Nassau Motor Company - 2nd Gen 900 Revealed!

[MAG]

July 14, 1972 - Robert Gaul has just received his copy of the August 1972 issue of EngineFad magazine. He calls his trusted advisers into his office because there is a lot to digest here.

The cover story features the new 1974 Whitaker Astro. Whitaker is Gasmea’s biggest auto manufacturer but up until this point, they have been unable to build a competent small car. They dominate the full size market and build the most sought after muscle cars, but haven’t been able to penetrate the compact market. EngineFad believes the futuristic looking Astro can change that.

A company that can build a competent small car is Blake. The 1973 Blake 2500 replaces the 2000 as their compact entry. Blake was formed in 1955 by Peter Blake…3 years after he was fired from Nassau by Donald Gaul. Blake has turned into one of our biggest competitors in Fruinia and the 2500 receives rave reviews.

The big news from Albright Motors Corporation is that they have purchased Atlas Inc., makers of off-road utility vehicles. Albright is Gasmea’s 4th largest automaker.

Two stories here are of huge interest to Nassau. The first relates to the Raider. Yes, engineering work has begun on the second generation car, and it may be considerably different than our current offering. However, we completely refute the fact that the Raider is in any kind of danger.

The big story this issue relates to the current oil crisis and fuel regulations.

EngineFad’s insiders with access to the Fruinian Parliament have leaked information that a switch to unleaded gasoline will begin at the end of 1973, with unleaded being fully mandated by 1978. This means a complete ban on leaded fuel. This is not good for Nassau, as Fruinia is our home and primary market and all of our engines are designed to run with leaded fuel.

Robert consults with his advisers to see what the company can do about this. The easiest solutions would be to retrofit our engines, all of which date back to the early 1960s to run on unleaded gas. We would sacrifice power and reliability to make this happen. Another solution would be to develop new engines, which would be extremely costly. Finally, we could simply leave the Fruinian market altogether and focus on Gasmea and Archana.

Robert immediately throws the final option out. Once Fruinia goes unleaded, his opinion is that the remainder of the world will eventually follow. After some thought, he decides that by 1978, all Nassau vehicles will run on unleaded fuel. The second generation Raider, which is currently in development, will be the final Nassau to run on leaded gas. Our engines will be retrofitted for any future products for the time being to run unleaded, but any new engines that go into development will be built from the ground up to run on unleaded.

[MAG]

January 2, 1973 - New Year’s Day may have come and gone, but the Nassau Motor Company is still popping champagne bottles. 1972 was a big step for us as we march toward our goal of becoming one of the world’s pre-eminent car manufacturers.

Fruinian Touring Car Championship
1972 saw our race engineers put everything they had into our _Bahama NP_s and they were rewarded with our second championship. Some say it’s our first “real” championship, as it was won without a car that completely decimated the competition. However, there are still 2 trophies at our headquarters and you can’t argue with that.

FTCC Final Standings:
1st - Justin Cochran (Nassau Performance) - 6 victories
4th - Austin Myers (Segelson Motorsports) - 2 victories
5th - Claudio Castagnoli (Nassau Performance) - 1 victory
13th - Alan James (Segelson Motorsports)

Trans-Gasmean Racing Series
Everything came up Nassau this year across the pond as well. Our 1972 _Raider NP_s were dialed in perfectly all season and we came away with our first championship in the series.

Trans-Gas Final Standings:
1st - Dan Limon (Nassau Performance) - 5 victories
3rd - Kyle Stephens (Nassau Performance) - 2 victories
6th - Marc Martin (Allroad Motorsport)
9th - Nick Grant (Allroad Motorsport)

1972 saw us bring in profits of $280 million on $4.6 billion in revenue. This is fantastic as we’re going to need plenty of cashflow to convert our lineup to run on unleaded fuel.

The shaky situation in Potamia is really hurting the auto industry. With all of the uncertainty around oil production as well as new fuel regulations the economy remains stagnant. We’re also hearing word of possible emissions regulations. Things could possibly get much worse before they get better.

But with that being said, things are pretty good for Nassau right now. Gasmea has officially overtaken Fruinia as our largest market. We sold 434,343 cars this year, nearly double our total from just 2 years ago. 189,449 of those came in our home market compared to 218,106 in Gasmea. Future car development may reflect this, as Gasmea could become our target demographic.

As you can see from our 5 year chart, we’d pretty much peaked in Fruinia as far as sales go, with 1968 and 1969 pretty much mirroring each other. Things changed pretty abruptly in 1970 as sales skyrocketed. Clearly we weren’t equipped to handle such a rapid jump as we ran into production issues midway through the year. Once we ironed those out and got our new models up and running, it’s been a steady climb since then.

Sales of each one of our 1972 B-body cars were up from the previous year, as we sold 323,915 units across 5 model lines. These are the bread and butter of our lineup.

The 1972 Arabia S sold 184,178 units, jumping up over 28k from the previous year.

The Arabia SE was relatively flat, as our customers seem to be opting for the cheaper, lower trim leveled car. We sold 60,870.

The Regent has been the low-key star of the 2nd generation B-bodies. Gasmea can’t get enough of them and Fruinia has really warmed up to the 2nd generation of the car. We sold 64,288 1972 models, up 7k from last year.

The 1972 Bahama remained flat this year, pulling in 13,853 sales, up just 257 units from 1971.

All 726 Bahama NP coupes produced this year were sold.

The 1972 Raider saw sales jumps across the board as we’ve now gotten all production issues ironed out. The coupe market has finally had a chance to settle a little bit after so many introductions in the last few years. We sold 61,832 in total.

10,413 of those were the Raider S, up 3k from last year, with the biggest gains coming in Gasmea.

The mid-range Raider SE saw a sales jump of 5k units to a total sold of 22,530.

The top of the line Raider NP was up nearly 6k, selling 28,889 cars.

Our full size D-body Galleon lineup saw gains across all model lines as well. Across all three models, we sold 48,596 cars.

The base model Galleon S improved by 2k units, to 12,449.

The Galleon SE, our company’s flagship sedan saw gains of over 3k, selling 13,317 units.

The Galleon Brougham has been a surprise to everyone at Nassau. We expected both sedans to outsell our full-size coupe, especially when you consider that we have 5 other coupes on the market. However, the Brougham is by far our best selling D-body, coming in at 22,830 sold. In fact, it’s our second best selling coupe, coming in just 300 units behind the Raider NP.

