend. When Joe Average does, though? Well, it’s just too expensive. At this price, you expect things to be perfect. But when the engine is shaking the car to death, and the bench seats don’t mold to your butt nearly as well as the alternative separate seats? It ends up beaten by the Saarland Kardinal (half the price) and the Armor Highland (almost a third). You expect five litres of engine to come with five litres of performance too, but no - the gearbox just will not let you go faster than most other cars in the class, and it gets beaten out routinely. A disappointing car on an engineering level, useful only to enrich dealers and impoverish fools.
(Renwoo, Hakaru, Waimo)
From the most expensive to the cheap end, the price is the big headline on these cars. The Waimo is seriously cheap, over 10% cheaper than the Hakaru - the next cheapest car on the market. Well, cheap to buy - the softer, cambered tyres will have you getting to know your local mechanic, good for when the engine has its issues. It lacks a radio and all expense has been spared in the interior, but you get what you pay for. Meanwhile, the Hakaru and Renwoo both use much more durable tyres, with less camber… Although the Renwoo is similarly cheap on the inside. That meagre existence does have one benefit, though - it means they’re lighter and easier to drive. It’s not worth it though, we’d buy the (much nicer) Hakaru, with decent seats and a reasonable radio. Just don’t rev it all the way, take care of it, and it’ll save your money in the long run.
(Saeta, Dauphine, Aileron, Schnell, Saarland)
Back up to the expensive end of things, this is all cars at a reasonable but high price. At this end of the price scale, softer, less durable tyres are far more fair… But spending has its limits, and the 246 Dauphine finds them. With performance-oriented carburetors, it picks up absolutely all the dust out on the road - driving down reliability and driving up service costs. Softer tyres and the highest of cambers, plus a somewhat thirsty engine stacks it up even more. The suspension setup tries to mix drivability (for the springs) and comfort (for the dampers), when more consistency would be better. Add in a frankly outrageous amount of wheelspin, and it’s all a bit of a recipe for disaster.
The Schnell is also incredibly expensive to run, only getting a three kilometers per litre of fuel. The stock tyres are five milimeters larger on one end than the other, meaning you run into fitment issues or you end up with high tyre costs. An automatic gearbox can’t help the driving dynamics either. The Saeta Corcel Special almost ticks all the boxes - having only four seats allow them to be molded for added comfort, but does restrict practicality - and it really falls apart when you turn. Turn too hard? You find the bottom of the suspension. Having a lower-quality radio hurts too. The Aileron C50 has its issues too, charging premium prices but failing to deliver a premium interior - at least it’s cheap to run, with durable tyres and an astonishing 7.2 L/100 km (albeit on premium fuel). It’s nice to drive, though.
That leaves us with the Saarland Kardinal as our final premium car, one of the cheaper ones… And we have no idea how. The AM radio is simply the best to exist within a car. Yes, the bench seats aren’t molded, but it’s still so comfortable. The driving dynamic are beaten, sure, but… At this price point, comfort ultimately matters more, and lacking the setbacks elsewhere helps too.
(Brampton, Armor, CESMA, Anhultz, Reduit)
Finally, we hit the middle of the market - but oh what a middle!
Let’s start on the somewhat low notes - the Reduit and the CESMA. They are both somewhat uncomfortable, having rather unflattering suspension and - in the case of the CESMA - lacking a radio. That’s it, that’s the low notes.
Every single car in the class has similar driving dynamics - better than some luxury cars. With the exception of the afformentioned pair, they all have wonderful comfort when actually driving - the Armor, Brampton and Anhults all beat out all but the Saarland and P&A, with the Armor ass the best thanks to its automatic gearbox. Fel exonomy is reasonable enough, but that auto of the Armor and the Brampton’s sporty aspirations harm them there. Value is similar too, and reliability is fairly solid, with Anhultz and CESMA in first and second. Honestly? Unless you are vain, or like the premium aesthetic of the more expensive cars, this is the place to be.
