A little over 36 hours to go. I’m missing 11 entries.
Wish it were that I could. Sadly, I can’t play Automation on my phone.
Recorded Conversation From 1973
Rado Rep.: “Look, people will be all over us about the safety of the Rado Communt. We need to tell them the truth.”
Sofa Rep.: “If we cave on safety, what else could this lead to? Your government has been talking about emissions regulations too!”
Rado Rep.: “What else can we do?”
Sofa Rep.: “Lie.”
Official statement from Rado: “We do not believe there are any safety problems with the Rado Communt in particular on American roads. The 98% statistic was fabricated as part of a smear campaign.”
The Rado Communt 121 Super was a slightly modified version of the 67 standard, getting a 2.0l straight-six from Sofa’s largest offroad SUV and both the “67 Standard” and the “121 Super” got other updates in 1973 to meet new American regulations. Among those were the addition of larger front and rear bumpers and front parking lamps above and slightly inward of the front indicators.
Of course, the really big news was the 2 liter/121 cubic-inch straight-six mentioned earlier. It made 59 hp and 74 lb-ft of torque which was enough to reach a top speed of 80 mph. Since the standard Sofa 3-speed transmission couldn’t handle the torque that the 6-cylindr made, a different 4-speed transmission was used from the Sofa SUV mentioned earlier. The resulting car was introduced with the 1973 refresh.
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welp. im late. but i tried. if it doesn’t get accepted i’m erasing this post. no excuse, i had plenty of time
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Koolkei was only a few minutes late, and I was in the progress of transferring the submissions into the game when he submitted, so I’m allowing it.
Also… Y U GUYS GET SO MANY FIXTURE VIOLATIONS?
(4 entries processed, 3 fixture violations…)
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I uh…yeah I’m probably one of them 
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Why yes, yes you are. Lol.
It’s calmed down a bit… 10 processed, 4 violations.
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i dont have a fuel filler do i…
darn
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In 1971, Kimura began production of their best-selling model, the Auburn.
The Auburn was the revelation that allowed Kimura’s sales to boom for years to come. Inexpensive, easy to run, comfortable, and fun to drive, the Auburn was the car that could “do it all.”
The Auburn allowed for Kimura to escape the risk of possibly being purchased from rival companies, and would soon fund Kimura to produce the Japan-only Eminence luxury sedan in 1975 and the American bestselling Auriga in 1979. Additionally, offshoots of the Auburn such as a 2-door coupe, 3-door hatchback, and 5-door wagon would soon arise later in the decades to come.
Here is an ad for the 1973 Kimura Auburn.
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Motor World Review, August 1973
Model Year-In-Review Edition
Best Sedan – 1973
Everette Ellston R6
Relative Rating: 100.00
Our favorite in the category this year is a slick mid-sized cruiser from FHC, called the Everette Ellston.
Continuing the recent trend of manufacturers switching to front wheel drive, the Ellston has a 196 cubic inch V6 under the hood, mated to a 4-speed manual transmission.
Smooth, predictable, and practical, the Everette Ellston is everything you expect in a car for the urban or suburban driveway. What’s not quite so expected is its fuel economy. FHC claims 27 miles per gallon while cruising. Our extended testing returned just a hair under 20MPG, which is still nothing to sneer at. Not when you consider that some of our recent favorites have had a hard time cracking the 11MPG mark.
Though it was a tough decision in this category, we feel this is the best overall for '73.
Best Muscle or Sport Car – 1973
Olympus Libra Premier
Relative Rating: 98.37
A 5 liter engine sounds good on paper, as does having 12 cylinders. But what about power figures of 207 horsepower? While that may not sound stellar, it works for the Libra Premier from Olympus.
It’s not the slowest in class at 8.8 seconds to 60 MPH, nor with a top speed of 124 MPH. It is, however, the only one to achieve this with an automatic transmission and all of the trappings of an upscale luxury car.
The Libra has very good road manners while cruising, though when pushed too far its unrefined suspension shines through with lots of tire squeal.
Maybe our editors are getting old, but we think that if you want to have fun, you don’t have to skimp on everything else.
Best Utility – 1973
Dominion Prairie Terra Nova
Relative Rating: 98.91
The Prairie Terra Nova by Dominion is our Utility of the year for 1973.
While it is a strong, capable off-road utility, that is not the only trick up the Prairie’s sleeve. We found it to be reasonably well-mannered, and more comfortable to drive than many entry-level sedans.
