Thank you all who submitted their spending/lobbying! In the end it was a pretty good turn-out with 29 submissions. It’ll be interesting what comes out if it all.
No, I don’t think I’ll get to that. It’ll go back to regular programming with the rules/round announcement about three weeks before the round closes for submissions.
*I had already sent my spending and legislation notes to Cake, just posting the official letter now.
hey cake, hope youre doing well, just want to check in with how LHC is coming along? thx
Things are well, thanks for asking! Enjoying my summer and keeping busy with stuff outside the Automation-verse. But I am lurking, mostly keeping up to speed on some challenges threads, and also half following what’s going on on Discord too.
As for LHC, I have compiled the lobbying and spending for the next round, but haven’t done anything beyond that. Expect me back in the fall - probably sometime late September… but it’ll be a bit weather dependent too: early cold fall, and I may be back earlier, long warm fall and I’ll be back later 
thanks for the quick response! hope the rest of your summer goes well (and silently praying for an early winter lol)
In the meantime, the third iteration of the LAC spinoff is now up and running, in case someone is missing making stuff for Letara.
The Government of Letara again received a good number of lobbyists during the consultation period. As always, the Government took all opinions of car companies to heart, and invested their hard-earned money in the wisest way possible. Here is a run-down of the results:
Let’s start with what keeps a country moving: infrastructure. On the negative side of things, air and shipping infrastructure have received very little funding. Barely enough to keep them ticking over in fact. With the addition of the Montelin airport and shipping port the overall capacity of Letara has indeed grown, but will it be enough to support the growing economy of Letara? The government stepped in to aid these forms of transport, but overall there has not been much improvement this decade. Railroads on the other hand received a large influx of funds, and so has road construction and maintenance, so expect much improved ground transport options!
In terms of industry, the aluminium industry received record-breaking support. Backed by government funding, this industry will see significant growth. Other industry, including the petrochemical industry, coal industry, forestry, and agriculture received minuscule amounts of support - barely enough to keep them alive for now.
National parks and general greening of the country (specifically planting of trees around factories) has gained much attention once again. This push is applauded by the government, who have added their own funds to support these initiatives.
Education and research was once again not missed by car companies, who spend significant funds in this realm. Of particular note is the push in electrical engineering; with such great advances Letara risks being a global powerhouse in this field! Significant advances were also made in aerodynamics, petrochemical engineering, and materials science. Minor advances were supported in mechanical engineering, computer technology, and the more car-specific safety standards research. One particular company spent quite some money on a free drivers’ ed course for Letarans in their Primus Astrona car. Although the Government highly applauds the Company’s dedication to safe driving, it is not the first time this particular company pushes ‘free cars’ onto Letara. After the fiasco with the police cars the Government is apprehensive about using Primuses… but the free drivers’ ed course is certainly a welcome addition to the government program. Lastly, once company lavishly spent money on interior design education; hopefully this will result in stellar dashboards and door cards in the next decade!
One disappointing area of funding was around auto racing; the government wonders whether car companies really have the heart still in racing or not? Only two companies spend minor amounts to maintain the Lerance Raceway. No other funding was received. This means that the race track’s owners and the government have to chip in significant money to maintain and modernize the track. One small hotel seems to be going up near the Lerance racetrack (co-supported by tourism funds).
Under the tourism banner, there was some support in general to bolster the tourism industry with a small amount specifically earmarked to maintain the casino in Mont Modred. A larger sum was received to support the Lerance convention centre. The Lerance CC is rather old, however, and while it is a nice historic building, a better venue is being constructed in Corsana… but more on that later.
There were some small items under the ‘miscellaneous’ tab. The Natural Disaster Response unit received some funds; ethanol fuel stations received some support, and one company supports the national youth soccer league.
