With the UE4 version now in open beta, will you either continue to flesh out the story of Nassau in the current Kee engine version for now, or wait until the UE4 build gets campaign functionality and then remake your company’s history?
The plan’s to stick with Kee until the end of this campaign. Afterwards, I’ll probably build some cars in UE4, maybe making the UE4 version of these cars. Maybe by then, there’ll be some kind of campaign functionality in UE4.
2 Likes
January 8, 1987 - The “decade of excess” is beginning to draw to a close as we’ve now reached the late 1980s. The world has finally pulled itself out of a decades long depression and the automotive industry is seeing record sales. Things are good at Nassau, but we aren’t necessarily in the best shape. We’ll get to that later. First, a motorsports roundup.
Fruinian Touring Car Championship
The Laguna Turbo may not be the biggest seller, but it’s bringing home results on the racetrack. We took our second consecutive title, with Marcos Andres behind the wheel.
FTCC Final Standings:
1st - Marcos Andres (Nassau Performance) - 5 victories
2nd - Casey Alexander (Dover Motorsport) - 3 victories
4th - Fred Donaldson (Donaldson Racing) - 2 victories
5th - Drew Clarke (Dover Motorsport) - 1 victory
8th - Tom Steele (Nassau Performance)
15th - Ronnie James (Donaldson Racing)
Sales Review
1986 was a wonderful sales year for the company that saw us rebound from our drop in 1985. However, due to building costs at our factories we actually lost $20 million this year.
Good news is we appear to be fully on our way to economic recovery. However, there will probably be a correction relatively soon.
For Nassau, 1986 played out pretty similarly to 1985, except a mild winter lead to increased car sales in December.
Nassau’s share of those sales was 682,795 cars, up 2.7k from the previous year. For the second year in a row our sales in Gasmea declined, this time by 4%. In Fruinia, we sold 10 more cars than last year. We continue to see strong gains in Archana where our Nifty hatchback has proven to be popular.
311,871 - Gasmea (-4%)
250,157 - Fruinia (-)
120,767 - Archana (+14%)
For 1986 we sold as many _Nifty_s as we could produce, which was just as many as last year. We sold 147,830 across the line, bringing the model run total above 500k units.
The Nifty S came in with 69,047 cars and the Nifty Deluxe sold 78,783.
The Tango line continues to be the breadwinner for the company, though the car is beginning to show its age a bit. In fact, it’s the only non-fuel injected Nassau sold today. Sales fell this year to 301,514 across the line.
The base Tango 5R sold 173,766 units.
The higher trimmed Tango 5S sold 127,748.
We’re not entirely sure we hit the mark with the Laguna. While the Laguna Turbo is performing wonderfully on the track, sales aren’t as hot. However, people clearly want to be seen in one as the Laguna Coupe, the non-turbo base model, has seen sales rise each year. 1986 saw 124,654 _Laguna_s roll off dealer lots.
119,489 were the non-turbo, 85hp base Laguna Coupe.
Sales of the 140hp Laguna Turbo fell to 5,165.
Our Accolade line continues to be a bright spot, though we are hearing about some reliability issues with the new V6. After a slight drop last year, sales rose considerably for 1986 to 108,797 units.
The Accolade SE is becoming the premium sedan of choice for families across the world as we sold 44,516.
The world also continues to demand Nassau wagons. From the original Regent in 1964 to the current Accolade Estate for 1986, our wagons continue to be popular. This year we sold 64,281.
Sales Breakdown
173,766 - Tango 5R (-12%)
127,748 - Tango 5S (-4%)
119,489 - Laguna Coupe (+4%)
78,783 - Nifty Deluxe (-)
69,047 - Nifty S (-)
64,281 - Accolade Estate (+37%)
44,516 - Accolade SE (+31%)
5,165 - Laguna Turbo (-27%)
1986 was also a mandate year for CAFE numbers. This year, our fleet sold had to exceed 22mpg.
After failing to meet the 1982 targets, we exceeded the mark for 1984 by .4mpg total. This was thanks mainly to sales of our Nifty subcompacts and the unexpected success of the economical Laguna Coupe.
In Closing
1986 was a good year for the company, but we have some issues to address.
The Nifty continues to sell as many as we can produce, but the car’s engineering dates back to the beginning of the decade and although it’s one of the most reliable choices out there, it’s not seen as a “cool” car. We’ll need to either revise or replace this model soon.
The Tango is seeing its sales decline, which isn’t surprising. The car first came on the market in 1978 and is still carbureted. The competition in the compact market has mostly made the switch to electronic fuel injection and has left our hatchback behind. The fact that the car tops out at 21.8mpg is almost laughable for 1986. We are currently working on updated the Tango.