Standard equipment includes a locking four-wheel drive system, manual transmission, and 127 horsepower straight-six workhorse under the hood. Cloth-faced vinyl seating is also standard.
Though trucks and utilities are not yet required to meet the stringent new passenger car standards, independent testing shows that Dominion’s ute does, indeed, pass these tests.
Are you ready to discover new lands? If so, look no further.
Best Engine – 1973
Vermillion 138 cid 4-cylinder
(+5% relative rating bonus)
Of the engines put before us this year, we are most impressed with the 138 cubic inch 4-cylider from Vermillion. While 94 horsepower may not seem to be up to our standard fare, it puts out a respectable 124 ft-lbs of torque, and does so with good efficiency and projected reliability. For that, Vermillion receives our Best Engine award for 1973.
Sedan Class Reviews
Ardent Chesapeake 50th Anniversary Edition
Relative Rating: 88.18
“…far and away the most comfortable and powerful in class, which are among the many reasons the Chesapeake has been a favorite for years. But that’s also the biggest problem. The platform is now 9 years old, and really showing its age…”
Pros: Best in class comfort, very safe, fastest in class
Cons: Poor fuel economy, handling outclassed by rivals, most expensive in class, poor reliability
ACA 300
Relative Rating: 78.90 (after penalty)
FIXTURE VIOLATION: Missing parking lights
“…another outdated suspension design, combined with relatively poor safety marks, torpedoes what would otherwise be a competent, if not pedestrian, sedan…”
Pros: Low purchase price, good fuel economy
Cons: Low safety, poor reliability, handling is even outclassed by the Ardent
Grehet Sublime Estate Jet
Relative Rating: 91.82
“…punchy V6 engine is fun in a straight line, plus keeps the Grehet from bogging down when fully loaded. Plus, it runs on unleaded, and you can smell how much cleaner it burns. If we had to pick on it, we’d say the handling is just not as sharp as it could be…”
Pros: Lowest in class emissions, good comfort, good rough road capability
Cons: Handling could be sharper, rather high purchase price, low practicality
Vermillion Igni 138 Notchback
Relative Rating: 99.55 (After bonus)
“…well put-together sedan, utilizing our favorite engine of the year. If the Everette is not your style, look to this car; it was only very narrowly beaten out for the top spot in our staff’s eyes…”
Pros: Good fuel economy, best in class reliability, Engine of the Year
Cons: Poor drivability, a bit on the slow side
PMI Usurper Elegant GT
Relative Rating: 82.55 (after penalty)
FIXTURE VIOLATION: No parking lights.
“…the Usurper that we’ve known for a long time seems to have grown into an old man’s car. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you can somehow keep your customer base alive…”
Pros: Best in class drivability, good comfort, good safety
Cons: High purchase price, low reliability, handling is far behind competitors, high maintenance cost.
Sakura Empress
Relative Rating: 82.73
“…the Empress seems to be trying to go upscale and sporty at the same time, while keeping the engine at a minimalistic 1.5 liter displacement. As a package, this doesn’t seem to work out too well…”
Pros: Low maintenance cost, good fuel economy, good skidpad
Cons: Slowest in class, rather high purchase price, low drivability, poor safety
Birmingham 2000 Sport
Relative Rating: 97.27
FIXTURE VIOLATIONS: No front or rear side markers. No parking lights. 1st offense. Further violations will result in penalties.
“…cheap, peppy fun can be had in this class, and the Birmingham proves it. The 129 cubic inch 4-cylinder pumps out over 100 horses, and it can throw itself around curves like nothing else. Road manners for every day driving are not as refined as others…”
Pros: Relatively low purchase price, great performance, good fuel mileage
Cons: Poor drivability
Rado Communt 121 Super
Relative Rating: 0.0
BANNED BY NHTSA: Failed all crash tests.
“…we got our hands on a test model about a week before the NHTSA pulled the plug on Rado for egregious safety violations. And believe us, it was terrible. But we do know one thing: Ralph Nader is sitting somewhere, with a smug grin on his face.”
Pros: None.
Cons: Not available for sale in the US.
