@Madrias @TheYugo45GV have you sent in your lobbying yet? If not, HMU, I have some ideas concerning fuel.
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Mara goes Letara, Ep. 3-1: Bread and Butter
Previous post (previous era)
23 September 1963
New Boardroom, Mara main factory grounds, just outside the town of Mara, Archana
As usual, Mara’s comrade directors met before the start of the last quarter of the year to discuss any adjustments to the previously made short and long-term plans. The meeting took place in a recently newly furnished and less austere boardroom, a sign of improving times in the country and the company.
This time, they were joined by Inna Horyova, Comrade Director in charge of the Letaran operations, who had flown in for the meeting.
Report on Letaran sales and racing
Comrade Executive Director Henri Nordhov summarised the meeting so far. “Alright, so our domestic and Fruinian first year sales of the Irena met or exceeded expectations. How about Letara?”
Inna answered: “Pretty good as well. Sedan and wagon were well received especially by those workers benefitting from the recent recovery of the Letaran economy. And for the many smaller shopkeepers, the delivery van was apparently the best thing since sliced bread.”
Fedor Piechov, Comrade Director for Engineering frowned. “Why would anyone sell bread sliced over bread loafs? There is not much added value in there?”
Now Inna frowned as well. “Well, they do over there in Letara. And apparently, it is appreciated so much, they made it a well-known figure of speech.” She paused for a second to shift her thoughts away from tasty Letaran sandwiches back to the Letaran car market. “Anyway, many other marques catered to the decadent upper crust or frivolous and almost non-existing market segments such as sports cars - so it was up to us to finally deliver the bre… basics for the Letaran people.” Inna had to stop herself from saying ‘bread and butter’, as she did not inadvertently want to anger Fedor - who could be a bit… temperamental at times.
Henri allowed himself a slight smile. “Looks like they could benefit from some central planning over there… How are we for capacity?”
“Everyone is now used to assembling Irenas, and the old pre-orders are almost taken care of… so from next year on, we can assemble as much as you can deliver”, Inna replied confidently.
Mykhaylo Andov, production engineer in charge of the Archanan Irena production factory added: “Same here, so we can ship plenty of crates to Letara, if needed. Question is, however, what exactly shall we ship?”
Henri nodded appreciatingly. “One thing at a time.”
“Oh, and by the way”, Inna added. “The privateer racing your old Tovarysh prototype in Letara” - she looked at Henri - “he has won in 1961 and 1962, and came in second in 1960. Not on outright speed, but on reliability. So our brand still counts something over there for everyone interested in motorsport. And I guess we can approach the guy for further involvement, if we wanted to.”
“We definitely should ensure that we race something there that resembles something we actually sell…” remarked Alexandra Koroleva who had recently taken over as Comrade Director for Sales.
“I agree”, said Henri. “But first, something else…”
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Vausse speaks up on lobbying
As we have barely touched on this yet, we would like to present our Lobbying idea. We call it
The Thunder Cruise
This is an enthusiast event that we propose, something for our people to use and enjoy our cars. We propose a run around the entire country, stopping at the big landmarks, exclusively for the better off in the crowd
how it would actually work in terms of rules
its essentially road legal racing but comfort and luxury, as well as power are priorities. It is just a big cruise so its less of a race until the last leg. Basically the event is held in legs that are about 40ish miles a piece, but the last leg is a sprint from one end of the country to the other. There is no clear route, so maybe a bit of all terrain would help here. This is where the actual power part comes in
The biggest part here would be the entrance fee, as the fee isnt from the owner, its from the car. The car must be priced at 25,000 or more in game to enter.
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VAUGHN REVUE LETARA
The magazine that goes out to all of you Letarans driving a Vaughn, Wraith or VCV
Summer 1962
EDITORIAL
A hot topic at the moment is to phase out leaded fuel completely. That, since it has been discovered that the long term consequences for the health is much worser than anyone has ever believed before. Of course, this is a serious subject that we are taking seriously at Vaughn. Currently, all our six cylinder engines, and some of our eight cylinders, are already accepting unleaded fuel. So, why can’t we adapt all of our engines to that?
The explanation is that the tetraethyl lead is used mainly for two things. It prevents wear on the valves and seats, and it raises the octane rating of the fuel. The former is easily solved by installing harder seats and valves, which are already done on some of our engines. We could as well install them in every engine more or less overnight, that is not a major problem.
The main reason, however, why our high output versions of the Vaughn V8 still requires lead, is that their high compression ratios also means that high octane fuel will be needed. At the moment, there is no better alternative on the market than leaded gasoline. That is why we see a conflict there. The motorists of the future will not accept less power than today, they will demand more.
The only solution as we see it, is to replace the lead with alcohol. Ethanol blended fuels are absolutely viable alternatives to pure gasoline, and the alcohol contents will help raising the octane rating. Fact is, that the Vaughn Torpedo Coupé de Lerance has been running as a test bench for the E70 fuel for years now, with positive results. E70 actually has a higher octane rating than the leaded fuel, without the toxic lead contents.
The Letaran economy is another thing to consider. Since it is still kind of struggling, importing oil is not the solution as we see it. The more fuel we can produce in this country, the better. Ethanol blends would reduce the amount of oil we need to import by a fair amount.
Now, for some reason, people critical to ethanol blends have had their eyes locked on producing the fuel from agricultural goods, and yes, we are skeptical to that too. With many people still struggling, seeing your breadloaf literally disappearing into someone’s fuel tank is not the most fun experience. No, agriculture is mainly needed for food production at the moment, and that’s why we need to turn our eyes in another direction.
The Letaran forestry industries have taken a hard hit during the crisis. With acres and acres of forest burning, there is an enormous need to replant the forests now. That means that we will have a quite young average age of our Letaran forests for years to come. That also means a great demand for clearing work, which means lots of residues. Instead of just leaving them to rot, we could as well make fuel out of them. Because I think we all can agree on one thing - wood is not food. Of course, all kinds of residues from forestry could be processed into alcohol based fuels - which we see as the future at Vaughn.
