###Rules: must be SOLD from 2014, 15, 16, 17+ This means that you can have 90’s cars that have been selling up until now. – Must fit category – Must include top speed, weight, price and all the drivability numbers (sportiness etc…)
ISSUE ONE; CABRIOLET.
I’ll see what I can make tonight.
I have plenty of ideas for convertibles up for consideration - including some derived from models I already made.
[color=orange]First issue in progress![/color]
Can you tell me the price please?
Price please
To be fair, the convertible top and premium interior both add extra weight, and the Clipper in all its forms is a grand tourer with four seats, not two. However, if I had stiffened the suspension too much, it wouldn’t have been as comfortable as I wanted it to be. Now what if I am telling you that the brains trust at NMC are contemplating a hardcore hardtop coupe version minus the back seat and with a sport interior, as well as less body roll for greater precision? That’s for another issue, though…
Buyers can’t go wrong with any of the cars in this first issue; it depends on what their idea of a sporty convertible is. Well done on our first issue - what will the next one be about?
Sorry, I haven’t got a computer for a while. Price isn’t estimated perfectly for now, but it will be somewhere near 20k $.
After the madness of the Clipper (which was reviewed in the previous issue) NMC has given us something saner and more relevant, but no less important to the readers of this magazine.
As a first car, the 2015 NMC Scarab fulfills its role more than adequately. It may only have a straight-four under its bonnet, with a displacement of 1.8 litres (for the optional engine - the base engine is a 1.5), but it is light enough to make the most of what little power it has.
Its combination of verve (15.8 for sportiness - more than what is usually expected of its ilk), frugality (no more than 6.15 l/km with either transmission - the example shown here has the optional 8-speed automatic, although a six-speed manual is standard), comfort (40.0), practicality (a score of >60 even with just three doors - a five-door version is also available with either engine) and affordability (<$14k, not including markups), combined with a small footprint, make it an extremely competitive B-segment choice.
If you are looking for a cheap yet cheerful city car, you must definitely consider this little gem of a machine from the makers of such exemplary drivers’ cars such as the Clipper and Python.
Combined with a long list of standard equipment (viscous LSD optional on 1.5 and standard on 1.8, high-quality standard interior with infotainment suite with either engine, and adaptive dampers standard across the range - the 1.8 has semi-active dampers and sway bars as an option, both of which have been specified on the example shown) and top-notch engineering (multilink rear, aluminum panels) the Scarab seems like staggering value. High-quality is a relative term: the standard interior and infotainment have been set at +1 quality, but some competitors (which we won’t name here) have zero or even negative quality for either, or even have basic equipment levels rather than standard ones.
Well, there is another competitor in current city car competition: The CMT Defiant, which is all-new in 2016, a complete rework of its 2007 predecessor.
It features a highly developed 1200ccm DOHC four, to keep its price low CMT does without turbocharger and automatic transmission. Other models are nearly ready to go on sale, but as long as the people can not order them yet, this is the only variant CMT can provide for competition.
Engineers are not fond of the heavy weight, which leads to a relatively high consumption. But beside that, CMT is proud of the sharp design and the excellent reliability.
It is interesting to compare your approach to building a B-segment city car with my engineers-first philosophy. 100 bhp from a 1.2-liter I4 is quite good, and your car is actually cheaper than mine, but the galvanized steel chassis may not provide enough environmental resistance in this day and age. Also, the partial aluminum panels actually make it heavier than my Scarab. Combined with the fact that your engine does not use low-friction pistons, I actually managed better fuel economy with my design, despite its larger 120-bhp engine.
Even so, the Defiant has a few things going for it. Its double wishbone front suspension reduces the size of the engine bay, but on the other hand, provides superior ride comfort and improved handling. This seems pointless, though, when the Defiant has a torsion beam rear, which is nowhere near as complicated as the multilink setup on the Scarab, but on the other hand, doesn’t provide as much comfort. However, it is more reliable, although the flipside is the additional engineering time its engine requires (I kept all engine quality sliders at 0 to save cost). The six-speed manual transmission is a boon for enthusiasts, though, and your car is one of the more attractive I’ve seen.
We need more cars people! (& to the people who’ve already entered, thanks)
I wish I could enter 
I like your work but I don’t have the full version of the game yet
one day…
