Best buy for under 14K 1993 (Final verdicts: page 5/5, final conclusion!)

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1993 ARMOR CRICKET

1.9 Liter SOHC I4 making 93.6 horsepower (!)
4 speed automatic (5 speed manual is standard)
31.4 mpg
0-60 in… well…
$14,000 sticker price


Interior


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1993 Tiffosì Nuova Citta 60

Description

All-new for '93 ist Tiffosì’s latest subcompact that used to be the car that motorized Tiffosì’s home country post WWII. Now it is a bread-and-butter offering of the company popular in cities as well as a beginner’s or second car across europe. Nuova Citta retains the iconic round headlights that made the Citta a sensation in popular culture as a ‘cute’ everyperson’s car. The Citta has also been the basis for various tuners due to its ubiquitousness, but is rather tame in its basic form, focused on drivability and reasonable comfort.

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Not that I will judge them, but damn, that is probably among top 5 Automation interiors I have seen, nice job!

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                                    **1993 Rossi XI EP**

Launched as a brand new model in 1992, the XI replaced the X - the 11th generation of Rossi’s line of small saloon cars which begin in 1921 - however the first 6 generations were all small updates of the same vehicle, between 1921 and 1939. The outgoing X ran from 1986 to 1992.

The modern XI is the first to be offered with a 5-speed manual and fuel injection on all trims. It consists of five trim levels, ranging from the top-spec QS model down to the lowest EP model. The EP model is designed for a budget-conscious consumer, getting over 30 mpg in the city and over 50 highway. A small displacement engine ensures low road tax and insurance prices. The EP model is also stripped of features to make the initial price as low as possible.

It is the EP model that will be submitted to Trafikjournalen for review. EP stands for “Economy Performance”. In 1994, Rossi will launch a new generation of their Cuciola supermini. A new, modern engine is needed, and Rossi decided to fit it to the lowest trim of the XI EP. A 998cc unit making 55hp, it is tuned for fuel economy - the low displacement helps keep road tax low in many markets. Originally intended only for the Italian home market, rising fuel costs and a worsening economy persuaded Rossi to sell the EP model abroad.

Compared to a standard XI, the EP features plastic bumpers, plastic hub caps designed to reduce drag, smaller wheels, rear drum brakes, an older two-speaker radio and lots of flat black plastic, inside and out.

The test car as a price of 13,900 AMU and is painted in Ferro Argento. A 5-speed manual, heater, and radio come as standard.

I made this car some months ago and the original base model cost 15,000 AMU - a smaller engine and worse radio, among other things, helped lower the price. As a 1992 model it’s one of my newest cars and thus well-suited for this challenge.

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This is the 2nd Gen Centara Tormenta hatchback,
a car designed to feel sporty without actually being sporty.

(Backstory)

What do I mean by that? Take the engine: Being among the lower trims, the base Boxer-6 in this hatchback made less than 100 horsepower, but more that 200 lb-ft of torque, providing a shockingly-potent off the line acceleration that could consistently spin the wheels. But beyond that, the engine was primarily designed to be quiet, smooth, and require little cooling.
And the same can be said for the rest of the car. The suspension and steering setup made the car feel responsive and agile, but it was actually too soft to be effective on a racetrack. The interior was given a “sport” mode- which lit up some dials, and activated the partial manual-shifting mode, but did absolutely nothing else. Everything the car did was meant to create the illusion of sportiness; to give the everyman the feeling of owning a sports car, without any of the pitfalls that come with real sports cars.


(The Tormenta “Flamenco”, the highest-level performance variant of the sedan trim. Too expensive to participate in this contest.)

This generation Tormenta was overall received rather poorly by critics, being described by a Japanese journalist as “the most disappointing car on the market.” In their track test of the top-level sedan (marketed as on par with the Impreza WRX, or a Lancer EVO), they stated that “Everything about the car looks so exiting…but once you’ve actually driven it for a few minutes, you realize it’s really just an Accord with some extra torque. You feel like you’ve been conned.”
However, the hatchback (a base model) was better received than most of its fellow trims, as it proved much more drivable and comfortable than many of its competitors. Plus, what little sportiness it did have was easy to use, and could be enjoyed within legal limits. It’s no wonder it won “most fun to own” in an Ethiopian magazine ranking of city cars.

