My reaction to this information
5 Likes
how delightfully humble of you
Did my drivers go on strike because of the wooden stool? (Cant find the car in the charts)
It’s there, follow the orange line. And I apologize to all colourblind folks, I know it is probably a bit hard to differentiate between some of the lines.
4 Likes
Practically impossible, but I get why it’s done.
Gasmea, 1982
“Lionel, what did you get there?”
“Its the new Premier, an early prototype, of course, that is why it is so bland and unfinished.”
“I have bad news for you - the Premier is now officially cancelled. A 1984 model will not exist. I am sorry, but the bosses said, it has not been successful and it would also be unneccessary because the new Astrona will feature FWD as well as a larger interior, so… you get the idea.”
Lionel Lomax looked at his colleague in disbelief. “First, they drop the Comet for the Astrona, then they end the Grand Cruiser and now we have to give up the Premier, again for the Astrona?”
“Yep, but hey, this year you´ve got two new models in return, the Intruder and the Phoenix, the latter being a really cool one. Primus even approved that you use some of their advanced technologies for your sports car.”
“So… we are sending it to Letara or not?”
“Well, the company wants to present the…”
“Dont say it… Astrona?”, interrupted Lomax.
“Yep. Primus Frunia and Primus Letara are already working together since 1979… and I am here to give you a letter from the CEO himself as well. Globus should develop a “minivan”, whatever that is. He says, Globus really has the ability to build good budget cars, and such a family hauler would fit great. This might be the compensation for the cancellation of the Premier.”
“Whatever”, shrugged Lomax. “I have two years left until retirement, I do not care anymore about these stupid descisions, however, until my last day, I will make sure that they get that thing they want…”
7 Likes
Mara Goes Letara, Ep. 5-1: Something to look back at and forward to
Previous post (previous era)
TL;DR post (previous era)
8th January 1979
Boardroom, Mara main factory grounds, just outside the town of Mara, Archana
Again, Rodyn Gumprov’s year began with the annual meeting of Mara’s Comrade Directors to discuss any deviations from their current five year plan. As Comrade Director of Engineering, his past years had been pretty busy since Mara under Comrade Executive Director Fedor Piechov had begun a series of new developments as well as a big Irena facelift.
It all began in the early 1970s with the large Kavaler, a pet project of Fedor’s. It’s success had swayed Archanan officials to give Mara some leeway in new car developments, provided they could make a case that the outcomes would benefit the Archanan workers and farmers. This year, the development of it a new compact off-roader family - among the first name suggestions were Kanyon or Reyndzher - would come to a conclusion, and he wondered whether Fedor would already hint at their next new project.
“Good morning, comrades.” Fedor opened the session in his usual no-nonsense style. “You all have the agenda in front of you - first order of business: sales reviews, starting with foreign markets. First, Letara.”
Sales (and racing) reviews.
Fedor looked to the Comrade Director of Letaran Operations, Inna Horyova.
“Overall, the Irena hatchback was well-received. The Letaran people were much more open to the innovative body style than back here. One peculiar thing though, we had a fair bit of buyers getting the Irena apparently as a second car.”
Bewildered glances around the table.
“Oh, and another thing”, Inna added. “With the revised official size classes, the Irena now falls under the city car classification in Letara.”
“City car? The Irena?” Fedor had his voice raised slightly - which for everyone who knew him meant that he was incredulous. “It looks I need to take another trip there to see for myself what other massive cars have became the norm.” He looked into the round. “Imagine, the Kavaler would be considered regular size, and the Irena fit for a secondary car. Excess!”
Inna continued. “The sportier Irena SSE RTH with two less doors was somewhat less well received, on the other hand, despite our semi works racing team finishing very well, and the SSE looking very much like the racecar. The team came home 5th two years ago, and even scored a surprise victory last year.”
The whole round applauded by knocking on the table, even Fedor nodded appreciatingly. “277 kW against - what did the top cars have?”
“Rumours say over 750 horsepower for the Wolfe and over 900 even for the Benetsch… who came first and second two years ago.” Inna then remembered a particular dislike of Fedor’s. “… what’s that in kilowatt?” she added hastily.
“Over 550 and 660.” Fedor gave the answer himself almost instantly, nodded appreciatingly again, and asked: “You adapt the SSE cars yourselves over there?” Inna nodded.