Lobbying around the exterior of cars was less heated than in previous decades. There was a mild push to reverse the third centre headlight ban. The government sees no benefit overturning this rule. Indicators also received some attention, with a small push to allow red indicators on the rear, and to allow clear glass covers on the front and rear. Neither of these were a strong push, so the government will reject the former for safety reasons. The latter was already permitted with a stipulation for orange bulbs behind the clear housing; this will remain. There was a small push against side indicators. We question the company’s dedication to safety with this lobby item. There was a mild push to mandate a third centre brake light. The government likes this idea and will implement it. There was a rather large push against the mandate to only allow rearview mirrors on doors. The government will reassess the safety constraints of allowing mirrors on other forward surfaces of cars. One company lobbied to mandate daylight running lights. The government will consider this proposal. There was a separate comprehensive ‘keep lights safety plan’ by one company, which was supported by one other company, but lobbied against by others. The government feels that the current regulations already do a good job of covering all bases and there were some items where the ‘plan’ goes too far; it will not be further considered. One company mentioned regulations around pop-up headlights, but it was not more than a side-note. The government will look into the issue of pop-up headlights.
Emissions was a hot topic this time around. There was a very significant push to mandate catalytic converters. The government strongly agrees. Some companies lobbied to set specific emissions targets, either globally or for specific market segments, others lobbied for blanket standards for all segments. The government feels that mandating catalytic converters sufficiently covers emissions, and no specific target emissions need to be contemplated at this time.
Safety standards were also strongly contested. The single-most lobbied item was to increase safety standards, with varying degrees of increase proposed. Some companies want to see category-based standards, some safety equipment based, and others want to see driver aids (e.g., ABS) mandated. The government strongly agrees that increasing safety standards is in the consumers’ best interest, and will contemplate how to best implement increased safety standards. One company lobbied to maintain safety standards, and two companies lobbied to reduce them. Neither was a strong push, however. The government reduces such reckless notions by car companies.
Aerodynamic load restrictions received minor interest from some companies, with some arguing that regulations in this area are not necessary, a few wanting to keep the current regulations, but the majority of the lobby going for a slight increase in allowed load. The government agrees that a slight increase is viable, but will have to consult with aerodynamicists to see what is physically possible with current technology, and what is safe for road use.
Noise regulations came up during lobbying too; a small number of companies lobbied against tightening noise regulations. The government will reassess the viability of noise regulations.
Speed limits received quite a bit of attention from companies. The largest push came from one company who lobbied hard to keep some segments of the highways without speed limits. There is increased traffic on all roads in Letara, and fewer stretches of ‘open highway’. The government will have to look very hard at this item before making a final decision, as it goes squarely against general safety on the roads. There was also a minor push to relax speed limits on highways. See above. A relatively large push came from two companies who lobbied for mandatory 250 km/h speed limiters on cars. This is a viable option that will be contemplated by the government. There was a very minor push against mandatory speed limiters, the lowering of speed limits, and consistent speed limits in urban areas. These were very weak lobbying voices drowned out by other lobbyists.
One company lobbied for banning all non-E-fuels. E-fuels certainly have many advantages over regular gasoline, at this time the supply is still not up to par. Also, many older cars are not compatible yet, so regular fuel needs to be ‘on the menu’ for a while to come.
Taxes. Taxes are always a big discussion item in the government, around the water cooler, and in every bar. Taxes rightfully received quite a bit of attention by lobbyists too. There was some talk around taxing unsafe cars. Not a very strong lobby, and safety standards should be enough to take care of unsafe cars. There was some lobbying around a ‘size tax’, either taxing cars that are too small, too large, or against the idea altogether. Neither side makes a very convincing case, so it will not be considered. Similarly, there was some lobbying around taxing high emissions cars. Setting other emissions requirements would be a better way to deal with the emissions issue. There was a large push to tax cars with high fuel consumption. This is something the government will contemplate. One company lobbied hard to remove taxes from car imports. One company lobbied equally hard to impose 100% import tax on cars coming from beyond our borders. These proposals would go against the economic interests of Letara and are outright rejected. (OOC: the import taxes are a hard-wired component of the main ruleset of LHC and will not be changed regardless of the amount of lobbying). One company pushed hard for a tax break on utility vehicles. This is not a terrible idea that will be contemplated. There were some voices around relaxing the luxury taxes and/or changing the trigger point for them. The government is unlikely to change the tax rate in a downward direction, but might change the trigger point. There was a very significant lobby effort to tax performance cars based on their power/weight ratio. This was an overwhelming lobby push that cannot be ignored. However, it is quite convoluted and impractical, so will not be implemented in the way it is written; its spirit is well taken though, and something along these lines will be implemented by the government. (OOC: this stat does not export, so would be quite cumbersome to implement; I’ll look for a workaround). Otherwise there were a few other smaller points raised by a few companies, and also a few quite convoluted ‘comprehensive’ proposals. None of the remaining taxation related issues require significant further consideration at this time.
