Njord Automobile AB || A Campaign Story

Racetro · 17 February 2026 17:36

Njord Automobile AB

"Explore without compromise"

Since 1922, parent company Njord Maritime Solutions AB - headquartered in Gernau, Hetvesia - specialized in the design and manufacture of marine powertrian systems ranging from portable outboard motors to inboard units for larger vessels. Operating as a small, local business, the company slowly grew up to the start of The Great War. In 1941, Njord Maritime Solutions secured a 2-year contract with the Gasmean military to supply powertrains for a fleet of torpedo boats. Fulfilling the contract and securing a sizable financial package, the company looked to expand into new transportation markets - namely the rising demand for personal automobiles.

With $15 million from the contract and $5 million in federal grants, Njord Maritime Solutions AB developed a new company in 1943 to head design, manufacture, and sales into the automobile market: Njord Automobile AB, headquartered in Reimsboden, Hetvesia. Heeding the effort was Rasmus Hagerström; the previous Chief Industrial Operations Officer from Njord Maritime Solutions now CEO of Njord Automobile.

Rasmus tended to be conservative in his business approach - valuing consistency and proven design as key to success. Unique for the time, Rasmus also demanded a strong focus in designing cars around safety. According to Rasmus, “A car a customer can walk away from is a car the customer will come back to.” These values would have a strong influence in the company’s direction.

Starting with a small team of designers, engineers, and marketers, Njord Automobile quickly got to work developing the company’s first foray into the automobile industry. With Hetvesia being relatively untouched from the war, support from parent company Njord Maritime Solutions, and trends showing significant demand for personal transport when the war ends, Njord Automobile AB had a strong chance to make a strong presense with their first model.

Foreword

Njord Automobile AB is a campaign playthrough that started in October 2025 with the following staring settings (1.5x Difficulty Multiplier):

$20M Starting Cash
HQ Level 1
100% Engineering Time
100% Competitor Difficulty
2 Techpool in Engine Family, Top End, and Bottom End
50 Market Desire
Medium Market Volatility
Dealerships || Home: Lv0 || Other: Lv0
No Factories
Realistic Emissions Regulations
Standard Safety Regulations
1x Capacity Tax

Up to the in-game year of 1994, the campaign playthrough was shared on the official Automation Discord. Considering the amount of work put into developing these cars and the company, this thread was created where I will share the journey of Njord while also expanding the lore of the company.

Being a story-driven campaign, you will not find optimal gameplay or score-maxxing here. I will also be making some creative decisions outside of the campaign: such as creating trims of cars with alternative transmission options or non-production cars. Also note if the company goes bankrupt in campaign, it will also go bankrupt in the lore - it could make for some interesting story writing.

With that said, enjoy this campaign story of Njord Automobile AB.

Community Participation

Any good story has a human element - this is where you can come in.

How you respond to the company’s decisions and the cars that are made will influence the direction of the story. Roleplay is encouraged: sharing your story owning and modifying a Njord, employee responses to company decisions, or even running portions of the company such as helping me design some Njords such as rally cars and future models (since they take so much time for me to do).

Another idea is sharing short stories which involve Njord or Njord automobiles, especially ones that focus on the human element: road trip stories, memories owning a Njord, and working at the company could be a few ideas for inspiration. It’s also a great opportunity to practice lore and story writing as a community.

abg7 · 17 February 2026 18:37

There haven’t been many threads showcasing campaign playthroughs explicitly stated to be set in Hetvesia, so this is a nice change.

Knugcab · 17 February 2026 18:41

Oh, very interesting with the “influential” part, will follow.

Racetro · 19 February 2026 03:53

The HETVESIAN TIMES - 1943

FRUINIA DECLARES WAR ON SCHEMMLAND!