The Laguna has been great for the company, though not exactly how we expected. While the Laguna Turbo is the performer we expected on the track, it’s not performing at dealerships. We expected a little blowback for being the first front wheel drive “sports car”, but not quite this much. These customers are continuing to go to our rear wheel drive competition.
The curious case here is the Laguna Coupe. It’s got most of the sporty looks of the Turbo, but only comes with 85hp under the hood. It’s also surprisingly economical, yielding 23.9mpg. Many in the industry think it’s a case of people wanting a sports car and settling for the base model. However, we feel differently. We think that people just want their economy cars to be a bit sporty. Have we invented the “sports-economy car”?
Either way, we’re currently looking at revising our Laguna offerings.
After stumbling a bit out of the gate, the Accolade has begun to do a good job of taking over for the rear wheel drive Galleon. We put a lot of effort into this car and the quality and fit and finish show it. The problem is the V6 under the hood. We may have rushed the engineering a bit. While this resulted in one of the first fuel injected V6 sedans on the market, it has also resulted in some problems with the fuel injection system have resulted in some minor recalls.
We are currently revising the V6 and working on a refresh for the Accolade.
Finally, construction has begun on our Hamburg factory site. Though we’re not quite sure what will be built there yet.
5 Likes
What if the flagship Laguna swapped its turbo four for the Accolade’s V6, which develops similar power and redlines 500 rpm later? And why did you not offer the Laguna with that engine in the first place? The extra prestige that comes with an extra pair of cylinders could have made it more successful in the marketplace.
While the Laguna and Accolade were engineered at the same time, and the platforms are similar enough that utilizing our 2.8L V6 in the Laguna would be possible, we decided against it.
Prior to production, we felt more comfortable going with 4 cylinder power only in the Laguna. There were a few reasons for this.
The first is that the V6 is unproven tech for us at Nassau. The C series is our first V6 ever. We wanted to give our top of the line sedan something you couldn’t get in any of our other models. Also, most of the Accolade’s competition is V6 powered. With lower sales projections than the Laguna, we felt comfortable using the new engine. However, sales have been higher than projected and we are seeing problems. We’ve had a couple small recalls regarding the TBI injection system. Producing more of them for the Laguna before we perfect the engine wouldn’t be a good idea.
The second is that 4 cylinder and inline engines are proven tech. We projected the base model non-turbo to sell around 75k units per year, so we revised and enlarged our D series four used in the Nifty. This was a proven engine and worked perfect for the Laguna. With the R&D we’ve done on turbocharging, we felt that the Laguna could have its own party piece in the market. Unfortunately, the public hasn’t responded and is sticking with similarly powered V8 coupes from the competition.
The third is fuel economy. The base model Laguna returns nearly 24mpg and the turbo model gets exactly 20. Both are considerably better than the 17 from the V6. If we utilized the V6 in the Laguna, we’d fail to meet our CAFE targets and be fined.
We had to switch to a FWD 4 cylinder layout for our sports car for fuel economy and cost reasons at the time of development. Now we just have to figure out how to make it work.
February 17, 1987 - Welcome to the 1987 Fruinian International Motor Show!
In 1978, Nassau revolutionized the small car market when we released the front wheel drive Tango hatchback. This new drivetrain layout, as well as the rear hatchback made the Tango one of the most versatile cars on the market. A finalist for Car of the Year in 1978, the Tango has soldiered on and become the top selling car in our company’s history.
Nearly ten years later, the Tango has begun to show its age. The boxy design seems to come from an era long ago, the carburated engine has long since been surpassed by those with fuel injection.
We at Nassau pride ourselves in our small car offerings. We knew the Tango needed a refresh. Our engineers have worked diligently to create the new small car to usher in the 1990s. Presenting, the 1988 Nassau Tango R!
With the 1988 Tango R, the “5” designation for the number of doors has been dropped, as the car is now only available as a 5 door hatchback. Every panel on the outside of the car has been re-sculpted to create a sleek, flowing body that slices through the air. The new 1988 Tango R returns an impressive 27.5mpg.
Under the hood, the 1.6 liter C-series 4 cylinder has been replaced with an all new D-series 1.6 liter featuring electronic fuel injection and dual-overhead camshafts. Power increases from 75 to 80hp.
Prices for the 1988 Nassau Tango R start at $10,214.
Also new for 1988 is the Nassau Tango S!
The 1988 Tango S features an upgraded cloth interior and a standard cassette player. Outside, steel wheels are replaced with aluminum alloys and fog lights are added.
