JOC6A - An American Dream

[Happyhungryhippo]

ROUND 1 - EARLY ELIMINATIONS

What, no bins? Well, given that my rulesets are always lenient to let you have freedom, its also that the late 50s cars were not overly regulated with emissions, safety, etc. So this was reflected in the ruleset and so… everyone managed to set the TP right.

Sadly, I can´t make the following event as a proper photoscene because my old laptop just says “No, thanks”.

Earl Bauer visits the local animal auction - he hopes to get two cows home, if his old VCV truck still holds up. That auction is of course attended by many farmers, and so he can have a look at their rides.

BetterDeals Zwaargewicht by @Djadania

WHAT IS THAT? Looks like out of some Lil Abner comic book, nah, not for me. Looks thrifty but load capacity is low, despite some storage compartments below the small bed, and the design is the worst of it. NAH! I AM NOT DORETTE DUCK!

Minicar Workman´s Horse by @Hilbert

The japanese people that propably built this are so tiny, propably the only dudes small enough to fit in there. Comfort is good, but too small for my needs. Looks cute but I don´t want to be cute.

Pittsburg JP5 Amigo by @Rise_Comics

Doesnt look good but at least quite rugged as if it´s doing good service. And yes, that thing is great offroad indeed, but hard to drive onroad. That alone isnt too bad, since I can drive. [ooc:drivability not judged, but its absurdly low in this car]. What is bad instead is a reliability record worse than a damn Cavaliere Nobile. I can´t have that crap since it doesnt even remotely look like a fancy Cavaliere for dealing with so much breakdowns.

Capable Heaver by @Vento

It looks at me as if it asks me to give it a mercy shot, damn. On the positive side, it will go anywhere, that thing must keep moving in almost any terrain, but the other disadvantage is that it´s slow as heck. Nah, performance over offroad here, and others look… better in front of the diner.

Sumner Ballista by @nvisionluminous

Like this one! Yeah, it´s much better to look at, it´s cool [OOC: Earl tends to like it but to me it´s definitely too modern for 1959, looks more like a 1964 model]. But this futuristic ride has a popular downside of, eh, new stuff - it didnt spend enough time in the oven and already leaks oil and some parts fall off. Plus, it seems to leak fuel… OH! It doesnt. So, Henry really used HALF THE TANK to get here? Nah, I own corn fields, not oil fields. Damn, that´s all not for me, I hope for better luck next week.

[Knugcab]

Psst…a “Vaughn truck” would be a VCV. Now that’s just a minor mishap but still.

[Happyhungryhippo]

Eliminations part II

Earl takes Wendy out to the local diner. Wendy is the daughter of some other local farmer, and they know each other for a long time already. At the diner, he takes a look at other trucks parked in front of it, and some interessing models were among them. One man tried to drive off in a blue truck, but it refused to start.

Navarro Hauler 4WD by @the-chowi

Eh, Wendy, quite a generic design, but offorading is nice, so is the performance. Sadly they are not built to last… look, it´s almost new and already brakes down, there is oil dripping on the road and the door handle on the driver side is about to fall off. Oh no, I might end up with something more reliable. Oh, it seems the battery isn´t empty, he just ran out of gas. That thing must also be absurdly thirsty…

Frampton Fairy by @Ch_Flash

Like this one? It´s cute and that bed on the roof is also funny.

Nah, Wendy, it´s nice to have but for really large goods it´s useless. Should I cut the cows in half and glue them together later? No, its bed is small and the general utility low. Also, it does look very well-designed but … in 1952. No way this is a new model. I guess these damn Europeans introduced something old recently on our market. Also not super reliable but not terribly bad in that aspect. And this model is a bit cheaper than most competitors without returning disappoiting value except for being small and having a build quality slightly below average. If I was looking for a light duty vehicle, this might have been more competetive.

Ascot Pioneer 235 by @xsneakyxsimx

Looks like the Navarro but in cool. The matte black really suits it well, damn. This truck looks good in that neon light, although its a very simple design, but doesnt matter if its good. They handle well and are fast for a truck, but… despite a reasonnable sized bed, the utiity isn´t good and neither is the reliability. Surely a lot better than the Navarro, but… I think there are even better alternatives.

