PMI Usurper Corp. HQ - April 1960
Excerpt from 6 hours meeting regarding 1961-facelift of the '59 PMI Usurper Sedan ‘Cannes’.
Bigger fins!
Smaller fins!
BIGGER FINS!
No, SMALLER fins!
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MY61 TSR Kansai Luxor
The 2nd generation of the Kansai was lauched in 1960 in Japan and was later available for the world in 1961. It was smaller, but more nimble. The 1st generation is big and too powerful and quite frankly, too expensive. The 2nd generation is cheaper with the most expensive trim, the Luxor at which $44362 with 80% mark-up only. Of course with the lower price, it sold better, but still not for the masses.
Luxor trim shown in TSR Exclusive Mahogany
Lore thread is here!
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IP OF AMERICA HEDQUARTERS
June 1958
-So, have you heard about the new model we are going to get now.
-Yes, the Flaire… But why, please tell me why!
-We need a sports car.
-No! What we need is a less confusing car company! Right now we make two sedans, one that is too cheap and one that is too expensive. And on top of that, a sports car?
-Every car company needs a sports car.
-Why don’t we get a little more practical models, like the Rugger, or the Highway Star?
-Rugger? America is used to their F100s and Cameos, minitrucks like the Rugger will never sell here. And the Highway Star? A forward control van? Have you ever seen one on the roads? There is no chance that forward control vans will be a strong seller in this country, E V E R!
-So that’s why we get a bland sports car like 1000s of others?
-We aren’t competing against them.
-Then who are we competing against? Harley Davidson? “Our vehicle has four wheels, their vehicle only has two, so our vehicle is better”?
-Listen, it’s too boost the image of the brand.
-You mean like the flat toad didn’t do in 1952?
-The Superlily was something else, an expensive and rudimentary handbuilt car with a shaking three cylinder engine. Forget that one. If we have a sports car, people will visit our dealerships to look at it, and come home with one of our sedans.
-Maybe if we had a decent sized sedan then, not only the cramped Lily or the expensive Royalist…
-It’s coming in a few years, it’s called the Icarus.
-AND WILL WE GET IT IN THE US?
-Doubtful
silence
…
To be continued.
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Vision: Two will be at the Detroit Motor Show, January 1961!!!
“Check out Vision: Two at the Detroit Motor Show, it’ll be worth the effort, I promise!”
CEO, Konstantin Bogliq, Bogliq USA
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Tumultuous Turnover - Olympus Headquarters May 12, 1958
Dale Rathbone: Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with a heavy heart that I say farewell to Robert Stewart, lead designer and chairman of Olympus Motors, and Olympus family member from the very beginning; as he heads off to spend his retirement in sunny Sarasota Florida.
round of applause
Dale: With that being said, I am pleased to announce the man Robert groomed to take up the mantle as head of Olympus; Mr. Jacob Osborne.
Jacob Osborne: Than you Mr. Rathbone. I’m looking forward to the opportunity.
Dale: Well Jacob, why don’t you let these fine folks know what you have in store for Olympus, heading into the 1960s.
Jacob: Well. The Libra was such a success, I thought we’d expand upon that and introduce the Libra Sedan!
Dale: Interesting. Don’t you think that might water down the brand a bit?
Jacob: I’m sure it won’t. Also, there is a widening gap between the large Virgo, at well over 20 feet, and the Libra, so I’m proposing an intermediate car. The Capricorn!
Dale: That’s it! You’re fired! Liz! see if you can’t get Robert before he gets to the airport. Jerry! Come on! We’ve got a lot of work to do if we’re going to get these models refreshed before the 60s.
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Deer and Hunt Repair shop. 1pm. 1958
Jason was sitting on his desk. Nothing unusual. What was unusual was what he was seeing. The number were not as big as normal… Sometimes even lower! He was almost done with the books even though he knows he would normally need more time to finish them… Something is odd
William comes storming through the door.
“HAVE YOU SEEN THIS ?!” he screams
“Seen what Will ?”
“THIS SHIT”, he screams while pointing at the batch of flyers under his arm.
“Show me” Jason goes back to his desk and cleans if of the books and cups.
With a big bang the flyers hit the table.
“Just go through all of this”
Slowly Jason picks up the first flyer…
“PMI Roamer ? Ardent A1 ?! So thats why the numbers are so low…”
William let himself fall on the nearest sofa.
“So what now Jason… This is bad…”
“We have to intercept…”
“Jason we dont really know anything else than trucks…”
“Maybe build something new…”
“We dont really have the place for that. We would need to change the production line…”
“Maybe we don’t…”
“What is your plan”
“We gonna do both. You get on the blueprints and build something which gives use a untouched piece of the cake and something to steal the cake from someone else.”
“And what are you gonna do ?!”
“I gonna call some rich people and have a nice lunch.”
Cars currently sold :
DaH - Buck
DaH - Hawg
DaH - Fallow MKIII (Base / Deluxe)
DaH - Goonie
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Releasing September 29, 1960 for the 1961 model year
The retirement of our lead engineer and chairman of Olympus Motors has left us slightly shorthanded. Instead of a roster of all new models, we’ve given our existing lineup a facelift.