1972 Model Breakdown
184,178 - Arabia S (+18%)
64,288 - Regent (+13%)
60,870 - Arabia SE (+2%)
28,889 - Raider NP (+25%)
22,830 - Galleon Brougham (+23%)
22,530 - Raider SE (+29%)
13,853 - Bahama (+2%)
13,317 - Galleon SE (+31%)
12,449 - Galleon S (+23%)
10,413 - Raider S (+40%)
726 - Bahama NP (+9%)

[abg7]

Even with an oil crisis on the horizon and unleaded fuel soon to be mandated, the future looks bright for Nassau!

[MAG]

February 13, 1973 - Welcome to the 1973 Fruinian International Motor Show. Yes, there has been a slight name change this year. This will distinguish this show from the many others on the calendar.

At Nassau Motor Company, we’ve seen an explosion in the sales of our small coupe models. However, with new fuel regulations for mileage beginning to be discussed we felt it was time to take a long hard look at our current offerings. We gave our engineers a huge task, replacing 5 different models. Not only did we want our new cars to be more efficient, but we wanted each model to distinguish itself from the others, as there is quite a bit of overlap between our current offerings.

That being said, let’s get started. We’d like to present to you, the 1974 Nassau Bahama SE hatchback!

The Bahama SE will replace the current Bahama and Bahama NP coupes, making 1973 the last year for those models. Style and efficiency are the name of the game, as the new model is smaller than the previous coupe.

The 1974 Bahama SE seats 5 in a well appointed cloth interior and features an AM radio.

Riding a 94" wheelbase, which is 11" shorter than the coupe and dropping 50 pounds from the previous car, the 1974 Bahama SE returns an impressive 16.2mpg, up from 13.3 in the coupe.

This is thanks in part to Nassau’s new B25-6M inline 6 engine. This new motor features a cast iron block with an aluminum head in the interest of weight savings. In fact, the new engine is 10% lighter than the A series inline 6. The new engine puts out a respectable 123hp and 140 ft-lbs of torque. Please note that the B25-6M will require leaded gasoline.

For the hip young single person in the city or the young couple just starting out, we present the 1974 Nassau Bahama S. This 2 seater version of our hatchback features an upgraded leather interior with a Hi-Fi AM radio. Underneath, the car features the same inline 6 engine and 3 speed Glide-O-Matic automatic transmission.

Both Bahama hatchbacks were developed primarily for the Fruinian market, but will be on sale worldwide.

But we’ve also been cooking up something for Gasmea. With the popular Raider beginning to show its age, we’ve gone back to the drawing board and come up with this. Presenting, the 1974 Nassau Raider SE!

Riding on the same 94" wheelbase as the Bahama hatchback, the new Raider SE’s wheelbase is 14" shorter than the outgoing model. Downsizing the car has allowed for tremendous weight savings as we’ve cut out over 900 pounds for the new car. This makes the Raider SE our most efficient car since our original Metropolitan, returning 17.5mpg. The original Metropolitan returned 28.2mpg, though it only weight 1,664 pounds and was powered by a 53hp 4 cylinder.

We’ve combined the S and SE trims into a single model for the 2nd generation Raider. The base engine will be the 2.5L I6 found in the Bahama. Instead of the 3 speed automatic, the Raider comes standard with a 4 speed manual transmission;

Inside, the Raider SE features a standard 4 seat cloth interior and outside features 4 wheel disc brakes.

But, if it weren’t for the top of the line Raider NP, there may not be a Raider at all. So we’ve decided to continue the tradition with the 1974 Nassau Raider NP!

The 1974 Raider NP continues the traditions started by the first generation model. Up front, you get a special front valance featuring fog lights. Front fender vents are standard as well as a rear Go-Wing and the PowerBulge hood. However, all of those go fast bits are meaningless if the car can’t perform. That’s why we’ve ditched the standard I6 for the top of the line car and instead dropped in this.

Say hello to the Nassau B50-8P V8 engine. We’ve added aluminum heads to our standard V8 engine and in the process decreased weight by 80 pounds. We’ve also added a SixShooter, 3 2 barrel carb setup for increased peformance. The new engine puts out 231hp and 292 ft-lbs of torque. Please note that the B50-8P will require leaded gasoline.

Inside the 1974 Raider NP, you’ll find our special “Rallye” interior featuring 2 seats and a 4 speed manual transmission.

The Raider coupes were developed specifically for Gasmea, but will be on sale worldwide. Pricing will be announced at a later date.

As far as motorsports goes, the Raider NP will take over as our entry into the Trans-Gas Racing Series. Because of the ban on V8 engines, the Raider SE will be run in the Fruinian Touring Car Championship.

So that about wraps things up here. So long from the 1973 Fruinian International Motor Show.

[MAG]

January 3, 1974 - We have announced pricing for all 1974 Nassau models.

1974 Bahama SE - $10,174
1974 Bahama S - $11,032
1974 Raider SE - $10,227
1974 Raider NP - $13,774

1974 Arabia S - $8,905
1974 Arabia SE - $11,068
1974 Regent - $8,926

1974 Galleon S - $11,103
1974 Galleon SE - $14,987
1974 Galleon Brougham - $15,667

Fruinian Touring Car Championship
1973 would be the final year for the B-body Bahama NP as our entrant into the FTCC and our teams were adamant that it go out with a bang. They worked hard all season and managed to bring home our 3rd championship in a close battle with Tom Prichard in his Blake B2500. Next year, the Raider SE takes over as our entry.

FTCC Final Standings:
1st - Justin Cochran (Nassau Performance) - 5 victories
3rd - Claudio Castagnoli (Nassau Performance) - 3 victories
5th - Austin Myers (Segelson Motorsports) - 1 victory
9th - Alan James (Segelson Motorsports)

Tran-Gasmean Racing Series
The 1973 Raider NP again proved to be unstoppable, taking home its second straight title. We hope the new Raider NP next year can pick up where this car left off.

Trans-Gas Final Standings:
1st - Dan Limon (Nassau Performance) - 7 victories
2nd - Kyle Stephens (Nassau Performance) - 3 victories
4th - Marc Martin (Allroad Motorsport) - 1 victory
8th - Nick Grant (Allroad Motorsport)

Now that all of that is out of the way, let’s take a look back at 1973.

This year we made a profit of $123 millon on $4.6 billion in sales. Big issues this year were keeping up with demand for the Raider as well as trying to manage inventory levels of our B-body cars and our D-body Galleon, which saw a big increase in demand.