[xsneakyxsimx]

Darn, and I even went to the effort of making the bed floor look like actual planks of wood too. Oh well.

[Happyhungryhippo]

I havent said its a bad truck. Its just that you had 65 reliability while the best had 80 and the average is 70. Also, utility high priority is made of the stat plus the bed size, where your car doesnt shine in the statistics.

Solid car after all, but others were better but what you sent in was competetive.

[xsneakyxsimx]

That’s fair, I seem to have an issue with lower reliability in general. Will need to work out exactly how to correct that for future.

Also, I generally dislike larger overhangs so I have a bad habit of making them as short as possible much to the chagrin of utility.

[Happyhungryhippo]

Quality in fuel system and body help the most here unlike you have engine Stress, that would be the most urgent then.

[fabiremi999]

Average reliability of 70??
Well f*** me then
I’m sensing my elimination

[Happyhungryhippo]

Well, you should have sent a car file in first place to be eliminated…

[fabiremi999]

Oh I see, now that I’ve been around here for over a month I realize my mistakes.

So apparently there’s always some submission guidelines, like how to name the car properly and how to submit/enter properly. Usually these guidelines are stated in the post somewhere, which would help out new users a lot.

And here I was enjoying the eliminations, thinking my submission was succesful… wondering how far I’d get…
I guess I get my chance next time…

[Happyhungryhippo]

You are a newbie. Send it via PM now and I squeeze it in

For a First time Challenge entrant I can See what I can do…

[fabiremi999]

Naah it’s alright.
It would be unfair to the others, as I could have easily been eliminated in the first two rounds.
As I say I didn’t know how to submit properly and thats a mistake on my end.

Thanks for this offer anyways!

[Happyhungryhippo]

As next, Earl is driving to the warehouse - getting new tools and some animal food, and he takes his time to check the rides the other customers show up with. Maybe he finds the perfect truck here?

Van Zandt Brazos Ranch by @VanZandt_Breda

Cute enough to see Wendy driving in these, but for me it´s a bit too much jelly bean. Reasonnable performance, mediocre reliability, I can see why Wally bought this, but he seems to have problems with the brake balance, looks like it´s not well made there. Nice at offroad and load capacity but a small bed. Yeah, its an okay truck, but not mine.

Ting T1000 Jobby by @supersaturn77

Woohoo, Rudy has a very car-like truck. Must handle easy then, but the utility drawback is obvious. Even a V8, yeeeah. Seems quite well-going with that, still reasonnable braking with drums, Rudy goes down there without fade. But I would want something better for farm duties, and despite tailfins it looks like a bit… for pensioners. Yeah, I can see why ole Rudy bought it.

Garland L-200B by @ChemaTheMexican

What, did Ernie just loose his exhaust at that bump? Damn, not the most reliable thing here, A SHAME! It looks really, really good. Also sounds like a grinding gearbox, maybe another reason why they don´t seem to be as solid as I would score their looks, I think its the very short first gear, great uphill with load in the large bed and offroad, but it seems to not even stand the six-cylinder with its modest power. Garland really knows how to design a truck, I must admit, but it´s also uncomfortable and not easy to drive, but I could live with the latter, but I think there are other options with similar good looks.

Monterey 1/2 ton 243 by @mart1n2005

Not a really large bed and utility isn´t really good either, its its as low as the Tingy. Looks also a bit dusted, even if well made and cleanly and coherently designed up to the last bolt, but it´s … yeah… really conservative and looks like a well-kept used one. Damn quick V8 you get there for 9,8 k, but mediocre reliability tells me it´s a good ride that Lenny has there, but I better continue sitting here and watching another local dude arriving.

Angus Hammerhead 214 by @karhgath

I hear no V8! BOOOO! But this small truck propably does fine without, and in return it´s not thirsty. Maybe a bit too much eco tune here, it seems to struggle a bit with all that heavy machine parts in the bed that´s also… really small. Still, a three seater for 9k, and Banana Joe is a cheap guy, he won´t buy something that breaks down. Design isn´t ugly but I think this interessing ride doesn´t fit me perfectly.