The 1988 Nassau Tango S starts at just $11,161. You’ll see them at your local Nassau dealers in February 1988.
4 Likes
At last, the Tango gets the redesign it desperately needs - but with the Laguna Turbo constantly languishing at the bottom of the sales chart, I think it could face the axe sooner than expected. However, if it does, Nassau will either withdraw from the FTCC altogether or be forced to enter something else in the series.
January 3, 1988 - After a few engineering delays, we are now a month away from the release of our second generation Tango hatchbacks. This is a big event for Nassau as a company as the Tango is far and away our best selling car. We feel that the new model outclasses the old one in every way. We hope the public feels the same.
But before we get any further, let’s take a look back at 1987.
Fruinian Touring Car Championship
We couldn’t make it three in a row. While the Laguna Turbo is still at the top of the field, the new for '87 McNamara Sparrow driven by Claudio Castagnoli took home the title.
FTCC Final Standings:
2nd - Marcos Andres (Nassau Performance) - 4 victories
4th - Casey Alexander (Dover Motorsport) - 2 victories
5th - Drew Clarke (Dover Motorsport) - 2 victories
6th - Fred Donaldson (Donaldson Racing) - 1 victory
10th - Tom Steele (Nassau Performance)
14th - Ronnie James (Donaldson Racing)
Sales Review
After a small loss last year thanks to factory construction in Hamburg, we rebounded significantly in 1987, pulling in a profit of nearly $570 million on $7.1 billion in revenue.
The 3rd small economic boom slowed down a bit this year as we’re probably on our way to a small contraction around 1990. No worries for Nassau though, as we now have a diverse product portfolio that shouldn’t be affected too much by wild economic swings.
1987 was up and down as we made a few pricing adjustments on some of our models. More on that below.
Sales rose again in 1987, up this year to 687,672 cars. This is an increase of nearly 5k vehicles from last year. We continue to see our sales in Gasmea fall. We’re hoping that replacing the Tango for 1988 will get these sales back. After a flat 1986, 1987 saw sales rise 4% in Fruinia. We continue to gain market share in Archana, as sales rose another 6%. Our basic Nifty S hatchback leads the charge behind the iron curtain.
300,990 - Gasmea (-3%) - Top Seller: Laguna Coupe
259,084 - Fruinia (+3%) - Top Seller: Tango 5R
127,598 - Archana (+6%) - Top Seller: Nifty S
Sales of the Nifty hatchbacks remained steady again, as we sell every single one we can produce. 1987 saw total sales of 147,831.
The Nifty S moved 69,046 units and was our top selling model in Archana.
The Nifty Deluxe sold 78,785, splitting between Archana and Fruinia. We have ended sales of the Nifty Deluxe in Gasmea, as we cannot produce enough vehicles to meet demand.
1987 is the final model year for the first generation Tango hatchbacks. We still have enough to hold us over until the second generation goes on sale in February. While those will be counted as 1987 model year cars, their sales will be marked in 1988. For 1987, we sold 303,914 _Tango_s, up slightly from 1986.
The base Tango 5R sold 172,417 units this year, down slightly from last year.
The Tango 5S did better, selling 131,497 cars. This was up from 1986.
1987 saw sales for the Laguna sports compact continue to rise. Sales have been so far above projections that we’ve actually had to raise prices to keep production in line with demand. New prices took affect in September 1987 and are as follows.
Laguna Coupe: $12,019
Laguna Turbo: $14,540
Even with the rise in prices, we sold 128,922 coupes in total this year.
The Laguna Coupe is our best selling car in Gasmea. Across the globe, we sold 123,378.
The Laguna Turbo continues to struggle in the marketplace, but did see a small sales increase this year to 5,544 cars.
The Accolade also saw a price increase this year as we were struggling to keep up with demand. New prices took affect in February 1987.
Accolade SE: $14,266
Accolade Estate: $14,480
Sales dropped slightly because of the price increase to 107,005 units.
The Accolade SE continues to perform well and sold 43,732 cars in 1987.
The Accolade Estate continues to be the big seller between the two. This year we sold 63,273 wagons.
Sales Breakdown
172,417 - Tango 5R (-1%)
131,497 - Tango 5S (+3%)
123,378 - Laguna Coupe (+3%)
78,785 - Nifty Deluxe (-)
69,046 - Nifty S (-)
63,273 - Accolade Estate (-2%)
43,732 - Accolade SE (-2%)
5,544 - Laguna Turbo (+7%)
2 Likes
February 16, 1988 - Welcome to the 1988 Fruinian International Motor Show!
Last year at this show, we revealed our new Tango, which is now on sale world wide. This year we reveal the update to another of our best selling cars.