On 21 September 1943, Fruinia officially declares war on its former northern partner, Schemmland.
Fruinia was led into the war by Abelardo Pasqualini, the fascist prime minister who enlisted the nation to form an alliance with Nauti Schemmland in 1936. In the spring of 1943, as Gasmean forces annexed Vianta, public support for the war waned and Pasqualini was ousted from power on July 2. Fruinia's new prime minister, Surano Clarizio, sought peace with the Allied Forces, reaching an armistice on July 25.
On reaching the armistice, Gasmean general William Dean commented, "The Fruinian alliance will prove crucial in pushing the Southern front towards the heart of the enemy. Fruinian hatred of the Nauti party and Pasqualini's poor leadership unquestionably grew as fighting spirit waned, with skirmishes between the Fruinian and Schemmish soldiers and public showing very clearly a complete and incontrovertible end of any sympathy between the former Axis partners. With Clarizio's willingness, and the Fruinian's eagerness, to pin their hopes to a better role in shaping this war towards peace, this new alliance is expected to help our forces advance towards the heart of Schemmland, and soon end this war."
Fruinian forces, along with the Gasmeans and Mauves, will continue advancing on the southern and western fronts until reaching the Schemmland capital Willburg and removing Schitler and the Nauti party from power. Calidentado is expected to retaliate against Fruinia with a war declaration of their own.

1943 - Defining Njord's First Automobile

With the war raging on in the east, Leonard Hansson - Chief Designer, company CEO Rasmus Hagerström, and other high-ranking members of the company get to work defining the car to introduce Njord to the automobile market.

Over the course of a few months, the team deliberated, debated, and decided on what aspects to focus into for the vehicle. By the end of winter, a final set of guidelines was reached:

Four Seater Family Car

The first guideline the team reached was that the car should be targeted towards the family market. While Hetvesia was a neutral party with regards to the war, there was still considerable effects on international supply chains which reduced output for many industries in the country - especially automotive. The few resources that automobile manufacturers were able to get during the war have been prioritized towards the manufacture of weapons and military vehicles - meaning that there has not been enough production to satiate demand for personal automobiles.

Expected demand for family vehicles is expected to be massive by the time the war ends; in fact, demand is already there from customers who have been having to drive cars that are beginning to fall apart from age and lack of parts availability. This presents Njord with a golden opportunity to beat the competition to the market. The company is smaller than the established automakers, meaning lower development costs and a sooner timing to the market - not to mention starting development now means a car should be ready by the time the war is over.

Simple Design for Manufacturability

The company has $20 million to use between design, tooling, marketing, and organizational operations; Hagerström is in the talks with the Hetvesia National Bank to secure loans for additional funding of the project. Since Njord’s finances and current manufacturing facilities are limited (really, nonexistent), it is going to be critical that the vehicle is designed to minimize manufacturing complexity.

Off the bat, the car will need to use aluminum body panels instead of steel. While steel has a significantly lower material cost, it also requires large and expensive tooling such as presses and dies; something Njord simply does not have the resources for at its current scale. Instead, aluminum will need to be hand-worked to shape. To counter the high cost of aluminum and the limited production capacity, the car should incorporate features that target the smaller, premium end of the family market as long as the impact to manufacturability is limited.

Utilize Njord Maritime Solutions' Powertrain

Njord Maritime Solutions is working on a new line of inboard petroleum-powered powertrains with a release target of fall 1944. The maritime company has agreed to contract the automobile program with engines it produces as well as making some slight changes to the design; however, how much we can change the design will be limited considering priority will be given to their customers and the engines themselves are very late in the design cycle.

Offloading engine production is going to help Njord Automobile considerably, as now the team can focus efforts on chassis development. Outsourcing engine construction will also reduce company logistics required, meaning Njord Automobile can get away with having a smaller team at the start for stable, consistent company growth.

Maximize Occupant Accident Survivability

Lastly, the car must be designed to keep its occupants safe in the event of an accident. This guideline received by far the most debates when establishing guidelines for Njord’s first car. Hansson, along with other engineers who participated in the definition process, liked the idea of developing a safer car, however he was concerned that incorporating safety devices into the car would move the design away from being simple to manufacture. Hagerström, on the other hand, pointed out that being able to maintain a base of repeat customers was critical for Njord Automobile’s survival as a company. Considering the low survivability of the average car’s crashworthiness, being able to maximize occupant survivability in Njord’s cars would mean maximizing the amount of customers who could come back to buy another Njord.

