Kessel would like to formally apologize to the Letaran people for our turn signal mishap. Our quality control manager has been disciplined, and we have molded replacement lenses in the correct color for all future vehicles.
(Sorry, I must’ve just skimmed the ruleset).
The other side of the utility market consists of consumer vans - boxes on wheels that can be used to transport goods that should not get wet. Similar to the pick-up side of the segment, the number of choices expanded quite considerably in this decade. While competition wasn’t as fierce as in some other segments, at least Letarans had a few different models to satisfy their various needs.
The first van to hit the market was the 1974 Van Zandt Brazos Conestoga. It was quite a handsome vehicle although the looks might be said to have been a little outdated even upon launch. In many aspects, it was a very average or standard vehicle as nothing really stood out about it. It had a standard price tag, was mid-sized, standard interior and entertainment, segment-appropriate ladder chassis but car-derived independent suspension, hard tires, acceptable comfort, reliability and drivability. It wasn’t very good on any kind of rough terrain however, so it was mostly restricted to paved roads. What was slightly off-putting to some consumers was that it wasn’t a panel van. Meaning, that the rear window of the wagon trim was not covered up. This left the contents visible, and also left the car more fragile: shove one too many boxes in there and you might bust the window! But since it was the only van available, it was the van to have in 1974.
Until the 1975 TIV Asna was released that is. The TIV undercut the Van Zandt in price, although its upkeep was higher, so overall costs were about the same. Despite having a shorter wheelbase, the TIV offered a lot more cargo space than the Van Zandt with a cab-over architecture. It had a light truck monocoque chassis, independent front suspension but leaf-sprung rear axle allowing for quite the load to be carried. Access to the cargo space was made doubly-easy with side sliding doors, which made this van extra versatile and useful. It was not a fast vehicle, but it could manage highway speeds and could manage all but the worst dirt road, making it very suitable for long-distance deliveries and use in remote areas too. It had a standard interior and standard entertainment, but had an 8-track player in the dash which allowed workers to bring their own tunes on the road. This was much appreciated for those long-distance hauls and made it one of the most comfortable vans of the decade. It was also easier to drive than the Van Zandt and was quite a bit safer. Its only achilles heel was reliability: nothing disastrous, but they did need more frequent care than other utility vehicles. So all that to say that the TIV took the delivery market by storm and was ubiquitous on Letaran roads, even if owners had to spend a little more on upkeep.
Consumers had to wait three more years till the release of the 1978 Moover V10-D. The Moover undercut the TIV in purchase price by a little bit, but its long-term upkeep was the real kicker: it was about half as much! It used about half as much gas, and a service appointment didn’t break the bank either. Not that you would have to service it all that often: it had absolute bomb-proof reliability. So that was a significant selling point for the Moover. It was, however, a longer wheelbase vehicle that was clearly based off a regular family wagon (monocoque chassis, fully independent suspension). On the inside it had a standard interior and basic 8-track, giving it a hint of comfort, but not as nice as the TIV. Its load capacity was greater than that of the Van Zandt, but nowhere near that of the TIV, especially when it came to heavier cargo. Nevertheless, it was quite easy to drive and could go everywhere the TIV could too. So for those who didn’t quite need as much space or weight-carrying capacity, the Moover was an attractive choice with it much cheaper running costs. Thus the TIV became more known as the ‘heavy’ delivery truck, and the Moover the ‘light delivery’ of choice.
The smallest and cheapest van on the market was released in 1979: the Aero Free Base Pack. The engineers at Aero once again brought something quirky to the market with adorable looks and questionable practicality. This absolutely tiny car was cheap to be sure, but it was also very basic - except for its advanced 80s safety package, making it on paper (and standardized crash tests) even better than the Van Zandt. But with two seats it was extremely cramped and uncomfortable in the cabin, it had practically no cargo space, was quite difficult to drive despite its diminutive size and weight, and was only suitable to use in cities. It had one strength though: with its mid-engine configuration, it could dump excess heat directly into the cargo space. With a quick upgrade to insulation and clever venting, this vehicle was ideal for the hot food delivery market. Indeed, its cargo space could fit five stacked pizzas, or six cooked and packaged dinners. And while it was not a large market, many restaurants chose to ditch their fleet of scooters, and opted for a fleet of Aeros instead. And customers appreciated food that was delivered hotter than ever before.
