Time is just about up! I’ll give about an extra 3.5 hours for those on the west coast and whatnot, though
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And that’s that! Entries are now closed. Entrants who have not yet posted an ad may do so at their leisure - just try to get it done soon!
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I feel like it’s just really generic so it looks like a lot of things 
And to me the front looks more like a volvo xc90
But thanks!
hi
2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12 2008 VOLARO VERLEDEN ZLR V12
2008 VOLARO Verleden "ZLR" V12
Fly Past.
More
The Verleden is what VOLARO calls its full-size luxury sedan.
This is unmistakably a Verleden.
This ZLR grants the customer the “Last Resort” (ZR.W-69-m3) 6.95-liter V12 paired to an 8-speed select-shift advanced-automatic transmission. SuperTrac Advanced all-wheel-drive is standard.
| | | | | - Fly Past!
Power
ZLR
Ultimate
6.95-liter “Last Resort” (ZR.C-69-m3) V12 engine
- (555.3HP @ 5800RPM)
- (574.1 lb-ft @ 4400RPM)
- (6800 maximum recommended RPM)
8-speed select-shift advanced automatic transmission
SuperTrac Advanced AWD
Hybrid-Electric
5 liter “Ultimate Leap H” (FGS.W-50-mev11) V8 engine
- (463 HP combined max.)
- (650 lb-ft combined max.)
- (6300 maximum recommended RPM)
- (10km engine idling electric range, 3.5km full-electric)
Electric-Continuous advanced automatic transmission
SuperTrac Electro AWD
Standard
5 liter “Ultimate Leap” (FGS.W-50-m5a) V8 engine
- (385.6 HP @ 5800RPM)
- (400.2 lb-ft @ 4300RPM)
- (6500 maximum recommended RPM)
7-speed select-shift advanced automatic transmission
SuperTrac Advanced AWD
SuperTrac Control RWD
6-speed manual transmission
SuperTrac Advanced AWD
SuperTrac Control RWD
Tech
ZLR
Rear Executive Package
Adds:
Two Power-Adjustable Rear Seats
Full-Surround Rear Sunshades
Center Control Integration with Armrest
Rear Seat Entertainment
Four Zone Climate
Heated/Ventilated Seats
Heated/Cooled Drink Holders
Front Exclusive Package
Adds:
Radar Adaptive Cruise Control
Front Park Assist
Heated/Cooled Drink Holders
Heated/Ventilated Seats
Standard with ZLR V12
InSynq Infotainment, navigation, and voice command system
Rear Park Assist and Camera
Dobleglass (sound-insulating double-pane glass windows)
ZLR Sport P245/45/R19 tires on Grand-10S 19 inch rims
Quiet-Start (exhaust valve)
“True Keyless” Door & Trunk Access
Crystal-Halogen Projection Headlamps
LED Tail Lamps, Brake Lamps, and Reverse Lamps
Roma Clockwork inside
Three Zone Climate
(replaced by Four Zone Climate)
Options
Panoroof (Panoramic Power Operating Moonroof)
Computer Ride Dampening
18-speaker ALSSonido Gold Premium Sound System
Drink refrigeration system
(not chosen)
Run-flat tires
(replaced by ZLR included sport tires)
Specs
-
P245/45/R19 tires
-
4.0 second 0-60
-
its a Verleden
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My apologies for the delays on the reviews. I would’ve liked to have gotten them out within a week, but I’ve had some struggles IRL lately, so stuff’s been delayed. Won’t be much longer, though, I promise!
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Is any sort of progress update possible?
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Last message was from a hotel with dodgy wifi, so… patience, shall we?
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Yes, much has happened in the past week. I still have a project with a tight deadline that I can’t miss - but reviews will be out soon. Finishing touches should be happening this week - big things for the future, too
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Hey amigo, you good?
Been like 3 weeks, less about the competition, just touching base.