Presenting, the 1989 Nassau Laguna S!
The Laguna Coupe becomes the Laguna S for 1989. Styling has been revised. Gone are the pop-up headlights; replaced by more contemporary composite units. You’ll also find new front and rear fascias and a new tail light design.
Inside, the cloth interior is all new and now features a standard cassette player.
Also new for 1989, all _Laguna_s now come standard with Anti-Lock Brakes.
The big difference between the 1988 Laguna Coupe and 1989 Laguna S is under the hood. We’ve responded to criticisms about a “lack of grunt”. The Laguna S will be powered by Nassau’s new D20-4I 2.0L 4 cylinder featuring throttle body fuel injection.
The Nassau D20-4I produces 100hp and 117 ft-lbs of torque.
Now we come to the elephant in the room. When the Laguna Turbo was released, we expected to have a huge hit on our hands. Unfortunately for us, consumers didn’t respond to the first turbocharged Nassau in the way we expected them to. So we went back to the drawing board. What we’ve come up with is the revised 1989 Nassau Laguna Turbo!
The 1989 Laguna Turbo features revised styling similar to the base Laguna S.
Upgrading to the Laguna Turbo gets you the following.
5 speed manual transacle (4 speed automatic)
16" alloy wheels w/ sports compound tires (15" steel/standard compound)
4 wheel disc brakes (front disc/rear drum)
Revised front fascia w/fog lights
Rear spoiler
Hi-Fi Cassette player (standard cassette)
But the big upgrade is under the hood.
Here you’ll find a slightly revised version of our D20-4T turbocharged 4 cylinder. The 2.0L turbo now produces 151hp and 169ft-lbs of torque. This brings the 0-60 time down to 8 seconds flat and the quarter mile to 16.1.
But you may look at the Laguna Turbo and think "ha, the Stallion and the Panther can still tear it to shreds. Well, we’d like to have a word with you about that. And we can do it while taking a look at the 1989 Nassau Laguna NP!
The 1989 Laguna NP is a Laguna Turbo that drank its milk and ate its vitamins every day. This top of the line turbocharged 4 cylinder will have no trouble keeping up with those V8s from Gasmean automakers.
The following upgrades to the Laguna Turbo come standard on the Laguna NP.
5 speed manual transaxle w/ geared LSD (5 speed manual)
17" alloy wheels (16" alloy)
Lightweight interior with standard cassette (standard interior)
But again, the big upgrade is under the hood.
The Laguna NP is powered by our all new D22-4T 4 cylinder engine. This 2.2L features multi-point fuel injection, a first for Nassau.
This new engine uses all forged internals and produces 203hp and 210ft-lbs of torque. This powers the Laguna NP to 60mph in under 7 seconds and through the quarter mile in a hair over 15.
Pricing for our new models will currently be as follows.
Laguna S: $11,702
Laguna Turbo: $13,018
Laguna NP: $16,412
4 Likes
At last, a Nassau with multi-point fuel injection… Will you build an AWD version of the NP later on? It would make a great rally car if it were all-wheel-drive!
April 12, 1988 - Welcome to the North Gasmean International Auto Show! Two months ago, we revealed the second generation Laguna sports compact. Tonight we are in Detroit for another reveal. This one however, is a little bit different.
Without further ado, we’d like to present the 1989 Nassau Bandito Pickup!
The Nassau Bandito Pickup is Nassau’s first entry into the commercial/utility market in nearly 20 years. We aren’t counting the 1979-1981 Runabout, as that was a car-based pickup. The Bandito rides on a bespoken, corrosion resistant steel ladder chassis - built tough to go anywhere. Riding a 99" wheelbase, the Bandito Pickup also makes the perfect small off-roader.
Powering the Bandito is our D20-4I 2.0L fuel injected 4 cylinder, which produces 100hp and 117ft-lbs of torque - this time in a longitudinal layout. That power is supplied to all four wheels with a 5 speed manual transmission. To make sure you can keep going when the road gets tough, our 4WD system features manual lockers.
Standard are 4 wheel disc brakes, surrounded by 15" steel wheels inside chunky offroad tires. Underneath is an offroad skid tray.
Inside is room for 2 in a standard cloth interior and a standard cassette deck. All _Bandito_s come standard with anti-lock brakes.
However, if a small pickup isn’t for you and you’d still like to do some offroading in a small sport utility vehicle, Nassau has you covered. Introducing the 1989 Nassau Bandito S!
The Bandito S is mechanically identical to the Bandito Pickup, but features seating for 4, along with room for all of your gear.
The new for 1989 Nassau Bandito goes on sale in January, with pricing as follows.