As the economy continues to struggle, demand for cheap cars has been steadily increasing. This depression started around 1953 but really began to bottom out in 1966. Eventually this has to turn around, right?

Given everything we dealt with this year, we managed to outsell 1972 by 3,000 cars, with a total of 437,748. Sales in Gasmea rose by around 20k, but sales in Fruinia dropped about 15k. Archanan sales remained relatively flat.

As you can see, we spent most of the year ahead of last year’s numbers, but dipped in August. A stronger December brought us back above last year’s sales total.

All but one of our B-bodies outsold the previous year’s model. In total we sold 333,481 across all 5 lines, up 10k from last year.

The 1973 Arabia S came in at 196,226 units. This was the best sales year ever by one of our cars, breaking its own record. This also put total sales of the Arabia S across both generations over 1 million vehicles.

The 1973 Arabia SE saw a significant drop this year, down to 40,246, off 20k from last year. People just don’t have the money to splurge on the fancier car.

The Regent continued to outperform all expectations in 1973, selling 78,748 units. We at Nassau are truly amazed at how well the 2nd generation wagon has been received.

The final year of the B-body Bahama coupe before it moves to our new A-body chassis saw a sales increase as well. The 1973 model sold 17,528 units.

All 733 _Bahama NP_s produced were sold.

Sales were down for the final year of the C-body Raider. We produced them as fast as we could sell them, but production ended in September for factory re-tooling. We sold 40,909 _Raider_s in total.

The Raider S saw a sales drop down to 8,111 cars.

The mid-range Raider SE came in with a final tally of 16,238 sales.

The top of the line Raider NP sold 16,560 cars in the final year of the 1st generation.

The full size D-body Galleon saw a healthy increase in sales, especially with the base model Galleon S. 63,358 D-bodies left dealer lots this year.

The Galleon S more than doubled sales from the previous year, selling 25,776 cars.

Sales of the upscale Galleon SE dropped slightly, as again, people just don’t have the money to spend. We sold 11,729 of them.

The poor market doesn’t seem to be affecting the Galleon Brougham though. Our full size coupe is continuing to see strong sales, coming in with 25,853 this year.

1973 Model Breakdown
196,226 - Arabia S (+6%)
78,748 - Regent (+22%)
40,246 - Arabia SE (-34%)
25,853 - Galleon Brougham (+13%)
25,776 - Galleon S (+107%)
17,528 - Bahama (+27%)
16,560 - Raider NP (-43%)
16,238 - Raider SE (-28%)
11,729 - Galleon SE (-12%)
8,111 - Raider S (-22%)
733 - Bahama NP (+1%)

[MAG]

January 5, 1975 - A crisis is looming. Robert Gaul has returned from the Fruinian capital where he attended a meeting with government officials as well as the heads of all Fruinian automakers. In fact, the heads of most of Gasmea’s auto industry were in attendance as well. The oil situation in Potamia has the southern provinces of Archana on the brink of war. The price of oil is rising drastically. The costs, supply shortages, and lines at the pumps are causing customers all over the world to demand more fuel efficient cars. In response to the impending oil crisis, the government will soon be mandating fuel efficiency standards. As to when that will occur, no timetable was given but we at Nassau expect it to occur by 1980.

That taken on its own isn’t a problem for us at Nassau. We’ve already begun work on increasing the fuel economy of our cars through downsizing and weight reduction. Our new Bahama hatchbacks and Raider coupes are evidence of that. However, there was a part two of this meeting.

Emissions standards are coming. The days of high compression, high powered muscle cars are drawing to a close. Fruinia has officially announced a ban on leaded fuels starting in 1978. Gasmean officials at the meeting said the restrictions won’t come as quickly across the pond. Unleaded gasoline will be introduced into the market this year and leaded fuel will be phased out slowly until a complete ban in 1982. Archanan officials did not attend, so we aren’t sure what’s going on behind the Iron Curtain.

This is what puts us at Nassau in a bit of a predicament. We’ve built our reputation, mostly in Gasmea but a bit in Fruinia, on high powered, high performance large cars. Yes, our small B-bodies are our top sellers, but in reality they aren’t the most efficient vehicles.

Our R&D team has been testing our engines with unleaded fuel and some of the new emissions equipment that the government is planning to mandate and the results have not been good. Our engines are down huge on power and reliability is almost laughable. Hopefully we can make some progress before 1978.

We have now begun work on follow ups to the B and D body cars with the expectations that they will meet all Fruinian government standards in place by 1978.

That brings us to our new A-body cars. Downsizing our Bahama and Raider tremendously increased efficiency, but at the cost of some power and some reliability. Reviews have been decent and the Bahama has actually been outperforming expectations, but these cars are now “lame ducks”. Fans of the original Raider aren’t taking to the new smaller and slightly less powerful second generation. The fact that they were engineered to run on leaded gasoline means they’ll have to be re-worked by 1978 and we’re not entirely sure if it’s worth the cost to keep both cars around.

But that’s all the doom and gloom for now. Once we get word on what kind of economy standards will be in place, we’ll pass that info along.

Fruinian Touring Car Championship
The 1974 Raider SE took over for the outgoing 1973 Bahama NP this year. Results were mixed, as we did find victory lane again, but we did continue the success we’ve experienced during the early 1970s. Congratulations to Tom Prichard and his 1974 Blake B2500S.

FTCC Final Standings:
3rd - Justin Cochran (Nassau Performance) - 1 victory
6th - Claudio Castagnoli (Nassau Performance)
8th - Austin Myers (Segelson Motorsports)
15th - Alan James (Segelson Motorsports)

Trans-Gasmean Racing Series
The 1974 Raider NP did not fare as well as the outgoing model this year. We earned 2 victories on some of the more twisty tracks, but we were tremendously underpowered on the big circuits. Congratulations to Kevin Anderson and his 1974 Lutz Lightning on their championship.

Trans-Gas Final Standings:
4th - Dan Limon (Nassau Performance) - 1 victory
6th - Marc Martin (Allroad Motorsport) - 1 victory
9th - Kyle Stephens (Nassau Performance)
18th - Nick Grant (Allroad Motorsport)

We’ve sold the final 2nd generation Nassau Bahama B-body coupe.

The 2nd generation Nassau Bahama was introduced for the 1971 model year. Mechanically the same as the 1st generation, styling was revised to give a more cohesive look across the Nassau lineup as we entered the Gasmean market.