Yes, currently getting myself re-established after moving. Sorry for the delays, but to put it simply, I haven’t had a good bed (with the threshold for “good” being “a mattress younger than I am”) or a good desk (i.e. not a lapdesk) for a while, so progress has been slow. That said, the reviews are in the works. Getting the writing right and all probably won’t take much more - end of this week, I hope.
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Sorry to hear that mi amigo, hope you can get settled in soon.
No rush on the results
uhh, is this getting finished at some point?
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IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB! IT'S BACK LIKE THE MCRIB!
dregslist
it's back?
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
A lot. Many things happened, because life is crazy sometimes. University kicked my ass, and is still doing so, and this wound up on the back burner of the back stove of the back kitchen. But I found it! And now, well over a year later, the results are coming in.
I rewrote these reviews like three times, and some of these are verbatim recycled from the originals, so they’re not all that polished. My apologies.
The finalists are getting their own fully-rewritten segment, though. I owe y’all that much for waiting so long.
As a note for what’s next — I’ve learned a lot about challenges since this ill-fated endeavor. I’m tempted to try and jump-start a revival, because this one was scuffed from the beginning. Maybe I’ll revisit this concept at a later date, and just do a different kind of challenge in the mean time before that. We’ll have to wait and see…
SO WHEN ARE THE REVIEWS?
I’ve got the first batch ready to go, pending formatting, to be released towards the tail end of Labor Day. After that, it’s some more writing for the finalists, and then a consideration for the future of my challenge hosting career — be that giving GCGB a new lease on life, or shelving it and doing something else for a little while.
STAY TUNED!
warnin: satisfaction NOT guaranteed. you been warnt
also really awkward when it’s been so long that one of your entrants got banned under questionable circumstances so you have to work around that somehow
WOE. PING JUMPSCARE UPON YE.
@moroza @Hilbert @anon27320291 @Edsel @DoesStuff @PhirmEggplant @IncredibleHondaFit
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dregslist
and so it begins
Introductions
Meet Jessica. She’s an up-and-coming real estate agent with
a very particular problem: her Akabira Trekkr is getting too old
and not getting any more comfortable than it originally was.
Between outdated style and outdated comfort, it’s time
for an upgrade. She has the money, and doesn’t mind an upgrade
that costs something noticeable. She doesn’t need the extra
capability of a crossover, but it wouldn’t be hated. She’s not after
the most engaging experience, but something that isn’t a slouch
is nice. More than anything, though, she wants something reliable
yet stylish. If it gets to work, and looks and feels good doing it,
day in and day out… that’s all she needs.
She’s getting her ideas from some coworkers, friends, and a segment on TV on what to consider. There’s a lot of options…
The elephant in the room – @PhirmEggplant
Unfortunately, some are the wrong sort.
It’s hard to tell if this is even a real car, an elaborate April Fools’ stunt she didn’t catch onto until now, or something someone’s kid drew up, but the… ahem “Leistung Fünftürige,” which is named perilously close to being something illicit and has badging that doesn’t actually match its supposed name… it’s a disaster, quite frankly.
Commentary — Where do I even start?
The styling: it sure is. The attempts at custom lights are… interesting, but not great. There are some possibly good things at play here, but not enough to save it — and note that when I say this, I mean “undeveloped ideas that might be worth reconsidering.” The color is interesting… on the car itself. The wheels are of questionable taste. They might be passable if the additional color choice was mirrored anywhere else, maybe as a two-tone, but even that’s perhaps a bit too much for this segment, especially in this era. The rims themselves are likely a less great choice for this car — no way this supposedly performance-edged crossover SUV would have eight-lug hubs! — and they don’t contribute a whole lot. And again, color choices perhaps too modern for the late 2000s. The interior is so unrefined, unfinished, and ill-fitting, that I’m simply not going to review it.
