Unfortunately they effect stats even when set to 0. It’s very misleading, I know
It did produce quite a bit of downforce (was not set to 0), but like doot says, even at 0 it provides some downforce. In any case, again, my apologies for not noticing it while doing the initial bins - sometimes things can slip through when dealing with 150 cars.
1 Like
Rd. 3 RESULTS
Chapter 14: Consumer car segment 1964-1974 - sports cars pt. 2
Left to right: Kamaka Draco 2500GT Convertible @LS_Swapped_Rx-7, Nerucci Motors Corp 220 Spyder, Nerucci Motors Corp 220 GT @04mmar, Wolfram Wyvern 5.0 V12 @abg7, Kamaka Draco XS-R, Nerucci Motors Corp 220 GTR, Wolfe E420 GT @karhgath, Vizzuri Laonda Special GT, Vizzuri Laonda Cabriolet Special, Vizzuri Laonda Prestazione @Aruna
Moving to the top end of the sports car line-up: the luxury sports cars. These cars are expensive for a reason: they are simply the best of the best automotive technology can offer. Be that the ultimate performance machine, or a combination of speed, comfort, and prestige, there are many ways to break into this market segment. One thing is for certain: owning one of these cars will make one the envy of many.
The first four cars in this segment were released right in 1964. The cheapest - ‘cheap’ used in a relative sense - was the Nerucci Motors Corp 220 Spyder. The name of the car was perhaps a clever but slightly misleading marketing ploy by the company, as the 220 Spyder was in fact not a spyder at all - it was a solid-top coupe. In any case, the small-body coupe came with two premium seats and a phonograph, medium tires, a five-speed manual gearbox (most cars in this segment had one), and disc brakes all-round (the latter an ubiquitous feature on luxury sports cars). It had a 200 Hp V8 engine with an unusual 60-degree block that gave it a sporty performance in a straight line. It was the cheapest true sports car in 1964, but its long-term upkeep was quite high, mostly due to high service costs. Despite its cost, it was not a comfortable car and could at best be considered ‘track-comfort’. The car’s looks were a little bland for this class, and especially the rear was deemed a little odd by Letarans. For the price all this could’ve been forgiven still, but there were two more major flaws in the car: one, it catastrophically oversteered at speed and was quite dangerous to push at highway speeds; two, its engine was tuned to 96.6 octane (the engineers probably reversed their pluses and minuses), giving rise to reliability issues. So despite very little direct competition outside its sibling cars, the 220 Spyder didn’t really make a big splash in the sports market.
The Nerucci Motors Corp 220 GT was in many respects the same car as the 220 Spyder, but it did have a luxury interior and a hotter tuned engine with 248 Hp. It also had a sportier look with a black stripe down the middle of the car, a hood scoop providing more air for the engine, and more classy rims. So the car was a hair more comfortable than the 220 Spyder and also a tad bit faster in a straight line, but had even bigger issues: the engine was tuned to 98.8 octane giving rise to very significant knocking and reliability issues, and it not only oversteered at speed, but also at slow speed, making it very difficult to handle. It was no wonder then that sales never took off.
A bit more expensive to buy, but a lot cheaper to maintain than the Nerucci cars was the Wolfram Wyvern 5.0 V12. This was a much sleeker and refined looking car. It had two luxury seats and a luxury radio, and in contrast to the Nerucci cars it was on sport compound tires. It had a slightly larger and quite modern V12 engine that put out 300 Hp. This car was faster than the Neruccis, significantly more comfortable, reliable, and easier to drive. In fact, it was really well set up from the factory providing solid cornering ability in stock configuration. Indeed, it could beat anything cheaper than it, and it could handle well. So while not cheap by any standard - it was in the luxury category for a reason - it was still a very good cost-benefit proposition and dominated the sports market as a whole for a few years until competition finally caught up.
The most expensive sports car of 1964 was the Nerucci Motors 220 GTR. This car was quite a significant jump up in price from the Wolfram, especially its long term upkeep was exorbitant. In fact, its long term upkeep would prove to be second highest of all cars this decade behind the Benetsch Lerance 8000ZR. For this price you got a nearly identical car to the 220 GT, but with some visual enhancements (mostly in the form of chrome strips), and a 275 Hp V12 engine that aimed to compete with the Wolfram. In a straight line this car did manage to keep up with the Wolfram, no complaints there. But, despite it being more comfortable than its siblings, it still trailed the Wolfram by a long mile in this regard. And it too suffered from the same issues as its sibling cars: a knocking and unreliable engine and terminal oversteer. So this car too failed to attract Letarans to the Nerucci showroom.
Released in 1967, the Kamaka Draco 2500GT Convertible was a small two-seater with a manual soft top - a true spyder this time. This car had sport seats and a premium radio, but to add sportiness it had a semi-clad undertray and sports compound tires. Just like its coupe sibling, it featured a smaller I6 engine with 166 Hp, so it was not a straight-line monster by any means, but it could still provided exciting speed. Where this car shined was on the twisties: it was small and nimble, well set up for corners. Price-wise, it bridged the gap between the premium and luxury markets, so it was a significantly more affordable car than the Wolfram, but quite a bit more expensive than the Vaughn Silverbird Rallye, its nearest convertible competitor. But comparatively, the Rallye was a large lumbering beast, whereas the Draco was a small and fun to drive car. Of course Kamaka’s success at the race track helped to get people into the showrooms too. So while the regular coupe version did all-right by most measures, it was the Draco 2500GT Convertible that people really wanted, and it found a nice niche for itself as the ‘affordable luxury small-and-nimble spyder’ of the decade.
