The first review of the state of the Letaran car market will focus on the smaller cars you’ll see on the road, generally considered city cars. Due to their small size they are considered well suited for inner city driving, but some may be comfortable enough for longer road trips too. Despite their size they are practical enough for the whole family with two rows of seating - but legroom might be a bit of an issue. Luggage space is also at a premium in this segment. As you’ll see this segment cover a wide range of budgets and tastes. And as always, car categories are a little subjective with fuzzy lines separating them, so some of these city car offerings would also fit in other categories.
CITY BUDGET
Left to right: Mara Companion 1.3SK @AndiD, ITAL Prima 80B, ITAL Prima 100B @TanksAreTryhards, and Mitsushita T-SA 1000 @conan.
In this segment you’ll find some of the smallest and cheapest (purchase price only) cars in Letara. If you’re an inner city dweller on a budget, look no further! But are they actually any good? Are they popular?
Introduced in 1947, the Mitsushita faced some tough competition in the Anhultz 1000 R1, which had been on the market for a year already, was larger, and although a little bit more expensive to buy, actually cheaper to maintain (more on the Anhultz in a later edition). However, it did undercut the city car offerings by Aero, Kolondra, and Stellar in purchase price - but lost out to Aero in long term upkeep. At this time, it was the only city car with independent rear suspension, and except for the more premium Stellar 21-80 Convertible, it was the only one with four manual gears - so it could be said that this car was a true innovator in the field. With its IRS, standard interior, slightly larger size and full size rear bench seating, it was remarkably comfortable too. Due to its slow speed it remained firmly a city dweller just like many of its brethren. In its initial year of sales the economy seemed to be on an upswing, so it was not an immediate hit, but as the economy tightened in the next few years, many Letarans appreciated the value this little car offered at the time of its release, but sales faltered a little after the release of the Ital cars…
Two rivals came on the market in 1949: the Ital Prima 80B and the Ital Prima 100B. With their dimunitive size, these cars followed in the footsteps of the Aero cars in the “micro” segment. Both the Ital cars are remarkably cheap to buy and maintain (in fact, only the Anhultz 1000 cars are cheaper in the long run than these). With their size and foldable rear bench, these are by no means comfortable, but they are very practical indeed. The 100B has a little bit more power, a little bit more pep, and is a little bit more fun to drive, and offers a little bit more advanced technology (e.g. 4-spd manual gearbox in the 100B compared to the 80B’s 3-spd box). When they were introduced in 1949 the economy started its downturn, so people were indeed looking for cheaper (cheapest) solutions, and these cars delivered. The 80B was the answer for those who lost it all… and the 100B for those who still had a little bit left, or were willing to give up a meal or two to own a slightly more capable car. As the economy continued to plummet, sales remained strong for the Ital cars through the early 1950s.
1950 saw the introduction of the cheapest city car ever on offer in Letara: the Mara Companion 1.3 SK. This car could be yours for the low low price of $9000; that is $156 cheaper than its nearest rival, the Ital 80B. You still got a remarkable amount for this price: 5 standard seats and a 1.3L engine (compared to the 0.8-1L offering in the other cars thus far discussed). It had pretty decent performance too, and was very easy to drive. Comfort was not that great, but who could be too upset about that at this price point? The Mara saw immediate high sales upon its introduction, as cash-strapped city dwellers saw an opportunity to buy were blinded by a cheap car that actually had the chops for a trip across the country. Sales were probably also bolstered by Mara’s participation in the Portunis Cannonball Run. However, sales waned and then tanked after consumers found out that this car is actually relatively expensive to maintain and the larger engine drinks more fuel on those long trips out of the city. Not everyone can afford to pretend to be in the Cannonball…
CITY STANDARD
Left to right: Aero Move Coupe, Aero Move Wagon @Edsel, Kolondra 1400 @MrdjaNikolen, Stellar 13-46 TDS, Stellar 13-46 FDS @donutsnail, Mitsushita T-SA 1500 L @conan, Swanson 112B @Ludvig, Kamaka Chief Sedan Deluxe @LS_Swapped_Rx-7, and Swanson 117GW.