So, our opinion here stands strong. It is wrong to just take away something that is in wide use without giving a good alternative. As we see it, E10 should replace the regular gasoline (leaded or unleaded) while E70 should replace the premium leaded variety. That would just require minor re-engineering of already existing engines, and would be a benefit to both the Letaran economy, and the motorists of the future that will demand even higher output than the engines of today can give.
Because of that, we at Vaughn are willing to support rebuilding our forestry industry, and to support research in the petrochemical industry, to make the switch possible.
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General Automotive Letaran Spending and Lobbying Press Release: January 1st, 1964
Part 1: Spending
This section will answer several questions that our consumers or other brands may ask regarding our monetary contributions to the state of Letara.
- Where are you spending your money?
Over the following decades, General Auto and our Subsidiaries plan on spending a generous amount of capital in the area of Education. We plan on doing this in 2 important ways:
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Expanding Lower Education (AKA Elementary Schooling)
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Financing and building a new University for Technical Education and Liberal Arts
- Why are you spending your money this way?
As for Lower Education:
At a large scale, Elementary schooling is incredibly important for a populous because it teaches children basic skills that, if developed, can make for an incredibly efficient and effective work force.
Letara is severely lacking in Elementary schools, and many children are unable to attend, either because they are unable to afford it, or they are required to work from a very young age.
For these reasons, we are spending 2 tokens on this area.
As for the University:
Letara’s Automotive Industry has gotten off to a rather excellent start, and it would do us well to help bolster it. Building a University would do this by: Teaching students the skills to succeed in research fields; and directly develop new technology at a much higher rate than is possible in the status quo.
Having a Letara-based University would also make Letara look better on the International Stage. Having smarter, better educated citizens is a win-win-win.
For these reasons, we are spending 8 tokens on this area.
- How will this spending affect me?
No matter who you are, this spending will be exclusively positive! For the consumer, expanding Education has the effect of cheaper, more efficient, better driving cars. If you choose to interact with the education system, this spending will make for a much improved experience, and make way for improving it further in the future.
For other car companies reading this: What this entails is faster, higher quality research that has the possibility of greatly improving your cars, making for a better experience for everyone. There is no reason for you to oppose this spending.
We at General Automotive would implore any other brands that may be reading this: Consider joining us to help build this University, and in the process help us build a better future.
Part 2: Lobbying
This section will cover what change we want to see in legislation and regulation over the next decade in the state of Letara, as well as why.
- In which areas will you focus your lobbying?
Over the past years we’ve noticed a number of patterns both in car development and in consumer spending that we would like to address. We at General Auto are being held back by some of the regulations currently in effect, and we feel the need to change this. We will be spending our lobbying on the following issues:
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Expanding Tire Selection
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Expanding and Recognizing Racing
- Why are you lobbying for these changes?
As for Tire Selection
Radial tires have been demonstrably proven to be perfectly safe and effective. To still have these much more efficient and effective tires banned in this day and age is an anachronism.
For these reasons, we are spending 2 tokens on this area.
As for Racing
Racing has served as Letara’s Guiding Star over these past decades, keeping much of this country grounded in these troubled times, a stable source of enjoyment. We would be remiss not to recognize this.
Though the erection of Vizzuri Raceway was a huge step forward, we believe that a further step is required: The recognition of Auto Racing as the national sport of Letara.
We do believe that the Vizzuri Raceway venue is in a great location, but that further development is required. Expansion of spectator areas, expansion of infrastructure around the raceway, and the complete separation of public roads and raceway are just a few items that would make racing a better, more efficient experience.
On the topic of Racing:
We at General Auto are proud to propose our draft for possible racing regulations:
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Class 1 (Limited Production Cars/Rally)
- Cars must be entirely road legal (All lights and indicators must be present, as well as all emissions and noise reduction equipment)
- Must run on pump gas
- Must use All Terrain Tires
- Must have fully enclosed cabin
- Minimum of 2 seats
- Minimum 2 doors
- Minimum 5 comfort
- Minimum Adv. 60s Safety
- Maximum price $35,000AMU
Class 1 cars are to be run on a mixed Tarmac/Gravel surface in either hill climb races or short circuit races. Races should not last in excess of 30 minutes.
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Class 2 (Unlimited Production Cars)
- Cars must be based on a road legal chassis or be entirely road legal (All lights and indicators must be present, however emissions and noise reduction equipment is not required)
- Must run on E100 (129 RON) gasoline
- Must use Sports Compound Tires
- Must have fully enclosed cabin
- Minimum 2 seats
- Minimum 2 doors
- Minimum 5 comfort
- Minimum Adv. 60s Safety
- Maximum price $55,000AMU
Class 2 cars are to be run on long tarmac circuits. Races should not be shorter than 2 hours nor longer than 12 hours.
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Class 3 (Unlimited Sports Cars)
- Cars are not required to be road legal (However, the cars must be fitted with front and rear lights, as well as side marker lights)
- Must run on E100 (129 RON) gasoline
- Must use Semi-Slick Compound Tires
- Minimum 2 seats
- Minimum 5 comfort
- Minimum Adv. 60s Safety
- Maximum price $75,000AMU
- How will this spending affect me?
If you do not interact with racing or do not plan to, this spending will not affect you. If you do interact with racing, this spending will make for better, more engaging racing.
We at General Automotive would implore any other brands that may be reading this: Consider joining us to help make racing, this hugely important sport throughout Letara, a better experience for everyone.
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Presented by The Aero Company
In collaboration with Anhultz, Kessel Werks, SAETA, and Vaughn Corporation
The Letaran True-Safety Initiative
Not too long ago, we published an essay detailing flaws with the nation’s current safety legislation, inviting collaboration from other automakers to help create an improved law. Now, after discussing and combining our ideas, us and 4 others have put together a finalized proposal that is not only accessible to all manufacturers, but truly effective at keeping people safe.