One year later came the Wolfe E420 GT. It was a slightly larger coupe that had two luxury seats and a phonograph in the dash. Powered by a large V8 it had 350 Hp, giving this relatively heavier car equal acceleration to the Wolfram, but a much higher top speed at 277 km/h. Indeed, for two years it was the fastest production car on Letaran roads, until it was eclipsed by the Lerance 8000ZR. It was quite significantly more comfortable and reliable than the Wolfram, and despite its weight and size, was about as difficult to drive. It had a good setup from the factory, so while not as agile as the smaller cars, it could still hold its own around turns with a little tire squeal. So while more expensive than the Wolfram, the Wolfe successfully capitalized on the recovering market and ‘offered more - for more’, and took over the upper echelons of the sports market quite successfully upon release; of course also helped by its success and reputation around the race track.
All four remaining luxury sports cars were released in 1970. The cheapest of the four (but still more expensive than the Wolfram, was the Kamaka Draco XS-R. This car was squarely aimed at the weekend track crowd. It had a larger V8 with 274 Hp, and it did its ultimate best to shed weight with its sports interior and no entertainment options. Its comfort was not any better than that of a dedicated race car, so it was wholly unsuitable as a regular road car, but that was not its intended purpose. It was quite reliable for a track car, which was appreciated by potential buyers. Its acceleration 0-100 km/h registered at 4.8 seconds, which was a record-breaking time in Letara; the Benetsch 8000ZR came within a tenth, but the XS-R was king. Its top speed was just shy of that of the Wolfe E420 GT at 275 km/h. So it was fast - very fast even. It only had one chink in its armour: in contrast to the perfectly set up Kamakas that came before, this car tended to terminally oversteer in fast corners when pushed. This made it quite a handful to drive, especially around the track. Given its unique character as a track car, it did find its tiny niche corner of the market and sold to those few people; and of course the bragging rights of the 0-100 acceleration test were a huge selling point. But it did put many people off that they had to re-do the suspension to counter the car’s tendency toward oversteer, but the few truly dedicated (and rich) individuals found it worthwhile.
The last three cars were the Vizzuri siblings, the Laonda Special GT, Laonda Cabriolet Special, and Laonda Prestazione. All three cars were large luxurious sedans with a distinct sporty flair that were cross-shopped by the luxury family buyers as well, and while in the sports category here, their real rivals were the Benetsch, Wolfe, and Capital cars. This just shows what in Letara at this time, the very top of the luxury family and luxury sports categories had an extremely blurred line and almost interchangeable. As for the similarities between the Laonda cars, all had luxury interiors, a luxury 8-track, and hydropneumatic suspension. Also, all three were very nice looking cars with excellent details front to rear, and had a rather brutal or aggressive style. The Special GT was the most family-oriented offering with four doors, and featured a powerful V8 with 295 Hp. As such, it was the one most at home among the luxury family crowd. In terms of performance, it was a well set-up car with a speed somewhere in between the Benetsch 8000ZR and Imperator, and also slightly faster than the Wolfe E540 V12, so while not face-melting, it held its own among the large cars. Its comfort was also about in between the above cars: much higher than the 8000ZR, but below the Wolfe E540. Reliability was a tad better than these, and it was also a little easier to drive. Price-wise, it was also smack in between the 8000ZR and the Imperator. So it was similar, but also did just enough to set it apart from the others. In was no match for the Benetsch cars, just like the Wolfe E540 was, but it competed well against the Wolfe; where the Wolfe sold to those who were sick of seeing Imperators, the Special GT sold to those who were sick of seeing the another 8000ZR.
The Cabriolet Special was a two-door convertible with manual soft top. It retained the engine from the Special GT, and being a bit heavier, it was a little bit slower. Its main rival turned out to be the Capital Monarch Liberitas, an even larger and more expensive cabriolet. But against the Capital, the Cabriolet Special showed its sporty nature as it was much faster. It was also significantly easier to drive and more agile, and more reliable and comfortable to boot. All that, while it was much cheaper to buy and maintain. So when it came to the upscale convertible market, the Cabriolet Special - while not an outright fire-breathing monster - showed that a sporty cabriolet can be a great car that matches the best in all other areas too. So it sold quite well among the richest in Letara, as it was the sporty convertible option for them.
Last, but not least, we come to the Laonda Prestazione. This was the performance-oriented Laonda with a hotter tuned V8 delivering 353 Hp. This car had a manual five-speed gearbox (in contrast to the other Laondas that had automatic gearboxes), and a clutched differential to help keep the power controllable, and sports tires to keep the power glued to the road. This car had the third-fastest 0-100 km/h time of 5.0 seconds and the fourth-fastest top speed of 259 km/h, so it was by all rights a properly fast car. Its suspension set-up was sporty and top-notch right out of the factory too, so despite its size and weight it handled very well. It did sacrifice some comfort to achieve these figures, but it was still more comfortable overall than the Wolfe E420 GT, despite the Prestazione having four seats, thus being a lot more practical. But did it sacrifice too much in the pursuit for speed? Many thought so. It was quite a bit more expensive than its sibling cars, and of course a lot more expensive than the 8000ZR, yet didn’t quite measure up in speed. It sacrificed too much in comfort to not quite achieve top status, and the other ‘secondary’ options behind the Benetsch were just a better value proposition. So while objectively it was a great car, it just suffered in a sea of other options that seemed more desirable or sensible. It sold, just not nearly as well as the Special GT or the Cabriolet Special.