Advancing technology has allowed us to include Lux-O-Matic ™ transmissions on all models.
Hydraulic power steering, has made this less boat like.
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Late 1956 - Marketing Meeting a Company HQ
Zachariah Stasiak sat together with Fenton, Everette, and several other top brass at C Fenton Trunt Company. The topic today was the future of the thing that had started it all.
Zach pointed to the easel which hosted the sales figures for the last 24 months. “As you can see,” he started, “Sales have been falling off on the GT for the last 8 months or so, even despite the improvements. At this point, I don’t see any way we can spin it to stop the bleeding.”
Bill Waterson, chief engineer chimed in his support. “That’s right, Zach. The GT is going to be a market loser no matter what we do at this point. We can only change so much within the framework of its current design.”
“So you’re saying a redesign is necessary?” Everette asked of the two.
“In short, yes.” said Bill. Zach nodded his approval.
“Well, we all knew this would come eventually,” Fenton said with obvious understanding. “But – and as I am sure I do not need to tell you two of all people – we have our hands full with the new car. How long do think we can push this?”
“Its hard to say for certain,” Zach explained not trying to sound pessimistic. “I think we would be wise to have something in the works by the end of 3rd quarter 1957.”
“Can we push it any further?” Everette asked. “Third quarter 1957 is when the new car is slated to launch. First quarter 1958?”
Bill shook his head. That was simply not enough time. “At present we should think about launch of the GT’s replacement sometime around…” He looked to Zach to finish his thought.
“Late 1959 or early 1960. I don’t see sales holding out much longer than that.”
Fenton scratched his chin for a second and then announced the attendance. “It sounds as though our hands our tied. Bill, can we handle a second project?”
“When there is a will, there is a way, sir.” He parried.
“What a I like to hear.” Fenton said with a smile.
“Yes. But – while this is important – remember, top priority is launch of the new car. If its a success, methinks we can buoy the GT a little longer.” Everette warned.
Late 1960 - Company Party for the 250,000th Everette Sold
Bill and Fenton found themselves next to each other while piling orderves onto their plates. Bill was always a little uneasy around the many who could terminate his career with two words whenever he wanted and for any reason at all. But in his years of working with Fenton, he had come know him more as a friend than a superior.
“I have to say, it was a risky call but its turned out well. I’m glad you okayed the Everette.” Bill complimented.
“I’m glad I have an engineer who knew how to make the thing better than almost anybody else’s.” Fenton complimented straight back.
Bill snorted a little and looked down at his food, mildly embarrassed.
“I am not personally a fan of the car itself,” Fenton went on. “But credit where its due. You made an excellent machine and its good for the bottom line.”
The two finished filling their plates and began slowly perusing for seats. While on the hunt, Fenton talked about the newly released GT with Bill.
“The new GT seems to be doing well,” Fenton said.
“Reasonably,” Bill said back. “It could be doing better. Doubtless this economy is not helping the situation.”
Fenton, somewhat dissatisfied with this answer, offered his own explanation. “Could be also it seems too much like the previous one. I mean we are using the same engine, no?”
“Correct.” Bill confirmed.
“It may not be what you want to hear, but I think perception is a factor. We have to make it stand out.” Fenton stated, matter-of-factly. “You know, I was thinking. Our 8s are the size of other people’s 6s and other peoples 8s could eat ours whole. Where’s the GT’s punch? Where are its numbers to make it look good?”
Bill mused a little at this. “No disrespect, but bigger numbers don’t always mean better performance, especially not with engine displacement.”
“Well I’m not saying that but perception is important. And like it or not, neither the GT nor the Everette are all that fast despite that one of them should be.” Fenton replied. “Like I said, where’s its punch? Where’s pizazz? Can’t we make it go any faster?”
Bill paused for a second. A few things raced through his mind. How to make the GT faster without taking forever? And then it came to him. “Actually… we could bore out the block.”
“Oh?” Fenton perked up.
“Well sure. The A series V8 was originally designed in 1947 and as such has way too much cooling capacity. We could overbore the block and get some more displacement out of it. Also premium fuel is getting much more common. An overbore, a tune up… heck we could do that all by 4th quarter next year for the 1962 model year.”
“I like this. Can you do it?” Fenton asked.
“I don’t see why not. I’ll have some of my guys start working on it next week.”
4th Quarter 1961 - As Promised
Obligatory glamour shots
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Late 1959 - Epoch USA Office
Graham Lightbridge surveyed the small office that he had inherited from his predecessor, Sam Worthington. He himself had never expected to be promoted up to this position and have an office all to himself this quickly, but even with that thought in mind, he was… disappointed. Papers were piled high on every spare surface, and the floor was filthy (at least what parts of it were not covered by all manner of rubbish).
Graham shook his head, “Damn, this is going to take me a whole week to clear up, let alone figure out what Sam was planning.”
Not knowing where to start, Graham sat down in the creaky old chair (after swiping off leftover crumbs), and picked up the single folder that was sitting in a clearing at the centre of the desk. Unfortunately, due to a whole range of circumstances, Sam had not managed to brief Graham in-person about the position, relying on a number of lengthy phone calls and the promise that all he would need was contained within this office.