“Well, then no harm done.” Inna could almost visually see Fedor make a mental note about sportier variants in his mind. Not that he ever needed written notes anyway.
“And we are going to drop the RTH part, people do not seem to consider radial tyres to be special anymore.” Inna made a short pause. “In contrast, the pickup was also quite well received by the Letaran farmers, and also over the competition. It’s not the biggest market, however. And there are indications that Niichi will introduce a pretty promising competitor next year.”
“Very well”, Fedor muttered. “Let’s hope they appreciate the Interceptor version of the Kavaler that we submitted for consideration…”
As the reporting moved on to their Fruinian sales, Rodyn noticed an acronym he was not familiar with in as one of the later items in the agenda: GT79 participation. He wondered what that might be about…
4 Likes
Hey peeps!
I just wanted to give a life sign. As you can tell, life got a little busy lately so the reviews have slowed down. My aim is to get this round finished in the next two weeks or so. But the time I can devote to LHC will remain diminished for a while, so some change needs to happen going forward. After this round is done, I’ll put up a poll to gauge how you all feel about going forward. Don’t worry, one way or another LHC will be finished. I’ll only be asking about the “how” 
Some options will include:
- Keep going as-is, but with the understanding that reviews will be slow (maybe one or two chapters a week). Consequence: each round will be significantly longer as slowly go through the results.
- Take a break until I can devote more time to the series again. Consequence: there will be a real hiatus until I feel like I can devote a lot of time to this again, but then it’ll be back to more regular releases.
- Reduce the number of consumer entries to reduce the work load each round. Consequence: I can probably keep going with mostly regular results, but the Letaran car market will obviously shrink (could be good, could be bad for some).
- Switch to shorter, point-form reviews. Consequence: I can probably keep going with mostly regular results, but you’ll get much less of a story and in-depth review (could be less satisfying for many).
- Some other option I haven’t thought of yet…
In any case, give it some thought so you will be ready to vote once I put the poll up. And you can suggest some “other option” to include in the poll as well.
Sincerely yours - Cake
24 Likes
I would definitely prefer shorter point form reviews, at least for my own cars
2 Likes
In my opinion the best option is for you to take a break for a couple reasons:
- I think less people will find something to be disappointed about as neither the waiting time will be triggering people’s impatience nor will the quality suffer (heck, maybe you’ll be able to write even better reviews after a good break :Р)
- Depending on how long that break will take, LHC might end up being taken into 4.3, which will add a lot of new options to play with, especially considering getting into modern cars as well as a lot of racing stuff
8 Likes
Maybe you you could just add new judges to the judging table
5 Likes
Even a single challenge with <10 entries can be quite a task, so huge respect for keeping up with the hundreds of entries and putting it all well together.
Perhaps the Government Category could be judged by the winner of last round, like with LAC? It is after all similar to other challenges, with a clear ranking order. Racing Category has that as well, but the technical side with spreadsheet/programming/balancing may not be the easiest to pass around.
IMO the 3-entry consumer category is one of many elements that make LHC a unique challenge, with every class having a diverse and lively lineup. And even if one (or two) trims fail spectacularly, it seems everyone gets a small W from time to time. I assume this is the most time-consuming class to judge, but is best done by the Creator.
Edit: I’m not saying you need to or should delegate anything, just an idea
10 Likes
Agreeing with Ludvig, the consumer category has been what’s kept this challenge really unique and interesting, and kudos to you for keeping them up; I’m impressed they’ve been coming out as quickly as they are. My vote is that I’d be down to wait, either for slower reviews or a hiatus, if it means keeping up the quality. (Though the best option is of course best decided by you based on your circumstances, and I support whatever you think you’d need).
Also, I second the idea of separating out the government round into a tag-along challenge, like LAC. If we sync the timing correctly, it could serve as something to do while waiting for main-LHC reviews, especially if we go for the slow-reviews option.
8 Likes
Spinning off the government class into its own challenge (as a side quest of sorts to the main LHC) would make perfect sense, but what about doing the same for the racing component? After all, the cars submitted there aren’t always road legal.
2 Likes
Looking forward to what will be decided on this matter…i have no particular preference except for keeping quality we all gotten used to
Ok that may be inaccurate tad bit, as i genuinely enjoy immersion into world current format gives us.