This concludes all the results of Letara 1964-1974. See you soon in the Preface of Round 4!
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I am pleased to hear that the Wyvern V12 turned out to be one of the best luxury sports cars of its time. It was great value for money as well - the only cars that could outperform it during this era tended to be even more expensive.
Mara goes Letara, Ep. 3-10: Racing, rivals and the future
After a short moment of inner triumph, Fedor continued. “Since these sales numbers are not too great overall, do we have good reasons to actually stay in Letara? I know that my predecessor has never asked this question, but I do.”
Future strategy and racing performance review
Inna replied. “I think so, yes. While the current sales numbers are not high, they are sustainable for our quite low key operation. We should keep the assembly plant, but it’s also not worth it to expand further to a factory, unless things dramatically improve.”
Mykhaylo Andov, Comrade Director for Production, added: “For us, it’s easiest to just manufacture and send CKDs over to Letara when too much stock accumulates here outside the main factory, or when we actually get specific requests from comrade Inna.”
Now was Inna’s turn again. “And if we get too much stock… the odd extra sale helps those Letaran workers to a new set of brand new wheels who could not afford one otherwise.”
“So we contribute to the betterment of the Letaran working class?” asked Fedor.
Inna nodded emphatically. “For sure we do. If not for us - and for Popas - more Letaran workers would have to take the bus or the bicycle.”
“Then we can say we are fulfilling a useful purpose over there.” Fedor seemed satisfied and allowed for another pause. “Before we move on to the state of our mission in other countries, there is of course one other topic for Letara.”
“Yes!” Inna’s face suddenly lighted up with pride. “By now, the Irena’s race car version has won twice in its class in the annual race in Letara and finished second four times. All four times it was beaten by our closest rival, Swanson.”
Fedor and the other comrade directors around the table nodded appreciatingly and applauded by knocking repeatedly on the table. “An impressive job I must say, especially comrades Yenna and Rodyn.” Fedor nodded again, and this time towards the two candidates for his own former job, Comrade Director of Engineering (CDE). Both had played an integral part in developing and testing the Irena race car. “And, of course, to our Letaran driver and mechanics, Please pass this on, would you?” He looked at Inna who nodded. “And isn’t it an interesting concept, a rivalry? As long as it doesn’t distract from the main job, that is.” He threw another glance at both Yenna and Rodyn. Neither reacted outwardly but Fedor was sure that they got the message.
Inna started again. “While our racing success certainly helped our Letaran sales in general, I think we could also sell a special model on the Letaran market. A slightly changed appearance, a bit more sporty etc. The Letaran economy is also improving, so this should help us further with that.”
Fedor leaned back, thought for a moment, and stated. “Paint job etc., is something you can do on your own, if you like. Otherwise…” - his voice got an ominous undertone - “I fear we won’t have much development capacity in the near future to change anything for the Irena production-wise due to a new special project that is to be made official soon.” He looked at everyone around the boardroom table. “I’ll let you know further details, once we have settled the question of who will succeed me as CDE…”
(to be continued in this Auto Convention post)
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Rd. 4 PREFACE: SPENDING AND LOBBYING
The Preface of Round 4 will determine the starting condition of Letara in 1975. For a summary of what happened between 1964-1974 economically and politically, see this post. In short, the country’s economy is rebounding and people are regaining hope as their spending increases. There were a few fluctuations toward the end of the time period, but the government is committed to continue to invest heavily in Letara to prop up the economy.
For those that are eligible and want to participate in the lobbying and spending mechanism, this is your chance to shape how Letara dealt with its many challenges, how its industry and infrastructure grew, and how to shape the future of the car market.
TIMELINE
Round four will span 1975-1984 inclusive.
CAR CULTURE - TAKE-AWAYS FROM 1964-1974
The overall size of the car market in Letara held steady in this decade. This round, the city segment tended to not just be small cars, but also cheap cars, with only one car breaching the premium price-tag. The city segment, naturally, gained the reputation to equal cheap. The majority of these small cars were hatchbacks, giving them a little extra practicality over the small sedans. Some cars shone, however, by showing that city cars can be quite capable too in terms of speed, handling, and even off-road! So being small doesn’t mean the car cannot be fun to own, but it does have to work just that little bit extra to overcome the ‘cheap’ stigma that this category seems to be developing.
The budget and standard family market grew quite significantly this past decade and was quite over-saturated. Many cars were quite similar and ended up stepping on each other’s toes, so even good cars were forced to share the market. There was a healthy mix of sedans and hatchbacks with no real preference for either yet. It was also between the city and family markets that the ‘hot-hatch’ phenomenon was born.
The premium family market shrunk quite a bit compared to the previous round, presumably a reaction by the car companies to the economic woes of the previous era and the disappearing middle class. But this round the middle class rebounded, and where the lower segment was over-saturated, the premium market had less choice than expected. Consumer could be quite choosy still, and those with some upward mobility started to look at the lower end of the luxury family market even.