But it’s worth noting that this is not a Swedish car; Centara never really knew much about Sweden (and neighboring countries), and it wasn’t until 2 months before it’s 1992 release that a sales rep realized they’d need a catalytic converter in some markets. So they carelessly bolted one onto their cars when needed, without changing anything else.
They also didn’t check the fuel type; they thought regular (91 RON) fuel was standard everywhere, and never even thought about Premium, let alone tested it.

So a Tormenta in Sweden has 10 hp* less then it was designed for, and was built for a fuel that isn’t available. Oh, and they charged extra for the converter.

Still, for $12,995, the Tormenta hatchback was one of the most pleasant-to-own vehicles available in the era, since it was so heavily specialized around the driver’s enjoyment. It won’t turn heads or set records, but it can promise a good time no matter where you are, or what you’re doing.

(*The use of premium fuel does boost performance slightly, so the discrepancy might not be quite that large.)

This car is from my first campaign playthrough, so I wanted to see how it would do in a contest. I’m proud of it, but I have improved a lot since then (and still am).

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Well I have to say I’m really not liking my chances. There have been so many cool cars posted by players, old and new, that I think I made a strategic error in making a Soviet style long-termer, hahaha!

I don’t regret the call, other than possibly the week it took to make all the generations and variants, but I sure have chosen a narrow window of opportunity… Maybe I’m the Dark Horse, hahaha! :thinking::astonished::exploding_head:

My favourite Dark Horse, hahaha!

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Well, I will not tell anything until friday, but let’s just say that I have looked at the stats of some of the cars (including yours) and there is some real surprises in the field, both good and bad. Nobody should expect anything at the moment because this might still take some unexpected turns.

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… that I think I made a strategic error in making a Soviet style long-termer, hahaha!

If you hadn’t done it, I would have at least considered it. :wink:

But the downside of the current sandbox is, it doesn’t take into account things like worker exploitation wages, production engineering (reliability slider etc. but also development time), factory configuration (automation, tooling, QA slider), long written off development costs etc. … and live rear axles have actually a quite high material cost compared to the cheaper independent suspension stuff. In campaign, I easily sold my Archanan long-termer for around 7-8k in the 90s iirc while still making a healthy profit.

At least the roast will be nice, I guess. :wink:

Now, on an unrelated note:

(Yes, this is essentially a campaign car, but with a few additional touches for this challenge (e.g. some basic interior and a few engineering fixes to remove campaign cheese). Didn’t sell this one in the campaign until the later 90s due to development time, but anyway…)

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I agree with the point above - back in 2019 before an update, you could change the price in sandbox by adding or removing price margins. I’d wish this feature would come back, as you can use lore to explain why a car is more/less expensive than others. Would be useful in more expensive challenges too, so you don’t have a 60k super car for sale

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Lovely ad! :rofl:

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Ibishu Pessima '79 Classic

Here we have the all new 1979 Ibishu Pessima! Called the Pessima '79 Classic, Ibishu say that the use of an old car is a stylish return of the late 1970’s. In reality, everyone knew that it was cheap, old and lacking in safety, despite the car being revered for it’s luxury at the time.

With a 1.7L I4 engine producing 100hp, it’s acceleration was hardly impressive at 10.4 seconds to reach 62mph. Still, it was faster than many of its competitors, particularly since it could reach 132mph… eventually. Ibishu could boast about its maximum MPG of 46, with a combined MPG of 27, however.

Ibishu changed a few things from the original trim - here is a comprehensive list:
-Increased wheel size from 15" to 16"
-New wheel trims
-Dropped the fuel injection in favour of a carburettor to bring the costs down
-Interior colour change from beige and cream leather to blue fabric and plastic
-Interior digital display removed - it was laughably dated and expensive
-New gauge cluster
-New stereo
-Various modernisations in safety equipment
-Swapped hydropneumatic suspension for a more standard setup
-Dropped black glass trim lines above front and rear lights in favour for plastic

Some images:

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Python Mini '93 (Base model)

Even after the bankruptcy Python Motors were doing well, even diversifying their brand. Come 1992 they were bought out by Kyung-Yeong Industries which helped them come back around with a special little project: A fully kitted out Python Mini.