I prefer everything led by Cake as he was one that made country in first place, but i see reasoning behind suggestions and it is good reasoning.
4 Likes
bump
Vausse introduce thier new Entourage coach. In a similar vein to the Popas D-1000, I felt that adding a little bit of lore into the ring, as well as some content for this challenge, would be a nice thing to do not only for me, but for the community
The coach is powered by a twin turbo I6 which can get the thing comfortably to highway speeds. Its not only powerful, but also economic and affordable to other companies, though it was built in cooperation with the tour brand, “Letoura”. This coach is specifically going to be used for bringing in Inbound and taking out outbound tourists, having a, frankly, massive fuel tank.
5 Likes
Rd. 4 RESULTS
Chapter 11: Consumer car segment 1975-1984 - Family premium and luxury
Left to right: Nebula Starlight 3300 @Endfinity, TIV Asna Turbo @Maverick74, Nebula Andromeda 2200, Liberty Delphia @FidleDo, Anhultz Dione IV automaat @Elizipeazie, Benetsch Lerance 3400 @Texaslav, Liberty Bell, General Auto A500 @ldub0775, Mocabey Senator @SheikhMansour, Vizzuri Laonda Special GT @Aruna, Benetsch Buhrie Fierst, Planar SM42 Danazine S @lotto77, Planar SM40 Danazine F6, Planar SM42 Danazine EX-S, General Auto A1000
And because I missed it for the group photo: Mitsushita Kuruan 3000 Lusso-G @conan
Moving up-segment, we take a look at the family premium and luxury market. These cars should offer everything the cheaper options do: reliable transport for the whole family. But these cars should offer something extra too, especially in the comfort department, but prestige and performance are very much valued too, especially as we climb the cost ladder. Let’s see how this decade’s cars did.
The first car on the market was the 1975 Mocabey Senator. At three times the price of a Globus Premier 310 - the only other new family car on the market - it’s easy to see that customers wanted something special from this luxury vehicle. The car certainly had a more imposing look and was quite large too, resulting in quite a lot of weight - despite the car’s aluminium panels. True to a luxury car, it had four luxury seats and a luxury 8-track in the dash, making it one of the most comfortable cars not only at this time, but of the entire decade. It also had a relatively powerful V12 engine, which significantly raised its prestige value. Fuel economy and upkeep were quite abysmal, and reliability was noted as an issue - but at this price point, it didn’t seem to matter all that much. As a heavy car, it wasn’t the easiest to handle, but performance was decent thanks to the powerful engine. So given the lack of competition, it was the go-to car for the richer echelons early on in its life cycle.
The 1977 Benetsch Lerance 3400 entered the market with a promise of excitement and performance, given the brand’s reputation from the Lerance Raceway. This large hatchback was considerably cheaper than the Mocabey and straddled the ‘premium’ and ‘luxury’ price bracket. Despite this, it featured luxury seating for six, which was also very practical for growing families in the upper middle class, and a luxury 8-track.
The Government of Letara would, at this point, like to apologize for the delay in releasing these sales reports to our highly valued automotive companies. Our international communications lines were temporarily impacted by a minor construction incident. As all involved parties followed the mandated government reporting and repair requisition processes, it was several weeks before communications were restored, at which point the Communications Officer was found drunk under a desk. The recruiting process to find a suitable and competent replacement has now been completed and regular reports will resume. We thank you for your patience and continued contributions to the Letaran economy.
Continuing on with the Benetsch Lerance, with its name evocative of the Lerance Speedway, we would expect this vehicle to offer a blazing fast top speed; however, what we get is a moderately capable engine sanely limited to 160 km/hr. We are in favour of this effort to maintain safety on Letara’s roads; however, the public was gravely disappointed. This did not impede sales, as comfort was above average, and despite having a rear engine, it was quite easy to drive. It had signature Benetsch good looks to round out the package, and, as such, sales were consistently strong in the upper middle class segment.