The luxury family segment was an interesting one. The lower end of the segment is mostly what people would expect here: comfortable family sedans with a hint of luxury. But in the upper end of the segment things got a little wild with many segment-bending machines. There were sure still the overly opulent and comfortable cruisers, but there was a very significant overlap with the luxury sports segment, almost to the point that the two segments could be merged completely seamlessly. Letarans embraced this phenomenon, and would indeed expect the most expensive cars on the road not only to be driving waterbeds, but to have a little oomph too.
The sports segment lacked any true budget offerings this decade. Overall, there were a lot of cars with quite poor set-ups from the factory that required aftermarket suspension swaps, or at the least adjustments. Letarans hope that these firms hire engineers who can put safer and easier to handle cars on the road in the future. That said, there were some real gems too, and choices ranging from big boxy straight-line monsters to smaller and more nimble canyon-carvers, so everyone had their pick. Especially at the more expensive end of the spectrum, though, there were few truly dedicated sports cars; as mentioned above, most were easily cross-shopped with luxury family cars, and still left a bit of a vacuum for the real luxury sports vehicle.
On the SUV and Wagon side, the market held steady. There were still very few SUVs on the market, and two of them were mostly toys for the dirt for the rich; only one car could be said was a true SUV - emphasis on utility. As for wagons, it was a similar story as the family segment: there were no up-scale offerings on the market. In fact, none of the cars breached the premium price tag. So wagons firmly became embedded in people’s minds as capable but utilitarian family workhorses, nothing to show off with, ever.
Last, but not least, the utility market. This market segment shrunk a little and there was still not a lot of choice for Letarans. In terms of vans, there was slightly more choice than last round with a range of sizes covering the city to larger long-haul vans, but once one decided on size, that was it, that was the car you bought. Pickups were not much better off, but with an even smaller available size range. Given that nearly half of the available cars also suffered from engineering issues that needed to be fixed by the customer, it was not a happy segment to say the least. Also the loss of pickups that could serve as family vehicles left people buying older vehicles rather than look at the new ones.
COMPANY SPENDING AND LOBBYING
In total 38 people submitted consumer cars in Round 3, and are eligible for company spending and lobbying. Spending and lobbying is completely optional and not mandatory to participate in the next round.
The people in this list currently have no assembly or factory in Letara, and thus have the following options:
- Spend 10 tokens on spending items and 10 power on lobbying items; or
- Spend 6 tokens on an assembly plant for the next round, 4 tokens on spending items, and 13 power on lobbying items; or
- Spend 10 tokens on a full factory for the next round, and 16 power on lobbying items
@04mmar @abg7 @Ch_Flash @doot @Fayeding_Spray @IDK158 @karhgath @ldub0775 @lotto77 @LS_Swapped_Rx-7 @mart1n2005 @MisterRocketMan @Prium
The people in this list currently have an assembly in Letara, and thus have the following options:
- Spend 10 tokens on spending items and 10 power on lobbying items (you forfeit the assembly for next round); or
- Spend 3 tokens to maintain the assembly plant, spend the remaining 7 tokens on spending items, and spend 13 lobbying power; or
- Spend 7 tokens to upgrade to a full factory for the next round, spend the remaining 3 tokens on spending items, and 16 power on lobbying items.
@AndiD @Aruna @Banana_Soule @Elizipeazie @Happyhungryhippo @Knugcab @Maverick74 @Repti @Texaslav @TheYugo45GV
The people in this list currently have a factory in Letara, and thus have the following options:
- Spend 10 tokens on spending items and 10 power on lobbying items (you forfeit the factory for next round); or
- Spend 6 tokens on an assembly plant for the next round, 4 tokens on spending items, and 13 power on lobbying items; or
- Spend 5 tokens to maintain the factory, spend the remaining 5 tokens on spending items, and 16 lobbying power.
@admiral_obvious @ChemaTheMexican @conan @donutsnail @Edsel @FidleDo @GassTiresandOil @happyfireballman @HelloHi @Ludvig @Mikonp7 @Petakabras @Riley @SheikhMansour @TanksAreTryhards
SPENDING
Everyone on the above lists has their allocated spending tokens that you can spend in whole integers. How you allocate your tokens is up to you.
Note that the government has their own spending purse, so your spending will supplement the government’s funds. Spending items proposed by the Letaran Government include:
- Road maintenance - helps to rebuild and maintain the current road network so that roads don’t deteriorate.
- Road construction - will expand and improve the current road network. These might include paving gravel or dirt roads, continue construction on an interstate highway system.
- Supporting or expanding the current bauxite-to-aluminium processing chain
- Expanding and supporting higher education - in general, or in any of the following specialties:
- aerodynamics
- mechanical engineering
- petrochemical engineering
- materials science
- electrical engineering
- Building of improvements at the Lerance Raceway or changing the Lerance Raceway in some fashion (e.g., the planned but not built inner short track, more/less banked corners, surface changes etc.).
- Construction of a different racing venue, track or otherwise.
- Support for train infrastructure.
- Support for air infrastructure.
- Support the shipping infrastructure.
- Support for other industry - general support, or any of the following:
- Petroleum
- Coal
- Iron
- Forestry
- Agriculture
- Expand protected areas and National Parks.
- “Other” - feel free to spend on items not on this list. Provide a brief description what your company spends its tokens on and I’ll do my best to incorporate it into Letara’s lore. If you think your idea might be too far fetched, outside the scope or spirit of the challenge series, it’s best to ask; the Letaran government reserves the right to reject ideas, or they might simply fail.