Between the meetings, Hansson experimented with different concept sketches to test the feasibility of the idea: a safety glass windshield that could be epoxied in place, heavy-duty bumpers bolted directly to the frame, and the frame itself utilizing bolt-on angled cross-members which would minimize the amount of additional welding required. Toying with these rough concepts along with many others, Hansson saw feasibility in the design and eventually came to the agreement to design around crashworthiness.

With the guiding design principles in place, Hansson led his team of engineers to begin work on designing and prototyping Njord’s first car. It is unclear when the car was going to release considering the ongoing world war, however the team set a target to have the design finalized and ready for production by the summer of 1946. Hagerström continued working with the Hetvesian National Bank to secure loans for the vehicle’s design and setting up production. Work in progress, the team would work towards the future where, with luck, the war will have ended, there’ll be customers at the door, and a brand new Njord ready to be sold.

Racetro · 19 February 2026 16:26

The HETVESIAN TIMES - 1945

WORLD WAR IS OVER!

Gasmean President Robinson announced at 6 o'clock tonight that the war with Schemmland is over. General William Dean, he said, has been designated to receive the Schemmish surrender, and Allied Archanan and Fruinian commanders in the east have been ordered to cease hostilities. The president - five years, three months, and fourteen days after the Nauti takeover of the nation Mauve - announced the end of the war and designated a two day national holiday to celebrate with the Gasmean people. The president has also announced that troops in stationed in Schemmland will be reduced from 80,000 to 15,000 to assist in post-war restructuring and to detain the remaining leaders and officials of the Nauti party for international trials. Having taken control of Calidentado a few months prior, Fruinia has also begun celebration to the end of the war. Prime Minister Clarizio during an interview in the week leading up to the end of the war commented, "With the war ... coming to a close, the people of Fruinia look forwards to the future of our nation. The past actions of our country's leadership was detrimental to our standing to our now foreign allies, and it will take decades of work from our leadership and our citizenship to repair those bonds of trust. It is a tall challenge, but one Fruinia is set to take on." Reaching out to Hetvesian Prime Minister Miettinen, he responded, "I am happy to see an end to this brutal war; a war that has costed the lives of both the soldiers on the battlefield as well as the lives of those here at home. We will be working closely with the world nations to ensure this new era of peace will last from now until forever."

1945 - Production Planning

Over the course of the last two years, Njord Automobile has made significant progress with the development of its first foray into the automotive industry. The $22M in loans Hagerström was able to secure for the project has ensured his team has enough funds to finish development of the new car while having some reserve leftover for expanding the company. There was a catch however; a low company valuation and the lack of brand experience meant a 7% interest rate. To break even, Njord would need to earn $500k in monthly revenue, plus more to cover production and operational costs. Despite this, the $20M held by Njord should help protect the company long as there are enough buyers to keep losses low.

Pre-Production Prototype Almost Complete

Hansson and his team of engineers are close to completing the first pre-production prototype of the new car: the FB-396.

What started as some concept sketches evolved into multiple iterations of prototypes: scale models, a rolling chassis. clay forming, and production modelling. Many of Hansson’s safety-enhancing designs made it to the pre-production prototype with testing showcasing promising results for accident survivability. The engine - a 1.3L I4 unit named the NB2-30KW selected from Njord Maritime Solutions’ product line - only required minor modifications for use in the automobile, mainly modified motor mounts and attachment points for a 3-speed column shift transmission sourced from FMC Transmissions.

Breaking Ground for the Factory in Reimsboden

Njord Automobile has purchased a 16 hectares plot of land 50 km east of Reimsboden, Hetvesia. The location was selected for multiple reasons. Firstly it is close to the company headquarters, allowing for better communication between manufacturing, designers, and management. Secondly the town of Reimsboden offered to sell the land for $7.8M - a generous price to help bring jobs to the area. Lastly, the close proximity to Gasmea and Fruinia will help keep shipping costs low if foreign market awareness can be developed for increased sales.

