Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Spring arrives. The city bids farewell to the spontaneous snow, and welcomes the wave of construction the place is used to every year. It is now 2018 in the oil & gas metropolis. The government has recently implemented a carbon tax, significantly shooting the gas prices up. That however, isn’t the worst of the city’s issues. The oil based economy is drying up, and although the sector has gone past its deepest recession, the city is still taking a significant hit. 27% of the offices in the downtown core are empty due to mass layoffs, affecting even workers outside the sector.
Brad, senior electrical engineer, opened the company envelope. Out of the entire page, all he could focus on was the one important word “layoff”.
He let out a deep sigh.
“Fuck.”
CSR 103 - Oh the Places You’ll Go
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.
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Brad whipped out his phone and notified Michelle, his wife about the situation. The news eventually reached Sarah, their daughter who is now a 2nd year college student residing in British Columbia. A wave of anxiety rolled over the family.
“So Sarah’s tuition is fuckin’ expensive, you ain’t gonna get any more opportunity in this economy, the only thing we can be grateful about is that the house is paid off. What is there that we can do eh hun?” Brad asked Michelle
“Things just seem to be getting worse in Cowtown…”
A silent pause was followed by Michelle’s long sigh. She then continued,
“The company can’t be assed to pay me any more than what I’m making now, and I ain’t starting no private business. I can’t compete with the boys on 17th and the northwest is full of good eats yeah?”
“Yeah I ain’t doin’ no blue collar shit. I’ll be overtrained by miles!”
“The old Jinhe in the garage is really starting to sputter too huh?”
Sarah points to the garage, where their 2004 Jinhe Albatross sat. The dependable crossover was starting to show its age, lifting up its ripped up skirt, lined with copper-coloured flakes developing in the rear quarter panel. Brad then lifted his head abruptly, pointing a finger to the sky.
“Aye Michelle, how about we travel the world in a fucken car eh?”
Michelle looked at him and paused.
“Brad you’re fucking crazy”
“Think about it, your Jinhe has shown its-”
“I know. You’re crazy, but I love it. We need a new car anyways. Y’know, something I drive to work during the weekdays. I know you can just take the C-Train to work but hey, it’s a nice little vehicle for you to run errands with.”
“…Let’s get on-er! We should take a break anyways after a long time”
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“Right, so we’re travelling the world in a goddamn car. What do we need?”
“Iunno Michelle, what do we need?”
“Probably something that can drive on the side of a cliff with ease, something nice and comfy, has some good room too, oh oh… it should have-”
“God fucking damnit Michelle write that shit down!”
Brad threw Michelle a notebook, where she put down a bullet point after a quick brainstorm sesh:
VEHICLE SHOULD BE:
- RUGGED
“Rugged? As in tough?” Brad asked.
“Damn right. I want something that can climb Kananaskis like a mountain goat you know? Something that can run a marathon without losing bolts, and when it does, can be easily repaired with some duct tape and love!”
“I see where you’re coming from hun, something that won’t start chippin’ away to paper after years on end eh?”
“Damn right honey”
“Doesn’t need to be like a hardcore offroader right?”
“I don’t want something super hardcore. A baja truck or similar would just be too much”
“What else ya thinkin?”
Michelle added another bullet point:
VEHICLE SHOULD BE:
- RUGGED
- DRIVABLE DAILY
“You read my fucken mind eh Mich?”
“I know you too well. We’ll be takin’ it for the trip but usin’ it after anyways.”
“Wait let me guess. You want a comfortable ass car?”
“Yep”
“Something that is large enough to hold you and everything in, but not too large to the point where it’ll be a pain in the fucking ass to park like Duncan’s Super Duty?”
“Yep”
“Something that’s fuel efficient?”
“I know the type of vehicle I want is gonna chug fuel but having a wee bit of extra economy is nice eh? Regular gasoline too. We’ll be in the U.S. for a while.”
“Something that has x-ray vision?”
“Not quite. Having that blind spot and parking sensor stuff is nice, but I don’t need it to drive itself”
“Hey hey, I know one. Remember that Day-toe Sancho we drove a few years back with Sarah? Fucken snail eh hun?”