[Happyhungryhippo]

OH NO! THE VCV BROKE DOWN! Earl is now fixing it at the roadside (just a torn radiator hose) while his mother watches the traffic passing by.

Zephorus 5300 Goldline by @Riley

Look, what a beauty. That coolness… the tailfins don´t even look embarrassing on it, this is pure se…

EARL! WON´T YOU SAY THAT BAD WORD! WE ARE CHRISTIANS! If you do that once again I will make you confess to father Luther! This rock and roll truck is not what we could use for heavy farmwork.

You might be right that it will fail with some tasks, but that doesn´t change the fact that its a damn hot ride. Like a factory hotrod but it´s a truck. Sadly, it smells so much like gas that I am afraid it´s as hard to keep up as it looks.

Soon, the next one passed by.

SUMA U109B-30 by @Banana_Soule

Look, Earl! There is father Luther, driving his mess servants home. What a handsome man…

… in a damn boring truck. The automotive neutrum. It fails at nothing, but stands out at nothing either. Nah, sorry mom, but… I won´t drive the truck that the priest does, too. I want to impress Wendy, not drive her to the sunday school all the time… OOOOOOAAAAAH! THAT ONE IS IT!.

Centurion K-450 by @ldub0775 and @bdub1

EARL! I could accept this more than that black devil on wheels, but this looks like we can´t afford it.

It is within 10k, super comfortable, large bed, it can carry heavy load… I would really love to get that.

I DID NOT MEAN THE PURCHASE PRICE! It´s Clarks car and he told me it is guzzling gas like a broken barrell and also was in the shop for repairs. If it didnt have to return on investment that much and we would have a spare vehicle, I would have allowed you to go with me to the Centurion dealer.

Mom! COME ON! I DONT WANT TO BE STUCK WITH THIS NEGLECTED VCV FOREVER!!

finalistis are @AndiD, @moroza and @oldmanbuick. Finals will be posted as soon as possible. You three, please make up your thoughts if you want to host JOC6B then.

[Happyhungryhippo]

FINALS

Earl finally had enough - he was still mad about the Centurion that he didnt get because his mother feared the thirst of it, and then brought three cars to her, announcing that one of them will be bought, no matter what.

ARC24-P2 by @AndiD

Earl, A COMMIE CAR? NO!

First, McCarthy is dead by now, so we will still be served at the bakery if we drive this and won´t be put in jail for it. Second, it´s DIRT CHEAP. As expected from a commie thing. Third, consumption is low… aaand its good offroad.

Fine then, but the bed is small…

Yeah, impractical compared to others I have checked before. Also, being a four cylinder, not really strong. Useful thing but not a good farm truck. But, I got more.

DCMW Ghurruz by @moroza

Mom, speaking of cargo volume - this is unbeatable for the price. Reliability is alright, insane load capacity, decent offroad.

WHAT A BEHEMOTH! It does not fit in our barn!

It comes with all disadvantages of such a large truck, yes, a bit harder to drive and turn, slow, … maybe it´s the opposite of the Frampton, it´s a bit too heavy duty for my purposes. Using this as daily will cause me mental pain. So, I need something bulletproof with a large bed and… still garageable dimensions, like an…

Flint Adirondack by @oldmanbuick

Oh, it looks so durable.

It is, decent offroad, the most reliable motor vehicle on the market, the thirst is manageable, service cost is a joke, relatively easy to drive, it can load a lot, although the bed isn´t the largest, but its good offroad, but one thing is shit. The comfort. It is absolutely barebones, which makes it reliable and cheap to run. For 10k you get another four-pot, JUST! And an interior that´s as frugal as … walking. But the build quality is exceptional. Sadly it looks as un-fancy as it is, but at least modern.

From an economical POV, I think, this is a very good investment. It will propably serve 10 years without an issue.

AS I KNOW THIS RESULT IS VERY CONTROVERSIAL, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE COMMENTING:

The Flint got a high styling score, although its definitely not the fanciest. I put in realism, period correctness and …well, Earls taste. Earl doesn´t like it too much in terms of prestige, but the design is incredibly coherent and fitting and also looking like its a brand new model that he´s got.