With factory construction underway and the pre-production prototype of the FB-396 nearing completion, designers have begun working with the industrial and manufacturing engineers to tweak the design and set up the automobile’s production line.

Marketing Campaign for the FB-396

With the war ending much sooner than expected, the pressure was on to boost public awareness before the model's release. Njord had a marketing team, however with limited manpower the majority of these employees had to focus on establishing deals towards parts suppliers setting up for production. With few resources to work with, Hagerström directed one of his members of the management team to contract work to external marketing teams to advertise the FB-396 before its scheduled mid-1946 release.

Community Participation

With manpower severely limited, Njord Automobile AB has contracted you to develop a marketing campaign to advertise the upcoming model: the FB-396.

Here is where you can show off some of your advertising skills: an advertisement in the local newspaper or magazine, a strategic campaign to showcase the car, or perhaps a video advertisement utilizing the new television technology coming out now in 1945. Whatever you decide to do, feel free to showcase your creations to the community on this thread. I’ve also provided some information on the car along with download files for taking photos or videos (note the car uses some mods that will need to be downloaded from Steam).

Vehicle Information:
The car will be sold under two trims: the 1300 and the 1300 L.
The 1300 is the base model of the vehicle with a price of $10.7k
The 1300 L adds a FM radio, leather interior, whitewalls, and foglamps for a price of $14.8k
The car only comes comes in two colors - blue and grey (which are already painted to both cars).
Advanced safety technology comes standard on both cars: heavy duty ladder frame chassis, impact resistant bumpers, safety glass windows, and a recessed gauge cluster.

FB-396_-_1300.car (199.6 KB)
FB-396_-_1300_L.car (230.5 KB)

I look forward to see what you all come up with!

Racetro · 22 February 2026 00:14

The HETVESIAN TIMES - 1946

WORLD BORDERS CHANGE FOLLOWING THE CHAPELLE ACCORDS!

On a cool winter day, 3 January 1946, representatives from Gasmea, Foglania, Mauve, Schemmland, Fruinia, Calidentado, Archana, and new nation Dalluha have come together to sign the Chapelle Accords - establishing new world borders following the war.
Gasmea - holding the most sovereignty amongst the participating nations - has gained a substantial amount of territory. The nations of Foglania, Mauve, Schemmland, and northern Calidentado surrendered independence to the western nation, having their territories incorporated within Gasmea. The regions of Foglania and Mauve have been renamed to North Gasmea and Val-du-Mauve respectively, while Schemmland will keep their name for the new region, which has incorporated the northern Calidentado territory.
As punishment for Fruinia's involvement with the Axis powers at the beginning of the war, Gasmea has annexed the large island region of Vianta to be incorporated into its national borders, as well as $24 billion in reparations to be paid to the Gasmean government. While Fruinia has lost territory, some land in the east was gained with Gasmea rewarding the nation southern Calidentado territory for its alliance against the Nauti Shemmish forces during the second half of the war.
For their later participation in the war following a surprise attack from the Axis after the fall of former ally Wazdukski, Gasmea has rewarded Archana with the Wazdukski region - which Archana has renamed Wazdukski Kraina. However, Archana has lost territory to new nation Dalluha.
Following the fall of Sultan Abdul Baasid al-Khalil's empire in 1865, the Dalluhan region has been under Archanan authority. Archana has benefitted tremendously from the small region since the discovery of the largest oil reserve in the world to date powering their industries. In 1944, two years after Archana entered the world war, the Dalluhan region rebelled; declaring independence from Archana and re-establishing its monarchy, declaring Jihaad al-Yassin as Sheikh. Despite retaliation from Archana, their already depleted resources from fighting in the war as well as Dalluha's challenging geography and air superiority has led to the nation's success in maintaining independence from Archana. With the signing of the Chapelle Accords, Dalluha has been recognized by the world nations as an independent country. Despite the feud between Archana and Dalluha, we expect trade relations to remain with their economies being dependent on Dalluhan oil.
When asked to comment on the Accords by our reporter Oskari Pekkanen, Hetvesian Prime Minister Miettinen responded, "We look forward to continuing international trade deals with Fruinia and the expanded nation of Gasmea." With major changes in the new world order, only time will tell if the peace agreement can last.