Graham snorted, “I’ swear I’m probably going to die of old age before I sort out this mess”
Opening the folder, he saw a list of manufacturers, with their range of offerings detailed below. The following pages were dedicated to each make and model, one-by-one, with notes on performance figures, media releases, press ratings, sales figures, estimated profit margins, strengths and weaknesses, predictions on future direction, and Sam’s thoughts on how Epoch could compete against each one. Flicking through the list, Graham skimmed some of the entries and read them out loud.
“Utility segment growing but also becoming more competitive. PMI’s offering (the Roamer Spirit Vogue) took out the Best Utility award from Motor World Review August '57. This truck is tough, but has some potential weak points with fuel efficiency and low cargo capacity. Reviewers liked that it was very comfortable and handled well.”
Graham flicked forward to another segment.
“The Birmingham Renton appears to be more akin to something you’d find in the cities of Europe, and so we never thought it would do as well as it is. Car seems to be more powerful than expected and handles well also. Weaknesses include the unconventional front-wheel-drive layout and small passenger and luggage capacity. Have some thoughts about how our Model 10 could be refreshed to take on this car.”
Graham turned to the next segment of the file, where he found notes on each of the cars currently being offered for sale in the USA by Epoch. Standing out was a large single sentence that was circled and had multiple arrows pointing towards it.
“Model 40 just released in Europe and on its way to the USA. Look into suitability for improved model! Make it cheap, make it better!”
February 1961
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Bogliq USA drops the mic!
The new Nihilist Super GT is here!
Only $2885 Drive away…
Buy better, buy Bogliq
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Lord Mach’s residence, Cardiff. 7th of July 1961.
As the warm winds of summer slip through the buildings, Lord Mach dresses with the finest of his light suits. Stepping outside and into his Thunder, Mach starts navigating the streets of Cardiff. He decided to stop after seeing a car parked, similar in shape to their recently launched Type SC, but different in styling, parking the Thunder in front of it.
Stepping out of his car, Lord Mach frowned slightly. It had the Bogliq badge front and rear. A young man then approached Mach, dodging him and placing a key in the car’s keyhole, opening the door and contouring into it.
Stranger: “Lovely, isn’t it?”
Mach: “Excuse me, did you buy this recently?”
Stranger: “You bet. Last week. I’m in a bit of a hurry if you excuse me.”
The stranger drove off, leaving Mach frowning behind. Bogliq was getting in the Type SC’s territory? This means war…
( @HighOctaneLove this means war 
)
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Little bit Off Topic, But here’s a Visualization of where all the registered companies in the OP are from, and the density of companies. It’s a bit more… bland than I expected.
(Note; I used the list in the OP, so I might’ve missed a few companies.)
Also, here’s my Data. Please yell at me if I did something wrong.
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Meanwhile at the TSR HQ in USA
Ryo: Let’s see the competitors here… The Caliban Type-SC, Fenton GT, Boqliq Nihilist Super GT, ACA Apache and the Sakura Duchess which I’m very familiar with.
Tomo: The Americans goes big except for Boqliq while the Europeans and Japanese and us are goes medium size. Some go for the fancy and comfortable cars while others go sporty and powerful.
Ryo: I agree with that. We haven’t made a sportier version.
Tomo: I could do that for the next model year.
Ryo: How about the Fallwing trim?
Tomo: There’s no need for that trim. The Luxor replaces that anyways.
Ryo: From what I see here, only Sakura and us go downsizing with only 6 cylinders while the others have gone for a V8.
Tomo: So that’s it for the competitiors.
Ryo: I’m still worried of the overpricing problem with our Kansai.
Tomo: Let’s hope we got the highest score in the GT category.
The competition will be tight, just saying…
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I’m in a fictive country somewhere in the pacific rim. 
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Birmingham motors is from the USA, but at some point it will merge with a British company
Intending to introduce Westward Motors in '67, will be making the company thread soon.
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1961 Erin Lagana GT-S
One of the definitive Erins of all time. 15 ft of chrome-clad, V12 powered, British engineered, Sixties jet-set two door coupe brilliance. Like all Erin sports cars at the time - the early 60s - the chassis, engine and drivetrain were all derived from their racing cars. However, unlike its thoroughly undertamed Tierza predecessor, the Lagana was the first car that the company really put a lot of effort in to making it something you could actually use without it trying to kill you, and yet still delivering sumptuous amounts of power.
The chassis was based on that of the Erin Motorsport SP4 race car, which at the time was competing in the World Sportscar Championship. That racing connection was what Erin banked off in the early days to sell there cars, and it was very much the same with the Lagana. The difference with their earlier attempts at production cars, however, was that the Lagana featured a premium interior, softer suspension and a more rounded engine. The aim was simple: take on the current range of premium coupes in both Britain, Europe and America.
As to whether the Lagana was a GT coupe or a sports car has been a debate that has continued in Erin fan circles for a long time, but there’s no denying its place today in the history of the company and the wider history of the British car industry. A mint condition, original 1961 model went for $1.3 million at a recent car auction.
Full lore thread post, with even more fun details and story!
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