Last, but certainly not least, there was lobbying related to racing in Letara. An overwhelming majority of lobbying power went into a GT-Endurance type racing format using road-legal prototype cars. This is a very attractive proposal to showcase the best of the best consumer cars might offer in Letara, and will be considered. There was also a sizable backing to keep racing at the Lerance Raceway. Despite the lack of financial backing, this is still the premiere racing venue in Letara, so it will indeed host the next decade’s racing. Some companies pushed for removing SVC limits as a rule in the racing class, and to increase the overall budget. The former goes against the spirit of the proposed new racing rules, as they cars should be attainable by the general public. The increase of budget (mildly so) will be considered. One company lobbied for additional racing rules, mostly pertaining to allowed tire size, car weight, and turbo boost limits. These points will be considered and incorporated into the ruleset where appropriate.
What a decade! To start in the far west of the country, the newly annexed Montelin area was fully integrated into Letara. The road network to Montelin was improved with a good quality asphalt road, and a new rail line connected Montelin port to the rest of Letara. The former military airport was now in civilian use, and frequented by many tourists coming into Letara.
With a continuously improving economy and a booming consumer industry, spirits were high and investments came fast and furious. The Government of Letara, in conjunction with industry, strove to expand the lucrative aluminium industry. With new exploration techniques the already abundant resource of raw bauxite near Fortune was further expanded. In a bold move the mine expanded its operations to increase production more than thrice in a decade. All this raw bauxite needed to be transported, so a new aggregate loading rail yard was constructed next to the old one, and new trains purchased.
The expanding industries needed a place to do their paperwork, so naturally they also expanded their offices. Most companies had headquarters in Letata. With the protected historic business district in downtown overflowing, new skyscrapers were constructed near the outskirts of town. Overall, the city grew its urban area, but city planners were careful to keep development away from historic areas and the nature park at the end of the peninsula.
The largest change in the country was the decision to improve the northern peninsula of Letara. Previously this flat-lying area of Letara was mostly covered by unproductive marshes and wild nature. The area was further made unappealing as it was protected by hilly terrain, making infrastructure development here difficult. A few small villages did exist here, mostly making a living from fishing and hunting. But with modern technologies this area became a lot more accessible. The Government of Letara made a bold decision to initiate development of the peninsula. With a strong push and investment from industry, it was decided to build Letara’s new aluminium production industry on this peninsula. The new industry was to be built at truly gargantual scale, dwarfing the existing aluminium industry…
This huge industrial development was supported by a large investment in infrastructure: the rail line was extended from Storia, and a modern asphalt road was constructed to connect this part of the country to the rest of Letara. This significant investment in the infrastructure allowed the free flow of goods and people between the still relatively remote northern peninsula and the Letaran ‘mainland’.
The new aluminium industry required not just a lot of infrastructure to transport goods, but also a lot of workers to keep it going. Not only was the majority of the Letaran population quite far away from the new industry, the population of Letara simply didn’t have the capacity to fill all jobs. The solution brought by the Government of Letara was two-fold. One, it invested in the construction of a new modern city, which is meant to also showcase all of the best things Letara has to offer. The city was purpose-designed with an efficient road layout, modern housing units, sporting and entertainment amenities, museums, and a brand new expo and convention centre that could house any and all major events. Last but not least, the city featured Letara’s first metro line, which provided quick transportation inside the city as well as connecting it to the new aluminium industry.