Year to year sales were considerably higher than the previous generation car. But due to increasing government mandates on efficiency and economy, the 2nd generation coupe was discontinued after only 3 model years. The final car sold in early January 1974.

Bahama Sales
1971: 13,596
1972: 13,853
1973: 17,840
Total: 45,289

Production has also ended on the 2nd generation Bahama NP.

Introduced in 1971 as a response to the banning of the larger Raider from FTCC competition, the Bahama NP was a limited production model sold only in Fruinia. Mechanically the same as the standard Bahama, this car featured revised aerodynamics and a lighter 2 seat interior. The final 2nd generation Bahama NP sold in December 1973.

Bahama NP Sales
1971: 655
1972: 726
1973: 733
Total: 2,124

1973 also saw us bid farewell to our C-body car, which was the 1st generation Raider coupe.

The Raider S was our entry level muscle car. Powered by a 228hp 5.0L V8, this car gave Gameans a good amount of power for a good price. It’s first year, 1970, was its best. Sales ticked up a bit in 1972 but fell off again in 1973 as production couldn’t meet demand and Nassau focused on building more of the higher profit models. Production ended in September 1973 as tooling for the 2nd generation Raider began. The final car sold in September 1973.

Raider S Sales
1970: 22,765
1971: 7,443
1972: 10,413
1973: 8,111
Total: 48,732

Stepping up to the Raider SE gave customers a larger engine, up to 5.7L and more power, up to 251hp. The mid range coupe featured many styling elements from the more expensive Raider NP. Originally intended to be the volume seller, the Raider SE never sold the most units of the C-body during its 4 year run, either being beaten by the lower trim S or the higher trim NP every year. The final car sold in September 1973.

Raider SE Sales
1970: 20,763
1971: 17,468
1972: 22,530
1973: 16,238
Total: 76,999

The Raider NP was the “big daddy” of our early 1970s lineup. Given our most powerful engine ever produced, a 5.7L V8 pushing out 275hp, the NP was never intended to be our volume model. However, once released into the public it was all they craved. After a slow first year, the NP became our top selling C-body from 1971-1973. The final car sold in September 1973.

Raider NP Sales
1970: 13,296
1971: 23,079
1972: 28,889
1973: 16,560
Total: 81,824

Altogether, we sold 207,555 C-body coupes in 4 model years. The C-body goes away for 1974 and moves to the A-body chassis which is shared with the former B-body Bahama.

[MAG]

Continued

Now that all of that’s out of the way, let’s take a look at the year that was 1974.

Issues with the new A-body cars, the Bahama hatchbacks and Raider coupes brought our reputation down a little bit. However, we saw revenues increase to $4.9 billion and profits were up to $322 million. We’ll need all the cashflow we can get with the upcoming government mandates.

We saw a bit of an uptick in the economy this year. As always, we’re hopeful for a recovery at some point, but we’re not planning for this depression to end any time soon.

1974 was Nassau’s most successful year to date as we sold 469,036 cars. We’ve passed Martini Motors to become the third largest Fruinian automaker, behind McNamara and Alstrom. Martini does still outsell us in Fruinia, but we destroy them in the Gasmean market.

B-body sales took a hit this year as we only sold 285,216 compared to over 330k last year. This was due to the discontinuation of the Bahama coupe and the new Bahama hatchbacks taking some market share away from our sedans.

The Arabia S became our first car ever to sell 10,000 units in region in a single month. It accomplished this feat from July through November in Gasmea. Sales of the sedan fell dramatically in Fruinia. Fruinians seem to be in love with the new Bahama. In total, we sold 179,423 units.

Sales of the Arabia SE fell quite a bit as well. Gasmean sales were steady at around 16k units, but Fruinian sales were more than halved. Total sales are down 50% from 1972. Total sales for 1974 were 28,950 cars.

The Regent remained steady for 1974 as 76,843 moved from dealer lots.

We introduced the smaller A-body for 1974. Sales across all 4 model lines totaled 109,742.

The new for '74 Bahama SE has set the world on fire. We can’t build enough to keep up with production. Perhaps we need to look into expanding our factory soon. We sold 39,811 family hatchbacks.

We also couldn’t keep the new Bahama S on lots. In fact, Fruinia snatched them all up. We had none left to export to Gasmea or Archana. Fruinians bought all 40,613 produced.

The new second generation Raider SE sold in comparable numbers to the outgoing SE model. Reviews haven’t been as favorable as the previous car, but the public is still snatching them up. We sold 15,436 units.

The Raider NP is also new for 1974. Performance enthusiasts seemed to be expecting more from the follow up to the legendary 1st generation Raider NP. Sales were down a bit as perhaps stuffing a big V8 into an economy car chassis may not have been the best plan. We sold 11,908 units.

The Galleon continues to be huge for Nassau. Sales across the 3 model lines were up to 76,640 units this year.

The Galleon S saw a huge increase. The base model of our large sedan sold 35,116 units.

Sales of the upscale Galleon SE remained steady, coming in at 11,648 cars sold.

The Galleon Brougham continued its 4 year streak of increasing sales. This year 29,876 units were sold.

1974 Model Breakdown
179,423 - Arabia S (-9%)
76,843 - Regent (-2%)
40,613 - Bahama S (NEW)
39,811 - Bahama SE (NEW)
35,116 - Galleon S (+36%)
29,876 - Galleon Brougham (+16%)
28,950 - Arabia SE (-28%)
15,436 - Raider SE (-5%)
11,908 - Raider NP (-28%)
11,648 - Galleon SE (-1%)

[abg7]

Replacing the Raider and second-gen Bahama could have been quite tough, especially since they all look like a Hemi 'Cuda from the front (except for the specialized Bahama NP), but you seem to have pulled it off! By the way, does the NP suffix stand for Nassau Performance?

Also, the bright colors of your 70s cars so far really suit the decade and their design aesthetic! And even with an impending crisis, I’m confident your company can easily cope with it.

[MAG]

Thanks for reading.

I grew up with a dad who had, and still has a 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda 440, so that may have influenced the design of my early '70s cars quite a bit. And yes, NP stands for Nassau Performance, which is our high-end performance trim. This is similar to SS for Chevrolet or R/T for Dodge.

Currently, we have replacements for several models in engineering so hopefully you like what’s in store for the late 1970s/early 1980s.

