Several months later…
A blanket of gray clouds hung over the red brick hospital as Earl Bauers pulled a car up to its front entrance. The faint hum of the engine came to a stop as he turned off the ignition. The metal on the door handle felt cool as he pushed open the door and felt the brisk air that passed for late-winter weather in South Carolina. The heavy door made a satisfying thud as he pushed it closed behind him. He walked around the car just in time to see the door swing open. There was Wendy, being pushed in a wheelchair by a dour-looking nurse, holding what looked like a small bundle of cloth in her arms–except for the tiny little face peeking out from under a knit blue cap.
Earl smiled. Wendy saw him and smiled back. She sat up out of the wheelchair, took a few steps to Earl, and passed him the baby. Earl took him gently in his arms and held him delicately against his chest, worried that he could break a thing so small and fragile with just one wrong move.
“Hey there, little guy,” he cooed. “Are you my little Henry? Yes you are! Yes you are!”
Little Henry Bauers did not stir from his nap. He wouldn’t have understood the soothing noises coming from his father’s mouth anyway.
Wendy pulled open the passenger side door of the car and lowered herself into a thickly padded leather bucket seat. She was sore, but her body relaxed as it settled into the comfortable seat. She reached over her shoulder for the seat belt and pulled it across her body. The metal buckle clicked firmly into place.
“Earl,” she said gently. “I’m ready to take the baby.” After all, she thought, it was far safer for little Henry to be held snugly in his mother’s arms than left lying in a car bed. Earl gently passed the little bundle to Wendy and delicately pushed the door shut. He walked around to the other side and settled into the driver’s seat. He hadn’t really been looking for a comfortable car, but he had to admit that he liked these seats. As he too buckled his seatbelt, his arm accidentally brushed Wendy, who was only inches away from him. Sure, he thought, it wasn’t the most spacious car, but it was enough.
Earl’s keys jangled as he reached toward the ignition and started the car. Or, he thought he had started the car. Had he? Yes, there it was, the gentle hum of the engine, and the slight vibration he could feel coming from the seat. It wasn’t the first time Earl had struggled to tell if the car was on. He reached for the floor-mounted transmission and put it into gear. The steering wheel gave him some pleasantly firm resistance as he maneuvered out of the parking lot, turned onto the road, and came to a stop light.
Earl looked over and Wendy and Henry. Wendy was staring down at Henry as he slept. She had been doing that a lot. To be honest, Earl had also been looking a lot at the baby–no, his baby–no, his son. It was hard to believe.
The light turned green. Earl stepped on the gas and was jolted back into his soft seat by the acceleration as the engine quietly brought the car up to cruising speed.
“Earl!” Wendy whispered sharply. “You’ll wake up Henry if you keep driving like that!” Henry just smacked his lips in his sleep and shifted slightly in Wendy’s lap.
“Sorry,” Earl whispered back.
It was quiet. Earl could faintly hear the air rushing past the car and the hum of the engine, but it felt calm in the car. The car glided down the road, occasionally jostling a bit over a bump here or there, but nothing that Earl or Wendy really noticed. Especially not in those seats.
As they drove home, Earl resisted the urge to push the car hard through the curves. He had done it before. And he would do it again. But on this day, and with these passengers–with this very new passenger–it was not the time to push the car to its limits. The fuel gauge caught his attention as he glanced down at the speedometer. He would have to get gas soon. Not today, but probably the next time he or Wendy took the car out. When was the last time he had filled up the tank? Maybe a week ago? Longer? Whenever exactly it was, Earl did some rough mental math and…wait, what was the odometer reading when he filled up? It was…oh well. The gas mileage was “not bad.” That was Earl’s answer, and he was sticking to it.
Wendy looked out the window at the fallow fields as they rolled through the countryside toward the Bauers’ family farm. The overcast sky was beginning to clear, and she could see the weak late afternoon sunlight beginning to peak through the clouds. She sighed contentedly, feeling the warmth of Henry’s tiny body nestled up against her. Wait–had Earl remembered to put her bag in the car like she asked? She glanced over her shoulder into the back seat and felt relieved when she saw it sitting on one of the two seats in the back. Of course, there had been enough room for it in the trunk, but Earl had a habit of throwing things in the back seat–now that they had a car that had one.