1946 - Time to Panic?

Things have taken a turn for the worse three years since the start of the Njord Automobile campaign. Disfunction within the organization and lackluster response from contractors has put the company in a precarious position. In desperation, CEO Rasmus Hagerström has taken decisive measures to save Njord Automobile from flopping after the Njord FB-396's release.

FB-396 Production Delays

The FB-396's release date of summer 1946 has come and gone, yet the Reimsboden factory is far from being production ready with lead times being pushed to winter of 1947. The manufacturing engineers and Leonard Hansson's team of designers have been in argument over the last year. Every time the manufacturing engineers get close to establishing a manufacturing process and get factory tooling designed, Hansson's team makes a design change to the car - negating the manufacturing team's efforts with a forced redesign.

With mounting frustration from the manufacturing engineers and contracted tooling support, Hagerström ordered Hansson to have his team stop making changes to the design "unless the change is critical to meeting our production start target." Hansson pushed back on the order, stating that the improvements being made were critical to maximizing occupant survivability. Hagerström agreed, however the company needed something to sell before risking bankruptcy. With Hagerström's decision being final, Hansson stopped incorporating changes to the car to the relief of the manufacturing team.

Desperate Times Calls for Desperate Measures

Finishing up a conversation on the telephone, Hagerström puts his head in his hands in defeat - not a single marketing agency was interested in advertising his car. Hagerström knew if he couldn't build attention on the FB-396, there would be no customers going to the dealerships on release. Something had to happen, yet Hagerström was stumped. At the end of the day, out of ideas and exhausted from rejection, the CEO got up from his desk, left the Njord headquarters building, and began his bike ride home.

During the ride, Hagerström decided to make an unplanned stop to J. Porter's, a local pub a few kilometers off-course on Vitsippevägen. Ordering a pint of schwarzbier, Hagerström took a few sips while watching the television behind the bar. On the black-and-white screen an advertisement for Waris Vacuum Cleaners was showing.

The advertiser on the television was showcasing the power of the vacuum, picking up a variety of liquids and large debris with the device when an idea began to form. Hagerström thought; if we can demonstrate the FB-396's safety capabilities to the public, then we may not even need the advertising campaign from external marketers. Word-of-mouth and media coverage could be the advertising campaign.

Quickly getting up from the bar and rushing to the nearest telephone, Hagerström began to make some calls. He was going to organize a live crash-test demonstration of the FB-396 with a live audience.

The Crash Test

The occasion could have been mistaken to be organized by a Gasmean with all of the pomp and circumstance. Food vendors, balloons, a live band, and news of the test attracted crowds of people to the event - as well as multiple media crews capturing the first public reveal of Njord's new car, the pre-production prototype of the FB-396.

As the crowd of Hetvesians swooned over the modern styling of the prototype, Hagerström stepped onto a stage and described details of the car as well as announcing a 1947 release. Then, he began to outline the crash test to be performed.

"To showcase the unparalleled safety of our soon-to-be-released automobile, we will be simulating a 60 km/h frontal impact with this very Njord you see today. To get this car up-to-speed, volunteer stunt driver Aukusti Pekkala will pull the FB-396 with this truck up to speed, sever connection between the two vehicles, then safely move out of the FB-396's path where the prototype will collide into this wall at 60 km/h! Within this automobile, we have placed a gelatin-filled dummy within the driver's position! From this test, you will see our advanced safety technology - shard-proof safety glass, impact resistant bumpers, and a reinforced ladder-frame chassis - keep this dummy occupant safe during the impact!"