[MAG]

January 3, 1976 - As the engineers of Nassau work diligently to get our cars to meet new fuel and emissions standards, the company is celebrating. We are celebrating another banner year. Since our sales bottomed out in 1963, we have been on a 12 year streak of sales gains. This year, we broke the 500,000 car mark!

We are also celebrating because this year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Nassau Motor Company. We actually began selling cars in 1949 and since then 5,643,978 Nassau cars have hit the roads.

This year was incredible as we took in $5.3 billion in revenue, earning nearly $500 million in profit. The reputation hit we took from the release of our new compact cars has stabilized and we are still seen positively in the automotive world. With our D-bodies selling in record numbers, our prestige has increased.

There was also positive economic news. The oil crisis continues, but Archana has backed down from the edge and it seems that all out war may have been avoided. What that means is we’ve seen the biggest economic gains worldwide in nearly 20 years.

Motorsports Review

Fruinian Touring Car Championship
1975 was almost a carbon copy of 1974 for the Raider SE. Our star driver, Justin Cochran earned our lone victory this season. Longtime driver Claudio Castagnoli, who’s been with us since our first season in the sport announced that he will be moving on after this season. Congratulations to Ernie McCracken, who drove his Martini Calypso to their first championship since 1959!

FTCC Final Standings:
4th - Justin Cochran (Nassau Performance) - 1 victory
8th - Claudio Castagnoli (Nassau Performance)
10th - Austin Myers (Segelson Motorsports)
14th - Alan James (Segelson Motorsports)

Trans-Gasmean Racing Series
The 1975 Raider NP was a mid-pack car pretty much the entire year. We earned a single victory at Sonoma. These results included adding a third team this year. Congratulations to J.P. Clancy and his Lutz Stinger for earning that company’s first title.

Trans-Gas Final Standings:
5th - Dan Limon (Nassau Performance) - 1 victory
8th - Marc Martin (Allroad Motorsport)
9th - Kyle Stephens (Nassau Performance)
12th - Nick Grand (Allroad Motorsport)
14th - Mike Mitchell (Johnson Brothers)
19th - Derrick Davis (Johnson Brothers)

Sales Review
1975 was a banner year for the company as we sold 503,657 cars. Gasmean automakers are starting to see us as a real threat to their market share.

As stated before, we’ve had a 12 year streak of year-over-year sales increases. Here’s the last 5 years.

Our B-bodies led the charge again, even being down to just 3 model lines. After a significant dip in 1974, all three models posted sales gains this year as we sold a total of 302,274 B-bodies.

Sales of the 1975 Arabia S were flat this year, totaling 179,836 cars. This was up just over 400 cars from the previous year.

The 1975 Arabia SE saw sales inch up slightly after 2 years of drops. 31,208 were sold.

The 1975 Regent posted huge gains, having its best sales year ever. Gasmea loves this car and worldwide we sold 91,230.

Our A-body “compact” cars saw sales gains as well. This year we sold 115,600 across 4 model lines.

Our 1975 Bahama SE has proven to be popular all over the world. Two years in and we’re still having trouble keeping up with demand. We sold 38,465 hatchbacks.

The Bahama S has proven to be the most popular of our new cars. Fruinia is still buying everything we can produce, leaving only scraps for the rest of the world. This year we sold 45,811.

Raider SE sales remained relatively flat this year. We’re still not sure that Gasmea is fond of us putting the Raider name on this car. Still, we sold 15,099 of them.

Sales of the V8 model, the Raider NP were slightly lower than its I6 counterpart, but still rose compared to last year. Sales were up to 14,250.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, sales of our full size D-body cars shot up yet again. This year, we sold 87,758 across 3 model lines.

The 1975 Galleon S broke the 40k barrier this year, selling 40,648 units. That’s a huge increase for a car that barely sold 10k units its first year.

The improving economy was good for the Galleon SE. The model had its best year ever after 3 years of declines. We sold 14,031 units.

Finally, the Galleon Brougham continued its rise in the full size coupe market. 33,079 cars were sold this year.

1975 Model Breakdown
179,836 - Arabia S (-)
91,230 - Regent (+19%)
45,811 - Bahama S (+13%)
40,648 - Galleon S (+16%)
38,465 - Bahama SE (-3%)
33,079 - Galleon Brougham (+11%)
31,208 - Arabia SE (+8%)
15,099 - Raider SE (-2%)
14,250 - Raider NP (+20%)
14,031 - Galleon SE (+20%)

[MAG]

February 21, 1976

There’s a lot for Robert Gaul and his team to digest in the newest issue of EngineFad magazine.

The cover story is the brand new for '76 Martini Condor. The southern Fruinian automaker is returning to the Gasmean market this year for the first time since before World War II. EngineFad finds the Condor to be a fantastic car and thinks it will make a big splash with it’s 3.0L I6 and 5 speed manual transmission.

Gasmea’s 4th largest automaker, Albright Motors may be in trouble. Even though they recently purchased the popular Atlas Autos, makers of general utility vehicles, sales of their new cars have dropped considerably during the 1970s and the company appears to be on the verge of bankruptcy.

Every few years, there seems to be a story about the Whitaker Blackhawk, the company’s top of the line sports car, switching from a front engine layout to mid-engine. Supposedly there are spyshots of a test mule but the photos are inconclusive.

Now on to the biggest story. CAFE standards are coming. What is CAFE? It stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy.

What this means is that the entire fleet of vehicles sold by an automaker must average out to a targeted fuel economy. For instance, if a company sells 1 gas guzzling muscle car, it must sell 3 economic hatchbacks to average out to a certain MPG.

The new CAFE standards will go into effect in 1980.

Starting then and in the years following, company’s fleets must meet the following standards.

1980: 18mpg
1982: 20mpg
1986: 22mpg
1988: 24mpg
1990: 25mpg

In the late 1980s, targets for the 1990s will be released.

What this means for Nassau is that we have some work to do. Here’s the formula for CAFE average.

A, B, C, D, etc represent different models in the company’s fleet.

nA is the number of those models sold.
fA is the fuel economy that vehicle achieves.

Lets take a look at our 1975 “fleet” of vehicles.

When you input our numbers into the formula, our CAFE for 1975 was 14.1 miles per gallon. We have some work to do.

However, we do have several new products currently in engineering. We have new engines that meet the mandatory unleaded fuel requirement coming as well as new smaller, lighter car models.