Four new cars were introduced in 1978. The Liberty Delphia was a very cool-looking car with a very cool turbo, the first of the era in this segment. Priced in the middle of the premium bracket, and cheaper than the Benetsch Lerance, it had five luxury seats and a luxury 8-track. For its price, it was an exquisitely comfortable car, thanks to engineering features that included an advanced automatic gearbox, hydropneumatic springs, and headlight wipers. However, because of these advanced features, reliability suffered and many customers found themselves spending more in the garage than they saved on the initial purchase price, especially on the cool-looking but atrociously performing headlight wipers. Like the Benetsch Lerance, this car was also limited to 160 km/hr, but it wasn’t as much of a hindrance due to its inherently weaker engine.
A direct rival to the Liberty, the Anhultz Dione IV automaat was more slightly more expensive to purchase but orders of magnitude cheaper to maintain. In fact, it was the cheapest car to maintain in the entire premium and luxury family car category. This large, five-seater hatchback had premium seats and a premium 8-track, and to keep costs down further, it had a regular automatic gearbox and solid disc brakes all around. These small sacrifices to luxury translated to massive increases in reliability, as it was far and away the most reliable car in the segment in the entire era. In fact, out of 116 total vehicles offered in Letara during the decade, it was the fourth most reliable overall, boasting stats that were normally only achieved in more utilitarian vehicles. Unfortunately, the trade-off was poor comfort and a lack of prestige. Due to the different strengths of the Anhultz vs. the Liberty, these two cars both enjoyed strong sales, but split the middle class market evenly between those who wanted more luxury and those who wanted more reliability.
Next up, the Liberty Bell was priced as a competitor to the Benetsch Lerance but had upkeep costs as high as those for the Liberty Delphia. We feel that says it all in terms of initial consumer reaction. Countering these costs was the prestige of being the first true luxury car on the market: it had a handmade interior featuring four seats and a luxury 8-track. At this price point, the plain steel rims were a slight disappointment, detracting from the prestige of the rest of the car. It also had all the engineering bells and whistles as its cheaper sibling. It was a superbly comfortable car with good safety and high driveability, which made it the most desirable car of the decade to sit in. Unfortunately, it offered only abysmal reliability, but this wasn’t an issue for the old, rich people who were buying this car to make sure everybody looked at them and saw them as old, rich people. The speed limiter of 160 km/hr was actually a feature for this car, as the old, rich people driving the Liberty Bell never even got close to that speed anyway. During the early years of the decade, this car cornered the market for sales to old, rich people.
The last car introduced in 1978 was the Planar SM40 Danazine F6. It was, thus far in the decade, the far most expensive car, in the upper echelons of the luxury bracket. It cost $20000 more to buy than the Mocabey. It featured a handmade interior with five seats and a luxury 8-track. Adding to its comfort was the hydropneumatic suspension, but the regular automatic gearbox was a letdown to some who expected an advanced version. Everything else, aside from middling driveability, matched expectations of the price point: good comfort, good safety, good reliability, and decent prestige hampered only slightly by looks that didn’t quite reflect the car’s luxury status. It should be noted that the government and market both considered the innovative open C-pillar behind the rear window to be a nice touch. Sales were disappointing, as compared to the much cheaper Mocabey, it was slower, less comfortable, and less prestigious, making it not worth the hefty price premium for most luxury consumers, aside from the few who just wanted to brag about how much they could afford.
The new decade of 1980 brought four new cars that year. First was the Mitsushita Kuruan 3000 Lusso-G, which slotted in near the top of the premium bracket between the Anhultz and the Benetsch Lerance. This car had a luxury interior with five seats and a segment-first luxury cassette, which made waves in the market along with the Vizzuri and Benetsch Buhrie as people immediately flocked toward the promise of worse audio quality in a smaller package. Compared to its most direct competitors, it had a more powerful engine and, without a limiter, it reached a respectable top speed of 230 km/hr. At this point the government would like to remind everyone to follow all speed limits and other traffic laws of Letara. The Mitsushita’s acceleration was also excellent, in part aided by the novel geared LSD that helped to translate power to the tarmac. The car had good comfort, decent safety, and excellent driveability, but reliability was on the lower end. Overall, it came in as a very strong competitor in this market segment and stole sales from the Liberties, Anhultz, and Benetsch Lerance, especially among those who wanted more of a driving experience.
The government acknowledges that the remaining 1980 cars may have been more appropriately classified in the family sport segment rather than the family segment. We refer you back to the previous Communications Officer being found drunk under a desk at the time these vehicles were classified, and remind you again of the, ahem, blurry lines between segments.