With the crowd and media moved to the sidelines and the test setup, it was time to perform the demonstration. Starting off, the stunt driver accelerated up to 60 km/h with the FB-396 in tow. At the mark, the tow cable between the truck and the FB-396 was disconnected, allowing the truck to veer away and come to a safe stop while the FB-396 continued forward towards the cinderblock wall. In an instant, the sound of crunching metal echoed across the pavement with the FB-396 now at a standstill at the base of the wall, front crumpled.

With the car still, staff went to go inspect the results of the crash. The impact bumpers and reinforced chassis worked flawlessly in keeping the passenger compartment intact, and the safety glass shattered into small pieces as designed. The public demonstration was looking like a resounding success.

Upon reaching the FB-396, Hagerström peered inside of the cockpit to see how the dummy held up. He was met with the spray of gelatin all over the dashboard where the dummy's head sat, impaled by the steering column.

Racetro · 25 February 2026 17:02

The HETVESIAN TIMES - 1947

FIRST AIRCRAFT TO BREAK SOUND BARRIER!

The Gasmean Army Air Forces has declassified a flight testing attempt of one of their experimental aircraft. The rocket-powered aircraft piloted by Captain Charlie "Chad" Jaeger reached Mach 1.06, or 1,308 km/h, becoming the first recorded man-made vehicle to break the sound barrier.
The supersonic research project is a joint collaboration between the Gasmean Committee of Aeronautical Advisors (GCAA), Gasmean Army Air Forces, and Xylo Aerospace Technologies. The aircraft - the Xylo Y-1 - is a rocket engine powered aircraft fueled with a mixture of ethyl-alcohol, dihydrogen monoxide, and a liquid oxygen oxidizer. The aircraft's aerodynamics - effectively a "bullet with wings" - were designed to minimize drag under operation; allowing the vehicle to reach exceptional speeds with sable flight.
The manned supersonic flight occured over the Great Plains in Gasmea. Captain Charlie "Chad" Jaeger, piloting Xylo Y-1 #1 (67-420), was drop launched from the bomb bay of a G-29 bomber at an altitude of 13.1 km. Igniting the four-chamber engine, the Air Force Captain rocketed the Xylo Y-1 to a top speed of Mach 1.06 before cutting throttle and safely gliding to a landing in a dry lakebed. The flight lasted for 15 minutes.

1947 - Njord FB-396 Release

The risk to the driver from a solid steering column was not unusual for the time - many cars being sold had the exact same issue exemplified by the Njord's crash test. What was unusual though was performing a crash test in front of a live audience with the car, making the FB-396 look much worse than the competition despite its safety advancements.

Hagerström's desperate, decisive measures created a PR nightmare following the event. Editorials in the newspapers grilled Njord Automobile AB; headlines reading "Njord Creates Overpriced Coffin" and "The FB-396: Njord's Failed Brain Surgeon." Any potential sales slowed to a crawl with preorders for the FB-396 barely trickling in. The fallout from the crash test even impacted sales of Njord Maritime Solution's marine powertrains.

Despite media backlash towards the company and fury from the Njord private shareholders, Hagerström had no choice but to continue the FB-396 program with the company's limited funds. To remedy the steering column issue, Chief Designer Hansson modified the FB-396's steering system by introducing a fabric-reinforced flexible rubber coupling between the steering wheel shaft and the recirculating ball steering box. The design worked as a decent stop-gap, minimizing column shifting during impacts and minimizing factory retooling, however it had the unintended side effect of worsening steering feel when driving.

On February 1947, the first FB-396s rolled off of the Reimsboden assembly line.

The FB-396

New for '47 - coming to you from Njord Automobile - the FB-396 is the latest innovation in private transportation. Utilizing the latest in technology from the war and our expert engineers, the FB-396 is easy to drive, reliable, and most importantly safe, ensuring you and your loved ones will get wherever you are headed.