We’ll have to re-evaluate our position in a few years.

[abg7]

CAFE doesn’t exist in the Automation universe, but it’s nice to know you have plans to improve the average fuel economy of your lineup… And with increasing annual sales for the past 12 years, Nassau is on a roll right now!

[MAG]

In addition to trying to keep sales increasing, I wanted to give myself more of a challenge coming up, so this will be self-implemented. I started with both sliders at 1.00. I think trying to hit a fuel economy number across an entire lineup of cars will be an interesting challenge.

[MAG]

January 3, 1977 - This year we celebrated 30 years of the Nassau Motor Company, as we were founded in 1946. We celebrated by once again booking another fantastic year!

Behind the scenes, our engineers are working diligently on our new cars to update our aging designs. Our last new models hit the streets in 1974. Our now mid-size B-body and full-size D-bodies were last revised in 1971. The design of the B-body actually dates back to 1960.

They’ve also been working on our new engines, ensuring they can reliably meet new fuel regulations and economy targets.

We will be debuting a couple of our new models on this year’s auto show circuit.

We had another great year, taking in $5.9 billion in revenues. Profits nearly matched last year as we brought in $463 million.

Below is a running total of our balance sheets.

After a brief jump last year, the economy stabilized this year. We’re hoping this is just a step toward full economic recovery, but shaky trade situations worldwide and the oil crisis could still bring everything crashing down.

Motorsports Review

Fruinian Touring Car Championship
1976 saw Nassau not reach victory lane for the first time since 1969. The Raider SE is falling behind the competition on the track. Martini driver Ernie McCracken completed the repeat, taking the championship again in his Martini Calypso.

FTCC Final Standings:
5th - Justin Cochran (Nassau Performance)
9th - Austin Myers (Segelson Motorsports)
12th - Kevin Steen (Nassau Performance)
15th - Alan James (Segelson Motorsports)

Trans-Gasmean Racing Series
The 1975 Raider NP is falling behind the competition also, but did manage to score 2 victories this year. Congratulations to Brandon Newman for winning his first championship with his Whitaker M6.

Trans-Gas Final Standings:
5th - Dan Limon (Nassau Performance) - 1 victory
6th - Nick Grand (Allroad Motorsport) - 1 victory
9th - Marc Martin (Allroad Motorsport)
11th - Kyle Stephens (Nassau Performance)
14th - Mike Mitchell (Johnson Brothers)
20th - Derrick Davis (Johnson Brothers)

Sales Review
1976 was a fantastic year for the company as we sold 538,608 cars, up around 35k from the previous year. This now brings our sales increases to 13 straight years.

During the year, we fiddled with price increases and production optimization, so while total sales were up, some models actually lost sales.

The 1976 B-bodies hit it out of the park once again. Riding a chassis that dates back 12 years, and engineering that goes back 16, all three remaining models of the car had their best years ever. In fact, even with the model line being reduced from 5 to 3, 1976 was the best sales year in the B-bodies history, totaling 340,867. As of this year, sales of the second generation ('71-'76) have now doubled sales of the first generation ('64-'70).

The Arabia S was the volume model as the improved economy led to more sales. It was the car’s first sales increase since 1973. We sold 203,270.

The more upscale 1976 Arabia SE saw sales jump up quite a bit to 41,744 units. That’s more than 10k up from 1975.

The Regent for 1976 continues to be the star of the 70’s for the Nassau Motor Company. After being a relatively small seller during its first generation, sales of the Regent exploded after the 1971 redesign. The last 2 years have seen a pretty big jump as well. This year a record 95,853 left dealer lots.

Sales across our A-body compact line were down across the board for 1976 as we sold 101,449. This was down nearly 15k from 1975. We did raise the price to optimize profits and we adjusted production a bit. We are still producing at capacity, but we’re now building up a small amount of stock.

The Bahama SE saw a sales drop to 31,519 as the basic car is being passed over in favor of models with more options.

The higher level Bahama S hatchback saw sales remain flat for 1976 as we sold 45,109.

Sales of both Raider models were down. We’re hearing feedback that consumers are rejecting the current model for not living up to the previous generations. Many cite the base I6 Raider SE model for being too small and too underpowered. We sold 11,525 of them this year.

The Raider NP saw sales fall as well. Unfortunately, the current car isn’t as much of a performer as the old one was. We’re hearing consumers are angry that the current Raider is basically an economy car with a V8 dropped in and in reality, we can’t really blame them. Costs during the early '70s at Nassau were a bit tight, so the Raider was developed in conjunction with the Bahama hatchback. The car was developed to be a hatchback from the beginning, but the unexpected success of the first generation Raider meant we had to do something. Without funds to keep development on the C-body going, the car was moved to the A-body chassis. Overall, we sold only 11,320.

Things were completely different for the D-body _Galleon_s. Sales inch closer and closer to 100k, as this year we sold 98,268.

Sales for the Galleon S look like they may be beginning to flatten out. This year we sold 41,181.

The premium Galleon SE had a pretty decent increase for 1976. This year we sold 19,038.

People can’t get enough of the Galleon Brougham personal luxury coupe. If trends continue into 1977, it may become our top selling D-body. 38,049 units were moved.

1976 Model Breakdown
203,270 - Arabia S (+13%)
95,853 - Regent (+5%)
45,109 - Bahama S (-1%)
41,744 - Arabia SE (+34%)
41,181 - Galleon S (+1%)
38,049 - Galleon Brougham (+15%)
31,519 - Bahama SE (-18%)
19,038 - Galleon SE (+36%)
11,525 - Raider SE (-24%)
11,320 - Raider NP (-21%)

Wrap Up
This year we will be unveiling 2 new model lines. We’ll have 1 at the Fruinian show and 1 at the Gasmean show.

Unfortunately, we’re behind schedule for our 3rd new model. We had hoped to have all of our new cars ready for 1978, but it looks like we’re not going to make it. We’ll have more on this in a few months.

[MAG]

February 15, 1977 - Welcome to the 1977 Fruinian International Motor Show!

There are big changes coming in the automotive industry. Starting next year, unleaded fuel will be mandated across Fruinia and in 1980, fuel economy standards go into effect.

At Nassau, we’ve decided to modernize our lineup. We want to make you feel like you’re driving in the 1980s a few years early.