One of these cars, the General Auto A500 added a sporty touch to the luxury family segment, complete with functional aerodynamics and precision handling. This aggressive-looking car had four premium seats and a luxury 8-track. Its sporty nature was accentuated by its manual 5-speed gearbox, geared LSD, fully clad undertray, and large 17-inch front and rear rims. With a top speed of 262 km/hr a 0-100 time of 5.5 seconds, it was one of the fastest family cars of the decade. All this speed came at a cost: comfort was poor and it wasn’t all that easy to drive. But surprisingly, it was fairly safe and quite reliable. In the family segment, compared to its nearest rivals, it offered only speed but could not compete on other statistics. It was, however, strongly cross-shopped in the family sport segment and therefore stole some sales from cars in that segment.
Next is the Vizzuri Laonda Special GT. Another looker similar to the General Auto, it was more sleek and less aggressive. It was also easily cross-shopped with the family sports category but sat higher up in the luxury bracket. Backed by its success and pedigree at the Lerance Speedway, it showed its sporty nature with a powerful 352 HP engine, a top speed just shy of 300 km/hr, and a 0-100 time of 5.3 seconds. In contrast to the General Auto, and reflecting its higher price, it had four luxury seats and a luxury cassette player. It was quite a comfortable and safe car; however, reliability and driveability were just average. It saw good sales and would have seen excellent ones if not for its Benetsch competitors in the family and family sport categories, including…
The Benetsch Buhrie Fierst was a large hatchback with four handmade seats and a luxury cassette player. Priced just slightly higher than its nearest rival, the Vizzuri, it was cheaper to maintain. It wasn’t quite as fast, but still had a very respectable top speed of nearly 250 km/hr; unhampered by a limiter, it showed some of its racing pedigree. Astonishingly, it was the most comfortable car of any in Letara for the entire decade, and was quite prestigious, had very good driveability, and reliability was not bad, either. For the price, luxury buyers could not find a better car than this, unless they wanted even more eye-searing speed. It was a huge success; in fact, the hugest success, in the family luxury segment.
For 1981, we are totally shifting gears as the TIV Asna Turbo was released as a replacement to the first of its kind TIV Asna All Terrain. This minibus continued to defy classification and was, perplexingly, lumped into the family premium category for its steadfast refusal to be put in a box, despite its boxy appearance. This bus-van had eight full-size premium seats but, perhaps disappointingly for the time, a slightly outdated standard 8-track. On the engineering side, it switched its more rigid 4x4 drivetrain to a more modern and flexible AWD system. Other changes included switching from an offroad undertray to a semi-clad one and from AT tires to medium compound. So this version was less offroad-worthy but could easily manage all of Letara’s continually improving roads, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Letaran government to provide for all its citizens. Forgivable and even expected for a bus-van, it was slow and relatively uncomfortable, but it was surprisingly easy to drive and could be spotted in droves at soccer fields, as it was the most practical car for large families that had half a soccer team worth of children.
In 1982, two Planar cars were released, the Planar SM42 Danazine S and the Planar SM42 Danazine EX-S. These cars straddled the Danazine F6 in price and came in much higher than the Benetsch Buhrie Fierst. The Danazine S was a replacement for the F6, with an upgraded luxury cassette player and an ever-so-slightly higher power output from the engine. Generally speaking, the statistics are slightly better for this car than its predecessor, and, as such, it suffered from the same value proposition issue. The Danazine EX-S aimed to be the sportier variant but cost $7500 more to buy and $12000 more to maintain than even the Danazine S, without offering the same level of performance and prestige as the sports cars, although prestige was above average in the family car segment. With a top speed of 280 km/hr, a 0-100 of 5.9 seconds, and nearly 300 HP from its V12 engine, it was certainly fast for a family car, but could not compete in the same price bracket with the family sports cars. With a manual gearbox and too many seats for the space, it was supremely uncomfortable, and its other statistics also lagged behind the competition. So although sales were generally poor, the car found a small niche among buyers who appreciated its looks, including the hood scoops, rear spoiler, and red-accented colour scheme.
