Prologue
~2004~
Channel 4 broadcasts the final episode of US sitcom Friends,
George Michael releases his final album,
UK enters the US-Iraqi war,
The European Union inducts 10 new countries into the group.
It’s just usual shenanigans……
2004, September 7
10:05 AM
“Graduation Hall”
It was quite a tense moment for Amika Osborne, for she has finally accomplished her Master’s in Professional Accountancy, obviously not an easy feat.
On the other side, Svetlana Baumann, a transfer student from the relatively transformed Russian Federation, has just completed her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. A sigh of relief can be heard from her.
As the ceremony progressed, it was time for the handover of the degrees to the students, which they have worked hard over the years.
As names were called, applauses did the crowd gave
~
“Amika Osborne, she has accomplished her Master’s degree in Professional Accountancy”
As the Chancellor said this, the Osborne household, consisting her parents and her older sister, gave their thunderous applause along with the crowd.
Amika stood up, went up to the stairs leading to the main stage, and after she paused for a brief moment, taking in what she sees right in front of her, all of her years’ of hard work in a thick and finely printed degree, she walks the main stage to approach the Vice-Chancellor holding her degree. A short photo session takes place shortly after.
~
“Svetlana Baumann, she has accomplished her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts”
The crowd gives their applause, but her parents are not to be seen in the crowd, not even a distant relative.
Such is the life of a transfer student who was fortunate enough to have parents that were frugal with their finances after the downfall of the Soviet Union. She has lived in the UK for nearly a decade now, she has grown accustomed with the cultures and traditions, but she has yet to fully assimilate into British society.
Svetlana stood up, went up to the same stairs and walked up on it. She stopped for a short bit to look for someone in the audience.
In a split second, Svetlana’s gaze met with Amika’s stoic face. Svetlana was flustered with her beauty, but she was able to snap out of it in an instant. Svetlana gave a nod in Amika’s general direction
Amika’s usually stoic face turns a bit red, returns a smile to her, and claps for her
Svetlana’s ready to live a free life.
01:24 PM
“Outside the Graduation Hall”
Svetlana is seen slowly walking around just outside the graduation hall, reading the degree she just received hours ago, a degree that reads her full name and the course she has studied for years
In a second, Svetlana bumps into the back of a pale skinned and tall blonde lady, slightly losing her balance with her heels and dropping her degree onto the floor.
“Прошу прощения (proshu proshcheniya), pardon me ma’am! I will be on my way”, Svetlana frantically said as she got down her knee and bowed her head down to get her degree on the floor.
As she got up, she was greeted with by a certain stoic face, whom she is familiar with, probably for a long time now.
It was Amika, whom she was having a relationship with for a long time, she was Svetlana’s first friend when she first enrolled in this university, who then became more than friends.
Amika gestured a shushing hand towards Svetlana’s mouth, as if she knew Svetlana would probably go into a meltdown.
“It’s alright Lana, I am not chewing you out for that”, Amika jokes around loosely.
Amika is a person of not so many words, at least when around other people. She always puts her best foot forward when it comes to her reputation and her impression in public.
“Y-you you you can’t just say it like that after what happened yesterday”, Svetlana stutters trying to regain composure.
“What exactly did we do?”, Amika falsely denies, in a light-hearted and satirical tone.
“HAaaaaaah?, a-anyways, congratulations to us! We made it this far. Hopefully this means more “us time” together”, says Svetlana joyfully.
Amika nods her head, and smiles back at her.
“I really hope so”, Amika replied back.
“By the way Lana, do you think now would be the right time to buy a car?”, Amika asked
“What for?”, Svetlana looked at Amika with curious eyes
“Nothing really in particular, seeing that we might be living together in the future. I just want to take into account how much things we need to bring in at one go and the like”, Amika replied
“I see……… actually, do you remember what I said about going on a road trip?”, Svetlana said as she remembers a time she was talking about her plans with Amika
“You mean…… A European cross-country tour?”
Svetlana nods
“Do you miss your parents?”, As Amika said this, she remembers Svetlana’s situation with her parents
“I really do, I wish they were here to see me.”
Amika sighs a deep sigh, as if the challenge she will soon face is right in front of her
“This will be a stretch, but let’s see what I can do. At the very least, I repay what you have helped me overcome in the past years, it’s the least I can do to help you”
Svetlana becomes filled with joy and embraces Amika with force
“I love you Ami!!!”
“S-s-sooo much”, Svetlana becomes ridden with tears
Amika gives Svetlana a kiss on the cheek and hugs Svetlana back.
“All of this for the best of us, Lana”, Amika replies back, with a slight blush and smile on her face.
Characters
Amika Osborne
Age: 28
Amika Osborne is a Brit who is seen by others as a stoic person who always puts her best foot forward.
Amika doesn’t show her true side unless its with family or with someone who she finds special.
Born in a car-oriented household, her dad George a well-respected mechanic, and her mom Maria, influenced by her husband, a journalist who is up to date with whats going around in the automotive industry, Amika is yet to fully dip her feet in the car world.
Gaining her sense of frugality from her mom, she wants to make sure that her first car makes sense, from practicality, running costs, to value for money. If she sees something that is worth compromising, then she will take every chance to grab it.
Svetlana Baumann (Lana)
Age: 26
Svetlana Baumann is a transfer student hailing from the troubled Russian Federation. She is a moody person with an artistic, somewhat optimistic view of the world.
Her parents with Russo-German ancestry made her life much easier with her fees for tuition paid by someone who has connections with people with financial power.