The engineering… oh boy. Identity crisis much? Fiberglass panels?! Even if you claimed it was plastic like a Saturn, I’d be mighty suspicious. This might work if you were building either a high-premium car, like a really upmarket Saturn… or if you were building a GT that could make a Corvette suffer a mild inferiority complex. But you didn’t do that, did you? And… a lightweight DOHC-4… “diesel.” Did you read the prompt? This is for the U.S. market, where luxury and diesel are not in the same sentence. Nor is this even remotely how you build a diesel… the fact that you didn’t notice the numbers being wildly out of proportion is somewhat concerning. Then again, this crossover is made of fiberglass.
Here’s everything, rapid-fire, from top to bottom:
- Body choice is arguably far too new for 2008
- Fiberglass panels on a luxury (luxo-sport?) crossover
- Full double-wishbone - just worth mentioning if nothing else
- 6.1L DOHC-4 V8… made of lightweight aluminum… with billet crank, titanium conrods, and specifically forged heavy pistons… trying to be a diesel.
- So much harmonic damper to try and save reliability that it has as much throttle response as most men over 50 in the bedroom.
- Due to engineering choices, makes an obscene 1,129.7 lb-ft of torque… which is enough to grenade the transmission… and somehow this was not considered abnormal
- Engine literally has 45.8 reliability and this was not seen as a problem
- Variable geometry turbos running 21 PSI of boost. Ok, sure, I guess
- Direct injection, variable intake. On a not-diesel. Ok.
- Despite all this, it uses a compact turbo… a straight-thru muffler in the first slot only, none in the second… and no catalytic converter. Only meets WES 5.
- While only being brought up now, it’s a glaring issue anywhere - little if no quality slider use, at all. Very few instances of it being used
- 8-speed adv. automatic… sure, why not
- Despite claiming to be sporty, it only uses medium tires. Fat 245 medium tires on 20” alloy rims, at that.
- Vented discs front and back… no sliding on the pad type or quality… absolutely massive discs, yet somehow the balance isn’t adjusted for the front, so there’s no force in the front, like, at all. It’s terribly weakly balanced
- Despite having aero fixtures, no wing angle changes
- Luxury interior, premium infotainment… why, exactly?
- Electric variable steering, ESC and Launch Control… decent choices, but it can’t save this
- Air suspension, adaptive and active… tuned majorly for comfort… yet with some of the most obscene sway bar usage (5200 in the front!) I’ve ever seen. Rides rather high, does not attempt to use toe settings at all.
Quick follow-up on visuals:
- Incohesive design. Elements are just kind of there.
- Badge fixtures do not match the brand.
- Lights are just kind of flung together.
- Badging says way more than necessary
- Uses under 70 fixtures, and most of them are light elements.
- Everything just kind of feels mismatched and slapped on. I can’t say much more that wasn’t already said
VERDICT: HARD BIN. RULE BREAKS, REALISM, MADE MY EYES HURT. TOWED TO SCRAPYARD
The rear end – @Edsel
Next up is something that Jessica is only considering because of what it was briefly compared to, even if it’s probably out of her tax bracket. A closer look, however, left her wondering why anyone would pay that much for such a thing at all.
Commentary — It's a bit bass-ackwards...
Expensive, uninspiring, and unwieldy are sadly all that the ambitious Triton manages to be. On paper, I was intrigued by the idea of a rear-engined limo, but the execution leaves much to be desired. For one, it would have to be the drivers’ type of Rolls to fit in with this crowd. It would also have to justify its anticipated massive price. Being the third most expensive car in the competition leaves it in a tight spot… though, somehow, it’s the second least expensive to maintain.
It does some weird things, though. It likes to kick out the rear, due to its suspension tuning being inadequate for its rear-engined characteristics. It has an immense amount of engine cooling, and rides on air-suspended pushrods, and once again some immensely tight front sway bar tuning (6K!!!). It rides on size for its sheer comfort, as well as its insane safety rating.