A more serious contender in the van market was the 1979 Sarek II Twin Van. This vehicle was priced above the Van Zandt and even with a slightly cheaper maintenance than the TIV, it was still the most expensive van on the market in the year of its release. The Sarek was a large and boxy vehicle that was marketed as an “off-road delivery van”. It had a ladder frame and coil-sprung solid axles front and rear, locking 4x4 drivetrain, off-road skid tray, and cross-ply A/T tires. The latter were by now quite outdated and hard to find replacement for, so most customers chose to upgrade them to radials right away. They might as well, since they had to make modifications to the vehicle anyway before driving off the lot: the stock front and rear side markers were mounted in-line with the axles, not in front or to the rear as required by law, so they had to be moved. The rear one had to be replaced altogether, because it was orange, not red. So anybody wanting the Sarek had to really want it. And who would want it? Well, its only great strength was its rock-crawling off-road capability, and also its relatively large cargo capacity was of value. So it was the most suitable for certain niche tasks, such as off-road rescue in the most remote areas, and bringing supplies to the roughest areas of the country. The Sarek was no commercial success by any means, but it did find itself with this small niche all to itself.
Three vans were released in 1980. The cheapest of them was the IA Grigory Hauler. Price wise, it was a direct competitor for the Moover. However, with a wheelbase that was 50 cm shorter, it was a much smaller vehicle, so had very little cargo space in comparison. But this is not where the problems for the IA ended. It was a car-based panel van, similar to the Moover, but despite its smaller size and front-whee-drive and advanced automatic gearbox, it was still harder to drive than its larger and heavier rival. It had an off-road skid tray and A/T tires, but still only managed to traverse regular dirt roads - anything more challenging was out of the question for this small vehicle. Although it features a similar standard interior and basic 8-track as the Moover, it was quite a bit more uncomfortable too. While absolute reliability was not an issue for the IA, in comparison to the Moover it seemed like each was a lemon (it wasn’t, objectively reliability was quite good in fact, but when your rival never breaks down… ). And the final nail in the coffin for the IA was that it didn’t have any side markers, requiring customers to fit aftermarket units. So unfortunately the IA never made a big splash in the delivery market.
The second vehicle in 1980 was the AMCW Scout Workmate. This ugly duckling of a van was something new and interesting on the market. It was priced higher than the Sarek or Van Zandt, but its long-term upkeep was lower than that of the Moover or IA, so price-wise it was still an attractive proposition as a small delivery vehicle. It had a car-derived platform with monocoque chassis, but had a coil-sprung live rear axle. Considering its price, the basic interior and basic 8-track was a little disappointing, and it was quite uncomfortable, especially in the rear seats. That’s right - this van had five full-size seats! That turned out to be its main selling point, as its other stats were not that great. But if you had to move a small crew to site (and didn’t really care about their comfort), and carry some cargo with them, then the AMCW was the vehicle for the job. Of course many companies simply opted for a regular wagon for this task - especially one where the rear side marker wouldn’t have to be replaced immediately - but some who did need to carry a bit more gear in a covered panel van went with the AMCW.
The same year the AMCW’s more expensive sibling was released too: the Kasivah Serenity Camping Coupe. It was priced twice as high as the AMCW, and its upkeep was twice as much too - putting it in the luxury price bracket. Indeed, if we compare it to the regular wagon market, it would be the second most expensive one on the market. And being twice as expensive than any other van, it is easy to see that Letarans were a little skeptical of the Kasivah. In many aspects, it was the same vehicle as the AMCW: a five-seater panel van. But the Kasivah received many upgrades: it had an advanced automatic gearbox (vs. the AMCW’s manual), had a premium interior and premium 8-track, power steering, and vented disc brakes all-round. It also had a large and much more powerful V6 (vs. the small I5 in the AMCW). With that it was by far the fastest, most comfortable, safest, and prestigious panel van on the market. And therein lied the problem. It was a panel van, not a luxury family wagon. Nobody wanted such an opulent workhorse, no matter how much money the company was making - throwing money away is just bad business. Not to mention that at this price point certainly nobody wanted to deal with having to change a rear side marker before even leaving the lot. So while the AMCW had a nice niche, the Kasivah never took off.
