Brief
Gary Fox has made it. He’s 32, and just sold his personal computer business for millions of dollars. His wife and three kids, however, had begun to grow distant as his workload increased to keep the business running at peak performance.
So he sold it and retired.
Deciding to live in a way where just writing books could sustain him, he bought undeveloped land near the mountains of southwestern Virginia and built a home. He bought a few boring cars, and settled in.
Fast forward a year, and things are looking great. Gary has way more in the bank than his bills will ever touch, even accounting for sending 3 kids to college. And then some.
That last part is the thing. Gary was a busybody in his old job, but now he has nothing to do. He wants excitement, yet also some work, and something to show his status. But it has to be something his whole family can enjoy, or at least use.
Once, he’d been given an old Pegasus 260. by his dad, but while he loved the car’s all-out performance, it was getting old. It wasn’t up to doing road trips any more, likely because Gary hadn’t really taken the best care of it what with his work. Gary wanted a car that could bring everyone along in comfort, including the back seat. So, he pulled out the old Bottom Gear magazine, Auto and Operator, and scanned the local ads for cool sedans.
Spotting a number of options in his area, Gary said goodbye to the family and hopped in his old-reliable Mara, excited by the possibilities promised by the new wave of sporty sedans taking the media by storm.
TLDR; an early retiree with a mountain home seeks thrills that he and his family can all enjoy.
Schedule & Car Naming Conventions
Rules deliberation will be open for 3 days from time of posting, until noon EST on Nov. 7. Entries will then open, and remain open for one week, until noon Nov. 21. Results will be out one week later, by midnight Nov. 28.
Your car’s Model name should be “AI - (your forum username)”. All other naming is free.
Rules
- Model, Variant, and Trim years not to exceed 1989.
- Must have at least 4 doors.
- Must seat at least 5.
- Maximum combined techpool costs (the third number at the bottom of the techpool screen) of 80M.
- Must run Regular or Premium Unleaded.
- No Race parts or semi-slick tires.
- Must pass WES 8.
- Keep it realistic. Check real rim and tire sizes of the era and stay in the ballpark. Don’t accidentally put dedicated offroad sealing on your upper middle class sports sedan.
- US road legal, more or less! Do have your lights, third brake light, and visible side indicators. I know light fixture materials are broken so they don’t need to work, just look the part. Front and rear unscaled US plates. Some sort of crappy low speed bumper.
- No legacy bodies.
Priorities
Major
- Fun - Sportiness and Throttle Response added together. This is the whole reason Gary is buying a car.
- 1/4 mile time - While Gary is more about driving experience, he would rather not lose to a 6 cylinder Mustang.
- Handling - Gary won’t track his car often, but he does want to try it, and of course the mountain roads he calls home reward agility.
Moderate
- 0-60 time - Not a true reflection of speed as much as a convenience for overtaking, but who wants to struggle to pass in their dream car?
- Comfort - Simple as. This car is going to see use on family trips as well as spirited drives.
- Drivability - Gary is no slouch, but he won’t be the only driver, and surely a few years down the line his kids will be interested, too.
- Styling - It should look the part of a late 80s sedan, but not be too derivative of a real car. Interiors are a zero-factor.
Minor
- Safety - Gary would rather not die, or have his family die, in this thing.
- Service Costs - Gary wants to own this for a long time and actually use it.
- Environmental Resistance - Virginia is still part of the rusty hell of the Eastern Seaboard, and some protection from the elements is nice.
- Purchase Price - Gary is smart, and while being better is good, you have to justify every dollar.
- Reliability - Since he isn’t working, Gary can maintain the car, but would like to trust it for road trips.
Tiebreakers
- Fuel Economy
- Emissions
Nota Bene
Part of this challenge will be ease of judging & maintaining my personal interest, so we don’t have another TT2 incident, where judging was so complex it was taking hours.
Changelog
- Edited colors for clarity.
- Tweaked brief for readability and references.
- Banned legacy bodies.
- Extended deadlines due to update.
- Removed toe limit.