Where it really falls down is the major lack of visual interest. The Triton definitely has ingredients to make something appealing, but as it stands here, it’s about as visually engaging as the Lay- no, Lei… Leistung. Leistung thingy. (Seriously, what’s with that name…?) It doesn’t help that it’s the least reliable (legal) entry, meaning that its low cost of service will probably be incurred more often, canceling out the benefit to begin with. The idea is solid, the execution falls short. Also, again, use those sliders more!
VERDICT: ELIMINATION. ESCORTED OUT BY SECURITY
The low end – @Hilbert
The Volitor Metropolitan… which, while being “okay,” seems a bit cheap. Sure, maybe it’d be a good budget proposition, but we’re not after those today. Jessica sets it aside as a decent option if she ever needs a rental car, but it’s such a warmed-over lump of “whatever” that she’ll probably forget about it until she’s at the airport next.
Commentary — I'VE SEEN THIS CAR BEFOOOOOORE
You recycled this from the cop car challenge, didn’t you? I wouldn’t be opposed, ordinarily… but the problems become apparent very, very quickly. See, this was always poised towards upper-premium to mid-luxury tier… this could’ve been upper-premium in the way a, say, top-notch Lexus can rival a decent-spec Benz. But this feels too much like a well-optioned Cirrus or something for me to easily take it seriously. It’s too small, it’s not as safe due to that same smallness… it looks the part rather well, and costs less than everything else by a glorious margin (under $25k for this thing!), but it shows in the lowest prestige present. Of course, it has the lowest service cost as well, but also lags behind in handling, sportiness factor, and… wait, it’s on hard compound economy tires! You absolutely recycled this! Come on, do better…
Also, what’s with the lack of rear wheel offset? It looks like it’s scared of my wrath. All of your cars have this weird trait, from what I’ve seen, and I think it looks quite stupid every time. It genuinely does bad things to your stats, too. No wonder it handles poorly.
VERDICT: ELIMINATION. BANISHED TO AIRPORT PARKING LOT
The loose end – @IncredibleHondaFit
There’s nothing strictly wrong with this car. Jessica knows that. But there’s nothing especially right about it, either. It just doesn’t stick out enough to make its consideration feel worthwhile compared to its competition. For some, it’s probably the right choice, but here, it just isn’t good enough.
Commentary — It's raw, and I can't find the lamb sauce
The Bullinger, engineering-wise, is a pretty solid entry. Style-wise, however, it feels undercooked. The front has some real style, but then the sides are just kind of… there. And the back, too. It also has a faint bit of cheese melted down the side, I think. But there’s a lot of big numbers, which makes it seem solid — just nothing big enough to stand out. I just can’t get over the styling. It doesn’t scream, “look at me!” I asked for stand-out styling, and sadly, this falls short of that. If it were just a bit sharper, carried through a bit more, this would absolutely be a finalist.
That’s actually all I can say. I kinda like where this was going, and the numbers are pretty close. It’s a solid all-rounder, just outpaced by its contemporaries. Body choice might be a tad new, but that’s maybe nitpicking with this one.
VERDICT: ELIMINATION. TRAPPED IN THE DEALERSHIP SHOWROOM
part 2 happens when i feel like it tbh
WOE. PING JUMPSCARE UPON YE. PART 2
The pings in the main post broke but RIP to @PhirmEggplant @Edsel @Hilbert @IncredibleHondaFit
And you’ve made it to the finals…
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I don’t remember a thing about my car lmao, it’s over a year old. It definitely sucks ass. The design is still half decent, I’ll give it that. I don’t even remember what the cop car challenge that I recycled it from was.
Design is solid, for sure. Major Cirrus/200 vibes, though it looks like it wants to be FWD and not much more, imo. Swing and a miss in this lineup, but airport rental companies are gonna buy a bunch, prolly
Oh shit it’s RWD for some reason? That screams 3.3L V6 and FWD to me. Or maybe 2.2L I4 for the base model. I guess it’s needless to say that I don’t remember a thing about that car lmao. I had completely forgotten about this challenge as well.