Next up is a group of nine city cars that - based on their purchase price - should offer “more” than the budget cars. Let’s see how they did…
The majority of the city standard category was populated by cars released in 1946, so in essence these five defined the city car category. First we’ll look at the Aero cars, which are undoubtedly the cutest cars on Letaran roads. They have a minuscule 1.8 m wheelbase, putting the micro in micro car. With only four seats - the rear seats being jump seats to boot - these cars really embrace their small proportions. Perfect for even the tiniest parking spot in the city centres, they are ideal for zooming around the tight streets. With a top speed that doesn’t approach 100 km/h, these are true city dwellers. So with the diminutive size, basic interior, and lacklustre performance, you might ask, why are these so expensive (expensive used in a relative sense of course). Well, great care has gone into manufacturing them. They have a galvanized chassis and aluminium panels, which is a first so far. Their upkeep is cheap too, making them among the cheapest cars in the long run. And they are frankly just fun to drive, especially the Move Coupe! Despite the Aero not being comfortable, just by their sheer cuteness they attracted a small cult following. The Move Wagon saw fairly low sales because its value proposition was just not up to par with the cheaper budget offerings, but the Move Coupe, with its fun driving character sold much better, especially after the year-after-year reliability showcase put on by Aero in the Portunis Cannonball Run.
With the Kolondra we’re stepping up just a tiny bit in initial purchase price, but the upkeep costs of this car are significantly higher. This car seems to have a little bit of an identity crisis, which didn’t go unnoticed by Letarans. It has what appears to be an eco 1.4L engine with 36 HP, but it has tubular race headers (which the government immediately mandated to be swapped, raising the car’s purchase price and hassle for consumers). Then for a city car, it has an offroad skid tray, but no other offroad aspirations whatsoever - in fact the Aero cars have higher offroad capability. The build quality also seems to be a little sub-par with giant panel gaps here and there, not to mention the terrible brakes that not only don’t grip, but also send the car into a terrible spin - if they haven’t caught fire before yet. It was just a too confusing car and the mandatory header swap was a little much for many Letarans to deal with, so the Kolondra never became a strong seller.
Stepping up price a little bit more, we come to the two Stellar offerings: a two-door and a four-door trim of the same car. These cars are the cheapest city cars with a premium interior and Premium radio (these cars are the first so far with any radio); the two-door with 2/2 seating and the four-door with two benches. At this (or well… any) price point, no other car can beat these in terms of comfort - the only more comfortable offering is the third Stellar - the convertible. It is truly impressive how comfortable these cars are, even beating many larger family and premium family sedans. What is the downside you might ask? Well, upkeep isn’t exactly cheap. Still cheaper than the Kolondra, and cheaper than many other city car offerings, but not exactly cheap per se. But if you lived in Letara in the late 40s, had the little bit of extra money, and wanted to maximize your value for dollar and get the most comfortable city car at a reasonable price, you got a Stellar. Which of the two trims only depends on how big your family is. Needless to say, the Stellar flew off the shelves as middle-class city dwellers flocked to the Stellar dealership.
Stepping up a little bit in price, the next release of Mitsushita came in 1950. The T-SA 1500 L is a larger brother to the T-SA 1000. As such it is more expensive. But is it the answer Letarans were waiting for after the T-SA 1000 was overtaken by the Ital duo? Well, yes, but also no. The T-SA 1500 L is a significant step up from its predecessor. It now has a premium radio, advanced safety features, more comfortable medium compound tires. As such it is a lot more safe, and nearly as comfortable as the Stellar cars. Its overall upkeep is also on par with the Stellars. So yes, the T-SA 1500 L did eclipse the Itals, Mitsushita’s previous rival - but with the change made, the new rivals were really the Stellars. And the Mitsushita fought this fight well, but ultimately lost out a little bit. The Mitsushita still saw strong sales, but given that it offered about the same as the Stellar cars but was four years late to the party did hurt in the end.
In 1952 the two Swanson cars were introduced. These were a true novelty in the city car segment: they had unibody construction! And galvanized steel chassis. Truly groundbreaking things. Of course these advanced features came at a cost. Both of these cars were quite a bit more expensive than anything seen before. The Swanson 112B’s upkeep was at least reasonable, but the Swanson 117GW blew every car from before out of the water. Aside from the monocoque and galvanized chassis, what else did you get as a driver? Well, not much as it turns out. The 112B had a basic interior and no radio - a spartan interior space only “rivalled” by Aero. In the 117GW you at least got a standard interior and radio, but this is still vastly sub-par in this price category. Sure these cars were fairly reliable, easy to drive, and very safe, they just weren’t comfortable nor offered anything special for the increasingly cost-conscious common consumer. If you wanted to buy a comfortable car, you already had a better option in the Stellar, if you wanted that bare-bones fun to drive small car with a hint of sportiness, there was the Aero. Both much cheaper. So, especially given the economic woes of the early 1950s, the Swanson was mostly overlooked by Letarans.