Chassis

The bodyshell, hand-formed from aluminum, sits atop a reinforced "X-Frame" ladder chassis. Suspended by a dual-wishbone independent front suspension and coiled live rear axle, sitting atop comfort-oriented 155/90C14 bias-ply tires, the FB-396 provides a smooth, confident ride. Whitewalls comes standard on the 1300 L trim.

The styling of the FB-396 is traditional, yet modern, incorporating art deco elements with a sleek, fenderless ponton body. The design embraces deliberate simplicity with geometric shapes and lines that seamlessly flow into each other. Impact resistant chrome front and rear bumpers help to ensure the automobile's bodylines remain unblemished in day-to-day driving. The 1300 L includes yellow fog lamps for optimal visibility no matter the conditions.

Interior

The forward-looking design carries into the interior as well. A recessed gauge cluster features prominently in front of the driver, keeping the driver safe in the event of an impact while also displaying information such as engine temperature, road speed, and and the automobile's fuel level. Rolled front windows as well as swivel fly windows by the A-pillars help keep the cabin full of cool, clean air.

The steering system has also been upgraded since the last reveal of the FB-396 to ensure the driver is safe in the event of a front end collision. Option for the 1300 L and you receive a number of upgrades for keeping you comfortable on those longer journeys: leather seats, a passenger side rear-view mirror, and a high-quality AM radio.

Powertrain

Powering the runabout is a 1.3 L naturally-aspirated inline 4: the NB2-30KW. This inboard marine vessel engine is supplied by Njord Maritime Solutions and is available for purchase along with other powertrain options from Njord Maritime Solution's catalog.

With 32 kW (43 hp) @ 4400 rpm and 82 Nm (60 ft-lb) @ 3000 rpm pushed through a 3-speed column shift FMC transmission into the rear wheels, the FB-396 is capable of travelling from a standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 25.5 seconds . The automobile is also capable of comfortable highway cruising with a top speed of 109 km/h (68 mph). The powertrain is also efficient, only consuming 12 L / 100 km of petrol (19.6 mpg) - helping you save at the fuel pump.

Trim Options

The FB-396 comes in two different trim packages: the 1300 and the 1300 L. Both cars can be had in two colors: Glaciar Gra and Isbla.

The 1300 is the standard variant of the FB-396: featuring cloth seats, impact-resistant bumpers, and a safety-oriented cockpit. MSRP for the 1300 comes in at $10,700.

The 1300 L adds multiple additional features: front yellow fog lamps, whitewalls, a passenger rear view mirror, leather seats, and an AM radio. MSRP for the 1300 L comes in at $14,800.

Detailed Specifications

Vehicle Downloads

Njord 1300
FB-396_-_1300.car (199.6 KB)
Njord 1300 L
FB-396_-_1300_L.car (230.5 KB)

Izuna · 25 February 2026 22:13

I really like the story your building here, the Xylo Y-1 looks well built and was an interesting read too.

as a side id like to modify a FB-396 for rally use and even build you a more detailed chassis for your story. my own car company, Izuna. isnt as old as this but the sister company ARTA has been around for some time lore wise.

Racetro · 25 February 2026 22:56

Thank you for the kind comments! The Xylo Y-1 took a lot of inspiration from the real-life Bell X-1 - I highly recommend checking out the history of the X-Plane program if you’re a fan of aerospace history.

All of the production cars in this campaign run were already made when I was sharing my playthrough on the Automation Discord, at least up until 1994 where the actual campaign is at right now - so support on Njord’s production cars will be a bit limited. Race cars, concept cars and custom aren’t off the table though, as well as production cars once we get to 1994.

I would love to see what you come up with for a rally car! You could even share a “in-universe” story of a privateer team that used the FB-396 in competition if you’d like - it ties into the “Community Participation” element of Njord after all

Izuna · 25 February 2026 23:07

ah cool i didnt know you were further along, i could also do a Group B build too

Racetro · 28 February 2026 05:18

The HETVESIAN TIMES - 1948

STRAY DOG SAVES FAMILY FROM HOUSE FIRE!

Modified image from Edu Raw.