Bandito Pickup: $11,494
Bandito S: $12,016
1 Like
At last, Nassau builds an SUV… And it’s a good one, on paper at least. The lime green exterior color on the pickup version seems odd for a vehicle launched in the late 80s/early 90s, but it still looks the part nonetheless.
April 27, 1988 - Our hopes were high in the boardroom at Nassau’s headquarters. EngineFad magazine, the premier publication in the automotive industry would be announcing their 1988 car of the year with the release of their May 1988 issue. With all of the work we put into the new Tango, we felt we had a really good chance.
The original Tango was one of the 10 finalists for car of the year in 1978. Since then, our cars have made plenty of “best buy” lists, but we’ve never actually won an award. As soon as the mailroom clerk dropped off the package from EngineFad, Robert ripped it open.
We’d done everything we could to ensure the new Tango was the best compact on the market and we lost to Whitaker’s new full-size sedan.
The Whitaker Sultan is all new for 1988 and replaces the outgoing, outdated rear wheel drive full-size offerings with a sleek, new, front wheel drive layout. Powered by a 3.8L V6 which produces 180hp, the Sultan is a very competent car. In fact, the Sultan will mark a huge change for the GASCAR Salem Cup Series. The coupe version of the new car will be the first stock car based on a front wheel drive platform to compete in the series and also the first without an optional V8. As the decade has progressed, the cars raced in the series have begun to share less and less in common with their road-going counterparts. All the cars are steel tube chassis with 350ci V8s and now pretty much the only commonality they share with actual cars is the sheet metal.
In their comparison test for all new cars, the Sultan scored a 96/100. Coming in at second place was the 1988 Nassau Tango, which scored a 94. We finished in second. This infuriated Robert Gaul. He’s always felt that EngineFad has had a Gasmean slant and to him, this confirms it. He storms out of the boardroom.
His son, Charles, who has recently been promoted to head of product development after his work on Nassau’s new fuel injection systems as well as being the head engineer on the second generation Laguna, had a bit of a different reaction. To him, this is a challenge. Nassau’s cars can’t just beat the competition, they have to blow them out of the water.
With 2 new cars set to debut for 1989, Nassau is in fantastic shape. The work on those is pretty much done, so Charles will focus his efforts on the other 2 cars we have in development.
May 1, 1988 - The final 1987 Nassau Tango 5R has sold. Let’s take a look back at the car that began a revolution for Nassau.
The Tango 5R made its debut for the 1978 model year and was Nassau’s first front wheel drive vehicle ever produced. This base model of the Tango line was the volume leader. Powered by our first new 4 cylinder engine developed in over 20 years, the C16-4U, the Tango 5R produced 75hp and 82ft-lbs of torque. This was more than adequate for the class during this time period.
This was also the first Nassau developed with fuel economy in mind. While it only registered 22mpg, this was the first step for our engineers, which have seen huge fuel economy gains over the last decade.
The Tango 5R was a big seller. For the first 5 years of its 10 year model run, it sold over 200k units per year. Its best year was 1980, when 248,314 rolled off dealer lots. Over the course of the model run, we sold a total of 2,175,673.
The Tango 5R was replaced by the second generation Tango R for 1988.
Tango 5R Sales
1978: 209,572
1979: 225,907
1980: 248,314
1981: 239,559
1982: 242,859
1983: 240,095
1984: 216,405
1985: 196,449
1986: 173,766
1987: 182,747
Total: 2,175,673
The final 1987 Nassau Tango 5S has also sold. Let’s take a look at our top of the line compact for the past decade.
The Nassau Tango 5S debuted in 1978 as the top of the line of our Tango hatchbacks. With a nicer cloth interior and an AM radio, the Tango 5S was one of the best equipped compacts of its day.
The Tango 5S was powered by the same C16-4U engine as the Tango 5R.
The best year for the Tango 5S was 1982, when we sold 164,479. Over the 10 year model run, 1,474,267 were sold.
Across the entire Tango lineup, which included the 5R (1978-1987), the 5S (1978-1987), and Turismo (1978-1983), we sold 3,714,796 cars. This was far and away our best selling car ever.
Tango 5S Sales
1978: 158,466
1979: 139,005
1980: 157,646
1981: 161,464
1982: 164,479
1983: 160,175
1984: 139,916
1985: 132,611
1986: 127,748
1987: 132,757
Total: 1,474,267
October 30, 1988 - The final first generation Laguna Coupe has sold. Let’s take a look back at our front wheel drive, entry level “sports” car.