“Goddamn right. I need something that can accelerate onto a highway and pass people with ease. Nothing too crazy like a sports car, just enough to get passin’. Some places would be tough without that.”
“What about the type of vehicle? You don’t wanna be seen driving in a fucken smart car eh?”
“We’ll be sleeping in the car occasionally. I’d prefer SUVs or crossovers. Vans, albeit being kind of ugly and utilitarian might be an interesting option, but I ain’t feelin’ it too much unless it really surprises me. Trucks should be okay too but we oughtta put a bed cap on that bloke since we’re camping in it.”
“Looks?”
“Better look the part. If it’s ugly I don’t want it”
Michelle then moved onto the third and final bullet point:
VEHICLE SHOULD BE
- RUGGED
- DRIVABLE DAILY
- GOOD VALUE
“Quite a list we building eh?”
“Fuck yeah, hun”
“So good value. We got money, we can spend a bit on something nice eh?”
“Fuck yeah, hun”
“We don’t wanna spend too much servicing her eh?”
“Fuck yeah, hun”
“I think that’s everything? Let’s get browsing?”
“Fuck yeah, hun”
REGS
General Regs:
Model Trim and Engine Variant Year MUST be set to 2018
The rest can be whatever date you want. AS LONG AS IT’S EARLIER OR EQUAL TO 2018
ESC is Mandatory
Government regulation. By Canadian law, mandatory on all vehicles 2012 and newer which means any vehicle you submit should have it.
Manual transmissions prohibited.
Personal preference. Brad and Michelle have experience with manuals but would rather cruise and enjoy the view around them. The stick could also be finicky off-road.
Cars should preferably run on 86 AKI (91 RON)
91 AKI (95 RON) is allowed but will come with a penalty
Minimum Safety: 48
Government regulation once again (plus a bit of personal preference. Take it as an IIHS minimum for a decent rating.
Minimum Seat Count: 5 full
Third rows are taken into account when judging. I will interpret bench configs as flat-folding seats, while full third rows will fold but not be flat.
Trim Regs:
Maximum PU: 120
Maximum ET: 150
Maximum Mat. Costs: 11000
Minimum Fuel Economy: 13 mpg (US)
Maximum Trim Emissions: 100
(The couple plans on moving to British Columbia sooner or later; a province that takes the environment very seriously. Going over the emissions limit means the vehicle is briefly illegal in the province.
Engine Regs:
- Maximum PU: 60
- Maximum ET: 140
- Maximum Loudness: 40
- Race Parts are Banned
- A three-way catalytic converter (high-flow or regular) is mandatory
When designing and engineering your vehicle, use these as references:
Lexus GX
Lexus LX
Toyota Land Cruiser
Chevrolet Tahoe
Ford Expedition
Mercedes GLS-Class
Land Rover Defender
Ford F150
NAMING SYSTEM
Engine name: CSR103 - [forum username]
Engine variant: [engine name]
Car name: CSR103 - [forum username]
Car trim: [car name]
RESUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED
We have lives outside of Automation. Please please please quadruple check your entries before submitting as I will not accept resubmissions at all.
Benchmarks and regulations were created via the open beta branch. Cars submitted from the OB are preferred but not required.
Please post an ad of your car in the thread when submitting!
Submissions will open on June 11th @ 8:00 AM MDT .
The deadline is Tuesday, June 18th @ 11:59 PM MDT.
Between now and submission opening date, changes may occur to the regulations if needed.
A helpful link to convert to your time
This car shopping round’s design brief is meant for you to study. I won’t be explicitly giving out what the clients look for. Instead, you’ll be interpreting what the client wants out of their car, you know, like a real design brief! You’ll be building the best vehicle you can, to the point where it’s almost a company flagship. Lore is strongly encouraged. Good luck to all!
CHANGELOG
- Minimum seat count added. 5 full seats
- Added catalytic converter & race parts restrictions, just for that extra layer of redundancy.
- Added minimum fuel economy
- Deadline is now Tuesday 11:59 PM MDT
it’ll take some modification
