JOC7A - A Blooming Family
Boise, Idaho, September 1987
Recently married 28-year old Keith and 27-year old Anissa Michaels just recieved the biggest news of their lives - Anissa is expecting twins. The problem, however, is that neither Keith or Anissa drive kid-friendly cars, with Keith driving a low-slung sports car and Anissa driving a 3-door hatchback. Both have good jobs in construction and education respectively, and after a long discussion, Keith has agreed to let go of his sports car and dip into their nest egg to trade up to a larger, more useful and practical car for their changing lifestyle.
Rules
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I will be accepting entries made on the BETA version of the game only.
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Trim/Variant Year - 1987.
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$25,000 autobucks maximum.
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Body style is free, but it must have at least 4 doors.
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Wheelbase must not exceed 3.0m.
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While the differences statistically have lessened, in the interest of realism, rear pushrod suspension is banned, and rear double wishbone and rear multilink suspension will incur a $1,200 penalty on top of the price of your entry (i.e if your entry costs $23,800 and has rear multilink suspension, it would then cost $25,000 with the penalty.)
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5 full (2 front, 3 rear only) seats required.
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At least standard 80s safety.
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Radial tires are required, and must end in 5. Race tires (including semi-slicks) are not allowed.
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a 3-way catalytic converter (either kind) and at least one muffler is required.
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91 RON/86 AKI fuel maximum. You may use a lower grade fuel, though it offers no benefit.
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No V16s, no race parts.
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Faux diesels are not allowed.
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Your car must achieve WES 8 or better.
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Interiors are not required, and will not be judged.
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Advanced trim settings are allowed- however, you are not allowed to make the car look like something that it isn’t using them.
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Legacy car bodies (it should say “Legacy Car Bodies” in the mod name) are not allowed.
Techpool
All entrants are allowed 40M in total techpool budget. This is the sum of the total car and engine techpool values, as shown in the above screenshot.
If you’ve had trouble with techpool exporting incorrectly in the past, you may include a screenshot of your techpool values in the same DM as your submission- I will then compare the in-game numbers to the numbers listed in the screenshot, and will edit them if necessary. However, if you do not send a screenshot of your techpool values and they end up incorrect- or if the values in your included screenshot are also wrong, you will be binned.
Negative techpool is not allowed.
Priorities
Design
As with anything, first impressions are always important. Keith and Anissa won’t consider a car any further if it isn’t impressive to look at - so make a strong impression here.
Realism
OOC- I’m looking for a car that could feasibly exist and that meets basic road legality (think third brake lights, functional front and rear lighting, etc). Some cheesefest entry with a little tiny engine that’s designed to focus only on one or two key stats at the expense of all the others will not be considered, and will be binned. This is a very open ended brief with many avenues to take - make something that fits the segment and style of car that you’re making, and if you’re not clear on something - research it. All results are final.
Drivability
Keith and Anissa can drive both automatic and manual, and they’ve been driving for a long time - but they don’t need or want anything that’s too much of a chore to drive either.
Practicality
Keith and Anissa have 2 kids on the way, in addition to a large Bernese Mountain Dog - so something that can carry them and all of their stuff is important to them, and if a car doesn’t have the space they need, they likely won’t give it a second thought.
OOC - I will be judging more than just the raw stat here, I’ll also be taking into account passenger and cargo figures and the physical size of the vehicle.
Reliability
Keith and Anissa want a dependable and well-made car, something that’s in and out of the shop all the time won’t fly with them.
Safety
Now that it isn’t just about Keith and Anissa’s lives alone, a safe and solid car is more important than ever, especially in the crazy, fast-paced world they live in.
Comfort
Keith and Anissa aren’t expecting Rolls Royce comfort, but they don’t want something sports car uncomfortable either.
Fuel Economy
Keith and Anissa live in the city and neither one has a particularly long commute, but something that won’t drink fuel when they go on longer trips with their kids would be greatly appreciated.
Value/Purchase Price
Keith and Anissa aren’t hurting for money, but 25 grand is a lot of money - especially now that they’re expecting and every penny counts - so if two cars offer the same package, but one is cheaper, it’s safe to assume they’ll choose the cheaper car.
Service Costs
Keith’s family owns a mechanic shop, so when it comes to fixing their future car and buying parts it shouldn’t be too expensive, but they don’t want a car chock-full of exotic and expensive parts, nor do they want a car that’s too difficult to service either.
Sportiness
While Keith and Anissa aren’t looking for a crazy quick sports car, they still want something that’s got enough get up and go to make it capable of keeping up with the flow of traffic where they live.
Prestige
25 grand won’t buy you a luxury car - Keith and Anissa know that. That being said, they still want a car that makes them feel like they’re getting their money’s worth in terms of features and amenities.
Inspirations
SUVs
Jeep Cherokee
Chevy S-10 Blazer
Isuzu Trooper
Toyota 4Runner
Nissan Pathfinder
Mitsubishi Pajero
Submissions
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Submissions will open on Monday, September 22nd, 2025 at 11:59pm PST.
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Submissions will then close exactly 1 month later, on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025 at 11:59pm PST.
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The naming scheme is JOC7A- (your username here) for the car model and engine family boxes. Trim and variant are free.
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To submit, please post at least one picture of your car here in the challenge thread, then DM your .car file and optionally a screenshot of your techpool distribution to me (@vero94773) over the forums only. Submissions over Discord will not be accepted. Ads in the thread may be posted up to 12 hours after submissions close.
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As this round is being held on the beta version of the game, I will only be accepting resubmissions in the event of an update that affects the engineering of your entries - all other resubmissions will not be allowed. If you have to resubmit, please resubmit in the same DM as your original submission.
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To access the beta if you don’t already know - in Steam, right-click on Automation > click “Properties” > click “Betas” > click on the drop-down menu by “Beta Participation” > select “openbeta - Al Rilma Update Open Beta”, then close the properties menu and allow the game to update.
Changelog