Three cars were introduced in 1984, the last year of the era. The cheapest of them, in fact bridging the gap between the standard and premium price brackets, was the Nebula Starlight 3300. This was a no-nonsense, solid family car, thanks in part to its slightly cheaper ladder frame and coil-sprung solid axle rear. It had five premium seats and a premium cassette player, as expected in this price bracket. Further cost-cutting measures included rear drum brakes and an older carbureted engine. In comparison to the Wraith Torrevieja, which also existed in the nebulous space between the standard and premium price brackets, its main strengths were safety and reliability, which were more than offset by its deficits in driveability, comfort, and its premium interior where the Wraith had full luxury and power steering. So while it did manage snag a few sales from the Wraith, it was not a success.
Next is the Nebula Andromeda 2200. Priced almost identically to its cheaper sibling, it was a fully offroad-oriented vehicle that defies classification. It was a people-mover/oversized wagon/SUV-type family car. It was practical, with five full-size premium seats and two jump seats, and had a premium cassette player. Like its sibling, it was also lacking the power steering that was expected at this price point and hefty weight of the car. It had the weakest engine in the premium bracket and was by far the slowest of any car, but that might be forgiven for its offroad prowess. Engineering-wise, it had a locking differential, offroad undertray, AWD, and AT tires, making it a very capable car in the dirt. However, it had really poor comfort and was hard to drive. On the upside, reliability was superb, and adventurous drivers could be sure they would not be left stuck in the muck. Although it could not compete very well in the family segment, it was heavily cross-shopped with wagons and SUVs, amongst which it did very well.
Last on the scene but not least, the General Auto A1000 rounded out the decade in the luxury family segment. It was, by far, the most expensive family vehicle, eclipsing the Danazine EX-S by $23000 and it was the third-most expensive car in all of Letara. Its appearance lived up to the price, exuding an air of proper luxury with a hint of sportiness. Its speed also did not disappoint, topping out at 323 km/hr with a 0-100 of 4.9 seconds. It was heavily cross-shopped with the family sports segment. With its top speed, it was one of a growing number of cars in Letara that no police car could catch. The government would, once again, like to remind its citizens to obey all speed limits and traffic laws in Letara. This car clearly had an excess of performance from its V12 engine but, in contrast to many family sports cars, it did not neglect comfort or ease of driving. It had four handmade luxury seats and a luxury cassette player. With a geared LSD, AWD, hydropneumatic springs, magnesium rims, and class-exclusive ABS, it delivered performance, safety, and driveability. It was the second most comfortable car in all of Letara, only slightly behind the Benetsch Buhrie Fierst, and near the top in safety as well. This car had no weaknesses and was well worth the premium price for upper class luxury buyers. If you wanted a family car with performance, you couldn’t do any better than the General Auto A1000.
…to be continued…
22 Likes
the 
never disappoints.
It will never die!
2 Likes
Welcome back, cake! Glad to see you’re kicking.
Did I seriously call the base Benetsch a “Lerance 3400” instead of a “Buhrie 3400”? Shameful display on my part
3 Likes
Rd. 4 RESULTS
Chapter 12: Consumer car segment 1975-1984 - Family sports
Left to right: Kamaka Destiny 2000 XS-Turbo @LS_Swapped_Rx-7, Liberty Vania @FidleDo
Macht Teuton CS285 Jaeger @GetWrekt01, Wolfe ESX V8 @karhgath, Benetsch Lerance 4600ZRF @Texaslav, Mocabey Triarius @SheikhMansour, Vizzuri Laonda Prestazione Turbo @Aruna
And because I missed it for the group photo: Mitsushita Sesta GT-T @conan
A new segment opened up in this decade with a new type of car: the family sports car. These cars are capable of transporting the entire family - in other words, have two rows of seats - but only have two doors, and are generally engineered for performance rather than comfort. As such, they are less practical than a family car, but are more practical than a sports car. A unique segment to be sure that tries to incorporate the best of the two worlds, but have to be careful not to miss the mark on either… let’s see how they did.
