Congratulations @ldub0775 for a well deserved win! I read the blurb that @AMuteCrypt wrote and it made me want one for myself; I’d thought my entry was my perfect Festiva, I now have a new and more exciting idea of what can be done!
Link to winning car information/advertisement
Also thanks to AMuteCrypt for hosting and providing a challenge that seemed easy enough but turned out to provide lessons to all who entered… 
Having said that, there is one big advantage of all of this - the free choice of morphs. I honestly believe that the morph freedom was a good thing. Most of the cars look recognisable compared to the base model. Going out on a bit of a limb here, I think that it would be worth considering free morphs in future rounds, but mandating that the final product should be similar to the base in shapes. Up to other hosts, though.
To elaborate on my decision to relegate Hi to third based upon this decision, I felt that I had to view it similar to the 3D downforce exploit. For those unfamiliar with it, it is possible to use 3D placement mode to place a wing far, far behind the actual car - with ludicrous examples exiting the garage environment and being hundreds of meters away. This generates ludicrous downforce on the rear wheel, and can be very useful for some challenges. It’s also banned and looked on harshly in every challenge where the host knows the trick. Fundamentally, I viewed Hi’s 3D modelling in a similar light - it’s using 3D fixtures to gain an advantage which doesn’t make sense in realistic terms. There’s no reason why a ute made with a change in body style (or a sedan made the same way) would cost money while one made with 3D fixtures shouldn’t. I acknowledge that this is a grey area in the rules, which is why I heavily suggest that any future hosts including this element should absolutely clarify this by including a rule that any major changes in shape should incur these costs.
Going just a little more specific, the usage band idea was a failure, at least in my eyes. Some entries only listed it in the advert, while some did not list it at all. I don’t think it added much, beyond allowing some variation in budget. The other part of that, though - rolling servicing and fuel into budget - definitely worked out great though. It created some real consideration in engineering, and helped them have some real impacts.
As to the comments from HighOctane… Yes, a more realistic option would be to buy a new car, or to pop an electric motor into this one, but there’s plenty that’s unrealistic here. I don’t actually have 120 grand to drop on a car, and you’re right that I wouldn’t actually drop it here, but I am pretty sure that the Automation Electric Restomod Challenge isn’t coming any time soon, heh.
First off, huge congrats to Ldub for the win - well deserved! I am very happy to see a new face added to the ARM winners’ list. And I am also very happy to see that a few other new people joined this round.
Re the post mortem: I agree with most points, and good food for thought for ARM going forward.
- Body morphs. I think this will heavily depend on the round in question and how they are implemented, but overall worth considering every round what is the best way to deal with it.
- Body shapes. I agree with the general gist of it and how you handled them this round. Generally, having several cost tiers for the degree of modification is a good idea.
- Questions are a nice addition indeed. Definitely need to iron out some kinks still, and also have to keep in mind that it is probably not for everyone/each round. But for the right setting, it has a good future.
- Yep, this is a recurring theme - keep it simple
As for my entry, Mons Automotive has looked into what went wrong. First off, Mons Customs put the motto “BRS is dead, long live BRS” on the whiteboard… yeah, bad idea. Contrary to popular belief, the Kagu Blue has never won any challenge, so the record of losses remains untarnished. Second, Mons Racing fucked up copying a classic icon of an engine. No excuses. The teams will regroup and attack the next ARM with renewed vigor! 
Congrats to Ldub on the victory! That rally car idea was certainly unique, and you pulled it off quite well! Also, as for my car: Even though it wasn’t intended as cheese to make a change in bodystyle that I thought didn’t exist for the Festiva out of 3D, now that I know there was actually a ute style for that body, I can definitely understand now why as a host, binning my car was the right choice out of principle. Such a move probably looked like an attempt to game the system, and while it wasn’t really intended to do so, it still did. While I am not generally a fan of such a large cost being applied to being more highly creative on top of just for a swap in preexisting bodies (despite the realism advantages), in this carticular decision, I think it was the right call.
The next ARM is up!