The True-Safety Initiative is divided into 3 separate sections, which each must be lobbied for separately as per how the Letaran lobbying system works. To support the plan, simply copy the text in the boxes into your submission for the next lobbying session. Ensuring that the text we submit is identical will help our ideas have the most possible impact to the Letaran government.
Allocate as much or little lobbying power towards it as you’d like- even a token gesture (rimshot) is enough to show the government that support for the plan is widespread. Also, if you do not support the entire plan (or your lobbying efforts are stretched too thin to), feel free to only lobby for the sections that you agree with, and ignore the others. If it makes no difference to you, we would most prefer you emphasize Section 1 over the others.
Section 1: Safety Regulations
The current safety law shall be replaced, with a new one requiring:
- All vehicles must use the most recent available “Standard” safety at the time of their construction, or equivalent/newer “Advanced” safety.
- All vehicles must have a 100-0km/h stopping distance of 50m or less.
This law replaces the old flawed and overly restrictive point-based system with one based on safety features. Requiring a minimum of proven safety features is not only more effective at making cars safer, but cheaper and more attainable for most automakers. (Note: This also would remove the safety tax)
In addition, it makes sure cars have good enough brakes and tires to stop properly in an emergency situation, helping to avoid many accidents. Our research shows that even very large trucks should be able to stop within 50m with the help of disc brakes and radials (see section 3); and most cars on the market probably already can anyway.
Section 2: Lighting Regulations
As a new lighting regulation, all vehicles must have 2 pairs of fender-mounted side marker lights; amber in the front corner, and red in the rear corner.
These lights shall illuminate with the headlights. They may also flash with the turn signals, but do not replace any turn signal requirements
Side marker lights make a vehicle visible in low-visibility conditions, such as nighttime and heavy precipitation, and thereby reduce the likelihood of low-visibility crashes. The placement and colors of the lights allow drivers to gauge a vehicle’s position, heading, speed, and approximate size in situations when detecting even just said vehicle’s presence would otherwise prove challenging.
Section 3: Tire Regulations
The current ban on radial tires shall be immediately lifted.
Many other manufacturers have already fronted this idea independently of us; a decade of research has shown us that radial tires are just about unilaterally superior to cross-ply tires, and their use both at Lawrence raceway and on public roads in several other countries proves that they are more than capable of everyday use.
Thank you for your consideration. The best way to convince Letara to repeal its unpopular and ineffective safety law is to offer a truly attainable and effective solution to replace it; and we hope you’ll join us in bringing said solution to them.
Please reach out and contact us if you have any more questions or suggestions concerning The True-Safety Initiative.
The Aero Company.
5-chōme-325 Komaki,
Aichi 485-0041, Japan
+81 568-XX-XXXX
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Mayland Motors Public Relations Department
Corrective Measures
To whom it may concern,
Due to poor communication, and a staff oversight, it is likely that some confusion has arisen due to our previous letter.
We would like to make it absolutely clear that Mayland Motors never planned to support any construction of a second large exhibition center in Letara. Our goals lie with bettering the road infrastructure and making sure it lasts for years to come. Funds have been allocated to provide financial assistance for the Letaran government to begin a road maintenance initiative. More information will be provided at a later date.
Best Regards,
The Mayland Public Relations Team
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Rd 2 Wrap-Up: SUMA's Results and Goals
SUMA and the Congress of Ospiana are both very happy with the results in Letara, not only in meeting their expectations for the number of units and spare parts moved, but also in having successfully hit the bullseye on their target market. Rural, hard-to-do Letarans in search of a normal car, much like the majority of Ospians. They're comfortable with the hidden niche they've carved for themselves and will entrench themselves in it in the decade to come.
Dialogue: SUMA Director Discusses Success with Congressman
Amador Amador enters a fine, rustic office, large inside with high ceilings and an entire wall of intricate windows with stout, wrought-iron frames. On the other side of a carved hardwood desk large enough to park a car on top sits Congressman Victor Maldonado. Victor is heavyset and aging - signs of a well-to-do career politician who survived the Harvest War, typically by dishonest means. It is a stark contrast to Amador’s unassuming, lank figure and simple grey suit.
"Director Amador, come in, sit. I want to discuss the results of your little stunt."
“I read the memo, Mr. Maldonado. You’ve set aside an hour for what I presume to be a rather short conversation.”
“Yes, yes, we all know you’re very good at your job. I found out when I spent two years trying to replace you.”
“You also voted against my proposition to open trade with Letara.”
“This is not another Session, Amador, this is merely a professional meeting. You are not here to defend your stance, it’s already won out; what I want to know is what you plan to do next.”
“Is this a statement of support?”
“Truly, you’re the worst politician I’ve ever met.”
“SUMA is a business; you are the ones making it political.”
Victor chuckles, and once again gestures Amador to a spindly wicker chair across from his luxurious leather seat. It mismatches the one next to it, a simple wooden dining chair. It seems some of the original furniture still has not been recovered or replaced, even in such an important place. Amador abides and sits down, setting his small suitcase next to him as Victor produces a bottle of some ale with only a single glass.
"I'll put it this way. I don't like you because I can't control you, you're smart enough to see that already, and I'm not the only one who thinks this way. Unlike the others, I recognize when you've been useful, and that I'm wasting my time trying to oust you."
“Why am I here, Victor?”
“Your project in Letara. It’s impressed a lot of people, including me. I’ve made a decision. I’ll keep you around, as long as you’re useful. If I like what you’re doing, you have my vote.”
“And if you don’t, you’ll go back to proposing new Directors.”
“Now you’re getting it. It seems so straightforward once you say it out loud, doesn’t it?”
The Congressman pours the glass half full and leans back with a small swig. Amador chooses not to react.