The last van on the market was the 1981 Suma M313 Entrega. The Suma entered the market on the opposite end: it was priced just above the Aero in the budget category. This was a relatively small panel van with more truck-like engineering than many of its rivals: it had a light-truck monocoque and coil-sprung live and locking rear-axle. So despite its size, it could haul heavy items with ease, and could traverse even the worst dirt roads. It had a standard interior and standard AM radio, so comfort wasn’t the greatest. It also suffered in the same areas at the IA when compared to the Moover; in fact, it was even harder to drive, was less safe, and was even less reliable - in this case not just relatively, but also absolutely. So even though it looked quite nice, and was not a bad vehicle in an of itself, it didn’t manage to remove the Moover from top spot in the segment, but fought for the minor sales figures with the IA.
…to be continued…
But what if one needs to combine utility with family transport? Well, they certainly could buy a panel van with five seats - that is an option now - but more likely these people are shopping for a wagon or SUV. These cars provide plenty of storage space in the back while having enough seats for the whole family. Wagons are typically more utilitarian than their sedan counterparts, but there are exceptions too. Nevertheless, Letarans expect these vehicles to be capable of taking them anywhere they might want to go camping, and get them there reliably and safely. Let’s see how this decade’s crop did.
Released in 1974 the Van Zandt Grand Ranch had a monopoly on the market for two years. Its looks and engineering were fairly traditional but quite nice. It was a body-on-frame car with fully independent suspension, five premium seats and a standard 8-track in the dash. It ran on medium-compound tires, but did have an off-road skid tray for some extra protection. Power was delivered to the rear wheels through an automatic gearbox. Power and performance were more than adequate for a family wagon. All of this came at a premium price point and upkeep seemed a little on the high side, but not exuberant. The car was surprisingly comfortable, but despite its advanced safety package trailed other cars in standardized crash tests. It was not too hard to drive, had decent reliability, and could traverse all roads except for the worst rutted dirt in the most remote areas. So overall it was just a no-nonsense family wagon that got the job done. It might’ve been a tad on the expensive side, with the monopoly on the market it was either this, or looking for a used wagon - and with the growing economy more people opted for new, even if it meant taking out a small loan.
In 1976 the Kessel Pantheon hit the market. Price-wise it undercut the Van Zandt and was the only wagon in the standard price range for the decade. Upkeep was quite high, however, even more expensive than the Van Zandt - in fact more expensive than all but the most expensive wagon and the SUVs. So it was questionable if in the long run it’d save any money at all. It was a truck-derived wagon with a light-truck monocoque chassis and solid axles front and rear. With a locking 4x4 drivetrain, off-road skid tray, and A/T tires it was also very much oriented toward the more adventurous. And despite its low price tag it still have five premium seats and a premium 8-track. It had similar on-road performance as the Van Zandt, but it really shone off-road, being as capable as the rugged dirt-oriented pick-ups and SUVs. Well, and in reality, although it was registered by the government as a wagon, in reality it was an SUV. Although it wasn’t quite as comfortable, reliable, or easy to drive as the Van Zandt, it filled a niche, being able to take the family on camping trips to the back-country, and was… well… a car with a lot more presence. So, even though people had to swap rear side markers upon purchase, it had no problem attracting people to the show rooms.
People had to wait another three years before the next wagons came on the market. The 1979 Popas Rushba 1800-5-4 MK-II entered the market promising to be the “best value” wagon. True to its name, it was the only budget-priced wagon - about $7,000 cheaper than the Kessel. Upkeep was also much cheaper. The Popas was smaller, though, but still managed to fit five premium seats, but only standard AM radio as entertainment. This monocoque car had independent front suspension, solid rear axle, and power was delivered to the A/T tires though a locking 4x4 differential. It also had an off-road skid tray. True to its price point, some corners were cut in the manufacturing of the car, and it also had some cheaper components: it had the weakest engine and drum brakes on all four corners. And this really showed in all-round performance, comfort, drivability, safety and reliability. In this economy it was a car that one only got if they couldn’t afford anything else. Luckily, it did have the Popas off-road ability, so it was quite suitable as the main transport vehicle in the poorest and most rural areas of Letara. And that is exactly where most Popas ended up, transporting the family and the occasional sheep or piglet in the back to market.