LOBBYING
Depending on how you spend your tokens, you will have 10, 13, or 16 lobbying power. These can also be spent in whole integers, and it’s up to you how you wish to allocate them. You can lobby for or against individual items. Note that the government has their own ideas and direction they want to take, and some items they feel very strongly about. So lobbying outcome is not a guarantee - but your input might influence the government to make certain decisions.
Lobbying items proposed by the Government of Letara include:
- Mandate amber indicator lights on the front and rear corners of the vehicle.
- Mandate side indicator lights.
- Mandate double head lights - one regular light and one high beam.
- Mandate three brake lights on the rear of the car.
- Mandate two reversing lights.
- Mandate rearview mirror placement on doors.
- Ban a third centre headlight.
- Modify current safety regulations.
- Ban cross-ply tires.
- Implement emissions standards.
- Tighten noise regulations.
- Allow/disallow functional aero on road-legal consumer vehicles.
- Adjust and tighten speed limits on public roads.
- Change vehicle taxation; e.g.,:
- Implement displacement tax (state displacement in L or cc that would trigger the tax)
- Implement/change speed-related tax
- Implement/change safety-related tax
- Implement fuel economy tax (could be tax on inefficient vehicles or tax break for very efficient vehicles)
- Implement segment-specific taxes (e.g., extra tax on luxury vehicles, tax break for utility vehicles, etc.)
- For keeping the Lerance Raceway as Letara’s flagship racing venue (with or without changes to the lay-out).
- For alternate race location/series/type. For an alternate race series, specify:
- Alternate paved route/format.
- Alternate mixed surface/dirt race/rally event.
- Alternate dedicated track racing (specify what kind, e.g. traditional circuit, oval, drag etc.)
(OOC: I am making an executive decision now that only one race category will be available, whatever that is. Running two is 1. too much work going forward, and 2. it would guarantee a large field of cars making for more engaging races)
- “Other” - feel free to propose your own lobbying item. Same restrictions and caveats apply as for the spending tokens.
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING LOBBYING
I encourage light banter and chatter between companies in character in this thread to discuss their stance on the issues presented. But keep it civil and light-hearted please. To be clear, absolutely no threats against another person or company, real or fictional is tolerated. I trust that you will all play nice with each other.
Those people eligible for spending and lobbying, please DM me your responses in the same thread where you submitted your car. Please do not create a new thread. I WILL IGNORE NEWLY CREATED DM THREADS, IT IS TOO TIME CONSUMING TO CHASE PEOPLE.
Please submit short point-form items only. I don’t want to have to read an essay and try to decipher what you actually want. Leave the essays for your forum post, but I will not consult them - what you say in the DM is what I enter in the lobby spreadsheet. To reiterate: I WILL ONLY ENTER YOUR LOBBYING BY WHAT YOU SAY IN YOUR DM. DO NOT REFER TO A FORUM POST, DO NOT REFER TO SOMEONE ELSE’S INITIATIVE. JUST SUCCINCTLY SAY WHAT YOUR LOBBY SUBMISSION IS MEANT TO DO.
Submissions are final; I will not change your entry if you change your mind on a spending or lobby item. So think before you hit submit.
Spending and lobbying is open until 6:00 AM ET on Sunday, February 12.
28 Likes
LIBERTY'S SUCCESS
Distributed by Liberty Corp.
We Thank You
As our 1966 model lineup edges closer to the end of production, now is the time to thank all of you, our customers, for purchasing our wonderful cars. Whether you purchased the luxurious New Yorker, or the highly practical Familia, all of you made the correct decision for your car. As a thank you, anyone who has bought a Liberty from 1966 or later will recieve a coupon for your next servicing, something that you will definitely need you hopefully won’t need.
Liberty Corp. Advertising and Engineering Department, 1953
Building 420, 69th Avenue
Philidelphia, PA, USA
+1-215-xxx-xxxx
In the office (Lore)
Michael looked at his engineers that designed one of the most succesful lineups so far. “Wow, I am amazed by these sales, and I just can’t thank you enough.” He starts shaking the hands of each engineer. “All of these cars were amazing, good job to everyone! However…” As soon as that word came out of his mouth, the mood in the room changed very quickly. The engineers didn’t know what would happen next. They could end up being fired!
“There was a primary issue in all the cars produced. It looks like that you engineers were too focused on creating a unique car that you forget one very important thing: Reliability. A lot of our customers have been reporting breakdowns; we’ve had to issue many recalls, and it is starting to tarnish our reputation. I’d recommend that next time, focus on creating a car that doesn’t break down every 100 miles.” He saw the fear in the engineers’ faces. “Don’t worry. I’m not mad, just dissapointed.”
That’s not better.
6 Likes
Rhania’s Plan:
Rhania Lobbying
Corporation Health United Research Committee Help [CHURCH]
Rhania would like to introduce a new plan regarding emissions:
Since our discovery that lead[Pb] was dangerous for humans as the heavy metal would enter the lungs and cause asthma and would interfere with the brain, especially those who are still developing such as children.
Now, our concern are the tailpipe emission that are coming out of the cars that the people are driving. The health of people would be affected negatively because of the pollutants that would enter the lungs would increase the chances of asthma, bronchitis, heart attacks, and many more.