"SUMA has done well. You've set a precedent and now all our other projects are working hard to keep up. This is good, but it's dangerous, and now you need to *keep* doing well. You're here to tell me what's next."
“It seems disingenuous to share my plans with you before they’ve been added to the minutes of the next Session.”
“Don’t be stupid, you know as well as I do they all have their fingers in everything. I’ve graciously offered to have mine in yours. You don’t have a lot of friends in this Congress.”
“You are not my friend, Mr. Maldonado, you’re an opportunist.”
“Venom! In my own office! You should be ashamed of yourself; but I’ll be happy if you’ll detail my what SUMA plans to do to stay on top of our priorities. If it’s any incentive, I know what your cousin is doing at the Fillcrete program; they’ve been grinding it finer and pouring it into the littles holes in all the bricks. It’s vastly improved their product expenditure.”
“I’m not competing with my cousin, I’m competing with every country in the world who’s doing better than we are. This is about recovery, it always has been and it will remain that way until Ospiana is a beacon on Eucura once more.”
“Ech, spare me your nationalism.”
“Congressman, I’ll say this. I plan on doing what I’ve been doing. SUMA will continue to move product into Letara. Nothing so spectacular as our grand entrance, but we will remain the principle export program.”
“How unimaginative. My vote remains where it is until I see something real. I will see you in session, Amador.”
Taking this as his invitation to leave, Amador calmly gathers his suitcase and rises, leaving the room.
Tokens, Expenditures, and Investments
SUMA has elected to spend their tokens on an Assembly Plant in Letara. Following the numerous disasters, a large swathe of abandoned or damaged industrial land and buildings became available in the ports, and SUMA - once they’d gained their foothold - swooped in on a suitable building relatively near where their ships would be unloading with a buy-out bid. By only having to ship in chassis alongside the spare body parts they were already moving, costs have been shaved significantly, making the already reasonably-priced Selecta that much more available to Letarans.
With a combination of direct investment and development of full proposals and programs for certain farming incentives, SUMA has heavily involved themselves in the agricultural sector on Letara. As a country that depends heavily on imported food to support themselves, Ospiana is of course highly supportive of this sector in all their trade partners, and they’ve taken great strides to make food cheaper overall within Letara’s borders.
Part of this spending has involved a full poster campaign in grocery stores discussing the increase in family spending power for other goods (such as cars and fuel) once food is less of a concern and more jobs are created. They’ve even footed the bill for shipment of tractors and other tools made by Brache, another major Ospian manufacturer.
Lobbying and Further Goals
In several letters to the Letaran government as well as public information campaigns, SUMA has spent a whopping majority of their lobbying power on prohibiting the introduction of ethanol fuels to public roads. While they’ve recognized its octane-raising capabilities, they’ve heavily emphasized the long-reaching effects of corrosive, hydroscopic chemicals in the fuel network. Besides the immediate effects of gas being more difficult to store, there is also the long-term costs of maintaining and replacing degraded tanks and fuel lines, the price of making cars resistant to ethanol making things more expensive, and identified several additives already found within refined oil that can serve as a lead-free octane-raising mixture with no such drawbacks.
Particularly, they’ve been heavy-handed on the impact an ethanol fuel network has on food prices. With so much arable land being dedicated to feedstock production, food variety will fall, and along with the anti-corrosion expenses that are ultimately passed on to the consumer, rising food prices will forever harm the purchasing power of the family unit, making the fancy new ethanol-capable cars more difficult to obtain and expensive to maintain than ever before.
Letara is, economically, in a very careful position, where they must make choices that put them in a better position rather than choices that make it look like there isn’t anything wrong to their rivals. Poverty is widespread, and the introduction of ethanol production into the supply chain will only worsen the issue. SUMA has communicated their stance clearly to the government, and been diligent in informing the general populace of the ramifications:
Would you let your KIDS go HUNGRY so you can SPEND MORE ON GAS?
Ospiana, being a primary producer of crude oil and derivatives, considers this to be a very important issue worldwide.
Lobbying power remaining after the campaign was spent trying to prevent new lighting regulations, with the specific points of lights introducing dangerous weakpoints into the body panels and flammable additional wiring to the body, making them more visible but worsening conditions in the event of an actual accident.
I’ve also taken the time to improve my original Rd 2 submission post, with some improved writing and story, for anyone interested in the RP aspect of the challenge. It can be found here.
4 Likes
Vizzuri’s Proposal '63
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12hr Endurance racing at Lerance Raceway
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The great success of racing at the Vizzuri designed Lerance Raceway was apparent; from highway section being stood still with spectators, the stands all sold-out and crammed to bursting. With this, Scuderia Vizzuri has a proposal for an exciting twist to the racing in the next year.
The R1+Road going and R2 classes would be discontinued in favour of two new classes: Touring Cars & Super Competition. Touring car class would consist of homologated racing machines that are based on road-going models, using sports radials and E70 ethanol fuel, where as Super Competition would be true racing cars made for the track, using slick radials, E85 ethanol as well as other rules (See the details).
Proposed new classes for racing
Super Competition (SC):
- Upwards of 4.0L engines - Runs on Lerance raceway full course
- Two-seater mandated
- Not required to be road-legal
- Ethanol Blend E85 (108 RON) racing fuel mixture
- Minimum safety of 30
- Minimum comfort of 5
- Enclosed bodywork (Does not require a roof)
- Naturally aspirated or turbocharged allowed
- Must be fitted with a windshield, two doors, headlights, taillights, front and rear indicators, roll bar (If interior, or exposed interior)
- A maximum of two aero fixtures allowed
- Slick radial tyres only
Touring Cars (TC):
- 4.0L maximum displacement - Runs on Lerance raceway short course
- Homologated model based on a road-going car
- Two-seater mandated, must also support 2 rows of seats
- Ethanol Blend E70 (106 RON) racing fuel mixture
- Minimum safety of 30
- Minimum comfort of 5
- Enclosed cabin
- Naturally aspirated or turbocharged allowed
- Must be fitted with at least two headlights, two taillights, front and rear indicators, roll bar (If interior)
- A maximum of two aero fixtures allowed
- Sports radial tyres only
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Caring for Letara, the Vizzuri way
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With us at Vizzuri witnessing first hand the abundance of natural disasters over the past 9 years, we are investing towards a new government agency being established: The Letara Natural Disaster Response Force.
