Rd. 1 RESULTS
Chapter 8: “Passenger transport” - part 2
1948
After eliminating eight vehicles from consideration, the evaluation office set out to review the remaining eight vehicles under consideration:
Left to right, back row:
Left to right, front row: Stellar, Matsushita, Vizzuri, Mara, Cataphract.
Wolfe: The Wolfe brand with its distinct look is a well-known sight on Letaran streets. So as such, this car might just blend in nicely, even though it might get a few looks, since the wagon trim is not commercially available. Price-wise, the Wolfe Special Six Wagon is reasonable - not the cheapest by any means, but in the lower end of the spectrum. Upkeep, too, is quite reasonable in the long run. It has barely acceptable comfort, but is sufficiently easy to drive, has very good off-road chops, and overall is a solid car without any major flaws. The fuel system is tuned safe, so even a batch of bad fuel out in the country won’t affect its performance. Extra thick steel panels and good build quality make this a very appealing car. On top of that, it has good speed and decent handling. For these reasons, the Wolfe will be sent up for further consideration.
Kessel: The Kessel K20 proposal strikes us right away with its properly clever - brilliant even - camouflage. Disguising the ‘special bus’ as a regular Fronaco Secco delivery van is perhaps the best proposal we’ve seen so far! Looking past the skin, let’s see what this one has to offer. It is on the slightly more expensive side both in terms of upfront cost and long term maintenance. Not egregiously so, but we could buy cheaper. It is a fairly comfortable ban, very easy to drive, very practical, very safe, has good build quality, and an engine that puts it almost exactly on par with the Wolfe performance wise. The build quality seems very nice too, providing some extra protection for the drivers and passengers. So what is there not to like? There is that nagging problem of a relatively high price. But nevertheless, we’d be amiss no to send this up for further evaluation.
Liberty: Next up is the Libery “Merchant” bus. It domes in factory-standard colours matching other Libery vehicles on the road. This is a rather expensive proposition, both to buy and especially to maintain. Actually, it has one of the worst fuel economies of all proposals. For this price it is quite comfortable, one of the more comfortable proposals in fact. Safety is good, and performance is acceptable. The steel panels are good to have again. Where this proposal really falters is an abysmal off-road capability - this is really only designed for paved surface driving, and as such has very limited use as a government special transport bus. So combined with the high costs associated with the Liberty, it will not be further considered.
Stellar: The Stellar Troopy is one of the cheaper (but not cheapest) proposals, so it is immediately quite intriguing. It especially excels with a very affordable long-term upkeep. It does have steel panels, but despite this it immediately stands out as having one of the lowest safety rating of all proposals. Comfort is acceptable, it is very easy to drive - one of the best in fact - has decent reliability, and its octane requirement is tuned to a very safe level. Performance is a little lacklustre, however, even if cornering is quite good. Overall though, it just doesn’t quite shine in the areas that really matter, and thus it will not be further considered.
Mitsushita: The Matsushita Masterbox Panelvan is a strong showing overall. It’s price is about the average here, but upkeep is just a little over the average mark. Comfort is acceptable, it is pretty easy to drive, safety is quite good in fact with extra attention to detail in this aspect of the car, the steel panels and overall extra build quality make the car feel sturdy, and offroad is quite good too. Performance again is right about on par with the Wolfe and Kessel. Yes, overall this is a very strong proposal, and will be sent up for further consideration.
Vizzuri: The Vizzurin also comes in company-standard blue, just like the Liberty. It costs nearly as much upfront as the Minerva, but is at least more reasonable to maintain - on par with the Mitsushita. Let’s start with the good on this car. Well, it has really good offroad capabilities, is decently easy to drive, and has decent reliability. But here is about where the good stuff ends unfortunately. Its aluminium panels aren’t confidence inspiring, its performance is quite lacklustre (surprising for a Vizzuri), and it is simply too uncomfortable to be of any use on longer trips. The government would be paying doctor’s bills to correct every driver and guard’s spines! For these reasons the Vizzuri will not be considered further.
Mara: The Mara Visim 2.5 is the cheapest proposal submitted both in upfront and long term costs. In fact, it undercuts the competition by quite some margin. Its maintenance costs especially are paltry compared to the others, but fuel economy is very good too. Despite the engine being tuned to low-quality fuel - something not really necessary in Letara - the car’s performance is still acceptable. Not good, but just enough . Comfort is really bad indeed, making us think of future doctor’s bills - but not quite as bad as the Vizzuri. This would need some cost-benefit analysis… Other than this, the car is quite practical, has just about acceptable offroad capability, and is very easy to drive indeed. The extra thick steel panels feel very sturdy and safe. So while on paper not necessary a top pick, it has just enough strong points on offer, and we cannot overlook the bargain price tag on the Mara; so even though only three proposals were requested at the top security office, we still include the Mara in the evaluation package further consideration.
Cataphract. Subtle is not really a word you’d use to describe the bright yellow Cataphract Immortal. Cheap is also note how it could be described. It is the most expensive on offer by a long shot (in fact you could buy two Wolfes or nearly 2.5 Maras for one Cataphract)! Upkeep is similarly very expensive, head and shoulders more than the rest (ok, the Kolondra was nearly just as bad, but that one didn’t even get past initial scrutineering). In any case, for all this expense, the car offers decent drivability, just acceptable comfort, excellent off-road capability (the best in the entire field in fact), and good reliability. The engine is weirdly tuned to 82 octane, however, which leaves us scratching our heads a little bit. Performance is good despite this, and the car corners well too. Lastly, the aluminium panels are just too soft for the intended purpose of the vehicle. So overall, the over-the-top costs associated with this proposal are not justified, and thus the Cataphract will not be considered further.
Stay tuned for the final decision between the Kessel, Mara, Mitsushita, and Wolfe.
…to be continued…