TL:DR - The economy has improved significantly during the last decade, making large investments in the country possible. The border all between Modred and the rest of Letara was demolished. The old assets in Modred - airport, shipping port, town - have proven very useful to increase Letara’s capacity for international travel and shipping. A small segment of the old wall is retained as a tourist attraction. The aluminium industry has seen very significant growth, increasing Letara’s aluminium production capacity some 500%. This increase is through the entire production chain, with a huge investment in the Fortune bauxite mine, railways to transport the raw materials, a huge industrial complex to refine the bauxite and aluminium production in the thus far undeveloped northern peninsula, and transport of final product to Storia’s shipping harbour. All of this new industry requires a lot of workers, and the village of Corasna rapidly grew to a modern metropolis. The supply of workers was aided by a relaxed immigration policy, as Letara’s own population growth was insufficient to keep up with the demand. With the large population boom in the northern peninsula that region received its own paved highway and rail line extension. Elsewhere the road and rail network also received necessary improvements. However, with all the focus on Corasna, the planned rail line to Fiegheni was put on hold. The two cities that benefited most from all this prosperity as Lerance and Corsana. Lerance expanded its highrise business district in the outskirts of town, and overall expanded the city limits as the city’s population grew. Corasna grew from a sleepy backwater village to a booming metropolis with all modern conveniences, and is the new ‘showcase’ town of the country.
See the Preface of Rd. 5 for a summary how people’s attitudes have changed in the past decade or so. In short: there was an explosion of expensive sports cars at the detriment of the cheaper segment, making true sports cars something to dream about in Letara. However, other segments moved into a sportier direction, giving rise to the small and family sports segments. The city and general family segments held steady, but the family utility segment declined in the past decade. The utility segment grew a little in the past decade, but many niches are still left unfilled.
End of part one: introduction to Letara in 1985.
In game, the second round will span from 1985 to 1995 inclusive; models from any of these years are accepted for consumer vehicles.
IRL, this round’s timetable is:
The round is now open for submissions. Entries are due by DM to me by:
Wednesday, December 20 at 10 PM EST.
Before you submit, please read the OP as well - especially those new to the series still having to register their companies and brands.
All cars imported into Letara will incur a 20% import tax. All cars assembled in Letara will incur a 10% import tax. Cars fully manufactured in Letara do not pay an import tax.
Tax incentives:
To support the aluminium industry, cars with aluminium parts will receive the following non-cumulative tax breaks/incentives: 7.5% for alu panels, 5% for partial alu panels, 5% for alu or AlSi engine block, and 3% for alu or AlSi engine head material. Cars with a speed limiter set to (or natural speed) 160.0 km/h or less will receive a 2% tax break. Utility vehicles will receive a 2% tax break (utility vehicle is defined as a vehicle used mainly for cargo or work crew transportation; companies are required to specifically apply for this tax break (i.e., you must claim this tax in the DM when you submit your cars) and final decision will rest with the Government).
Extra taxes:
To recoup some costs of these incentives, the government will impose several taxes tax with the aim to tax frivolous toys or cars that harm health and environment. There will be a 7.5% tax on the most luxurious and expensive vehicles (set at $40k pre-adjustment price - i.e., the price you see in the trim tab). Cars with a pre-adjustment price over $100k will incur a 10% tax. Cars that burn unnecessarily large quantities of fuel will be taxed: 3% for cars with a fuel consumption >9 l/100km, and 5% for cars with fuel consumption >12 l/100km. Cars that produce too much noise are typically expensive sports cars; noise levels over 50 will be taxed at 2%, and over 55 at 4%. Speed kills (and costs). Cars with a top speed over 200 km/h will incur a 2% tax; over 220 km/h is 4%; over 250 km/h is 6%, and over 280 km/h is 10%.
No other taxes in this era.
For all three categories you will have the following tech pool points:
You are allowed to have less tech pool points, but not more. If you have more, the car will be rejected by the government as a too futuristic and experimental prototype. Make sure you double-check your TP before and after exporting! In rare instances the TP resets leading to a bin.
The government stipulates that:
You may submit up to three trims of the same model (meaning all settings in the model tab need to be the same for all trims). Participation in other categories is not required. Participation with at least one car in this category this round will allow you to lobby/spend for the next round. Please name the Model of your submissions “LHC - 5C1 - <forum name>'” for the first trim, “LHC - 5C2 - <forum name>” for the second trim, and “LHC - 5C3 - <forum name>” for the third trim. (Please note the spaces between the text and dashes in the naming, it helps me tremendously if you do this diligently. The best way to export your cars is to make all three trims within the same model, and just rename the model between exporting the trims. That way you know that the model settings are all the same, and they all import correctly on my end.)