The proposed new team of government workers would identify, alert, respond and coordinate each and every disaster that the future may hold in a way to protect lives, livelihoods, homes, industries and infrastructure.
As with the outstanding crowd attendance at the races ever since opening in 1959, we believe investment to the Lerance Raceway grounds is a grand idea: Changing the motorway straight into a closed circuit, having a new motorway segment follow around the track, extra stands for spectators, as well as new on-site camping locations and a ferris wheel for spectators is sure to improve revenue from the track as well as provide a much more fascinating experience for fans. (See below for revisions)
We are also investing towards higher education in mechanic and petrochemical engineering, to provide Letarans a much more thrivous development, perhaps even gaining employment in the Vizzuri assembly plant some day!
As per our first Letaran proposal, we are heavily against additional taxation towards luxury cars, making it more unobtainable for those of a lesser income to afford our luxurious vehicles. We wish for all Letarans to be able to afford and enjoy a comfortable driving experience at Vizzuri.
Make your dream car reality: Vote against extreme taxation!
We are very glad to see other manufacturers also aiding in the push for a much more cleaner and renewable Letara with ethanol fuel. This is the way forward to a healthier future of Letara.
After the success of our Drago race car in the R2 racing class, radial tyres have showcased the advantages in grip, fuel economy and safety. We will be lobbying for the introduction of radials to the civilian car market. We urge fellow competitors within the racing leagues to follow suit, after all having much more long-lasting, comfortable, fuel-economical, and safer tyres is a must have.
We believe that the licence-plate situation should be addressed on Letaran roads. A regulated black plate with embossed silver font as found on each road-legal Vizzuri would be preferable.
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We hope other car marques can collaborate with Vizzuri’s efforts for a Letara safer from natural disasters, as well as aid provide better higher-education, and finally an even better racing decade.
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Mara goes Letara, Ep. 3-2: Electrifying news
Henri tries to steer the meeting back to the planned agenda. “First, we need to plan for our expenses in Letara.”
“We keep the assembly plant right?” Inna hands Henri a small stack of paper. “Here is the maintenance plan with expenses for the next five years.”
Henri nods.
“Next, let me guess: CHS4.” That was Fedor with hardly masked disdain.
The brand new Archanan CHS4 electric locomotive pulling the Lenagrad-Terso-Express into the station of the Fruinian capital.
Spending for Letara
Henri nods again. “As you all know, electric power is the future for trains. We have again been asked by our government to market the newest Archanan locomotive, the high-speed CHS4, to Letara, along with funds to kickstart the electrification of their rail network.”
“I guess we can’t say no to that then.” Fedor again. “At least it’s not our money.”
Another nod by Henri. “We are also to lead another push for the Letaran coal industry. Hopefully this time enough to allow exports. Again…” - with a side glance to Fedor - “… not our money.”
“They can certainly take all support for industries they can get at the moment, given their state of the economy”, remarks Inna. “I have read that other companies support agriculture and forestry, but the latter strangely in the context of alternative fuels.”
The crowd at the table exchanges puzzled glances. “That can’t be efficient. I’d rather build houses with wood, thank you”, mumbles Fedor.
“One last proposal is to educate the Letaran workers on employment and workers rights. A quite effective way would be to have the Letaran workers party to take care of the organization here, would it not, perhaps through a push to establish workers councils?”
Another exchange of glances, this time with an added dose of wariness to the puzzlement.
“Let’s just say…”, Inna starts cautiously. “This was a quite foreign concept to our assembly plant workers in Letara at first. But they got the hang of it after a while. And I am happy for our plant to be used as a role model for a format that can work in Letara…”
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VAUGHN REVUE LETARA
The magazine that goes out to all of you Letarans driving a Vaughn, Wraith or VCV
Fall 1955
B-SERIES SETS RECORDS!
Beating sales records in an economy that is in a downfall is not a bad thing, and speaks for something. The new VCV B-series utility vehicles does exactly that. They are the fastest selling new vehicles that Vaughn corporation ever have released in Letara. Now that speaks for something. The B-series gives the customer a combination of utility, practicality and ruggedness that no other vehicle on the market can match. The car magazines seems to agree completely. Here is some examples of what they are saying:
“The VCV Enforcer B20 may be the perfect vehicle for, for example, farm use. The simple mechanics means that it is reliable, and should something happen, repairs are easy. The large bed can carry hay bales, pigs, well, everything you may need. This is a far cry from the so called “utility vehicles” from the past that never was up to the task.”
“For years large families have been asking for a vehicle that could carry both the whole family AND their luggage, and doing it with confidence and reliability. It is like if the VCV Rural B24 all of a sudden appeared as an answer to their prayers. 8 seats, a huge loadspace, sturdy mechanics and lots of ground clearance. It is obvious that this is a vehicle that is sacrificing absolutely nothing when it comes to giving you the perfect workhorse.”
“If offerings from, for example Popas or Capable, feels too much like regular cars with lift kits, you should consider a VCV Rural B44. Just looking at it, it becomes obvious that this is a purpouse built go-anywhere utility vehicle. And a test drive does nothing to change our mind on that point. It does exactly what it promises.”
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Specifically, there should be five classes in total: one for cars with engines displacing up to 1.6 liters, and another for cars with engines displacing between 1.6 and 2.5 liters. The former class will be called R1 and the latter class will be called R2, with R3 having a capacity range of 2.5 to 3.5 liters. R4 will henceforth be used for cars whose engines have a capacity of between 3.5 and 5 liters; R5 is reserved for cars whose engines displace more than 5 liters.
