JOC5A - Can't Hold Us
Mexico City, 2013
It’s been twelve years since we last checked in with the Schultz family - Macklemore is booming on department store speakers, everyone’s taking selfies and the recession is starting to become a thing of the past. Anna has graduated from university and is now an industrial engineer, having moved to Mexico City with her now-fiancée Erica, whom she met in a student exchange program. For the past couple of years they had been driving Erica’s trusty 2002 Menschen City, but after 11 years and 200k kilometers, it has finally given up the ghost.
The couple are now looking for a compact car that can reliably and comfortably take them to work, as well as the many trips they take around the country. Since both of them work decently-paying engineering jobs, they can spare up to 16k, though they wouldn’t mind spending less if it means being able to go to more exotic locations. They generally prefer cars - hatches, sedans and wagons - though they don’t close themselves off completely to the newly-booming crossover market.
As far as size, it needs to be something larger than the City, so friends or family can come along and carry their lugagge without having to sit on a suitcase, but not too large that it becomes unwieldy in city traffic or mountain roads. They are not looking for a hot hatch, since neither of them is particularly enthusiastic about cars - around 150 hp should do fine. In the same vein, though both of them can drive a manual transmission, a smooth automatic box is preferred.
Rules
Open beta only.
Maximum cost of $16k, hard cap.
Techpool: Maximum $60M total costs, minimum +3 on every category, except for naturally aspirated engines, which can have 0 techpool in aspiration.
Model and family years between 2003 - 2013.
Trim and variant years must be 2013.
Sedan, hatchback, wagon and SUV bodies only.
Four doors minimum.
Wheelbase between 2.5 - 2.7 metres, rounded.
Five full seats only, 2 in the front and 3 in the back.
Minimum standard 00s safety.
Mandatory TC+ABS, ESC preferred.
Mandatory power steering.
Tyre width must end in 5.
No cross-ply tyres.
Maximum 40 loudness.
Fuel type must be regular 91 RON.
Three-way catalytic converter required.
Minimum WES 9 emissions.
No race parts or semi-slicks.
Interiors are not required but they are encouraged.
Priorities
Drivability - it needs to be easy to drive around town, highways and windy mountain roads.
Reliability - it can’t break down on a long roadtrip or before work, it should last for several years and at least 160k kilometers.
Design - it should adhere to design trends from the era, not necessarily grading for “coolness”, since it’s not a very exciting category, but for realism and consistency.
Safety - Mexican roads can be pretty unsafe, it needs to fare well in accidents big or small.
Practicality - though we’re talking about small cars, it should still be versatile and spacious - for passengers and their lugagge.
Service costs - it shouldn’t break the bank every time it needs an oil change or brake pads.
Comfort - this is relative, obviously nobody is expecting an S-Class, but it should still be a nice place in which to spend long hours.
Fuel economy - gas is relatively cheap, also, you would have to try really hard to get bad fuel economy in this category. Still, it shouldn’t need to be filled up very frequently.
Sportiness and performance - as long as it can maintain healthy motorway speeds, doesn’t roll at the slightest hint of a corner and the brakes don’t fade extremely easily, it’s fine.
Environmental resistance - no road salt means rust isn’t a big issue, but it shouldn’t rot on its own before its usefuleness runs out.
Changelog
Increased loudness limit from 35 to 40
Changed techpool rules
Naming convention added bc I forgor 
Submissions are now open - they will close (tentatively) 2024-01-07T06:00:00Z (I’ll be away from my PC so no sense in closing them earlier).
Submit a post here and send the .car file via forum DMs only.
Family and model name: JOC5A - [your forum username]
Trim and variant name free