Released the same year, the KHI 792 Pelican was a direct rival to the Van Zandt. It was a slightly smaller car with distinctly more modern looks, which was much appreciated by customers. It had similar five premium seats, but upgraded premium 8-track in the dash. It was the first car wagon on the market with the modern AWD drive system; and the off-road features didn’t stop there: it had a locking differential, off-road skid tray, hydropneumatic suspension and A/T tires. It was about as comfortable on dirt as the Popas, but blew the Van Zandt out of the water. It was quite capable on-road too, was comfortable, and had average drivability and reliability. So while it didn’t fill a specific niche as the Kessel and Popas could, it handsomely competed with the Van Zandt, ending its monopoly on the premium wagon market.
This same year the AMM Sarek II Twin Offroader was released. The most striking feature of this large box-on-wheels was its funky paint scheme. Not to everyone’s taste, it certainly stood out! This wagon-SUV was priced about the same as the KHI and Van Zandt, but was a distinctly different car than either - it was more in league with the SUV-like Kessel. It was a large ladder-framed car with solid axles front and rear, and went-all out with all available off-road oriented engineering choices, including full-on mud tires. It also had a class-exclusive advanced automatic gearbox. With all these goodies under the hood, something had to give - and that were the five standard seats and standard 8-track, which were a little disappointing in this price range. Then again, this was not really meant to be a cozy family vehicle: this was a vehicle to climb mountain with, and you could carry your family or best friends with you if you so wished. And it was indeed the most extreme off-road capable vehicle in Letara in this decade -it seems that extreme off-roaders are just meant to have funky and arguably obnoxious paint jobs. But this car was not as incredibly over-powered as the Rhanias of yesteryear. This was a more sensible car, bringing mudding and rock-crawling to the masses. So the AMM never became a family car - but it was the go-to for anyone who wanted to participate in (or pretend to want to participate) in more extreme off-road activities. After fixing the side reflector issues, of course…
This year the most expensive wagon was also introduced: the Macht Teuton GL500 Luxuswagen. Most expensive, while accurate, still feels like an understatement. It was $70k to purchase - three-and-a-half times as expensive to buy as the AMM, and 1.5 times as expensive to maintain. Needless to say, it was very much in the upper bracket of the luxury price bracket, and only three other cars managed to be more expensive in the entire decade. So this was certainly not a vehicle for the average Letaran. For all of this money one got a medium-sized wagon with four hand-stitched seats, a luxury 8-track player in the dash, and nice alloy wheels clad with comfortable medium-compound tires. The excess power of the large V12 engine was kept in check by a geared LSD and an easy to use advanced automatic gearbox with two overdrive gears. Even so, the car had sports-car acceleration, but top speed was limited electronically to 160 km/h. But that was OK, this car was not bought for its top speed, but to be the most comfortable family car for the uber-rich taking their kids to piano recital (or double-bass recital, since that instrument actually fit in the back!). And in this it excelled. Given that Letara has not seen a true luxury wagon in very many years, it the Macht Teuton was something new, something unique the rich could sink their teeth into, and so it became quite a popular car around the villas of Fiegheni. The only shadow mark on the Macht was that the rear side reflector had to be changed immediately…
Three wagons were released in 1980. The cheapest was the Martinet Erable 2.0 GLi Break. This car was priced at the bottom of the premium market, slotting in between the Van Zandt and Kessel. This car-based wagon had a class-only transverse FWD lay-out. It had five premium seats and a premium 8-track in the dash. And overall it was a fairly standard car with standard looks, nothing fancy, noting extra: manual gearbox, no undertray, medium-compound tires, solid disc brakes all-round. It had an adequate engine giving it adequate performance, it had adequate comfort (but lower than its rivals), good safety, mediocre reliability, decent drivability. It was just a middle-of-the-road car that had similar dirt (in-)capability as the Van Zandt. But was being a bit cheaper enough? Not really. It could rival the Van Zandt, but the KHI was still better, and with the continued economic improvement, there was no need for a cheaper-but-worse alternative on the market. So the Martinet just hit the market at the wrong time into a space that was already occupied by cars offering more or being better specialized. And its cause was certainly not helped by missing both front and rear side reflectors, necessitating the installation of aftermarket units…
The 1980 Kamaka Destiny 2000GT Turbo Wagon slotted into the middle of the premium market between the Van Zandt and KHI. This five-seater wagon had standard seats but a premium 8-track for entertainment. With its turbo-engine it was the performance oriented wagon of the decade. Although it didn’t make the most power - in fact even the Kessel made more power - it used it much better. With its geared LSD and light alloy wheels it got off the line much faster than any other wagon (except the Macht of course), but not being limited it achieved the highest top speed of any wagon (over 200 km/h). Not only that, but the Kamaka handled the best of any wagon too. But all this sportiness came at a price: it was not very comfortable and could not perform any of its tricks off the paved surface. Surprisingly perhaps, it was quite easy to handle though, and didn’t suffer from any undue reliability issues. So no, the Kamaka did not become an overnight success, and not many families lined up to buy one. But there are always a few young-at-heart families (let’s be honest, new dads) who were told by their wifes they need a wagon, but want to feel like they haven’t really given up on their youth. For they could still race very fast to pick up the kids at school.