We are also proposing a similar class structure for road legal cars, but these will allow less extensive modifications than those for dedicated race cars, and each road legal class will be called S1, S2, S3, etc. At any rate, the distance for any race between road legal cars will remain half that of any race involving purpose-built race cars for now.
Forgot to type up my post on here.
Knightwick company 1963 recap
The Knightwick motor company is overall very happy with the sales of the two cars offered in the current sales period. We see room for growth in the small car market however in the premium sector for people who want a well made prestigious car without having the purchase something large and uneconomical.
For the 1964 model year in Letara we will be introducing a new more modern small car into the family and premium family segments. We are expecting this to cement our place with our current market demographic but also appeal to the younger buyer and introduce them to the Knightwick family of cars.
Spending and lobbying proposals
As a forward thinking company our lobbying and spending for the next period will hopefully further the health and well being of the Letaran people.
The spending breakdown is as follows:
- Five points to the upkeep and expanding of the national parks of Letara. This will mean all citizens have somewhere beautiful to experience nature
- three points on train expansion. Trains being much more efficient than motor vehicles for long distance travel will help keep the air of Letara cleaner
- Two points on a national TV campaign to highlight the dangers to all of lead in petroleum,
The lobbying breakdown is:
- Five points to ban cross ply tyres. These are not as safe as modern radial tyres, but also radial tyres are much more efficient meaning lower fuel bills and less emissions into the air.
- Five points on a total ban on leaded fuel on health grounds. The Letaran people will see many benefits of using unleaded or ethanol based fuels.
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
The Letaran Government wishes everyone who is celebrating Happy Holidays! Please note that our offices will be running at much reduced capacity, so expect response time delays. The Lobbying Office is keeping their mailboxes open and is eager to receive your letters. Currently 16 companies have sent in their proposals. For those 23 companies that have yet to sent in theirs, you have 4 days and change to send in your letters. Reminder:
Spending and lobbying is open until 23:59 ET on Tuesday, December 27.
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Publication by The Aero Company.
A notice detailing our spending and lobbying plans within Letara.
To follow what other companies have done, we would like to put out this notice detailing our lobbying and spending plans for this coming session.
Spending
In addition to maintaining our current factory, we will be putting forward money to expand the aluminum industry, making progress towards full aluminum production in Letara someday. Aluminum is an extremely useful material to build car engines and bodies with, being very light and having very good resistance to corrosion. Our goal is to gradually reduce the cost of this material by expanding its production and infrastructure, with the hope that one day it may be as cheap and accessible as steel.
As well, we will be putting a small investment into the nation’s forestry industry, to aid in its (and by extension, Letara’s) economic recovery.
Lobbying
We have already written at great length about safety, and the Letaran True-Safety Initiative. This 3-part plan involving a revamped safety law, side marker lights, and allowance of radial tires will make up the majority of our lobbying efforts, and we hope it may factor into yours.
We’ll also be speaking against the government’s recent proposal to mandate double head lights. We can find no practical advantages/disadvantages between single and double headlight setups, especially when custom composite designs are involved. The only affect such a law would have, then, is to control cars’ artistic style, which no government has any place doing. Plus, a dual setup would be hard to tastfully incorporate in small cars such as ours.
Finally, as we did last time, we’ll be putting a word towards the banning of lead fuels. We now have common alternatives that are nearly as capable as lead fuels. And though we may experience a minor loss in performance from the minor drop in octane, this will easily be made up by natural refinements in engine technology within just a couple of years. Note that, beyond the ban on lead fuels, we’ve no interest in or opposition to the introduction of emissions standards or gas guzzler taxes at this time.
Thank you,
The Aero Company.
5-chōme-325 Komaki,
Aichi 485-0041, Japan
+81 568-XX-XXXX
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Official Statement from Canadian Motors
This is a notice detailing our spending and lobbying plans within Letara as the decade plays out.
To follow through on what other automotive companies are doing or have done, we would like to put out this notice detailing our lobbying and spending plans for this coming session.
Spending & Lobbying:
In order to capitalize on reducing import costs and all that, we will be spending significant expenditure towards a brand new factory in Letara - aluminum industry and all.
It’s not just the factory in Letara that we’ll be spending capital on, we’ll be assisting Vizzuri in developing the LNDRF (Letara Natural Disaster Response Force), freely accessible higher education along with petrochemical engineering to provide a safer and cleaner future for Letaran society - safety laws are never meant to be written in the blood of those that came before them.
We are also very much strongly in support of Vizzuri’s proposed endurance racing at Lerance Raceway - in fact, we might consult with them regarding the possibility of 24 hour endurance racing. We are considering all offerings from them and will be considering them as such.
We are very pleased to announce our collaboration with Vizzuri and their efforts for a Letara safer from natural disasters, as well as aid provide better higher-education, and finally an even better racing. We are looking forward to seeing all other lobbying results.
Canadian Motors
A company for all.
1 Canadian Motors Circle,
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
+1 519-XXX-XXXX
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GLORY AT LERANCE - THE LEGEND OF BENETSCH
1959: First Blood
Announcer: Gentlemen, start your engines!!
Max Hulos, the Benetsch driver, revs up the ferocious seven-liter unit sitting behind him. A great burden is on his shoulders: thanks to the strict rules at Lerance, he’s in the only Benetsch car on the field. Failure for him is failure for the whole company. Nonetheless, the East Soresian keeps his cool, because he knows that his car is reliable and controllable if nothing else. His is a confidence not mirrored by the pits, however…
Karl Selic: Well, there she goes. That flag will drop any second now; Then we’ll see if we crash and burn.
Jonas Schmidt: He sure is having his way with all that revving. You sure he won’t melt the engine before we even start?