The truck from @mart1n2005 has a similar design quality, but looks like a 1955 model. While a four year old design wouldn´t raise an eyebrow today, the taste changed damn fast in the late 50s from year to year, and Earl would definitely prefer something looking like 1960 more than something with even a bit better design quality looking like 1955.

Design winners overall were the Garland from @ChemaTheMexican nailing the 1959 El Camino look and @Riley doing a GMC Hot Rod that fit Earls Rock´n´Roll dreams perfectly. The Sumner by @nvisionluminous is actually a well made and realistic F150 ripoff, but thats more a 1964 model. While the Flint looks top-modern, the Sumner got a lowered score for being way too ahead. The Centurion is a mix, looks a bit dated for 59, but the front could go as a 57 or 58 still, plus it looks somehow fancy, so it was far up, too, but more than 25 liter consumption were a red flag in an area where you drive a lot to the nearest markets or suppliers or pull farm equipment all day. 50s gas WAS CHEAP, yes, but it also wasn´t desirable to buy a thristy truck when that engine is running all day for hours.

In terms of stats, well, the DCMW by @moroza would have won by exceeding in utility and bed size. But did the brief ask for such a large truck? That is also a daily driver, the jack of all trades? The disadvantages of such a large thing are immense, and so, I have chosen the Flint. I am a friend of clear briefs and fair judging, so considering the everyday usability in general seems unfair, but there is a loophole in the ruleset that was found and used there, and I am to blame for not seeing that coming. This large thing just isn´t what Earl was looking for, in my perception.

So for the Flint, the following reciepe made it:

• Best reliability by far
• Medium to good economy
• Good load capacity
• medium performance
• very realistic design, progressive for 1959 but not going far ahead, looks a bit like a Toyota

Although the truck totally neglects the comfort as low priority stat, because the budget was used up for quality points.

A honorable mention goes to @mart1n2005 : It could have won if Earl didn´t consider it being outmoded and it had a little bit more reliability. That maybe shows the narrow range between the winner and rank 8…

Congratulations not just to the winner but to all entrants for providing me with interessing engineering choices, both creative and realistic designs and a lot of effort in the cars. As a host, it is an honor to work with entries that is clearly spent some time and thoughts on.

[moroza]

I expected to hear “WTF is this fuel-sucking behemoth from a decade ago?!” a lot earlier than that. As utility goes, I doubt anything else comes close (66.6), but as an everyday driver, it’s clearly not ideal. That said, I feel that the need for everyday transportation could’ve been more emphasized; as priorities were worded, I saw “work truck”, “utility”, “make money”, and a sideshow of impressing ladies, and figured that was about it.

I am surprised to hear the Ghurruz was significantly bested in reliability, however. At 75.5, I expected few rivals and not by much. Just how solid is the Flint, and how (un)comfortable is that solidity to sit on?

Good job hosting in a timely fashion, with so much real and important stuff happening at the same time. There were some kinks to iron out in the brief, but I appreciated the challenge for being a unique blend of utility and style.

What were the final rankings? If @oldmanbuick declines hosting the next one, and @andid was third or also declines, I will be happy to host the next.

[Happyhungryhippo]

The Flint is above 83 and the comfort is… 2 if I remember right, while the average comfort was around 6.

[supersaturn77]

I guess I leaned a bit too far into daily-driver and impressing ladies and almost forgot the truck part. It is a sedan/coupe based pickup/ute thing, after all. If the TP were a touch higher, I think the fate of the Ting might’ve panned out a bit differently… ah well, I probably didn’t optimize that great anyway.

Congrats to the winner!

[Riley]

Well, I fitted his dreams perfectly, just not his mothers. lmao

[karhgath]

Wow, impressive reliability there, I think I was around 77 and thought that stat would at least carry me a bit further, but yeah ignoring performance in doing so did not help and I knew the styling would be contested, I just rolled the dice on something unique to try to impress.

How many entries went with a bench? Since practicality was not in there, I assume I am in the few that went with a bench (with a big stat hit)? Thought he would appreciate it hehe.