Letara is among those nations that is increasingly recognizing the struggles of mobility impaired people. Building codes are being adjusted to allow wheelchair access, social programs exist to support people who cannot afford mobility devices, braille script is making its way into daily life, and the list goes on. One area the Government of Letara is still struggling to help the mobility impaired is public transportation. Sure, buses are retrofitted to allow easier access, but the bus routes do not go everywhere. A dedicated fleet of smaller transport vehicles is needed to provide custom transport for those who cannot afford their own customized vehicles, or lack drivers. Therefore, the Government of Letara is putting out its Request for Proposals for a new fleet of mobility impaired transportation vehicles. The proposals must have the following criteria:
You may submit one vehicle in this category. Participation in other categories is not required. Please name the Model of your submission “LHC - 5G - <forum name>”.
The rally-cross era at the Lerance Raceway came to a close with some spectacular racing. But as the funds dried up and there was a lack of fresh investors in the series, it was time to shut down the Raceway once more and contemplate its future in motor racing. With the limited funds available it would take several years to redesign, renovate, and rebuild the racetrack. The owners decided that maintaining the dirt section of the track was too costly, so the main focus was on the long tarmac track. About half of of the track was in good shape, but the other half was in dire straits. After much back and forth, a final design was settled on: the old sweeping corners made way for more modern twists and turns, and the old ‘speedway’ along the Lerance highway was broken up by two chicanes. The old banked ‘spiral of eternity’ was retained, however, and reinforced with more banking. All these changes are anticipated to make for better racing and increase the overall safety of the track. Of course all these changes took a few years to complete; after a short hiatus, racing will resume at the Lerance Raceway in 1989 for the 30th anniversary race at the venue!
And what a race it will be! A new race format was introduced to showcase what could be achieved with street-legal and relatively affordable cars. Therefore the rules stipulated that cars must be street legal (with a few tweaks to allow for better racing) and in a price category that is financially attainable for a large portion of the population. To keep weight down, some creature comforts may be removed, but otherwise the cars should be as stock as possible.
Race regulations:
A leaderboard for each year of racing will be simulated. Track times are simulated with RNGs, but reliability, comfort, sportiness and drivability stats do help.
Last but not least, I will be participating in this event as well, so you get to “race” yours truly. I will post a proper car showcase in the thread.
You may submit one vehicle in this category. Participation in other categories is not required. Please name the Model of your submission “LHC - 5R - <forum name>”.
The updated track:
Change log:
does non-cumulative in this context mean that only the highest valid aluminum tax break is applied?
so a car using full alu panels and an AlSi head gets just the 7.5% panel advantage?
No, it means that they are all calculated at once, not sequentially. Meaning: if you have two taxes apply on a 100k vehicle (say both at 5%), then you pay 5% of 100k twice (i.e., 5k+5k=10k in taxes), rather than 5k+ 5% of 105k= 5k+5.25k=10.25k in taxes.
Can I enter a Mobility Impaired Transport vehicle and normal consumer-market one?
(derp; did read, forgot that detail)
You answered this in Discord but it should be here as it’s in public interest: side markers and indicators are allowed to be the same fixture, provided it fulfills both functions.
From the OP (for all new participants, please please read the OP and all supporting materials so you know how it all works):
Does anyone know how much Ellisbury will nuke existing cars yet? I can deal with retuning engines, but hope there isn’t a bunch of material resets and LUA errors.
So since race cars are street-legal, we’re going to have to deal with mandatory ABS and three-way cats? In that case, a budget increase to what, around 45000 would be useful.
I think a lot of it is engine changes and also transmissions too.
Yes, race cars also have to deal with the mandatory ABS and 3-way cats. I’ll look into the price thing when the update drops as I’m not exactly sure yet how that will be affected by the update. What I will say is that it will still be linked to the first tier of ‘luxury’ tax cutoff.
Another question, if the update come out and it’s completely broken (which it will be) will the submission period be extended a little bit?
Yes, the dates are tentative. We all understand that updates can and will break some things and patches may take a little while. If there are game-breaking issues, then there will be more time given and you can see it as extra time to fine-tune everything 
I thought they had to be red - the NHTSA started mandating red rear side markers for all US-market cars in the late 60s if I’m not mistaken.
This isn’t the us though is it?
I’m sure the rear side markers were red in previous rounds though. I assume it’s either a copy/paste error or blinking repeaters at both ends are a safety feature