The Wolfe E450 4TRAC 3.2L was the next entry in the luxury bracket - but still half the price of one Macht. Being 1.5 time as expensive as the AMM and others in the premium market, it neatly split the difference and provided an option for those that were wealthy, but not outright swimming in money. In any case, it was a ladder-framed vehicle but with all-round independent suspension. It had a strong I5 engine that provided power to all four wheels through a sophisticated AWD system, and power was maintained by a geared LSD and the car was speed limited at 160 km/h. The car did feature an off-road skid tray, but was on hard compound tires that hampered both its comfort and off-road capability, so that seemed a bit of an odd choice for such an expensive vehicle. On the inside the occupants were treated to five luxury seats and a brand new luxury cassette player. Despite all the modern electronics, it was a superbly reliable vehicle and it was also very easy to drive and handled quite nicely. It was also quite comfortable - not on the level of the Macht, but much better than any other wagon on the market. In this time of upward mobility, the upper middle class started to reach upward and dream of more luxurious transportation than they were previously used to. The Macht was truly out of reach for all but the richest people, but the Wolfe was the perfect stepping stone for those who wanted a taste of luxury - and being a wagon was still quite unique in the luxury bracket. Of course, it didn’t hurt either that by chance the Wolfe resembled the looks of the Macht - one could almost pretend…
The last two vehicles in this segment were the 1984 Rhania Protector and Rhania Protector-F. These were the only true SUVs as registered by the government. The Rhanias slotted in at the top of the premium price bracket, above the AMM, but below the Wolfe. They were large ladder-frame vehicles with solid front and rear axles. They were unique in the market with three rows of seats (2/2/2 seating) - and only two people movers could seat more people than the Rhanias. Despite their practical seating arrangement and large size, they were off-road oriented cars: locking 4x4 drivetrains, off-road skid trays, hydropneumatic suspensions, A/T tires and all-round vented disc brakes with ABS made these quite capable on and off-road - they were in the same league as the much cheaper Kessel in that aspect. With their size they were quite hard to drive though and comfort was poor for the Protector with its standard seats and standard 8-track, and only mediocre for the Protector-F with premium seats. In terms of power, they had plenty, especially the Protector-F with its larger engine had a very high top speed of over 200 km/h. So while much more reasonable than previous Rhanias, the legacy lived on. Letarans noticed one more thing about these cars: they were exceedingly plain looking; the fascia were just empty, basic… not many people could get over the looks. So in the end, aside from offering more seats, they didn’t seem to offer anything extra or better than other wagons and SUVs, and were not a large success on the market.
…to be continued…
Wow, I think this is the first ever time I’ve shot for a segment and demographic and it has landed perfectly. Kudos to me I guess, happy with the review my Luxuswagen got!
I swear to god this game
Oh ps: great writeup as always!
Nice writeups for the Utility markets! I’m glad to see my vehicles fitting about where I had hoped. I’m a bit surprised the Grand Ranch wasn’t knocked more for only being a two-door wagon. Glad Letarans got their fun though and had a lot of great alternatives in the decade.
After a popular vote and some persistent lobbying, it was decided to keep the Lerance Raceway alive for another decade as Letara’s premier racing facility. However, several lay-out changes were proposed and subsequently accepted. These changes include abandoning the ‘long track’ and building of a twisty inner dirt track to allow for a mixed-surface rally-cross style event. The old outer track portion still in use has also been remodelled to align with modern racing standards: more challenging corners, flowing S-es, and gravel run-off areas are all part of the renovation plan. All of these changes should provide a new and exciting challenge for manufacturers. Especially the mixed surface aspect should prove to be interesting, especially if the heavens open and the dirt gets drenched and slippery.