Karl: Uh, no. God, you’re dense for a mechanic.
Up above them all, both company patriarchs - CEO Klaas Benetsch and his father Josip are perched in a private booth, dealing with their own anxiety with the aid of champagne. Klaas hates champagne, though, and is reduced to pacing back and forth in front behind the glass.
Klaas: I like how it sounds, yeah. And I know that it can be driven boldly…
Josip: Then sit down! We can’t have the press seeing you nervous right at the start.
Klaas: Oh, to hell with them. I’ll be calm when we win. Come on!
As if on cue, the green flag flies… And so does the Benetsch. Hulos operates the clutch with total precision, executing a commanding launch that leaves the rest of the field behind. While three cars are in hot pursuit, the Benetsch fellows watch in vindication as the car completes the first lap - one of clean racing - in the lead
Klaas: What did I say? The production chassis works.
Josip: Will you sit down now?
Klaas: No!
Less than 2 hours later, everybody involved celebrates a clear-cut, well-run victory. The Benetsches descend into the pits just in time to see the race car roll in.
Karl: Max, you magnificent bastard! We made it! And you didn’t even have to over-rev!
Max: Eh, I could have fared better in a couple laps. Lap 11 in particular, got goddamn swamped trying to lap people.
Karl: Oh shut up, you were great! Balls the size of coconuts, for real.
Josip: Quite elegantly put, Hr. Selic. All you boys ran a mean race today. A good way to start the season - and the car’s operational history. Enjoy it.
Klaas: No joke! And remember, just because Father and I won’t be attending every race is no excuse to slack off. The #66 must race well throughout.
1960: So Close
After a good '59 season, the #66 Benetsch returns to Lerance once more. This time, however, ZRD put more effort into keeping their faster car running; they run as perfect a race as Benetsch, and get away with the win by a razor-thin six seconds.
Karl: Honestly, I’m pretty happy that the Zephorus didn’t turn out a total dud. I’m much happier still, though, that Klaas isn’t here to yell at me this time.
Jonas: Knowing him, he’ll still want a debriefing, though.
Karl: I said all I had to say on the matter last year. Given a perfect race, the ZRD is faster and I can’t really change that. Production chassis viability, my ass.
Ander Katowis, driver for 1960: That’s a damn defeatist way to think. If the rubber had held up a little better, he would not have passed me! We were off by six damn seconds and that’s all!
Karl: Maybe you’re right.
1961: Bitter Defeat
The 1961 R2 race becomes the most brutal of all - both for Benetsch and in general. By the last lap, with Ander and his GBK leading the race, the field has already been halved with five cars out of the race. And on the back straight, it briefly looks like the leading Benetsch would become the sixth: Under braking, the car loses control and smacks sideways into a barrier and went silent. To make matters worse, this time Klaas is not absent - he’s right there in the pits.
Klaas: God dammit! How does this sort of shit even happen?
Karl: Well, odds are, our rubber supplier needs to be paid a beating or two. Ander had mentioned having issues with traction last year as well. Ope, there goes that Mocabey.
Klaas: What are the odds of us finishing, at least?
Karl: Are you serious? Ander could be injured and you’re worried about the race?
The dynast’s words prove prophetic, however. On the fifth attempt, the Benetsch turns over and started; due to the shattered left front suspension, it takes five agonizing minutes after the revival to finish the last lap. Oh well - good enough for third, thanks to the ZRD having a smaller accident on the same lap.
In the pits, Ander limps out of the car; he didn’t break anything, seemingly, but is beat up and concussed. Wordlessly, Klaas drapes the racer’s arm over his shoulder and leads him to the podium himself.
Klaas: It took some real guts to start back up. You’re a soldier for sure.
Ander: Really, boss? With you around, it would have taken more balls to stay out.
1962: Ain’t No Rest
The '62 race was as tightly-raced as the '60 one, with the caveat that the beginning laps were a fair shot more dirty. Returning '59 winner Max Hulos found himself in a constant struggle against the powerful Wolfe car and the ever-dangerous ZRD, with the former eventually conceding the race for the lead to its usual control and reliability issues. The ZRD, however, refused to break or fall behind, and edged out the Benetsch - again, by just 8 seconds. I won’t include dialogue here because I’m lazy.
1963: The Last Hurrah
Klaas Benetsch looks ever stern as he climbs out of his 1961 Kralewitsch SK70, a formidable road runner that shares the GBK’s 7-liter heart. Having conducted yet another inspection of the Lerance assembly plant, which would soon be tasked with assembling large cars such as the Kralewitsch alongside the humbler Gwesdas, the Benetsch leader is expecting to be cheered up at this, the first race of the last R2 season.
Karl Selic and Ander Katowis both stand awaiting their CEO as he strides unimpeded through the restricted area into the pits.
Klaas: Have my recommendations been taken into account?
Karl:: Yes. We have ordered tires according to the new, harder specification, and there is ballast in the front. There is no chance for a surprise now.
Klaas: I’m going to grab a beer and hang around. Good luck to you, Hr. Katowis.
Ander: I’m going to mow that Zephorus down this time, for sure.
But he doesn’t get the chance. Come the actual race, the ZRD briefly knocks itself out; Lapped by the Benetsch, it doesn’t mount a comeback. Ander finishes the race in first with few if any hiccups - if slower than usual due to the stabilizing weight - and promptly goes to drink himself half to death. In his defense, so does everybody else.
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Resuki Official Statement
Sales Report
& Plans
Resuki is pleased with the sales of the Tabi lineup in Letara. Even with weakened demand for the city-car segment, the 900B and 1300D sold remarkably well and even garnered much of the segments overall sales. The 1300D especially, with its comfort rivaling that of the family-car segment. We believe key factors to this success were the formerly mentioned comfort and excellent reliability offered at a reasonable cost, and will aim to continue this trend in the future.