The Laguna Coupe debuted in 1983 for the 1984 model year. Replacing the rear wheel drive Raider, the front wheel drive Laguna Coupe was seen by enthusiasts as a pretend sports car.
The base model replaced the straight 6 Raider S with a fuel injected 4 cylinder producing 85hp and 103ft-lbs of torque. The D18-4I was an enlarged, dual overhead cam version of the D14-4I used in the Nifty.
The Laguna Coupe blew the third generation Raider away in terms of sales. The Raider S never sold more than 47k, which it achieved in its debut year in 1978. Sales of the Laguna Coupe were over 100k in its first year and rose every year until it was discontinued.
The Laguna Coupe will be replaced by the Laguna S for 1989.
Laguna Coupe Sales
1984: 105,544
1985: 114,839
1986: 119,489
1987: 123,378
1988: 77,142
Total: 540,392
We have also sold the final 1988 Laguna Turbo. Let’s take a look back at the top sports car in our lineup.
The Laguna Turbo debuted in 1983 as the middle sports car in our lineup, sandwiched between the Laguna Coupe and the Raider XF. After 1983, the Raider XF was discontinued and the Laguna Turbo became our top sports car.
Equipped with a turbocharged version of our new D series 4 cylinder, the D20-4T, the Laguna Turbo produced 143hp and 154ft-lbs of torque. This wasn’t too far off from the Raider’s 172hp, but enthusiasts didn’t take this car seriously, proclaiming it wrong wheel drive and a pretend sports car.
Expected to sell at the same level as the outgoing Raider (around 25k per year), the Laguna Turbo was a massive disappointment. In fact, it never sold more than 10k in a single year.
The Laguna Turbo will be replaced by two models for 1989. The new Laguna Turbo features many of the same features, along with revised styling as well as a slight power boost, up to 151hp. The Laguna NP will be the top of the line model. It will be equipped with a 2.2L version of our turbo engine which produces 203hp. We hope that enthusiasts will take this car more seriously.
Laguna Turbo Sales
1984: 9,777
1985: 7,120
1986: 5,165
1987: 5,544
1988: 3,321
Total: 30,927
Across both model lines, the Laguna sold 571,319 units in its first generation.
November 26, 1988 - The motorsports seasons have drawn to a close. Let’s take a look at Nassau’s year.
Fruinian Touring Car Championship
In its final year of competition, the first generation Laguna Turbo came home runner up yet again to Claudio Castagnoli and his 1988 McNamara Sparrow. For 1989, the Laguna Turbo will be replaced by the Laguna NP.
FTCC Final Standings:
2nd - Marcos Andres (Nassau Performance) - 4 victories
3rd - Casey Alexander (Dover Motorsport) - 3 victories
6th - Fred Donaldson (Donaldson Racing) - 2 victories
7th - Drew Clarke (Dover Motorsport)
11th - Ronnie James (Donaldson Racing)
13th - Tom Steele (Nassau Performance)
3 Likes
January 3, 1989 - The final year of the 80’s has begun. Last year we saw our new compact car debut. This year, our new sports car hits the market. Also, our first SUV and 2nd ever pickup debut. But that’s all to come. Let’s take a look back at last year.
The new Tango hatchbacks have had a huge impact on our reputation, seeing it jump nearly 8 points in a single year. These are well engineered cars and the public knows it. But as well engineered as they may be, they aren’t the flashiest vehicles. Our prestige fell a point.
The new cars have been big for our bottom line as well. This year, revenues rose to $7.4 billion. However, with factory construction and engineering, our profits fell to $443 million.
The upswing in the economy continues, but it’s slowing down.
1988 was a very up and down year as far as month to month sales went.
Our supply of first generation _Tango_s dried up in January and the new car wasn’t ready until February, which caused a massive sales drop for the month. The remainder of the year was spent trying to match production with demand. We also saw inventories of the Laguna dry up near the end of the year, causing another sales slide.
Total sales this year fell to 648,590, a drop of 6% from 1987. We’ve had a hell of a decade. Our top 9 sales years in company history have all come in the past 9 years. Sales in Gasmea dropped considerably this year since we didn’t have the Laguna for all 12 months. Fruinian sales slid as well. Sales in Archana actually rose, as the Nifty Deluxe continues to be more and more popular.
270,756 - Gasmea (-10%) - Top Seller: Tango S
242,815 - Fruinia (-6%) - Top Seller: Tango S
135,019 - Archana (+6%) - Top Seller: Nifty Deluxe
Sales of the Nifty hatchbacks remained flat. The factory is still producing at capacity and we’re still selling every car made. Total sales this year were 147,832.
The Nifty S sold 69,047 units, which is the same as last year. However, it is no longer our best selling car in Archana.