Znopresk Z216
Relative Rating: 90.00
“…engine burns unleaded fuel, thus reducing harmful emissions. The engine just sips gas and putters along, which is not exciting but what Znopresks are built to do…”
Pros: Low emissions, good fuel economy, low purchase price, good reliability
Cons: Low prestige, poor safety
Kimura Auburn SKR
Relative Rating: 81.82
FIXTURE VIOLATIONS: No rear side markers, no antenna for radio. 1st offense. Further offenses will result in penalty.
“…cheap is the name of the game for the Auburn, and it succeeds in doing that. It does sacrifice quite a bit of what makes other competitors nice, however, in order to achieve this…”
Pros: Lowest in class purchase price, low maintenance cost, good fuel economy, good reliability
Cons: Worst in round comfort, poor safety, low prestige, poor drivability
Muscle/Sport Class Reviews
Keika Katana 2000R
Relative Rating: 81.78
FIXTURE VIOLATION: No rear side markers. 1st offense. Further offenses will result in penalty.
“…overly complicated drivetrain for our tastes. Also, while the NHTSA gave the green light for sales of this model, they noted that it has very high risk of serious injury in a crash. Putting that aside, however, the Katana handles absolutely phenomenally…”
Pros: Great handling, best in class fuel economy, relatively low maintenance cost
Cons: Poor reliability, worst in round safety (barring the banned Rado), poor comfort, most non-dealer mechanics won’t touch these
LMC Scorpius
Relative Rating: 88.89
FIXTURE VIOLATION: Rear side markers either missing or the wrong color. First offense. Further offenses will result in penalty.
“…harkens back to the heyday of muscle cars yet blends in aspects of a modern sports car. At the same time, the Scorpius airs an attitude of superiority that some seek out…”
Pros: Fast, prestigious model, good comfort
Cons: High purchase price, extremely high maintenance cost
Caliban Type SC-K
Relative Ratng: 80.59
“…other than its ability to tackle a slalom, the Caliban doesn’t seem to stick out in any significant way, positive or negative…”
Pros: Great handling
Cons: Very mediocre in all other aspects
Bogliq Coyote 700AE
Relative Rating: 97.19
“… while others try to modify the idea of a muscle car, the Coyote embraces its simplicity and rawness. Its stance and suspension setup also allow it to hunt its way on gravel roads. Muscle cars may be a dying breed, but the Coyote going out in a blaze of redneck glory…”
Pros: Very fast, prestigious model, very safe, best in class offroad, best in class reliability
Cons: High initial purchase price, poor drivability
Epoch Artemus 3000
Relative Rating: 90.07
“…bargain-basement fun in this category. It’s not as fast as others, doesn’t handle as well as most of its competitors, and cuts a lot of corners to get to that price point. But for a limited budget, it’s the way to go…”
Pros: Lowest in class purchase price, good fuel economy, low maintenance cost, good safety
Cons: Low prestige, poor drivability, handling outclassed by most competitors
TSR Ultra GTX
Relative Rating: 84.15
“…the new Ultra GTX shows that TSR has been improving in every aspect, from value to actual performance. They now have a flat-out exotic barnburner…”
Pros: Best in class acceleration, great handling, high sportiness, good reliability
Cons: Poor safety, very high purchase price, poor driveability, poor comfort
Deer and Hunt Supercoupe MKII
Relative Rating: 82.96
“…heavy coupe rolls and wallows in turns. It’s a low priced muscle car, but falls victim to the worst traits of the genre…”
Pros: Low purchase price, high reliability
Cons: Poor drivability, worst in class handling, slowest in class performance
Takemi GTM-R
Relative Rating: 81.33 (after penalty)
FIXTURE VIOLATIONS: Wrong color rear side marker, no antenna for radio.
“…the exorbitant design of the year as far as sports cars. Cornering sharper than a razor paired with a brutally powerful 3.4 liter V6. It’s everything that one could want when dissecting a road or a track from behind the wheel. Except for what it does to your wallet…”
Pros: Very fast, best in class handling, prestigious, safe
Cons: Exorbitant purchase price, insanely high maintenance cost, extremely poor fuel economy, worst in class practicality
Utility Class Reviews
IP Freeway Star 1300 Astro
Relative Rating: 96.00
“…innovative all-aluminum engine measuring just 1.3 liters in displacement, yet is perfectly matched to this well-thought out little van…”
Pros: Low purchase price, great fuel economy, reasonable safety, low maintenance cost, easy to handle
Cons: Poor comfort, poor rough road capability
Bush Halong 1650-6
Relative Rating: 87.27
“…great rough-and-tumble little ute displays amazing ability to handle off-road scenarios of all sorts. While there is no NHTSA mandatory testing for this model’s safety, independent tests show that it fared very poorly…”
Pros: Great offroad, low purchase price, very low maintenance cost
Cons: Poor comfort, very poor safety, poor handling
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inb4 somebody questions it.