The pioneer in this segment was the 1975 Mocabey Triarius. It was a rather expensive car - in fact the most expensive personal vehicle on the roads in 1975 - with an exorbitant upkeep cost to boot. Despite its price, it was clearly rushed to the market with a sparse design, and skipping QA as it was shipped without any rearview mirrors! So customers had to fit aftermarket units before driving off the lot, and at this price point, that is just inexcusable. Other than that, this large sedan’s two doors were quite heavy and swung out quite wide, making the car’s inside more accessible, but overall quite cumbersome in daily use. Nevertheless, the car had four luxury seats and a luxury 8-track, which gave it a semblance of comfort, but otherwise the car was fully performance oriented. It had a 5-speed manual gearbox, clutched differential, magnesium rims, sports compound tires (a staple of this segment), and large all-round disc brakes. The suspension of the Mocabey was tuned to a scary edge at high speed, but just enough to scare but not kill. The large V12 put out 524 HP, pushing the car off the line 0-100 in 4.7 seconds, and a top speed engineered (not limited) to be just under 300 km/h. As with most of these cars, drivability was acceptable, but not great. The Mocabey additionally had decent (for the segment) safety, but poor reliability. As a first on the scene, it was seen as a novelty, and certainly had many strengths - but in the end, its weaknesses proved to be too costly, and it never made the splash it was supposed to.
Next on the market was the 1978 Liberty Vania. This car was significantly cheaper than the Mocabey, coming in at the top of the premium category. Similar to its Liberty siblings, the upkeep was disproportionately expensive, however. Opposed to most others in this segment, the Vania opted for five seats in the car, also of a luxury kind. It also had a luxury 8-track player, which was nice to see. Engineering-wise, it was very similar to the Mocabey: clutched differential, 5-speed manual, sports-tire clad magnesium rims. But this car had a 435 HP V8 under the hood, and the car had a top speed of “only” 260 km/h, but a very fast 0-100 of 4.3 seconds - making it the second fastest family car off the line in the decade. With its terminal oversteer issues it was an undrivable car, especially at any appreciable speed. Comfort was low, even for the segment, and reliability was also under the expected average at this price point. So this car was bought by that person who wanted to be fast off the line, and needed to bring four of their friends along to the last ride of their lives, but otherwise sales were not taking off for this Liberty either, and the family sports segment was off to a very slow start.
The 1979 Macht Teuton CS285 Jaeger was slightly more expensive than the Liberty Vania, but less than half in upkeep, so it was economically a much better proposition. This car had four premium seats and a premium 8-track, which was a let-down at this price point. It was generally a much milder-tuned and equipped car than the previous two: it had a geared differential and alloy wheels clad with medium-compound tires. Its engine was an I6 putting out 246 HP, one of the weakest in the segment. The car was also one of the slowest with a top speed of 255 km/h and a 0-100 of 5.5 s. Compared to the Liberty, the Macht was less comfortable, less safe in a crash, and less prestigious. On the other hand, it was much easier to drive and handling was better making crashes less likely, and it was very reliable indeed. Lastly, the QA department at Macht also dropped the ball, shipping these cars with an orange rear marker rather than red, necessitating a swap by prospective buyers. So it seemed that three times was not the charm, as manufacturers still had not hit on the magic formula to make the family sports segment work in Letara, as the Macht also didn’t manage to attract many sales.
The following year two manufacturers tried their luck. The first was the Kamaka Destiny 2000 XS-Turbo. The Kamaka would become the cheapest family sports car of the decade, near the bottom of the premium segment. This four-seater had a standard interior and premium 8-track, clearly showing where costs were cut to meet its price. Other cost-cutting measures were the solid disc brakes in the rear - the only one in the segment, as all other cars had four-corner vented discs. It was also the weakest car with a 207 HP I4 (although nicely turbo charged), and was slowest in the segment with a top speed of 232 km/h and a 0-100 of 5.9 s. Compared to similarly priced family cars (Nebula Andromeda, Anhultz Dione IV, and Mitsushita Kuruan) it was quite a bit faster to be sure, but its lack of comfort (worse than a Mara Irena or Aero Free Access that were much smaller and less than half the price) was quite prohibitive for any family buyer. If all one wanted to do was to go fast and be able to transport more than two people, then even the Globus Stallion seemed like a better option than the Kamaka.
