Here’s whats running in my head right now…
Ford Probe GT
Mazda 929 HB Coupe
Mitsubishi Delica Starwagon L300
Renault Espace II
Chevrolet K1500 Blazer
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This is what I got
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1999 Subaru Impreza Casa Blanca
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2004 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning
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2003 Toyota MR-2 Spyder
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2004 Fiat Stilo Abarth
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I’ll throw 3 in there as of now.
- 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe
- 1995 BMW 850CSi
- 1975 Daimler Double Six Coupe
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me fogor konthing 
Three entrants into the cool wall:
1969 - 1973 Nissan Fairlady Z/Datsun 240Z
1990 Mercedes Benz 190E 2.5 16v
1973 - 1980 Triumph Dolomite Sprint
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Now that I’ve submitted my Cool Wall submissions, I’m starting to think about repurposing one of my ZERC entries for this challenge.
As an alternative, I could convert my test mule for a larger V12 grand tourer into a full-fledged entry instead, but I’d sacrifice some sportiness, reliability, and economy in favor of improved drivability and comfort. That said, I was able to squeeze 80(!) drivability and 55 comfort out of that one.
I also came up with a third option in the form of a lightweight I6 sports coupe that trades comfort and drivability for a huge dose of sportiness - a heart-over-head choice whereas the big V12 coupe is the polar opposite (and the slower of my two ZERC entries occupies a nice middle ground).
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So if a car has no 3D interior, is it assumed to be RHD?
I can’t speak for the host, but if you’re going no interior I would at least make sure the windshield wipers are facing the correct way.
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To that end, the tips of the wipers should face left if the steering wheel is on the right, and vice versa.
It does not really matter. I did a lot of research on the subject for previous challenges, mostly styling. Regulations are all about total wiped area/area wiped in front of the driver. There are tons of different wiper configs, especially with older cars, and there is no consensus. There are 3 wipers, 2 wipers, single wiper, staggered swipe, opposite wipes, etc. Ideally you’d want to keep one wiper config for all markets that satisfy regulation, and not move pivot points between LHD/RHD, but it still is all over the place. So not a good indication of LHD vs RHD at all.
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Yeah that’s a fair point tbh, plenty of french cars had the rhd wipers the wrong way round. Wish there was a better way to show it really. I’ll scrub that rule out since it actually penalises people who would make an interior.
i’ve changed a few rules slightly, i’ve added them to the changelog but also here is the changes again
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Total techpool is now $65m as I felt the original was too generous
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Safety is now five points not ten
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Purchase price is ten points not five
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removed the lhd penalty as in the end it’s hard to police this
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Budget is the same but I have flattened out the percentages and added jumps for cars in 2005 and 1982 to compensate for the clean air zone charge.
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I managed to adapt my repurposed ZERC entry to the new ruleset without much trouble - the stats obviously took a hit but it’s not too serious. Then again, a combined total techpool cost of $90m would have been way too high to be as realistic as I was hoping for anyway.
After examining the new yearly price caps, I’ve realized it’s also a matter of price weighed up against reliability - newer cars tend to be more reliable, but you’ll have a smaller budget, whereas older, less reliable cars can get away with costing more (within reason), up to a point (although pre-1982 cars are CAZ exempt, as are all Euro 4/WES10 and Euro 5/WES11 cars).
Hold on, “coolness” (the cool wall) is completely independent from all other stats right?
Yeah, just because a car does well on “coolness” it doesn’t necessarily mean it’d actually be the right car for the buyer.
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Also, given that convertible variants of a coupe/sedan are generally inferior to the fixed-roof equivalent (all other things being equal), you may considering giving a minor stat bonus (at least in some areas) to all convertibles (specifically, any car built on an actual convertible body, and not a coupe/sedan made to look like a roadster/convertible/targa).
Moreover, exterior aesthetics could (and should) contribute to the Cool Wall scoring criteria - most likely as an area of major (ten-point) or moderate (five-point) importance.
Also, there’s nothing in the rules that explicitly prohibits use of semi-slick tires (yet), so we can equip our submissions with those if we want - for now.
Finally, the rule set didn’t mention anything about advanced trim settings, so I’m assuming we can adjust them, but in moderation.
Wouldn’t that sort out itself if the client thinks that convertibles ends up higher on the cool wall? And if the client doesn’t think they do, there’s frankly not much of a reason to build one.
Also, exterior aesthetics would for most people be a major factor for where the car ends up on the cool wall - hence it’s not a great idea to have it as a scoring area, since it would then be something that’s factored in twice.
To me, the cool wall is about finding the balance between emotional (including, but not limited to its looks) and rational (safety, practicality, reliability etc) for the actual client, which makes it an interesting alternative to the more usual CSR style challenges, where it is more often things like “customer wants a 1988 sports sedan build the best one”. I think an example of an IRL vehicle selling mainly on its “cool wall” factor is the Jeep Wrangler. It could not be called a beauty, and there are better cars both on and off the road, but it has an image that speaks to its buyers, hence finding its niche on the market.
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