Congratulations @donutsnail !
Congrats, great cars here, must have been a close one. I’ve been eager to do a JOC. and will take up the responsibility this round.
I’ll be sure to give plenty of time around the holidays, because I want this one to be special.
My thoughts: What would happen if the 70’s DIDN’T involve a gas crisis? There’s alternate timelines of the past that didn’t involve treachery and treason, and I think it would be amazing to live that through car creation.
It was close indeed, and the interesting thing was that the cars were kind of different both when it came to engineering and stats, yet it was hard to say which one was the best. (Stats wise, the Swanson, no question about it, but I think it missed the styling brief way too much unfortunately, well, that’s how it works IRL so it really felt sad to ditch it that early, but…). All in all a fun challenge to host.
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Congratulations donutsnail, a well deserved win!
Welp, it sure seems like a good indication of it. 
Seems my downfall was going a bit too realistically American for the era, what with the cross plys, four wheel drums, and leaning a bit more on the luxury side. And yeah, the black dashboard annoyed me as well, seems there wasn’t a paint slot for it. Shame, since the design of it is quite nice.
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Yeah, I too was concerned that I would be a bit blown out in the stats by someone with 4 wheel discs, independent rear suspension, radials, and overhead cams, and I felt the manual transmission might be a risky choice given the importance of comfort, but it worked out. Thanks for hosting Knugcab!
Nah,the V12 and other more modern touches took up too much resources and so some other things had to be compromised, or were just “standard” quality. It was definitely a bit too forward thinking for its own good in that sense. This was I think a case where better made but slightly older/lower tier components benefited more and had better stats than throwing the newest stuff on the car without added quality.
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Well…your car was very realistic for an american car of the time period indeed, fact is that my father have had a 1964 Ford Galaxie for almost 30 years so I have some pretty good first hand experience with a car that I would say is pretty close to what you made. However, 1963 was the year when the Corvette C2 was introduced, which was pretty advanced for its era even compared to what was built in the old world, so well, everything was possible, it should be said that you lost only by a slight margin to the less conventional Floyd, though. With a buyer with different priorities, you could as well have won. It should be said that there was not a great deal of realism cheese in this round, though, the more conventional designs generally had more conventional engineering too…including Donutsnail’s winning entry.
It should also be said that the black dashboard did not affect any stats, interior design was not judged but only added in for writing flavour. Without a required interior that’s the only sane thing to do if you ask me, if not, you would either have to deduct score for an ugly interior compared to none at all (which would be silly) or deduct score for having no interior (basically making an interior passive-agressively needed).
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I was shooting for a Mustang with some extra wheelbase and more Thunderbird-esque glitz, really.
The Floyd was very similar to what I have done, but more refined. However, for having taken a car directly out of the lore, throwing in an engine from another lore car and changing the design for the better within an hour the car I had was quite ok. But the effort was definitely not enough against the experienced competition, and I’ll surely try harder next round.
PART 2C - Flying Heavy
August 1971 -Cocoa Beach, FL (by the Kennedy Space Center)
Kenneth Bower (who sometimes gets called “Keith” by random people for no reason, and so answers to that too), is now 36. He hasn’t (YET, he would say) become a full-fledged astronaut but he did find a calling in the industry, and now makes an honorable, well-paid living using his piloting skills as an experimental test pilot serving the KSC area. It’s a dream job and he’s oh-so close to those awesome Saturn rockets. In fact, he’s picked up a fantastic hobby in amateur rocketry along with some friends in the industry, and he’s become quite adept at surfing! Kenneth and his friends love beach days, too. His job puts him on a schedule with a fair amount of free time, and in fact, and when he’s not flying, he’s enjoying the waves or launching a model.
Sure, the Cabirou Rosson has been a heck of a car, and in fact these years have been good to it and it is undeniably a cool car. But Kenneth makes great money and is ready for a change. Maybe he’ll keep the Rosson, but he’s got the urge for something… bigger! Something for his friends, his models, his boards! Something that looks great out at the beach but can easily stuff in all sorts of things. He’s ready for something a bit more useful these days so that’s what we’re going to do for him.