The spectators were not forgotten of course. There are new and upgraded stands with improved seating, new track-side viewing areas in the dirt section, and a whole new camp ground in the midfield surrounding the lake to allow for all-weekend camping and relaxation during the race weekend. While no new speed records are expected to be broken in this new format, the racing is anticipated to be even more exciting than ever.
After initial scrutineering (see here), 19 cars remain to race. Let’s see how they stack up on paper.
The cars
With modern technologies, more precise pace and statistics modelling can be conducted on these cars (see below for stats panel). These statistics are derived from car simulations ran on dry, pristine pavement, but should still be very useful for bookies while setting up their odds on race weekends.
On paper, the Benetsch is the fastest car (~4:10) by quite a margin, followed by the Vizzuri at some distance (~4:16). Then a slew of cars are bunched together around the 4:20 mark: the Levante, TIO, Wolfe, Mons, Martinet, Swanson. Behind, the field starts to get stretched a little with the Durendal and **Minerva pair at ~4:22, then the Primus, Torshalla and Kamaka two seconds slower. The rear of the field consists of the Saeta, Van Zandt, Raceteam Malmo, Knightwick, Mara and Rhania cars.
But outright speed is of course not the whole story. Especially not this year with the dirt track and the potential for rainy races. And reliability is always a factor of course. In the latter category the Van Zandt car is expected to struggle quite significantly. The other cars are much closer together, but a blown gasket or electrical fire is still possible even for the most reliable of cars. As usual, however, the Mara seems to be absolutely bomb-proof, and Raceteam Malmo also seems to have invested in heavy-duty components.
In terms of user friendliness, the Minerva, Levante and Martinet cars seem a handful to drive around the track, while the Primus, Rhania, and Wolfe can be steered around with two fingers. Since the races are long - over 1000 km - this time, comfort is of paramount importance too to maintain driver fitness. Here we see that Vizzuri in particular have chosen to pamper their driver, but Primus opted to install a wooden stool with splinters.
Offroad prowess is a key metric in this new format, and becomes especially important as the track becomes wetter. Some cars better hope that it never rains: the Minerva, Martinet, Knightwick, Primus, and Van Zandt cars are especially expected to suffer during damp and wet conditions. On the other hand, the Wolfe, Raceteam Malmo and TIO cars seem to revel in poorer conditions, and might make up some time when the going gets tough.
With the above information in hand, eager Letarans wanting to test their fortunes will be able to make “informed decisions” regarding their bets come race weekend. What do you think, how will these races pan out?
…to be continued…
I won “Most Ornery Car” at the Dundies this year, Ma!
edit - TBH though, I think we are all eager to see how things play out balancing for offroad. There is a pretty large disparity in some of the stats.
What all is accounted for in pit stops?
There is a precise calculation based on the car’s footprint and fuel consumption; with a random number factor thrown in. I had hoped to optimize my car for 1 pit stop only, but it seems that has not worked and my car may have to spring for 2 of them in some races.
I thought this was Round 4… why are we going back to Round 3?
Mis-typo-copy-paste-error. Thanks for pointing it out!
Over the past decade, the Highway Patrol noted an increase of speeds reached on the highways of Letara. Not only were speeds excessive on many controlled roads, but were also getting out-of-hand on uncontrolled speed roads leading to dangerous driving. With faster and faster cars predicted on the market, it was imperative that dangerous driving laws could not only be monitored, but also enforced. Which means: having a police presence that can act as a deterrent, and failing that, catching the culprits. This means that the Highway Patrol needed a small fleet of cars that first could have an ‘image’ of being fast to deter speeders, but failing that actually be fast, safe, handleable, and reliable to catch the worst of the speeders and dangerous drivers. In order to secure a fleet of such vehicles, the Government put out a Call for Proposals to see what solutions the various car manufacturers could come up with to solve their problem.
In total, the Government received 31 proposals. The Procurement Office carefully vetted them for compliance before handing the portfolio with the remaining 21 cars over to the Internal Affairs - Highway Patrol office.