With that being said, it’s come time to announce the end of 3 Nassau models. 1977 will be the final year for the Arabia S, Arabia SE, and Regent. Throughout the 1970s, these three models helped Nassau become a player in the global auto industry. But we need to prepare for the future, which is why we’re here. Presenting, Nassau’s new small car, the 1978 Nassau Tango!

The new lineup starts with the 1978 Nassau Tango 5R. The Tango combines the practicality of a wagon with the nimbleness of a hatchback, making it the perfect replacement for the Regent or even the Bahama.

The Tango 5R rides a 98" wheelbase, which is 7" shorter than the Nassau A-body cars. This increases practicality as the Tango can go where the Arabia can’t.

For the first time in our company’s history, this car is front wheel drive.

Featuring a comfortable and lightweight interior that seats 5, the Tango 5R is efficient and lightweight. A curb weight of just 1,728 lbs makes this one of the most fuel efficient car Nassau has ever produced, returning 22mpg.

Buyers can choose to step up to the top of the line, 1978 Nassau Tango 5S. The Tango 5S features an upgraded cloth interior with an AM radio.

Powering these two new cars is the first 4 cylinder engine developed by Nassau in over 20 years.

The C16-4U engine is a huge advancement in automotive technology. This four cylinder features an iron block and a weight saving aluminum head. Inside that aluminum head, you’ll find Nassau’s brand new dual overhead camshaft technology. Using 2 camshafts compared to 1 allows this engine to be much more efficient and provide much better performance.

This is a 1.6L engine featuring a 2 barrel carb. It is also Nassau’s first engine to feature a catalytic converter to reduce emissions.

The C16-4U produces 74 horsepower at 5,400rpm and 82 ft-lbs of torque at 2,600rpm.

Finally, we did allow our engineering team to have some fun with this car. The result is the 1978 Nassau Tango Turismo!

The Tango Turismo is the fun little car for everyone. Featuring alloy wheels, a sporty suspension, and a spacious cloth interior with room for 2, this is the “hot” version of our new hatchback.

The Tango Turismo features a high output version of our new 4 cylinder engine and a 4 speed manual transaxle.

The Nassau C16-4P features a performance air intake and revised camshaft profiles. These changes result in increased performance. The C16-4P produces 86 horsepower and 89 ft-lbs of torque, all while meeting all new federal regulations.

The new Nassau Tango goes on sale for 1978. Pricing will be announced later.

[MAG]

April 12, 1977 - Welcome to the 1977 North Gasmean International Auto Show!

Earlier this year, we took the wraps off of our new Tango hatchback, intended as a replacement for our small family cars.

Today, we unveil the next step in the complete overhaul and modernization of our lineup. Today, we look the next generation of Nassau performance.

It’s no secret that consumers felt let down by our second generation Raider. While that car shared a platform with the Bahama hatchback, that will no longer be the case.

Firstly, we have to announce that 1977 will be the final year for the Bahama hatchback. The new Tango is the perfect replacement for consumers in need of a new small family car.

Now, we present the 1978 Nassau Raider!

We start with the entry level 1978 Nassau Raider S. The new S is the gateway to Nassau’s sports car lineup. The Nassau C-body platform has been heavily revised and although the dimensions are the same as the previous model, the new Raider features a sleek, aerodynamic body. The front fascia features an integrated front bumper and pop-up headlamps, that when down help the Raider slice through the air.

Inside, the Raider S features a standard cloth interior which seats 4, an AM radio, and a 4 speed manual transmission.

Under the hood, the inline 6 engine has been revised.

Nassau B25-6U meets all new federal emissions and fuel standards. Tuned to run on unleaded gasoline, the B25-6U produces over 100hp and 120 ft-lbs of torque. The exhaust features a single catalytic converter to reduce emissions. The aluminum head, single overhead camshaft design has also been revised for efficiency, resulting in a fuel economy of 17.5mpg.

The top of the line 1978 Nassau Raider XF is the most advanced sports car we’ve ever designed. Outside, upgrading to the XF gives you a new front fascia featuring fog lights, a PowerBulge hood, and a rear spoiler; in addition to aluminum alloy wheels.

Inside, drivers are greeted with a leather interior which seats 4 and an 8-track player.

Under that PowerBulge hood sits the top dog of the Nassau motor lineup. The B50-8U has been revised to run on unleaded fuel and produces 172hp and 236ft-lbs of torque.

Pricing for the 1978 Nassau Raider S and Raider XF will be announced this fall.

[MAG]

August 24, 1977 - At the Nassau Motor Company, we’re saying goodbye to many cars this year. As of today, the first car to go made its last sale. The last Bahama SE was sold.

The 1974 - 1977 Bahama SE was the entry level model of the 3rd generation of the car. In 1974, the Bahama moved from the B-body chassis to the smaller A-body frame.

The Bahama SE sold as many cars as we could produce. After big sales in 1974 and 1975, numbers dropped for the 1976 model year. Sales dropped even further for 1977 as production ended for factory re-tooling.

Bahama SE Sales
1974: 39,811
1975: 38,465
1976: 31,519
1977: 20,122
Total: 129,917

September 28, 1977
As of today, we’ve sold the final 1977 Nassau Raider NP. Let’s take a look back at the second generation coupe.

The second generation Raider NP debuted in 1974 on the downsized A-body chassis. Although styled similarly to the first generation car, the performance was not up to par. Sales never came close to matching the first generation car and after ticking up for the 1975 model year, fell in 1976 and 1977. The third generation model will debut in 1978.

Raider NP Sales
1974: 11,908
1975: 14,250
1976: 11,320
1977: 8,136
Total: 45,614

We’ve also sold the final 1977 Nassau Arabia S sedan. Let’s take a look at the second generation B-body car.

The 1971 - 1977 Nassau Arabia S was our base model sedan and was designed to be the volume model. Mechanically the same as the first generation car, the second generation featured heavily revised styling. The new car was styled similarly to the first generation Raider sport coupe, bringing a bit of unity to the brand. The car’s best sales year was 1976, when over 200,000 rolled off dealer lots. The car nearly tripled sales of the first generation model.

Arabia S Sales
1971: 155,459
1972: 184,178
1973: 196,226
1974: 179,423
1975: 179,836
1976: 203,270
1977: 142,329
Total: 1,240,721

And finally, we also sold the final 1977 Nassau Arabia SE sedan. Let’s take a look back at the final car of the Arabia line.

The Arabia SE was the premium version of the standard sedan. Initially doubling sales for the first two years of the redesign, sales began to fall in 1973. After a brief resurgence in 1976, the car was discontinued after the 1977 production run.