Details on the vehicle he’s looking for
This time around, Kenneth is shopping a wide gamut. Maybe a wagon, maybe an SUV? Hell, maybe even an El-Camino type thing? They all have their pros and cons. He doesn’t NEED space for more than 2 to 3 passengers, but these bigger SUV’s have all sorts of space. Wagons, too. What he does know for sure is that he wants to be able to fit at least two surfboards, and if there’s space for a few rocket stages (he plays with the big ones, at least 5 feet long per stage), all the better.
Techpool Rules
I’m sure we all know and love Techpool by now. Its a game changer - whether we like that new game or not is still, for me, undecided. But, it isn’t going away and ignoring it doesn’t work either. So we’re going to use it.
For this round, everyone gets 10 Techpool points for Engine and Trim, TOTAL. Users can put up to 3 Techpool points into any category. Use the limited points wisely, and be certain that your vehicle has ONLY 10 point in use.
PRIORITIES
STYLE
He’s not going to even look at a ride unless it evokes an emotional response. The Rosson is a gorgeous beast and still gives him a smile, he expects nothing less from his new sled.
COMFORT
Those fancy irreplaceable jets he flies are particularly hard on his body, so a comfortable ride is going to be a requirement. Still, if he has to give a tiny bit of comfort for some off-road capability (to find the perfect spot on the beach), he’ll do it.
UTILITY / PRACTICALITY
Sometimes, you just need some space. Sometimes, you need to haul something. We’ll take these two specs as an average, so if your vehicle is slightly better at one vs. the other, it will even out.
DRIVEABILITY
Kenneth is an exceptional driver, which goes in line with being an exceptional pilot. Still, he would prefer a vehicle not be hard to drive.
SAFETY
He’s had a few near-misses lately and would not like to be a statistic on the highway. Safety is not paramount, but it is always important
RELIABILITY
Always important, but this isn’t his only vehicle so if it needs service from time to time, so be it.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESISTANCE
Sand, and salt water are an issue, but then again the weather is amazing in the area. But he wants his new ride to be able to survive a while.
FUEL ECONOMY
Pay to play, that’s the way its been since his first car. Nobody likes a gas guzzler for no reason, though. If it has to burn a lot of gas, it better be for a darn good reason.
SERVICE COSTS
It isn’t a big deal to slap some new tires on from time to time, but no need to waste money.
PERFORMANCE
Ken does not need a sense of raw speed, but the new ride needs to not be a slow dump truck. So, this will be graded as a mix of multiple things: The PERFORMANCE spec is one portion, but also the actual performance figures of 0-60, 1/4 mile, cornering, and braking will all be ranked and judged. It is a 1 star item, so it will be judged at 50% (see my topic on how I judge for deets). The performance figures plus the performance number will be the total performance rank per vehicle.
PRESTIGE
It is worth something, not nothing. But, his passions in life are where he puts his priories, not what badge is on his car.
OFFROAD
one star, as in useful but not hugely important to be a star rock crawler.
PURCHASE PRICE
GASP it’s a 1-star item? YEP! Time for Kenneth to live a little! Still, if a car costs less but does more, it will win the Purchase Price game, period.
RULES
YEAR, CAR TRIM 1971-1972
You may use the power of Techpool to unlock a newer body (in this case, up to 3 years per the Techpool rule)
CAR MODEL, ENGINE FAMILY, ENGINE VARIANT: Needs to be the car trim year or older (so, 1971-1972)
BODIES - This is where it is going to be fun. Can it fit two surf boards? I don’t mean outside the passenger window. Any body is OK to build on, but Kenneth is going to walk right by something that can’t fit his boards safely, and hopefully his friends too. I would recommend Truck / El Camino type, SUV, VAN, WAGON, something with some space…probably roof space.
SEATING - Standard Cab trucks and El Camino / Ranchero bodies can only fit 3 people with a bench, so that is the minimum. Ideally, it would be great if his new ride could fit more. He’s got plenty of friends, but they have nice rides too so he’s not looking for a bus, either. So, 3-6 should be the range. Note: Bench seats have come a long way in his mind, but he still likes bucket seats just like his Rosson. He doesn’t have much use for “+2/+3” seating, however. None of his friends are little people.
TRANSMISSION - not a rule but worth noting, yeah autos are more comfortable, but he’s plenty capable of rowing a box and finds it just fine. Auto or manual is ok for this round.