The “new” 1993 Python Mini took the underpinnings of the old from the 1980s Python Mini with cheapness in mind, thanks to being overseen by Kyung-Yeong, the new car oozed with reliability and affordability. They boasted a potent 80mpg (UK) and low emissions making it a very popular car overseas as well as Japan. The Mini was after all a Kei-car, with a 660cc engine, previously an Inline 3 made by Python, but the new 1993 model was given a Bermag 660/20v XY, an extremely smooth and economical 660 I4.

The base model was the only model sold, however it came with a gigantic array of accessories fitted before purchase: Sunroof air deflector, side window air deflectors, mudflaps front and rear, a stylish twin rear boot-lid spoiler package, Cassette player, Air conditioning, and strangely a coffee machine which could be fitted between the rear seats, replacing the middle seat.

It came with a vast choice of colours: Baby blue, Baby Pink, Beige Camel, Black, Dark Blue, Light White-Cream, Playful Orange, Sea Blue, Simple Silver and White, all of which were offered in two-tone combinations which work with the interior secondary fabric colour.

(Collab with @Ryan93)

Additional pictures

Sea Blue/Simple Silver Interior

Playful Orange/Light White-Cream

Baby Pink/Light White-Cream

Dark Blue/High Gloss Plastic

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Yay for campaign cars! Cheese time!!! : D

Seriously tho, there are some really good looking entries in this competition. So many people have put in so much time and flavor into their designs- and into their presentations/advertisements here, too.
I can’t wait to find out how the cars themselves actually compare!

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1993 Akira Sparrow

Lore

The year is 1988, and Akira is doing well in the market. The Akira Metro, introduced in the 70s and now in it’s 3rd generation, was the best selling model in the lineup. The problem, however, was that the Metro was growing larger and larger each generation, and has grown out of the small city car market it had originally intended to compete in. Akira Motors remedied that by introducing it’s cheapest car yet, the 1988 Akira Sparrow, which began production in 1988. The Sparrow shared common design cues to the 3rd Gen Metro, albeit much smaller in every dimension.

Now, for the 1993 model year, Akira is introducing a facelift of the Sparrow, with some slight tweaks to the 1.5L 4 cylinder engine, and some minor interior quality improvements. The car still remains lightweight, coming in under 1000kg, and averaging 6.6l/100km, it still is very cheap car to run and maintain.

The Sparrow by Akira. Built for the city.
This little car will handle the hustle and bustle of the city like no other. For just under $14k, get in to the top of the range Akira Sparrow 1.5GL, newly updated for 1993.


Tbh

Honestly there’s already so many good cars here I doubt this will do very well… I just submitted because I had already put in all the work. :joy:

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@Serperior98, you’ve gotta be in it to wn it, hahaha!

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OK, with a little less than 24 hours left, I have submissions from
@Knugcab
@Fletchyboy100
@DuceTheTruth100
@BannedByAndroid
@interior
@Hshan
@ImKaeR
@karhgath
@Frostquake
@bilobilo
@piglet916
@HighOctaneLove
@Maverick74
@abg7
@A_Harmless_Fly
@Jaimz
@missionsystem
@nicholasrams774
@chichicoofisial
@Just4
@oppositelock
@TheYugo45GV
@fasmukji
@pcmoreno
@Arn38fr
@GassTiresandOil
@Stryder237
@Edsel
@AndiD
@EngineEmu
@Aruna / @Ryan93
@Serperior98

So, last chance now, and if you have sent and can’t find yourself in the list, please tell me.

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how about my car? :slight_smile: dont have it?

Oh yes, I do, just forgot that Aruna had a co-op with you. Will add…

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Originally launched in 1989 the Aurora was considered a great value for money option even if a bit on the boring side. Three years later new competition form its European counterparts forced the company to refresh and modernise the model to in order to keep it competitive. This wasn’t enough tho and sales slowed down to a crawl so one last effort was put in and the s variant was introduced, a hot-ish, red trimmed - so it’s gotta be fast, halo car.

interior



extra shots





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