Honestly, there won’t be a detailed overview of aesthetics. I’m tired, my GPU is tired and honestly… You all absolutely nailed it. They are recogniseable as beloning to the era, yet they don’t fall into the trap of sameness that sports did. The cheap cars are appropriately small and cute. The expensive cars are appropriately stately and elegant. My personal favourite is the Renwoo, because of that roof and the hot rod look. Grilles, lights, bumpers, even trim - no two cars can be mistaken for another. The look of the Aileron’s central headlight has grown on me, I might not ban it yet. Every car looks exactly as it should, there’s a wonderful diversity here… Kudos to everyone.
Oh, and… Round 2 will be posted in a little while.
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Could something be said about how the sedans in this round affected the market?
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It’ll be posted as part of the big round 2 collection post, mainly because my creative juices are done.
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No stress, just thought about it since the other categories had such info.
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@AMuteCrypt if you aren’t busy, can i ask what i did wrong with the naming of my car? Was it just because i didnt name the engine or was there something else wrong?
You named the model “ALC” and the trim “Carpotato”, then named the family “Courage” and the variant “Conquest”. You should have named the model and family “ALC1 - Carpotato”, the trim “Courage Conquest” and the family something like “2.8L i6”.
As for why it matters: if I open up a car to look at stuff like how many seats it has, what the interior and entertainment are, then leave, I get a screen with all models except the one I just viewed collapsed and have to manually expand them. I do not want to fish around and expand entries until I get the next one I want - and imagine the confusion of every round’s model is just named ALC!
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ROUND 2: PROLOGUE
With round 2 delayed, I’m deciding to take advantage and spend the week or so delay on worldbuilding and additional lobbying. The full round 2 post, with tax and everything finalised, will go up on or around the 30th of May; the round will close on the 20th of June, at 11:59 PM UTC. It will cover 1955-1964, as 91 RON unleaded fuel unlocks in 65. Key lobbying points will include safety, leaded fuel and (of course) taxes.
Key points in market sentiment from sedans:
- After the widespread issues with torque and rev strain, consumers place a much higher value on long-term reliability. Cars which continue to have peak torque or redlines close to the point of stress (hint: drop bottom end quality a few points for an easy way to check if you’re safe) will be seen very unfavourably, as will cars with naturally low reliability scores. This is most pronounced for sedans but, because sedans are the base type, it hits everyone. Cars which just keep on running, however, are more favoured too.
- There’s a slight skepticism about premium or luxury sedans (much like expensive utes) because they didn’t offer meaningful upgrades in the stats that really mattered, like comfort. This can be broken, however.
- People are willing to work on their own cars to save money, and easily-modifiable options (low engine bay fill, variant bore/stroke lower than family, etc) might just catch on in the next decade…
Now, on with the prologue!
First things first, everyone will be able to each ask one question about Araga, whether they’ve submitted or now. These are to help flesh out the world a bit more, and let people make more interesting choices. Questions are to be posted here, in this thread, fully publicly. Feel free to discuss each question, but remember that I’ll have final say. Some sample questions include:
- How developed are Araga’s interstates/highways?
- What’s the climate of Araga like?
- Does Araga spend a lot on its military?
- Does Araga have lots of land borders? Is tourism by car viable?
- How often do Aragans travel to other countries?
- What’s the terrain of Araga like?
I will not allow questions to be edited except for clarity reasons. Giving examples what you mean by terrain and climate? That’s fine. Going from asking about terrain to asking about the military? That’s not. If someone else already asked the same question as you? Tough.
These questions close on Wednesday the 25th of May, at 11:59 PM UTC
Now for the fun part: Extra lobbying. Everyone who participated in the last round gets 10 spending tokens. Each token can be allocated for or against various development projects - although spending for has a greater effect than spending against. The projects are laid out below. You may allocate your tokens however you want, and up to 3 unused tokens may be carried forward to the next era. You can also cash in seven of your tokens now for doubled lobbying power next round. Also remember that some of these projects may have ramifications that aren’t listed. Finally, I have noted how measures within a theme interact, but not between themes. Some measures such as urban sprawl will disincentivise others, like public transport. Please submit your extra lobbying in the same thread that you submitted your car - check the first post if you’re not sure how to find that thread.
This lobbying closes on Friday the 27th of May, at 11:59 PM UTC
Project Class 1: Development
This project is all about the environment people are living in. There is no synergy between different options.