Taking its place in Archana was the Nifty Deluxe. With more money to spend, the Archanans are looking for more well equipped cars. Total Nifty Deluxe sales worldwide were 78,785.
In 1988, we sold the last of our remaining 1987 _Tango_s. Sales of the Tango 5R were 10,330 and sales of the Tango 5S were 1,260.
Taking over for those cars is the second generation Tango. Sales across both models totaled 337,448 for the first year of the car, which was a big jump over the 1987 model.
The base model Tango R is no longer the volume leader, as a world with more money to spend demands a more well equipped car. Sales were still good, as 99,059 were sold.
The Tango S for 1988 became one of our top selling models ever as 238,389 were sold.
Even though we spent the entire year trying to produce extra Laguna sport compacts prior to shutting the factory down for re-tooling, we still ran out early. Sales across the 1988 model lines totaled 80,463 units.
The Laguna Coupe performed respectably in the final year of the first generation, selling 77,142 units.
The Laguna Turbo was never a big seller. We’re hoping we’ve worked out all the kinks for the second generation. The 1988 model sold 3,321 in its final year.
Surprisingly, the release of the new Tango caused the Accolade to take a pretty big sales hit. We felt that the cars were different enough, especially with the Accolade being a mid-size sedan, that there wouldn’t be as much overlap as there turned out to be. Sales across the Accolade model lines fell to 71,257.
The Accolade SE saw sales fall by over a third. We sold 28,108 this year.
The Accolade Estate continues to be the big seller of the two, but it saw a drop as well. The wagon sold 43,149 for 1988. We may have to remedy this soon.
Sales Breakdown
238,389 - Tango S (New)
99,059 - Tango R (New)
78,785 - Nifty Deluxe (-)
77,142 - Laguna Coupe (-37%)
69,047 - Nifty S (-)
43,149 - Accolade Estate (-32%)
28,108 - Accolade SE (-36%)
10,330 - Tango 5R (Discontinued)
3,321 - Laguna Turbo (-40%)
1,260 - Tango 5S (Discontinued)
3 Likes
February 14, 1989 - Welcome to the 1989 Fruinian International Motor Show!
At Nassau, we constantly challenge our engineers to come up with the best cars in the world. When our Accolade sedan debuted in 1984, it was at the top of its class. Time has passed and unfortunately we can no longer say that. So we went back to the drawing board. What we’ve come up with is the 1990 Nassau Accolade SE.
The new for '90 Accolade SE features completely revised styling. Gone are Nassau’s twin duct intake, replaced by a more conventional grille.
The interior has been revised as well. The premium leather interior seats four and features a Hi-Fi cassette.
The big revision has been under the hood. The 2.8L single cam V6 powering the current car has been scrapped in favor of a 3.0L dual cam. Power has increased, up to 150 to the front wheels.
But if you, like most of our buyers, feel that the sedan doesn’t provide enough interior space, we’ve also revised the Accolade Estate for 1990.
The 1990 Accolade Estate is mechanically identical to the sedan and features the same revisions inside and out. It is also powered by our C30-6I V6 engine.
The Accolade SE is already a premium mid-size sedan. But some of our customers want more. And at Nassau we listen to our customers. For these buyers we’ve come up with a new model of the Accolade for 1990. Presenting, the 1990 Accolade Elite!
The 1990 Accolade Elite is a full blown luxury sedan. Outside, chrome accents have been added to the new grille. The Elite features the same new hydropneumatic springs used in the SE and Estate models. It also uses the same 3.0L V6.
Inside is where the big difference is. The luxury leather interior seats 4 in comfort and features a Hi-Fi Surround Sound entertainment system.
But what if you want performance from your mid-size sedan? While our current offerings are no slouches, we decided to go a little over the top with it. Presenting the 1990 Accolade Sport!
The 1990 Accolade Sport is the new king of the hill as far as performance goes. This isn’t just for mid-size sedans; the Accolade Sport will be one of the fastest cars on the market in 1990.
Inside, the Sport is the same as the standard SE. However, the automatic transaxle has been replaced by a 5 speed manual, which gets power to the ground with the help of a geared LSD.
Outside, the springs have been replaced with more performance oriented standard coils. The Sport also receives a bespoke front fascia and rear spoiler.
Under the hood we’ve bored our C30-6I to 3.3L. The C33-6I features dual overhead camshafts and multipoint electronic fuel injection with a performance intake. All internals are forged.
This new engine produces an impressive 232hp and 224ft-lbs of torque. This makes it our quickest Nassau ever, as it hits 60mph in 6.1 seconds and the quarter mile in 14.4. Both times are faster than even the first generation Nassau Raider NP.