Arabia SE Sales
1971: 59,807
1972: 60,870
1973: 40,246
1974: 28,950
1975: 31,208
1976: 41,744
1977: 26,586
Total: 289,411

October 30, 1977 - Today, the final 1977 Nassau Regent was sold. This officially marks the end of the B-body line.

The second generation Regent was a surprise to everyone at Nassau. After selling just 147,278 during the 7 year long first generation, expectations were about the same for the redesigned wagon. However, once consumers got their hands on this car, they sold like hot cakes. Sales increased nearly every year from 1971 - 1976, when it had its best year, selling 95,853 units.

Regent Sales
1971: 56,959
1972: 64,288
1973: 78,748
1974: 76,843
1975: 91,230
1976: 95,853
1977: 71,115
Total: 535,036

This officially ends the B-body line. With 5 model lines spanning 2 generations and 14 model years, we sold a total of 3,026,959 cars.

We have also sold the final 1977 Nassau Raider SE.

The Raider SE became the entry level car for the second generation. Replacing a powerful V8 with a middling I6 caused a drop in performance that customers noticed and complained about. Its best year was 1974, as sales fell every year after its introduction.

Raider SE Sales
1974: 15,436
1975: 15,099
1976: 11,525
1977: 8,975
Total: 51,035

November 30, 1977 - Today the final 1977 Nassau Bahama S was sold. Let’s take a look back at the final car in the A-body line.

The 1974 - 1977 Nassau Bahama S was the upscale choice to the standard SE hatchback. Sold mostly in Fruinia, the third generation car was a mild success. Sales numbers trounced those of the first two generations of coupes. The move to a hatchback design greatly increased sales numbers, topping out in 1975.

Bahama S Sales
1974: 40,613
1975: 45,811
1976: 45,109
1977: 39,738
Total: 171,271

This marks the end (currently) of the Bahama nameplate as well as the A-body compacts. Across all four model lines, 397,837 were sold.

[MAG]

December 1, 1977 - We at Nassau regretfully announce that the Galleon model line will not be available in Fruinia starting January 1, 1978. The current Galleon models do not meet Fruinian fuel standards set to begin in the new year. The Galleon will return for 1979. Stay tuned to the auto show circuit, as we’ll be debuting the second generation of our Galleon lineup.

Meanwhile, we’ve got ads for our new models out.

Motorsports Wrap Up

Fruinian Touring Car Championship
1977 was not too good for the final year of the Raider SE in FTCC competition. We failed to reach victory lane again this year. Congratulations to former Nassau driver Claudio Castagnoli for winning his first championship in his McNamara Raven! Next year, the Tango Turismo will be our entry into the series as new mandates have banned any engine over 4 cylinders.

FTCC Final Standings:
7th - Justin Cochran (Nassau Performance)
9th - Austin Myers (Segelson Motorsports)
14th - Kevin Steen (Nassau Performance)
18th - Dalton Davis (Segelson Motorsports)

Trans-Gasmean Racing Series
The Raider NP finished its run in the series without getting to victory lane in its final year. Congratulations to Gary Thomas for winning his first championship in his Lutz Saber! Next year, the Raider XF will be our entry into the series.

Trans-Gas Final Standings:
6th - Dan Limon (Nassau Performance)
7th - Marc Martin (Allroad Motorsport)
10th - Kyle Stephens (Nassau Performance)
15th - Derrick Davis (Johnson Brothers)
17th - Mike Mitchell (Johnson Brothers)
21st - Ted Stanley (Allroad Motorsport)

[MAG]

January 4, 1978 - 1977 has drawn to a close. It will go down as one of the biggest transitional years in company history. We saw the end of two of our model lines, the compact A-bodies and our classic B-bodies. We also began preparing for the launch of two new model lines, with one of them being our first front wheel drive cars ever.

Revenues were down this year to under $5 billion, as we cleared out remaining inventory of outgoing models and re-tooled our two biggest factories. We still managed a profit of $250 million.

The economy just can’t seem to kickstart itself.

As you can see, 1977 was the end of our 13 year streak of sales increases. As our factories shut down to retool, we sold out remaining inventories until we had practically nothing left on dealer lots. In December, the only model we had available for sale was the Galleon. In Fruinia, we recorded 0 sales as customers didn’t want to purchase a car that still required leaded fuel.

In 1977, we sold 414,565 cars, down from the previous year for the first time since 1963.

In its final year of production, the Arabia S was still our top seller, though it fell to 142,329 total sales.

The Arabia SE bowed out as well, after selling 26,586 units.

The final sale of a Regent wagon marked the end of the B-body line. This year, 71,115 wagons were sold.

Also ending production were our A-body compact cars. Issues with production meant we never got to see how many cars we truly could have sold. We could not meet demand for most of the life of the cars.

The Bahama SE hatchback recorded 20,122 sales in its final year.

The more upscale Bahama S did much better, coming in with 39,738 units sold.

The entry level Raider SE coupe saw sales fall under 10k units, down to 8,975.

The top of the line Raider NP didn’t fare much better, recording 8,136 sales.

Even the Galleon is finally showing its age. Sales across the three model lines fell for the first time this year.

The base Galleon S actually saw a sales increase, up to 43,724.

The Galleon SE held pretty steady, selling 18,379 units.

The premium Galleon Brougham coupe saw its first sales drop. It will remain around in Gasmea and Archana for one more year along with the rest of the line before being replaced by a new model in 1979. It sold 35,461 this year.

Model Breakdown
142,329 - Arabia S (-30%) - discontinued
71,115 - Regent (-26%) - discontinued
43,724 - Galleon S (+6%) - no longer sold in Fruinia
39,738 - Bahama S (-12%) - discontinued
35,461 - Galleon Brougham (-7%) - no longer sold in Fruinia
26,586 - Arabia SE (-36%) - discontinued
20,122 - Bahama SE (-36%) - discontinued
18,379 - Galleon SE (-3%) - no longer sold in Fruinia
8,975 - Raider SE (-22%) - discontinued
8,136 - Raider NP (-28%) - discontinued

We’ll be unveiling the new second generation Galleon at the North Gasmean International Auto Show in April.

[abg7]

The latest Raider and Tango surely look the part; I also expect the former to recover some of the performance edge its predecessor had lost!

And those bright colors are definitely period-accurate and suit the cars’ design aesthetic very well.