Project 1.1: Support Urban Sprawl!
- Promote the development of low-density suburbs around the cities.
- Severely increases demand for family/commuter cars, due to car-centric property development.
- Worse for pedestrians, and highly likely to degrade the natural environment.
- Directly opposes 1.2 and 1.3.
Project 1.2: Let’s Get Urban!
- Promote the development of high-density mixed-use cities.
- Reduces demand for family/commuter cars somewhat, due to increased walkability.
- Far better for pedestrians, and leaves the natural environment outside the city in a better state.
- Directly opposes 1.1, weakly supports 1.3.
Project 1.3: Satellite Cities, Ready For Launch!
- Promote the use of satellite cities, where multiple centres are close together and people commute between them.
- Slightly increases demand for commuter cars.
- Somewhat better for pedestrians, and better for the environment.
- Directly opposes 1.1, weakly supports 1.2.
Project Class 2: Transport
This is all about how people get from one place to another. There’s no synergy or interaction between the two.
Project 2.1: The Public Option
- Promote the use of trains, busses, trams and the like.
- Reduces demand for commuter cars, due to increased competition.
- Reduces congestion.
Project 2.2: My Way Or The Highway
- Promote the construction of highways and well-made road routes between cities.
- Increases demand for cars to travel between urban centres.
- Increases viability of road-based freight.
- Reduces attractiveness of off-road cars.
Project Class 3: Let’s Go Racing!
This is the fun side. It’s a measure of manufacturer involvement in racing - everything from building cars to entering teams to even making tracks. Here, there is synergy - spending on one category will inherently boost others.
Project 3.1: A Quarter Mile At A Time
- Support drag racing
- Boosts public perception of acceleration and top speed as measures of performance
- Very high accessibility - anyone can run anything down a strip
- Lower marketability - it all happens in a handful of seconds
Project 3.2: Roads? How Boring!
- Support rally racing
- Boosts public perception of off-road as a measure of performance
- High accessibility - some modifications are needed, but most cars can be rallied
- Somewhat lower marketability - it’s harder to televise
Project 3.3: Fender? I 'ardly Know 'er!
- Support open-wheel racing, potentially enticing F1 to race in Araga
- Boosts public perception of sportiness and laptimes at all costs as a measure of performance
- Low accessibility - who can afford that?
- The highest marketability - it’s the biggest spectacle
Project 3.4: He’s Going The Distance
- Support endurance racing
- Boosts public perception of reliability as a measure of performance
- Moderate to low accessibility - anyone can, but not everyone has the time
- Moderate to high marketability - it’s a really nice spectacle
Project 3.5: The Grand Tour
- Support touring car racing
- Boosts public perception of drivability and sportiness as a measure of performance
- Moderate accessibility - your car is similar enough to try
- High marketability - “Hey, that’s my car!”
Project 3.6: To The Left, To The Left
- Support oval racing
- Boosts public perception of top speed as a measure of performance
- Moderate accessibility, high marketability - similar reasons to touring cars.
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Just so I get how it works we get 10 points from now until the end of the competition that don’t refill?
And then part two of the question, if we choose to spend on one of these developments I assume we are picking the individual parts, so like 2.2 instead of just 2?
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No, they will refill each era. You only carry a maximum of 3 points to the next era, so there’s no point in only spending 6 of them.
Yes, you are indeed lobbying for individual sub-projects, which allows you to target what you want.
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How well-developed is the Aragan highway network?
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How much does the average Aragan earn?
Does the economy on that era is better or worse than the round before?
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What is the largest industry in Aragan? (excluding automotive industries if applicable)
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How many people live in Araga and how is the population split between rural and urban?
edit: typo to correct wording
other edit: more typos… am schtoopid lol
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Are there speed limits on Aragan roads and, if yes, what are values?
Listing example for country i live in, Serbia:
(Units are kilometers per hour)
School zone: 30
Inside any inhabited area (village, town, city): 50
Outside of village: 60
Motorway: 100
Highway: 120
Edit: Ofc im pretty sure these havent been like that all the time, but understandably im interested in limits of second era
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What is the fertility rate in Araga at the start of round 2 in rural and urban areas? (# of children per woman)
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