At the Highway Patrol headquarters each car was evaluated by Junior staff. Their task is to narrow the proposals down to the top five. These, then, will be evaluated in detail by the Senior Financial and Senior Highway Patrol Officers, and tested by professional paid drivers.
Here are some exerpts from the Junior staff’s notes (ooc: in alphabetical order of user name)
Mara: This car is very cheap to buy but upkeep could be better - still much cheaper than average. Fuel economy quite poor, bringing it down. Looks OK. Not very intimidating, but still has good presence. Some quality parts on it, but also many corners cut. Good reliability, but doubtful our officers would be very comfortable during a full shift. Not that fast. Crash tests aren’t very promising. Handling is OK. Not sending up.
Vizzuri: About average price overall; service is a little on the expensive side, but fuel economy is good. Perfect looks to be intimidating. Some quality components used. Decent reliability, very good comfort. About average safety. Quite fast. Handling is OK. Will send up.
Suma: Cheap to buy and very cheap to maintain; one of the cheapest overall cars. Looks like an average car, will not be very intimidating. Light truck monocoque very questionable engineering choice. But some quality parts on the car. Reliability is below average and so is comfort. Crash tests reveal a relatively weak car. Quite slow with weak brakes; handles poorly. Will send up.
Turból: Slightly above average in all cost parameters leading a quite an expensive final price tag. Decent presence and looks, but not that intimidating. Some nice quality parts on the car. Reliability promises to be below average. Safety is good though, and comfort is acceptable. Speed would be better without a limiter. Best brakes of the bunch and quite agile and easy to handle. Will not send up.
KHI: About overall average price. Good looks, but not too intimidating. Some good quality components. Reliability is decent. Safety below average, so is comfort. Quite fast and good handling. Just not quite enough overall - will not send up.
Aero: Not the cheapest to buy, but service and fuel costs make it overall the cheapest option by quite a large margin. It’s not intimidating with its small size. No quality parts. Reliability is above average. Safety is below average for this small car. And so is comfort. Very slow, but quite agile. Will send up.
Anhultz: Slightly above average purchase price, but below average upkeep and fuel consumption put it just below average in overall costs. Good looks, but not very intimidating. Few quality parts. Very good reliability and decent safety and comfort. Quite slow and not that agile; slow to stop too. Will not send up.
Rhania: Just below average purchase price and above average fuel economy; below average service costs make of overall quite reasonable long-term cost. Looks are mediocre at best, not too intimidating. Not many quality components. Reliability is average. Crash safety is really good. Below average comfort. Mediocre speed and quite poor handling. Will not send up.
Primus: Overall below average costs, especially service costs are good. Some quality components. Looks like a sporty family sedan, not very intimidating. Below average reliability and safety; comfort is decent. Mediocre speed and not agile. Will not send up.
Wolfe: About average price across the board. Looks are OK, has minor intimidation factor. Some good quality components. Quite reliable, but not very safe. Comfort is good. Quite fast and agility is acceptable. Will not send up.
Vaught: Purchase price is below average, but expensive to maintain and worst fuel economy of all leading to quite poor overall costs. Looks are OK and have minor intimidation factor. Some nice quality components. About average reliability and safety; below average comfort. Mediocre speed and quite poor agility and very hard to handle. Will not send up.
Planar: Slightly below average purchase price and service cost, but second-highest fuel consumption lead to above average overall price. Black colour scheme does not fit our fleet, otherwise looks are OK albeit not too intimidating. Some good quality components. Reliability is well below average. Safety is average, and comfort is very good (highest of the bunch). Quite slow and poor handling and agility. Will not send up.
Kamaka: Above average to buy, very expensive to maintain, but good fuel economy lead to above average cost. Looks are OK but not very intimidating. Few quality parts. Below average reliability, but slightly above average safety. Quite poor comfort. Speed and agility are good, but it is hard to handle. Will not send up.
Swanson: Slightly above average in all price categories. Good looks that should be a little intimidating. Some quality parts. Very good reliability and safety, above average comfort too. Shame about the 250 km/h limiter. Quite agile and decent handling. Will send up.
Kasivah: By far the most expensive to buy and maintain, below average fuel economy. By far the worst cost score. Looks are OK, lack intimidation factor. Very many high-quality components. Above average reliability and safety, but very poor comfort. The fastest car in the line-up and has good agility, but is very hard to handle. Will not send up.