Last but not least, the Kamaka Chief Sedan Deluxe was introduced in 1953. It’s always interesting to see a car introduced during a large societal and political change. It can either be a good thing as people are more hopeful for a brighter future, or a complete flop as people’s attention are on everything but making new major purchases. The Kamaka was launched into just such an environment. It came on the market as a relatively expensive offering in the city car market, but it did offer many creature comforts such as a premium interior and radio, and more comfortable medium compound tires. Despite these amenities its comfort still lagged behind the Stellars and Mitsushita. Its upkeep costs were astronomical compared to the other city cars thus far discussed. And worst of all - the car shipped with some experimental tires that were not government approved - so owners had to buy new tires before even driving off the lot! For the reasons, the Kamaka became a car that was simply never seriously considered by most Letarans.
CITY PREMIUM
Left to right: Stellar 21-80 Convertible @donutsnail, Torshalla Poesy @Maverick74, and Swanson 125 SP @Ludvig.
Now we get to the more expensive side of the city car market: the premium offerings. Arguably, some of the previous cars would fit this category in term of their features and statistics, but here price is king. So are these three cars worth the premium price?
Introduced right in 1946 along with its cheaper siblings, the Stellar 21-80 Convertible truly has a premium price tag. More expensive to purchase and a lot more expensive to maintain, this car could only be afforded by the more well-off in Letara. Luckily, in 1946 people were still optimistic about the future… So what did all this money get you? The only luxury interior in the entire city segment, a premium radio and - the only convertible in the field! This makes the Stellar 21-80 Convertible really stand out from the field. It is also the most comfortable offering in the city car segment, which is just as well at this price point. Not only was this the most comfortable city car, it was also the fastest - a little rocket on wheels with its 2.4L 6-banger engine! The fact that it only has 2/2 seating doesn’t even matter here. The “young and rich” generation, who naturally are more optimistic about the future anyway, flocked to this car like bees to honey. At least for a few years… once the economy turned, many were forced to sell their toys and look for cheaper options.
The Torshalla Poesy and the Swanson 125P were both introduced in 1952, which seems like a bad time to introduce such expensive cars. Price and upkeep-wise the Torshalla was on par with the Stellar Convertible. In contrast, it did offer a monocoque design, but it only had standard interior with standard radio. Quite a step down. The advanced safety was a nice feature, though, making it the second safest car in the city segment (only behind the Swanson 125P), but both far above the rest of the field. But one still had to wonder where all the money went, why was it so expensive? The 40 HP engine is surely not that special, and otherwise the car didn’t seem to bring anything special to the table. Unfortunately for the Torshalla, it proved to be just too expensive for what it offered, which is a dangerous proposition in a major economic downturn. It’s only saving grace is that it just looked so nice, resulting in a few sales; and these few cars have generally been well cared for and remained in good shape for many years.
Last we come to the Swanson. Now this car truly had a premium - almost luxury car - price tag. At the time of release, it was the fourth most expensive car on the entire Letaran car market, and was almost equally expensive to maintain. The monocoque galvanized chassis was surely a large factor in its exuberant price. Similar to the Stellar, this car also has a 2.4L 6-cylinder engine, this time in a boxer configuration. This car is by far the fastest of all city size cars, reaching 160 km/h and 100 km/h in 9.8 s - figures only reached by the most expensive sedans and dedicated sports cars. Despite it being a hatchback, not a conventional coupe, you could indeed claim that this is in fact a tiny sports car with its automatic locker differential (the only non-open diff in the city segment), and sport tires. Safety is best in segment, comfort is more than decent, and sportiness is unparalleled even counting true sports cars. Well, maybe that is just what it is - a tiny premium sports car. In conclusion, the Swanson offered plenty of perks for its price. If you were lucky enough to save money during the recession, were low on space or lived in the city, or just wanted a tiny car to throw around, but also wanted to blast down the straight roads pretending to drive in the Cannonball, then this was the car for you. Not many Swanson 125 SPs were sold, simply due to the smaller market for these cars, but they were extremely popular and coveted by many who could not afford one…
I believe an update screwed up my pricing. I’m pretty sure it was $20,900 when I submitted or at least when I exported the car which was quite a few updates back. Oh well. Should’ve checked again later within the submission period right? Hopefully my car can still run in 1949 when the budget will go up by $500.