Pricing for the 4 new Accolade models will be released later.
8 Likes
THAT… I like! Really really like
What would Average Joe have to hand over to get a new Accolade?
The Accolade Sport has potential to be one of the best high-performance front-drivers of its time, but will it ever be offered with all-wheel drive as well? If Nassau does so, the resulting car will feel even more like an Alfa 164 Q4. Back in the early 90s, sending 232 horsepower through just the front wheels would have been a recipe for disaster without proper tuning!
Edit: The Accolade line cannot be converted to AWD (the Bandito has a longitudinally mounted engine and therefore had a 4x4 drivetrain), but I am now not so sure as to whether it needs the extra complication anyway.
March 7, 1989 - 1988 was a CAFE mandate year and we were a bit delayed in releasing our numbers.
CAFE
The mandated MPG for fleets for 1988 was 24. Thanks to the increased efficiency of our new Tango, our fleet hit 25.45mpg.
The next mandate year is 1990 and the mandate is 25mpg, so Nassau is in fantastic shape. The Bandito has been released and while it only achieves 18mpg, it is also classified as a light truck. Light trucks do not currently fall under CAFE guidelines.
Political leaders are currently hashing out CAFE guidelines for the 1990s.
Pricing Information
We are also ready to release revised pricing information for our 1989 lineup. Prices will be as follows.
$8,218 - Nifty S
$10,385 - Nifty Deluxe
$10,457 - Tango R
$11,605 - Tango S
$11,494 - Bandito Pickup
$12,016 - Bandito S
$12,635 - Laguna S
$13,540 - Laguna Turbo
$17,024 - Laguna NP
$14,266 - Accolade SE
$14,440 - Accolade Estate
We’re also ready to release primary pricing information for the 1990 Accolade. These numbers are subject to change.
$16,047 - Accolade SE
$16,246 - Accolade Estate
$17,219 - Accolade Sport
$19,939 - Accolade Elite
Answers to the Press
There are currently no plans to offer the Accolade Sport or any other Accolade models with all-wheel drive. Nassau’s only all-wheel drive system, which is currently offered on the Bandito cannot be used in the Accolade due to packaging. It simply won’t fit. Nassau engineers are currently looking into different powertrain options for future models.
That being said, our engineers have spent years tuning the Accolade Sport’s powertrain and LSD system and we believe it is fully capable of handling the power output of the 3.3L V6.
3 Likes
November 20, 1989 - All of the major motorsports series have wrapped up their seasons. Let’s take a look at how Nassau performed this year.
Fruinian Touring Car Championship
Nassau currently only participates in the FTCC, as the cars we build do not meet specifications for any other series. That’s fine with us though. For 1989, the Laguna NP took over for the Laguna Turbo. Took over is the correct phrase as we simply dominated the 20 race FTCC. We added 2 new teams and 4 new drivers. Marcos Andres earned his 3rd career championship.
FTCC Final Standings:
1st - Marcos Andres (Nassau Performance) - 6 victories
2nd - Anton Gustav (Trenton Perfomance) - 4 victories (Rookie of the Year)
4th - Stan Specter (Segelson Motorsports) - 2 victories
5th - Casey Alexander (Dover Motorsport) - 1 victory
7th - Jason Borden (Dover Motorsport) - 1 victory
8th - Greg Adams (Segelson Motorsports)
9th - Bill Lindgren (Nassau Performance)
11th - Fred Donaldson (Donaldson Racing)
14th - Ronnie James (Donaldson Racing)
15th - Zack Dokken (Trenton Performance)
December 28, 1989 - The final 1989 Accolade Estate wagon has sold. Let’s take a look back at our premium wagon.
The Accolade Estate debuted for the 1984 model year. This marked an almost complete departure from our previous offerings in the mid and full size car segments. Replacing the rear wheel drive, V8 Galleon, the Accolade was a front wheel drive mid sizer powered by a V6. The V6 under the hood was Nassau’s first. The Accolade Estate was only available in 1 trim, with a premium upscale interior. This was also a departure from the Galleon, which was offered in both base and premium trim levels.
We had projected the sedan version of the Accolade to outsell the wagon, but once consumers got their hands on them things quickly changed. The Accolade Estate outsold the Accolade SE every model year. The top sales year for the wagon was 1986, when 64,281 were sold.
The Accolade Estate will be replaced in 1990 by a refreshed model.
Accolade Estate Sales
1984: 50,850
1985: 47,090
1986: 64,281
1987: 63,273
1988: 43,149
1989: 29,869
Total: 298,512
2 Likes