QUALITY - no rules on this explicitly, but major quality shifts will raise red flags. No successful car vendor makes a hunk of junk these days, nor do they make polished diamonds. Balance the quality with the offering.
FUEL
1972 vehicles use UNLEADED. No leaded fuel allowed. Specifically, 91 RON Octane Regular Unleaded.
Catalytic converters were not required. You can put one on but you do not have to. Kenneth likes the idea of cleaner air and so you will get points if you slap one on. What kind of points? Not real ones, like brownies and kudos.
Now for the part that will probably turn some heads
MAXIMUM PRICE - none
MAXIMUM ENGINE ET - none
MAXIMUM TRIM ET - none
We aren’t building cost-no-object vehicles for Ken. Far from it, in fact. Its just that he cares very little how much goes in to making the vehicle he wants to buy. If all the cars he wants are pretty expensive, fine. If one comes in thousands less but it does everything right, then guess what, they’ve got a customer. Your job as a car manufacturer is to build him the best car (or truck thing) that serves his needs at prices that undercut your competition.
INTERIORS
I would like to see them. I won’t outright cancel a car without one, and I don’t expect perfection though I know it is possible. Get enough in there to get your design point across, show the space and purpose, and have fun with it.
TIRES
Everyone is on Radials, Ken’s updated his old ride with them and he’s NOT going back. It could be any type EXCEPT for hard-core offroad types, and race semi-slicks. Neither of those would do him any good.
NOTE: I’m that guy that is a stickler for correct tire sizes. This helps keep the vehicles properly proportional. 1972 wasn’t a year for 18’s and stuff, and there wasn’t something like a 265/90-15 either. If you aren’t sure, look up a car from the era and match it up.
NAMING CONVENTION
Car model/trim: JOC2C - {your username} / Make and model
Engine family/variant: JOC2C - {yourusername} / Name of engine
DEADLINES
SUBMISSION DEADLINE- I will leave it until tomorrow, that’s Saturday 12:00PM EST for final deliberations, and assuming no issues, I’ll start taking entries. The deadline will be January 2nd at 12:00PM EST, pending any updates, naturally.
INSPIRATIONS
1972 Buick Electra Estate
1972 International Harvester Travelall
1972 Chevrolet Malibu wagon
1972 Chrysler Town and Country
1972 Jeep Wagoneer
1972 Chevrolet Suburban
TIPS ON HOW I JUDGE
Everyone is judged on a ranking system. I take the scores generated per category, and turn those into rank. Each rank position is assigned point values.
- 3 star items get a 150% boost in points earned
- 2 star items are rated at 100% (normal)
- 1 star items are rated at 50% (half)
What this means to you is there is a fair markup for being a superstar in the priorities.
Style and engineering choices are subjective, and ranked as well. These subjective measures represent the emotional side of Kenneth’s decision, and will equate for 1/3 of the “score” I create per vehicle.
I hope the premise is to everyone’s liking!
I’ll review my post here and edit as necessary to try and hit all the important points.
Thanks!
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Sounds fun, I am in!
So - either an early luxury SUV or an American landyacht wagon, nice.
It would be nice to see a few inspirations, if possible.
OOH! Can I offer up some inspirations? You can delete these or add to them if it’s not what you’re looking for, but I think these are good:
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What about engines and trims from 1971? Must they use (91 RON regular) unleaded as well?
Nailed it, I had a few others to load too but yep. Seems to be what the people want.
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In order to level the playing field, everyone uses ron91.
should we use the surfboard mod parts to check they fit inside or above the vehicle we are making?
I think that’s brilliant but it isn’t required. I may use it as a guide like Kenneth would.
Ok everyone, submissions open!
Time for a fancy import!
Landyachts are cool, no question. But how about an Euro premium sedan?
Since 1967, the Imperator by Primus - who are quite popular in the US - was often among the best buys in various car magazines.
The 1972 facelift looses some uniqueness, but gives the car a very understated, yet valuable look.
The brochures say, there is even an opportunity to get a wagon - directly from the factory in Austria by PSK - the “Primus Sonderkarosserien” department. Make sure, you order the “Schlechtwegefahrwerk”. Your local PRIMUS GLOBUS dealer will explain, what that means in English.
One of my oldest builds in the current game engine version, of course I’ll refine it for the competition, but that’s what I will most likely send into competition.
1 Like