She saw the Bauers’ farm drawing closer through the window, and soon they were on dirt roads leading up to the farm. Of course, no car was ever that comfortable on a dirt road, she thought, but at least she was never worried if they were going to make it down this road. From a distance, she saw Earl’s youngest sister running toward the house, probably to let the rest of the family know that they were coming. In fact, by the time they pulled up in front of the house next to the little blue truck, Mabel and her children–baby Henry’s aunts and uncles–were streaming out the front door. Wendy was surprised to see that Mabel was even smiling.
Earl and Wendy got out of the car, with Wendy delicately handing Henry to Earl. They were greeted by variations of “Awww, isn’t he precious! What a cutie pie!” Earl got slaps on the back from his siblings and “Hey there, dad!”
Mabel walked up to Wendy. “May I hold him?” Somehow, the voice that spoke wasn’t the stern, dour Mrs. Bauers that Wendy had become accustomed to.
“Sure,” said Wendy, as she carefully passed sleeping baby Henry to his grandmother.
“Oh,” said Mabel. “He’s beautiful!” Tears welled in her eyes as she gazed down at her one and only grandson. Mabel drew close to Wendy. And she kissed her gently on the head.
“Wendy, I am so happy for you. Children are God’s greatest blessing.”
Wendy could have been knocked over with a feather. Where was the stern, demanding, mother-in-law she’d come to know? Where had this well of tenderness come from? What had happened to the snide remarks about her housekeeping and the disapproving glances when she put TV dinners in the shopping cart?
Henry started to fuss. “Here,” said Mabel, passing him back to Wendy. “I think he wants his mother. Come, let’s go inside. I’ve made supper for all of us.”
Mabel placed a gentle hand on Wendy’s shoulder as the assembled family walked back toward the house. Wendy paused for a moment.
“Oh, Earl,” she said, “could you please grab my bag from the back seat.”
“Sure, honey,” Earl replied.
He turned around and headed toward their Angus Lionhead, bathed in the evening sunlight.
Final Rankings of Finalists
7th - Fratelli Frui Chiara 2500 Berlina. The Chiara, relying on a rear double-wishbone suspension and a 5-speed manual transmission, took some major hits from realism adjustments. As a result, the Chiara dropped below average in both comfort and sportiness. Although the calculated overall engineering score remained good, I ultimately felt that it did not make sense for Wendy and Earl to buy a car that didn’t particularly appeal to either of them, and I formally added an above average score in sportiness or comfort as a finalist criterion–although after I had announced the Fratelli as a finalist. Overall, a very good and well-designed car, but just not what I feel Wendy and Earl were looking for here.
6th - Clari Coqui. This is a very well-engineered car and would be a legitimate first place contender if judging were solely on the basis of engineering. However, it received one of the lowest design scores and, as a result, sinks to the bottom of the finalists.
5th - Ariete SH-8. This car was outstanding for its sportiness that powered it into the finals, and its comfort wasn’t too bad. But this design quite simply is not a 1964 design. While the Gremlin body it’s based on unlocks in 1965 and can unlock earlier with tech pool, the actual Gremlin was released in 1970. As a result, the SH-8 just doesn’t fit the bill for this contest. Comfort was also on the low side, making it a tough sell to Wendy in spite of Earl’s enthusiasm.
4th - Sumner Pilum 262 Special. The Sumner had outstanding scores prior to realism adjustments but, as another entry that relied heavily on rear double-wishbones and a 5-speed manual for its preliminary round score, it took huge hits for realism in the final that cratered its drivability. Design scores were also average.
3rd - Cordelia Horizon. A very good entry, held back only by lower reliability and safety scores. And a phonograph player. But the styling is only so-so, and that ultimately puts the Horizon in third place.
2nd - DCMW Sharriallat Standard Six. The attention to detail in the design of this car is astonishing–as it seems to be in pretty much all of moroza’s builds. I hate to make moroza the Creedence Clearwater Revival of JOC with two consecutive second-place finishes, and there is a legitimate case for a first place finish for this car. But design scores were fairly average, and, as described in the judging, it just doesn’t seem like Wendy and Earl would take to the styling of the car. The point about this styling being era-appropriate is well-taken, however, and this car could be a winner with different, perhaps more sophisticated, buyers.
1st - Angus Lionhead. The Angus takes first place with a well-rounded approach. It lost relatively little score for realism adjustments, and it scores average or higher in every high- and medium-priority scoring category. It also scored highly for design, with looks that seem era appropriate and that, while not necessarily the absolutely most attractive, add to its overall well-rounded design…
Congrats to the winner, and thanks to everyone who participated! Please feel free to DM me with any questions, concerns, or gripes about judging. Good luck to the host of the next round!