She views cars as a “moving artpiece; unique experience” and as such is pretty much critical to anything that involves the senses (aesthetic, comfort, dynamics, etc.)
BRIEFING
Amika and her partner will be brainstorming together to find the ideal car that can handle daily city driving, the occasional camping trip, and hopefully something that can carry them across the entirety of Europe, no matter what road conditions throws at them.Amika will facilitate the car shopping with the help of her parents so everything goes accordingly, however Svetlana may object to something Amika says about a particular car, more or less if the comment is valid enough, then it will be considered with Amika and her parents.
The Osborne household have agreed that a wagon with AWD capabilities is the best option for Amika and Svetlana, with Amika pointing out that she is willing to try something like a compact SUV, FWD hatchback/wagon, 4WD van, and anything under the sun if said options are compelling enough.
RULES
(Techpool)
Minimum Starting TP: +3 (N/A entries: +0 in aspiration)Car AND engine TP total cost (techpool + lab costs) equal to $60.0m
(Main)
- Trim/Model year set to 2004- Engine must have a Catalytic Converter and at least one muffler
- Fuel Type: 95 RON (Regular) or 98 RON (Premium); Amika will take into consideration what type of fuel a car uses and if it makes sense for said car to use that fuel. (5% increase in service cost if running on Premium)
- Max Price: $20000
- Mininum WES requirement: WES 10
- No Legacy Mod Bodies allowed
- Must seat at least 5 (Mininum door count is 2, so I will leave it to you on how you go about with the seating arrangement)
- Unscaled euro plates are required
- CSR Realism applies: If I see any V16 Haha-funny meme-mobile and the like, it will get sent to bin city.
- Advanced Trim Settings: Please do tell me during submission what settings you fiddled with so I can keep track, also obviously no extreme adjustments are allowed
- Interior not required, but highly encouraged
- Naming Format for Model and Family: CSR159 - (your forum name)
- An ad is required to be posted on this forum post
- This challenge is run on the latest version of Open Beta
CRITERIA
(3 stars ***)
Realism-
Realism of one's car design and engineering can go a long way here. The Osborne household keep tabs on what works and what doesn't in the car industry. They can certainly like a Boxer-engined AWD wagon, but there is absolutely no point in a V12 powered 4x4 for a car at this price range.Drivability-
One of the other priorities high up on the list is drivability. Both Amika and Svetlana will be driving the car, and while Amika has no problems driving a manual, Svetlana has just got her driver's license so a car with an automatic transmission is highly appreciated. However, if a car is worth its value, Amika can arrange a couple more driving sessions to help Svetlana learn how to drive stick.Reliability-
This is pretty much self-explanatory, the duo will probably want to stick with the car for as long as they possibly could.Value for money-
Amika does not want to spend too much money in buying her first car, so if she sees a car that can do a lot of things well while not costing a lot, she will opt for the cheaper option. However, if such a car that really is the best of the rest does indeed exist, then she will give it a fair trial.(2 stars **)
Design-
In Svetlana's opinion, Amika shouldn't be having a car that would categorize her as a "poser". Amika doesn't really mind having a boring-looking car, but Svetlana keeps insisting of getting a car with a "unique" design. Both agreed that they will have to work it out when they see the options available to them.Running costs-
Basically your service cost, tyre wear multiplier, and the type of fuel you are using. Tied with value for money.Safety-
Safety is self-explanatory. Basically if the car is safe in a crash, then it should be fine.Practicality-
Amika and Svetlana have plans to do hobbies that may require loading the back of the car with loads of stuff, so they will have to take into consideration how much cargo the car carry. (The statistic will not be judged, it will be based upon load capacity, cargo & passenger volume.)Fuel Economy-
Having just graduated out of University, the last thing they want to spend a lot on a tight budget is on gas.(1 star *)
Comfort-
While Amika doesn't really mind driving a subtly harsh riding car, Svetlana might complain about it during the road test.Performance-
While Amika doesn't mind a car with soft suspension, both Amika and Svetlana agreed that the car should at least have ample acceleration and speed that is sufficient enough for highway driving.Offroad-
While Amika doesn't really intend to go extreme on offroading, she does like the idea of having a car with capable offroad abilities not only for peace of mind, but the thought of being able to take detours in a road trip when the going gets rough.Enviromental Resistance-
They will be driving on roads that get salted during winter season, so having a chassis and underbody that doesn't easily rust at the sight of salt is appreciated.Inspirations to consider
CSR will be open for entries @ 27th of November, 12:00PM (GMT+9:30);
CSR entries deadline @ 17th of December, 11:59PM (GMT+9:30)
As this CSR will be held in openbeta, I will allow for as many resubmissions to account for any upcoming openbeta/stable updates
(Reminder: This is my first time ever for me to host a challenge in the forums page, so please do tell me if I am missing something important and what not, thank you so much!)
Edit 1: Additional rules added
Edit 2: WES requirement added and Performance added as a 1-star priority Edit 3: Maximum Engine/Car TP limit removed, additional rule added, deadline pushbacked
Edit 4: Rewording of Techpool rule and a $5m increase in Total Techpool Cost, updated fuel rules to reflect the fuel that is available in the UK market. Also text color for dialogue should be easier to read now.
Edit 5: N/A entries no longer have to follow +3 minimum techpool for aspiration (turbo) in the techpool tab
Edit 6: Deadline moved to Dec 11
Edit 7: Deadline moved to Dec 12 due to Automation update