Those who are invited to CHURCH
- Capable Motors
- Canadian Motors
- Levente
- Liberty Motors
- Mara
- P&A
- Mayland Motors
- The Aero Company
- Vizzuri
- Wolfe
- Kessel
- Vaughn
- SUMA
- Vausse
- KHI
Automobiles Regarding Emissions Administration [AREA]
This new group started by Rhania was made in response to the increasing concern of emission coming out of cars. The solution that came out of this administration was simple: Incentivize car manufacturers to reduce their emissions.
A plan would be formulated to address such issue as tail emissions as they cause the following:
-
Smog, especially in denser areas of Letara
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Death of many animals ranging from insects responsible for pollination to fish that is served to fellow Letaraians. Emissions at a high would affect the wildlife and would cause issue for the Letaraians.
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An increase of pollutants leading to a harsh living environment
Those who are invited to AREA
- Capable Motors
- Canadian Motors
- Levente
- Liberty Motors
- Mara
- P&A
- Mayland Motors
- The Aero Company
- Vizzuri
- Wolfe
- Kessel
- Vaughn
- SUMA
- Vausse
- KHI
The Plan by both [CHURCH] & [AREA]
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Cars must be under 2000 emission units, unless they wish to incur a 10% tax on all their vehicles.
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Cars under 1000 emission units would receive a 5% tax cut
Rhania Spending
Rhania Spending:
Due to the lack of investment for aircraft cargo transportation last decade, we decided to invest into aerospace engineering to allow Letara to gain an economic advantage of being able to import and export goods much more faster.
Air infrastructure being invested would allow the advancement for aerodynamics and possibly other technologies along with airplanes.
The goods can be transported more effectively and people would be able to travel across continents quicker than before. The economy would improve with the increase of goods being transported and sold for a profit.
1 Like
VAUGHN REVUE LETARA
The magazine that goes out to all of you Letarans driving a Vaughn, Wraith or VCV
Winter 1974
EDITORIAL
Vaughn is one of the first manufacturers to turn down the offer to join the CHURCH and AREA programmes initiated by Rhania. This have spawned some controversy, some people even try to make it look like if Vaughn should not care about emissions or the environment. If you know your history, nothing could be further from the truth. Vaughn was one of the pioneers when it came to building engines for unleaded gasoline. Vaughn was one of the manufacturers pushing the hardest to introduce alcohol based fuels in Letara. Fact is, that without the support Vaughn has given the petrochemical research in Letara, it is doubtful if the cleaner burning E-fuels would even be available today.
But as the US based manufacturer we are, we have first hand information about how emissions regulations have caused lots of problems. Not only are many modern engines on the US market gutless and runs rough, they are also unreliable and consumes unnecessary amounts of fuel, which in itself is a less desirable thing for the environment. That is, because emissions technology is forced upon the car makers, and eventually the customers, before enough research and development has been done.
Of course, at Vaughn we spend lots of effort into making our cars run as clean as possible, but that should not be at the expense of the customer. With catalytic converters today, you get a fair amount of money added to the sticker price, for a technology that doesn’t really work, and gives you a car that’s significantly worse. We believe that in 10 years, the catalytic converter will be good and cheap enough to be added to a normal car without anyone even taking notice that it is there - but we aren’t there yet and should not be forced until the technology is ready.
Also, our research has shown one thing to us - to work properly, emissions equipment needs to be used on an engine with fuel injection. That’s not a bad thing in itself, since the technology is superior to carburetors in many ways. The drawback is that, at the moment we are writing this, we could justify the cost of fuel injection on a high end sports car like the Vaughn Torpedo, or luxury cars like the Wraith models. Adding fuel injection to an economy car like the Vaughn Firebolt or even the Vaughn Hierophant would price the cars way out of their intended customer base today. Again, in 10 years we believe that fuel injection will more or less have replaced carburetors - but we aren’t there yet.
That’s why we believe that emissions regulations should have to wait until the technology is ready for them. We’re of course not against clean air - that’s a responsibility all of us have. But we also need to build good cars and sell them to a price point, and if emissions laws aren’t written with the challenges we are facing today in mind, that will get very hard for us - and for other manufacturers, even those who pretend otherwise.
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Mont Montelin, 1973
Onlooker A: "Hey, did you hear about that new Japanese driving style?"
Onlooker B: “What, where they blow out their tires after five minutes of driving? Who hasn’t? Morons!”
[Motor is heard in the distance.]
A: “Well, I’ve heard those guys at KHI- the ones who got banned from racing because they tried to cheat aero, with the whole mirrors thing- I’ve heard they drive like that.”
B: “Oh, I believe that alright. As if it could be fast, though. Remember how they did on the old Lerance?”
[Motor draws nearer.]
A: “Well, this isn’t a track, is it?”
B: “No. Is it even legal for them to test cars here?”
[Tires squeal, and the backfiring of a motor echoes through the woods.]
A: “Guess we’ll see if that tip-off was accurate, huh?”
A & B [Together]: “Four-wheel drift!?”
…LHC4 teaser aside, I’ve made a little fun thing for the handling sports cars to judge one another unofficially! How fast can you get down Mount Modred’s twistiest, craziest roads!? Covering over eight and a half kilometers, with grades sometimes as steep as six percent, this course will put your handling to the test.
The pictured car, a KHI developmental prototype, manages a 4:44.20. What about you?
Modred Downhill.zip (525.8 KB)
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Mara goes Letara, Ep. 4-1: Back to racing basics?