If you check the redaction at the bottom of the ad, I actually do list the fuel economy as 20 mpg. The 27 mpg figure is for 55 mph (90 km/hr) highway economy only.
I actually got the inspiration for that from Ford Pinto ads from the same era. They would often list the highway economy in big boldface but then list the combined and/or city millage elsewhere on the page in small text you weren’t really meant to read.
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Round 8 - 1979
The past few years have been extremely tumultuous. Nixon resigned after the Watergate scandal. The Oil Crisis hit in late 1973, sending fuel prices skyrocketing. The US economy has been stagnant, with unprecedented inflation making life difficult for the average person. The Vietnam War ends for the US, American Graffiti is released, and the Betamax and VHS are both introduced. Meanwhile, relations between the US and Soviet Union finally start to soften as their respective space agencies launch an Apollo and Soyuz to dock with each other in space. Apple Computer Company forms in 1976, the same year that Jimmy Carter defeats Gerald Ford in the Presidential election. The prototype Space Shuttle, named Enterprise, is unveiled as well. The King of Rock died in '77, and the comic strip ‘Garfield’ premiered in '78. Suburban sprawl has come to nearly a standstill as the economy has tanked, and the Interstate highway system is now more than 95% completed. Only a few rural bypass stretches remain to be completed.
Economy
Unemployment: Moderate-low
Inflation: Extremely high
Economy: Stagnant
Short-term economic forecast: More inflation, possible recession.
Notable Social and Political Happenings
Watergate scandal takes down Nixon. Apollo program ends. STS program begins. Vietnam War ends in a loss. Massive inflation. Arab Oil crisis. Elvis Presley dies. Apple Computer starts up, proliferating personal computers.
Regulations
Fuel: Regular Unleaded (universal)
Bumpers: 5MPH bumpers. Most cars with “integrated” bumpers qualify. Cars with no discernable integrated bumper must have a bumper added.
Front lights and fixtures: At least one pair of headlights required. At least one pair of turn indicators required. Turn signals may NOT be placed in bumpers. Exactly one pair of parking lights are required. Parking lights MAY be placed in bumpers. Parking lights and turn signals may not be part of the same lens/fixture. There has to be some form of visual separation.
Front light colors: No red may face forward. Parking lights must be amber.
Rear lights: At least one pair of brake lights. At least one pair of turn signals. At least one pair of reverse lights. NO lights may be placed bumpers (however, optional red reflectors may be). If turn and brake lights are in the same fixture AND of the same color, there must be a minimum of THREE bulbs in the fixture.
Rear light colors: Brakes must be red. Reverse must be white. Turn signals cannot be white.
Side marker/signal lights: Front side markers required. Rear markers required, may be placed either on the side or the rear.
Side light colors: front side may be amber only, rear side may be red only.
Mirrors: Driver’s side required.
Aerials: Long mast or retractable antenna required if car has a radio.
Fuel fillers: Must be placed on the side of the vehicle. Front-engine cars must have the filler somewhere in the rear quarter, mid- and rear-engine cars must have the filler somewhere in the front quarter.
Emissions: Catalytic converter required.
Safety: All passenger vehicles must have a minimum of 26 safety. All trucks, vans, and utes must have a minimum of 20 safety.
File Naming Convention:
Model: Gen8-(username) Trim: (MFR Model Trim)
Engine: Gen8-(username) Variant: (Whatever you want)
Export and PM me the .car file, make a post about your car in your lore thread (if not already there), and post an ad in this thread BEFORE the round deadline.
If your company hasn’t registered for the competition yet and you want to participate in this round, please PM the required company information as well as your submission prior to the round deadline.
Round 8 deadline: Thursday June 21, 9:00 AM PDT (UTC-8)
NO FURTHER COMPANY REGISTRATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU READ ALL REGULATIONS FOR THIS ROUND, THERE HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICIANT CHANGES FROM THE LAST ROUND!
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That was a very common practice back then… I totally caught onto that when I read it.
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