Torshalla: About average purchase price and fuel economy, but poor service costs lead to above average overall cost. The black colour base doesn’t suit our fleet demands. Few quality parts. Poor reliability. DDecent safety and good comfort. Not that fast, nor very agile, but handling is OK. Will not send up.
Popas: Quite cheap to buy and maintain, but fuel consumption is poor; overall cost is just below average. Decently good looks, not overly intimidating. Very many corners cut in components. Below average reliability, worst safety of all, and poor comfort. Not very fast, nor agile or easy to handle. Will not sent up.
Zephorus: Average purchase price, slightly above average service cost, but below average fuel consumption lead to about average overall cost. Looks are very nice and quite intimidating. Very few quality components. Slightly below average reliability and poor safety. Average comfort. Quite fast and nimble with average handleability. Will not send up.
Levante: Average to purchase, above average to maintain and decent fuel economy give overall about average costs. Good sporty sedan looks, not very intimidating. Very few quality components. Worst reliability of all. Below average safety, but decent comfort. Mediocre speed, but quite agile and easy to handle. Will not send up.
Benetsch: Average purchase price, but below average service cost and good fuel economy give overall good cost score. Decent looks with little intimidation factor. Some good quality components. Very reliable and good safety and comfort. Not very fast, but has some agility and handleabiility. Will send up.
Van Zandt: Quite expensive to buy and maintain, leading to quite high overall costs. Not the best looking car with little intimidation factor. Many good quality parts. Average reliability, good safety, but worst comfort of all - no officer would want to spend a full shift in this car. Good speed and agility, but not the best handling. Will not send up.
…to be continued…
Wait, the Aero made top 5?? Dang, I wasn’t expecting to do that well in this crowd… o.o
Also, the Free pack wasn’t originally intended for the commercial market, but honestly that result is the best I could’ve asked for. Suits the car perfectly! :D
Uhh have you missed my cars? It’s not on the bin list? It appears you haven’t downloaded any of the car I’ve submitted?
Oh shiii… I totally missed your DM. Million apologies! I will do my best to rectify the situation. Stay tuned, I’ll get to it tomorrow.
This can happen, especially considering the massive amount of submissions, it must be like 150 reviews. I’m curious how you fix that. 
Parked somewhere in a back-corner of the Letaran Highway Patrol garage was one forgotten car that should have been included in the RFP evaluation. Who parked it there, and why, is anyone’s guess. Fact remains that Mitsuhita’s proposal was received it on time, and someone misplaced it. With thanks to Mitsushita, the error of the Letaran procurement office could now be corrected. The Junior Staff went to work to give the car a full evaluation. And the Letaran Government would like to formally apologize to Mitsushita for misplacing their proposal.
Mitsushita: The car is slightly more expensive to buy than average, and has significantly higher service costs too. Fuel consumption is about average, but overall costs are quite high. The car looks like a slightly sporty sedan, no intimidation factor. It is slightly less reliable than average, but safety is quite good. Comfort is adequate. It is rather fast, and surprisingly agile for its size. It is quite hard to handle though. Will not add to the sent-up list.
…to be continued…
Mrdja Cars Letara
Part 3: Living for the exports; new head obtained
-Yovan (intern mentioned in previous part) had took hold of leadership position in company through hard work, some studying of mechanical engineering and more hard work.
All five of his family seem to be doing rather well for themselves
Quint and Omega seemed to enjoy freedom to do whatever they pleased…and so was the case in last 5 years atleast.
He did restarted his family business in making and selling personal weapons, some of which have been imported and sold in Letara.
-Either government official responsible for legalising our documents for selling cars in Letara is incompetent or is such case with whoever from our company is supposed to give appropriate material
Anyway, such miscommunication happened twice, making us unable to sell cars in Letara.
But on other hand, we were able to still export them as we please, as factory is still ours
When we do manage to sort this out, we will probably need to re-register as legitimate Letaran producer of cars: importing cars from elsewhere and chasing down latest and greatest documentation needed for factory to be legalised for making cars for Letarans
(OOC: On 20th December my computer commited “black screen of death with cursor”, which is actual reason
Bit on factory thing is RP shenanigans and makes no difference from perspective of government)
Any news here?
Soon. 
Patience. Very sooooooonnnn
theres absolutely no rush, take your time