Previous post (previous era)
Prelude to era 4 (carshow post, sets the stage for this ep.)
14 March 1974
Great Exhibition Hall, Lerance, Letara
Towards the end of the first day of the Auto Exhibition, Mara’s Comrade Executive Director Fedor Piechov visited the Mara exhibition stand located in a side room of the main hall. Inna Horyova, Comrade Director of Letaran Operations and Rodyn Gumprov, lead development engineer for both cars on display, approached Fedor and exchanged greetings. Fedor threw an appreciating glance at the prominently displayed Kavaler exhibition model.
The Mara stand at the Letaran Auto Exhibition
“Since I have you both here, let’s discuss whether there is anything to take care of in Letara for the next years”, said Fedor.
Inna started. “There should be no surprises for us in the ongoing public discussions and planned government initiatives. There is one manufacturer initiative to reduce engine emissions even further, but since leaded fuel is already banned, I don’t think that would have much impact on the people.”
“The only thing I could think of would be to ditch the antiquated rule that rear tail and brake lamps cannot be in the same fitting. Always annoying to have separate rear light clusters for the Letaran market”, added Rodyn.
Fedor nodded. “What about the future of racing here? I hear the current format is up for debate.”
Shaping a vision for a new racing format
Inna started. “If you ask me, racing should be more accessible and closer to what companies actually sell, not some wild fancy machines with little relation to what’s in the showrooms. By lowering the barrier for competitive entries we’ll also get larger fields.”
“So street legal cars without too many modifications or extra engineering?” asked Rodyn.
“Yes, and the format should obviously also allow us to enter a 3-door Irena in the same look as the current R2 race car.” Inna had good reasons for this argument.
“If the new course would be short and twisty, noone would not need big engines or fancy aerodynamics to be competitive.” Rodyn reminisced of his collaboration with the Aljoscha aeroplanes engineers to prepare the R2 Irena ten years ago. While this cooperation was certainly key to the string of podium finishes (and three wins) on the high speed race track, that exercise yielded little practical insights or implications for their regular products. He continued. “A mixed surface might further help to negate the advantage of excessive power. Just like on the long course on our proving grounds [BeamNG: Long race circuit on the Industrial map] where I recall that the V8 Irena interceptor a couple of years ago on cross-plies was hardly faster than the regular version and actually struggled more on the dirt parts.”
Inna added. “Prowess on loose surfaces would actually be well in-line with some of our future marketing which will be more geared towards farmers and others in rural areas where there still are dirt roads.”
Fedor stared at Inna and said only a single word with disdain. “Marketing?”
Inna shrugged. What did Fedor know of the struggles to run an operation in a free market economy? “I could also see the new racing event to be even more a spectacle for the general public where everyone can come together in one place once a year, enjoy the race together and celebrate the performance of what looks like what everyone has in there in their own driveway. Should help raise awareness also among the non-car enthusiasts. And those not liking the race can always go on the Ferris wheel or whatever.”
“Come for the event, stay for the cars?” asked Fedor.
Inna nodded. Rodyn picked up the thread. “This would mean a longer endurance event, but on a smaller circuit so that cars are passing - and lapping - each other regularly and appear frequently for all spectators. Reliability will be key here - which is something we have been good at anyway.”
“Sounds like you are talking about something like rallycross”, summarised Fedor. “There you can have a collective closely together around the venue for the duration of the entire event with lots of alternative activities on offer.”
“Of course we have to think in detail about the rules and the location, of course”, said Rodyn. “While we’re here we could check whether others at the car show like the idea as well, to build a short rallycross track inside Lerance raceway, and to propagate the introduction of a yearly big rallycross endurance event.”
Fedor nodded his curt approval.
OOC / TL;DR: Here is an idea for a rallycross extension (yellow: new tarmac, brown: new dirt, red - NOT part of this proposal: Aruna’s alternative plan for modifications to the big track - independent of the rallycross idea - as discussed on Discord and below).
The format would require low-ish budget street legal cars and emphasize handling (and off-road, to an extent) over power, aerodynamics and quality spam. See the 24 hour clunker run threads for a good inspiration for the proposed format (just with MY1975 cars). (The scale of the rallycross track is debatable, if it is a bit too short.)
If you like it, feel free to spend and or lobby for the rallycross extension (so just the yellow and brown bits) and racing format, and let me know if you have further ideas to improve the details of the racing format.
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Vizzuri’s Proposal '75
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24hr Endurance racing at a newly envisioned Lerance Raceway
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With the Letaran public embracing the spirit of racing at Lerance Raceway each year, we will be spending towards further improvements of the track as laid out below; (Red: New track segments. Blue: Change to the short track {Still unpaved})
Changes include a corkscrew downhill in the bottom left, two chicanes on the back straight as well as the unique “Knife-edge” and “Twin-90” corners in the revised top right and left.
We would like to make changes to the R1 class for 1975 onwards, the “R1 Prototypes” era:
Proposed changes to R1
R1 Class 1975-1984 “R1 Prototypes”:
- Runs on Lerance raceway full course
- Two-seater mandated
- Not required to be road-legal
- All prototypes run on Ethanol Blend E85 (108 RON) racing fuel mixture
- Minimum safety of 35
- Minimum comfort of 5
- Enclosed bodywork (Does not require a roof)
- Natural or turbocharged allowed - Turbocharged cars are allowed up to a maximum of 5.0L
- Must be fitted with a minimum of a windshield, one or more windscreen wipers, 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
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Caring for Letara, the Vizzuri way
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Vizzuri are dedicated to the growth and aid of Letara: We are officially planning to expand with a full scale car factory (yet to be located, but likely with the assembly plant inside Lerance Raceway grounds.), which will offer more jobs, and training to the Letaran people.