As for Resuki’s attempt into the performance market, the 1500S sold short of initial expectations. Though, customers that did buy it were very satisfied and we are glad to have offered a car that is loved by our customers. So while the 1500S never lived up to being a true sports car or even a great seller, we glad that it has garnered our customers’ loyalty. And, due to the success of the 900B and 1300D, we at Resuki believe we can comfortably develop more cars for niche segments without having to worry about sales and focus on customers that are looking for that car.
Future Plans
While there is still a remaining demand for city-cars, it is clearly a dwindling segment. Largely due to improved infrastructure of the city post-earthquake and improve economy, and we see no reason for it to grow any larger currently. With this in mind, we plan to move to the family-segment with slightly larger cars that are more comfortable and family oriented. Though, we do plan on aiming to keep Resuki cars affordable and accessible to as many people as possible, and retaining our image of reliable, good cars.
As mentioned in our sale report, we will also plan on making more niche cars. While most will be performance focused, we may also seek other ventures into smaller-segments. We would also like to increase performance of our cars across the board, so we will be dropping the 900cc offering and do not plan on offering a engine of less than 1.0L in any model for the Letaran market in the near future.
Spending and Lobbying
Spending
Resuki has decided to build an assembly plant in Letara as a way to reduce car prices in the Letaran market, provide jobs, and still retain jobs in Japan. While this has taken up most of our spending within the current spending window provided by the Letaran government, we still plan on backing what we can with our remaing budget. firstly, Resuki will donate a little bit the improvement of the Lerance Raceway in an effort to support it. Lastly, Resuki will give what remains to the expansion and maintaince of national parks. We think this is a great way to improve tourism and recreation in Letara, and ensures that the Vizzuri National AT02-Gs recently selected by the government can be used to their fullest potential.
Lobbying
As for lobbying, our top priority is the allowed use of radial tries. We do not wish for the banning of cross-plys but through personal testing and their use in races we see no reason for them not be adopted for use on Letara’s roads. Second, with our push to strengthen the national parks, we would like push for cleaner gas. While we do believe emissions are harmful to the environment, there is currently still little that can be done to regulate them so we simply wish for the banning of leaded fuels. Thirdly, we have suggested to the government that licensed plates should be standardized in the US/JP style, but unregulated in terms of colors. Lastly, we support the continued use of the Lerance Raceway no matter the type of race, as it would be a shame for a track that was built by Letarans to cease being used so quickly.
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Mara goes Letara, Ep. 3-3: Safe at certain speeds
Henri Nordhov, Mara’s Comrade Executive Director, continues with the board meeting agenda. “While we are dealing with the Letaran government, we should also think of how we should use our influence. First and foremost, we should prevent another safety regulation debacle.”
Lobbying for Letara
Fedor, Comrade Director of Engineering, nods. “Agreed. But with the Irena’s new unibody construction, we’ll be fine with the existing safety regulations.”
Inna raises her hand. “Other companies are pushing for even stricter regulations, for new cars to fulfil specific advanced safety criteria, for instance.”
Henri and Fedor frown in unison. “But why? Why make life difficult for themselves or anyone else, with no real need?” That was Henri.
Fedor adds. “I can only repeat what I said the last time. If you want proper holistic safety for all people, limit speeds. Simple physics, biology and psychology. Less energy to dissipate, more time to react, and less inclination for drivers to feel safe if they really aren’t. Everything else just shifts people from one column to another in their accident statistics, if at all.”
“So, a big push against additional safety restrictions, coupled with a proposal to achieve the safety goals through speed limits?” Inna is hastily taking notes.
“Yes”, Fedor replies. “There should be a detailed speed limit proposal on our records from a few years ago.”
Inna nods. “There are also rumours that cross-ply tyres could be banned.”
Another frown by Fedor. “Why ban a tried-and-true technology?”
“So something else to be against.”
“Against the ban, yes, most definitely”, Fedor asserts. “Why does everyone seem to be so intent on solving problems that don’t exist in the first place?” He shakes his head.
Henri cannot resist a comment either. “And what’s that free market everyone is always talking about in Gasmea and also over there? Sounds more like a ban market if you ask me. Freedom to sell everything that isn’t banned.”
The ensuing round of snickers and giggles is more than just polite.
“But lastly we should also ensure that if we race something that this resembles a car we actually sell. And we are not against racing, right?” It was obvious that the new Comrade Director for Sales, Alexandra Koroleva, is enthusiastic for some competition.
“So we should also throw our support behind keeping a production-level racing class?”, asks Inna. “Perhaps to enter a racing version of the Irena in?”
Henri nods again. “And if we could limit the amount we’d have to spend to go racing, that’ll be even better. Tune the engine, the suspension, throw out the rear seats… nothing fancy.”
Fedor agrees. “Nothing like some more serious restrictions to get us engineers really creative. Just throwing money at a problem is always the lazy man’s solution…”
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LIBERTY LOBBYING REPORT
Distributed by Liberty Corp.
Safety
Liberty Corp. has decided to release our lobbying report to the fellow companies in Letara. We are spending most of our lobbying power to help promote safety in future automobiles, with it mostly going towards our car classification proposal. While we do agree with the proposal given out by Aero, we believe that the unsafeness of small cars are not taken into account. We also plan on lobbying for lighter things, like amber indicators and double headlights.
Tires and Fuel
The discussion on banning leaded fuel has become very heated recently. While we do see some of the benefits of leaded fuel, those benefits are very miniscule compared to the damages that leaded fuel can cause. Thus, we plan to lobby for the ban of leaded fuel.
On the topic of tires, we believe that radials are much better than outdated cross-ply tires. However, we think that cross-ply tires should not be completely banned, as they do have some utility benefits. We plan to lobby just for the removal of the ban on radials
Liberty Corp. Advertising and Engineering Department, 1953
Building 420, 69th Avenue
Philidelphia, PA, USA
+1-215-xxx-xxxx
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