The Downfall of Iron, Part 3
Background
DCMW’s origins are explained here.
By the late 80s, DCMW’s original lineup of luxury and more luxury had ballooned into everything from $10k commuter cars, $300k+ limos, 400kph+ hypercars, everyday hatchbacks, offroaders, delivery vans, pickup trucks, and more. Some were “also rans”, some were bread and butter that formed the bulk of sales, and others were halo masterpieces representing the core of DCMW’s strengths. Import limitations meant that not even a representative half could be deployed, so long and careful consideration resulted in a decision to showcase the top priorities: 1. interiors, via a luxury premium sedan of the highest caliber, 2. performance, via a Muscle-tuned Personal Luxury Wagon, a concept invented (or at least named) by DCMW, and 3. comfort and everyday practicality of a family wagon in the Premium or lower Luxury categories.
However, several ill-timed misfortunes conspired to botch the showcase. The steel shortage resulting from Archana’s ongoing government collapse was just beginning to affect vehicle production, and was in part to blame for the unavailability of the family wagon. Instead, car No.3 was a sedan like No.1, albeit in a more accessible price category. While waiting loading onto a transport ship, a major theft incident at the Al Rilma dockyards resulted in car No.2’s interior being partially stripped, along with trim-specific grill, badging, and other exterior details that had to be hastily replaced by those of a different trim line. What ended up arriving in Letara was roughly 2/3 of what DCMW intended to be its showcase.
Quick guide to DCMW nomenclature:
Models are given names, and are normally referred to by (Name) (Trim level), with an optional cylinder count, and in cases of a special tune, its letter.
Trim levels (price ranges are very approximate, and vary by era and market):
Special - <$25k, no side strakes
Standard - $25-40k, one dividing strake in the vent(s) behind the front wheels
Superiority - $40-100k, two strakes
Supremacy - >$100k, three strakes
Vent count is a (very approximate) indication of engine power:
No vents - <200hp
One vent - 200-400hp
Two vents - 400-600hp
Three vents - 600-1000hp
Four vents - >1000hp
Special tunes. All are relative to the model’s baseline:
M - Muscle. Emphasis on straight-line performance with adequate handling.
S - Sport. Emphasis on handling performance with adequate or better straight-line, and reasonable street use.
R - Race. May or may not be street-legal, but even if it is, you wouldn’t want to for very long.
X - Cross-country. Big AT or MT tires, intended for at least soft-roading (in the context of cars) or hardcore off-road use (in the context of trucks and offroader models).
Most combinations are available for most models.
- 1990 DCMW Marqaba Supremacy. The cost-no-object pinnacle of comfort and prestige.
Details
The Marqaba nameplate was one of DCMW’s first, representing a mainstream large sedan. Shown here wearing Sapphiric Abyss paint and the Infernal Boudoir interior package, the Marqaba Supremacy is one of the few DCMW with an automatic transmission, reflecting the intended buyer as someone who prefers to be driven as they repose, coccooned in the finest accommodations.
Heated, cooled, reclining and massaging seats with power rear and manual side curtains. Picnic tables, vanity mirrors, individual lighting for each seat. Silk headliner with a subtle damask print.
Four-zone climate control. In the front, the best CD sound system money could buy. In the back, another of same. An in-console refrigerator, on its lid a handmade gothic cathedral rose window mosaic of flame maple, teak, walnut, blue abalone, and desert ironwood. A handmade Vanden Weelderigplas clock (thanks, @shibusu ), itself costing as much as a smaller family car, front and center.
Lower wood trim is Macassar ebony, upper is French walnut burl, both tung-oiled by hand. Genuine wool main carpet, silk place rugs on top of that. Seats are trimmed in silk velvet and bison hide.
A turbocharged 6.0L V12 was tuned to provide an optimum between speed and comfort. Careful acoustic tuning resulted in engine loudness of just 20.4 and smoothness of 90.0 - a forged steel fist wearing a velvet glove. Far from the reckless excess of previous decades, economy and emissions were among the priorities: the car passes WES7 and consumes 11.9L/100km - hardly an economy car, to be sure, but for 1779kg powered by a 528hp V12 through an automatic all-wheel-drivetrain, something of a feat.
Pricing on request. Additional trim level options:
- Standard (Six) (see below)
- Standard (Six) S
- Special
- Standard Twelve M
- Superiority Six
- Superiority Six S
- Superiority Twelve
- Superiority Twelve M
- Supremacy (Twelve) M
- 1990 DCMW Sharriallat Superiority M. The ultimate roadtrip supercar.
Details
While the simplest explanation for a Personal Luxury Wagon (PLW) is a Personal Luxury Coupe (PLC) with extra cargo room, the concept was an independent development. The Business Coupe was a popular body style in the 1920s-1940s, a car intended for traveling salespeople and similar professions who needed substantial cargo room, and not much passenger room, but good ride comfort for long-distance trips. The groundbreaking 1947 DCMW Sharriallat featured a conceptually simple change that had important implications - the cargo and passenger areas were integrated, repurposing existing space hitherto reserved for cargo, and making it available for passenger use. This extended the vehicle’s role from mere transportation to being a mobile shelter, making it instantly popular for long road trips, and with the advent of 4wd versions, for cross-country expeditions as well.
The 1959 Sharriallat exemplifies the type:
In its home market, the Sharriallat is typically sold with all-terrain tires, underbody armor, a two-speed transfer case, and manually-locking differentials. For DCMW’s Letaran debut, it was instead decided to showcase the company’s prowess for civilized on-pavement performance, so they sent a special version, a modern Luxury Muscle Car - the Sharriallat Superiority M.
With its naturally-aspirated 6.0L V12 making 687hp, performance is as expected: 0-100 in 2.9 seconds, 80-120 in 1.98, 1/4 mile drag in 10.98 and 1km in 19.65, top speed 328kph. Everyday useability may however be surprising: WES7, 11.0L/100km using RON91 pump gas. While not meant to compete with single-minded hypercars, the Sharriallat Superiority M lives up to its trim name in embodying a superior blend of performance and comfort. A record-breaking hypercar may be what you’d like to brag as having driven, but this is the car you’ll want to actually drive, long and often.
The Superiority M is priced about 88k depending on exact exchange rate. Other trims available:
- Standard (Six)
- Standard (Six) S
- Standard (Six) X
- Standard Twelve M
- Superiority Six
- Superiority Six S
- Superiority Six X
- Superiority Twelve
- Superiority Twelve S
- Superiority Twelve X
- Supremacy (Twelve)
- Supremacy (Twelve) S
- Supremacy (Twelve) M
- Supremacy (Twelve) X
- 1990 DCMW Marqaba Standard. Setting a new standard for all-around competence in the <$40k Premium segment.
Details
Not everyone wants or can afford a motorcade-worthy palace on wheels. A more normally-equipped and normally-priced variant, typically outselling its fancier stablemates by orders of magnitude, is one of several powered by DCMW’s secondary engine specialty - flat-six, in this case a 4.0 making 251hp. The powertrain features DCMW’s proprietary Integrated Front Axle, saving weight and space, in the latter case enough for the layout to be considered an FM4 or FMA.