Alongside our spending to Lerance Raceway, we would create 15 spaces for caravans or static holiday homes to be made on-site next to the lake as a scenic getaway or residence for those with a passion for motorsport. Additional spectator stands would be built and others moved in accordance to the new track changes.
Investing towards higher education will be done again, however we shall be funding support for a new class in higher education: Electrical robotics and computing, to help advancements towards driver assistance within cars and revolutionary computing of the future.
With the government’s proposal for mandated amber indicator lights, we urge them to reconsider, and keep current regulations allowing for white glass over indicators with amber bulbs on front/side and amber or red rear/rear side.
We are saddened to announce our lack of additional spending from this has sacrificed aid to the Letaran natural disaster response departments as well as Ethanol producing farms, and would urge fellow companies to offer their spending towards them. A safer and cleaner future is in everyone’s best interest.
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We hope other car marques can collaborate with Vizzuri’s efforts for an invested Letara, with a well established and growing racing heritage, focus on safety, education and renewable environmentally friendly ethanol fuel.
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KHI on Racing
"...so while we will NOT be financially or politically supporting any racing initiatives, KHI does offer its full spiritual support of Vizzuri's proposal..."
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AN OPEN LETTER TO RHANIA FROM KESSEL
Greetings! We would like to thank you for inviting us to be a part of such a worthwhile cause. It may please you to know that we have already been testing converter systems in our new models for emissions reduction. We humbly accept your CHURCH proposal.
We will, however, remain indifferent on your AREA proposal. Our vehicles still cannot reach below 1000 ppm emissions. Also, as we are a domestic manufacturer, we’re not sure a tax rebate would help us as much as others. But the cause itself is still a noble one.
We have also read Vaughn’s response to your proposal. As an auto enthusiast, I can completely understand their position. From a business perspective, however, their decision confuses me. I’m left wondering why an American based company wouldn’t want Letara’s manufacturers to cope with the same restrictions they (presumably) ALREADY have to work with in order to legally sell their cars in the States. To each their own, I suppose. It’s not our job to pass judgement.
We would also like to submit a small proposal as it pertains to racing. We at Kessel feel there should be a minimum weight requirement added to the current racing rules, in an effort to keep the various classes more competitive. We have no set weight in mind, and we would welcome any input from manufacturers on the subject.
Cheers!
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Wolfram Press Release, 1974
With the increasing use of radial tires in Letara, we have decided to lobby for a total ban on the use of any and all types of cross-ply tires for road-legal consumer vehicles in that country, citing safety concerns. Also, the importance of aerodynamics for race cars has prompted us to lobby for allowing the use of functional aerodynamic devices on road cars, not only for aesthetic purposes, but also for improved performance.
In addition to this, we have invested heavily into the expansion of the Letaran road network, along with continued maintenance for the country’s existing roads.
We hope that our investment and lobbying leads to a better future for the people of Letara.
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Technical question: is a combined tarmac/gravel race feasible in game?
On the Modred Downhill, does the simulation account for elevation?
Modred Downhill malarkey
This section of road is often “closed momentarily for maintenance”. Reportedly this “maintenance” sounds like high-revving car engines to nearby hikers. It’s not far from Modred Resort & Casino, in which the parking lot is often occupied by several sports cars…
A box of very grainy videotape was found in the local Swanson archives in the 90s. After restoration, they revealed then-secret onboard footage of several Swanson vehicles being driven hard up and down this particular road.
Most interesting in context was the one titled “255 R2 8-3 take 2”, showing the 64-74 racecar clocking in at 4:16:09. Another one shows the '66 225PF road car at a more leisurely pace, completing the run in 4:47:22.
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In-game, no, that is not something the track simulator currently does. But I have in the past successfully simulated dirt tracks through my own excel calculator (see this ARM thread). It’s not perfect, but it served the purpose well enough. Basically for tarmac track I take the sport/drive stats ratio into account, and for dirt it’s the offroad/drive stats ratio.
Tracks can indeed simulate elevation changes, that is no issue.
It does, yes. The grade typically ranges from 2-5, but some sections go from 4-6 (particularly near the end). There is also appropriate banking on the curves.
EDIT: Also, that’s a pretty good time for a '66!! My Harrier came in at 4:47 as well, despite being an expensive mid 70s car!
Interesting. By “feasible” I also meant “not adding extra work” which would negate the switch to a single class maybe.
The 225 isn’t particularly fast by 70s standards, the downhill probably helps quite a bit. I suppose an uphill version of the track would reward powerful cars more. Alternating between up and down could then lead to quite different race results…
But I’ll return to that in character.
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Unfortunately it’s not as easy as just reversing the track- I’d have to remake the whole thing for an uphill, and that’s not likely to happen in the next few days before lobbying ends. Don’t put too much stock into that touge- running touge racing would be completely different to our racing thus far and would have very different priorities. Not sure cake wants to deal with it all- I know I wouldn’t. It’s essentially just a fun little thing for those of us who watch too much anime enjoy well-handling cars.
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