More expensive (but cheaper than the Liberty Vania) the Mitsushita Sesta GT-T also entered the market in 1980 to try its luck in the family sports segment. This was the first coupe body shape in this segment, but offered four luxury seats and a luxury cassette, which was a nice improvement on the previous cars. This car aimed for a more balanced approach, and came with a 313 HP I6 propelling the car to 270 km/h and 0-100 in 5.2 seconds. This car still had a significant comfort deficit to its family segment rivals, but it was not such a large deficit as for the other cars thus far, making the ‘sports’ aspect more appealing. Surprisingly perhaps, but reliability was good too, as was drivability and handling, so for the first time the trade-off between family and family sports was limited to ‘comfort’ and ‘sport’, as it should be. Thus the Mitsushita Sesta GT-T was the first ‘family sports’ car that could be called a break-through, although Letarans were still suspicious of this concept and the word ‘success’ was not quite yet applicable to the overall sales.
Two more cars were introduced in 1981. The cheaper of the two was the Wolfe ESX V8. It was priced at the bottom of the luxury segment and had a reasonable upkeep cost. Perhaps not the most sporty platform with a ladder frame and advanced automatic gearbox, it did have a sports interior with five seats and a luxury cassette player. It had a large 353 HP V8 that gave the car a healthy 282 km/h top speed and 5.5 s 0-100. So while not the outright fastest car, it would not be put to shame on Letaran roads. Aided by its hydropneumatic suspension, it didn’t suffer in the comfort department either like the previous entries in the family sports segment, and seemed to hit just the right balance in all categories. Even its blacked-out looks were properly mean and sporty, yet family friendly at the same time. To make the deal even sweeter, it had a good set-up, and was very drivable yet sporty. This was the car that the family sports segment needed. With a good reputation from the Lerance Raceway it was the first time that family sports cars sold well, and the Wolfe was one of the cars that finally managed to break the ice. Its party was only slightly spoiled by…
… the Benetsch Lerance 4600ZRF. The Benetsch was priced $13k higher than the Wolfe and had a proportional increase in upkeep as well, so it was firmly toward the upper part of the luxury bracket - just a little cheaper than the earlier failed Mocabey Triarius. Of course the Benetsch also brought a healthy dose of racing pedigree to the table, which showed in its turbo-charged 472 HP V8 that propelled the car to a top speed of 317 km/h. Like all other Benetsch models, this one also had the engine in the rear, giving extra grip during acceleration, making it the quickest family car off the line: 0-100 in 4.0 seconds! This four-seater car had a luxury interior and luxury cassette player, and had nearly identical comfort to the Wolfe. Although its divability was lower, its reliability and crash safety were higher. And the black-out Benetsch looks were equally as appreciated as the Wolfe - or any other Benetsch of course. So the Benetsch formed the successful ‘black duo’ of the family sports segment, becoming the two only most successful cars in this segment for the next three years.
The last car to be released in the family sport segment was the Vizzuri Laonda Prestazione Turbo. This car was another $10k more expensive than the Benetsch, but perhaps surprisingly it was cheaper to maintain. This car too brought significant racing pedigree to the table, raising people’s expectations. With its price, this car promised to be the ‘feather in the cap’ of the family sports segment. To not put lie to those promises, the car was quite a looker with superb attention to detail all around and the Vizzuri racing blue colour from its exterior carried over to the engine as well. It was more low-slung than the Wolfe and Benetsch, opting for a more sleek look that suited buyers just as well. Given its price, it is unsurprising that the car had a fully hand-made interior with four seats and a luxury cassette player. It had other luxury features, including the segment-exclusive ABS and adjustable air suspension. Magnesium rims also returned to the segment on the Vizzuri. Performance was also top-notch: the twin-turbo V8 cranked out a cool 850 HP that was delivered to the rear wheels through an advanced automatic gearbox and a geared LSD. The car reached a blistering 354 km/h top speed, but ‘only’ managed a 4.9 s 0-100 time as the car experienced turbo-lag and was also slightly grip limited. Nevertheless, it was not terrible to drive and had a good set-up, had the top marks in prestige in the category, had decent reliability, safety, and top marks in comfort. In short, the car was mind-boggingly fast, but could get the family safely from A to B in comfort. The car simply didn’t have any major faults, compromises, or drawbacks. Without any real rivals in the family or family sports segment - as price-wise it fell somewhere in between the ‘very expensive’ and ‘unaffordable’ range - it did very well among the upper-class family/family sports luxury buyers who wanted more than a Benetsch, but the General Auto A1000 seemed too ludicrous.
…to be continued…
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