In the late hours of a cold evening in the small village of Schuffental, the Pitkänen family was fast asleep when a fire broke out inside of their small townhome. That was when a stray dog nearby the home became the local hero for her courageous actions.
Mr. and Mrs. Pitkänen's two daughters, Laila (age 7) and Naemi (age 9) were the first to be awoken by the stray. "The first thing I remember was a dog jumping through our bedroom window and barking at us before noticing smoke coming through our door," said Naemi in an interview after the events. "Once we knew there was a fire, me and my sister woke up Mom and Dad before we all ran out of the house in time."
Fire crews arrived minutes later to a house engulfed in flames and were able to contain the blaze with significant damage to the residence. No injuries were reported.
"The Pitkänen's were lucky to have this pooch take action with the fire," mentioned a firefighter at the scene. "Had it not been for the stray's actions, it is unlikely the family would have gotten out in time."
Fire officials are reminding local residents to maintain safe practices when handling fire within their homes. As for our stray hero - now named Enkeli - she found a home with the Pitkänen family.

1948 - Company Expansion

Following eleven months of production, the first sales numbers for the FB-396 have arrived. Njord was able to produce and sell 3,795 units of the FB-396: 925 units of the 1300 and 2,870 units of the 1300 L. With a strong first year of sales, Njord Automobile gained a profit of $12.1M.

Nobody knew for sure how the FB-396 was able to become such a sales success despite the slow preorders. Perhaps it was the timing of the FB-396's launch being so early compared to the competition, giving Njord the advantage of capturing those early sales from customers desperate for a new car. Maybe Njord's efforts to improve the steering column's safety convinced the public to give the car another chance. Who knows. Hagerström did know that the company had to act quickly to keep momentum growing the company before the tax man ate up the mass injection of profits.

Njord Automobile had sufficient logistical capacity for the current iteration of FB-396 production, however more manpower was necessary for the future. During the first year of the FB-396's production, Hagerström invested the company's influx of profit into three areas: developing a R&D facility, growing the Njord marketing effort, and beginning work on expanding FB-396 production numbers. It was time to expand the company's headquarters.

Reimsboden R&D Facility

Njord's R&D efforts needed a dedicated space to expand to validate designs for incorporation into future products. Purchasing a 8 hectare plot of land on the outskirts of Reimsboden, the company developed the Njord Automobile AB Vehicle Testing Facility. The goal of this facility was to provide a controlled environment for test engineers and researchers to develop next-generation technology for future Njord models.

The Njord Vehicle Testing Facility had multiple elements for testing various vehicle driving scenarios. A skid pad with a built-in sprinkler system could test vehicle handling in controlled low-grip scenarios. A small section of elevated road tested vehicle ascent and decent capabilities. Just outside of the fenced area was an engineered rough road for optimizing chassis dynamics in rough conditions. Local roads near the facility also provided some opportunities for real-world testing.

Since the construction of the facility, engineers have already been hard at work testing the FB-396's vehicle dynamics as well as researching new designs to improve brake, tire, and suspension technology. As the R&D team matures, next generation Njord's are expected to build a technological advantage over the competition, helping drive consumers to the brand.

Marketing Department

3,700 cars sold in a single year is an impressive feat considering the size of Njord Automobile in its current state, however is also a long ways off from being truly "mass production." Simply put, Njord is still a niche manufacturer and needs to gain market awareness to sell more cars.

To head the marketing effort, Hagerström created a new position to oversee the company's marketing team: Head of Marketing. Filling the position is Filip Ohlsson, a man with extensive experience running the marketing department for Waris Vacuum Cleaners. Ohlsson's first directive from the CEO was to develop a marketing campaign to bring Njord Automobile into the minds of family car buyers, emphasizing the FB-396's safety, reliability, and drivability.

Manufacturability Study

Now that FB-396 production had hit steady-state flow, Hagerström directed Chief Designer Hansson to have his team of designers work with the manufacturing engineers on the factory floor. The goal of the study was to optimize design manufacturability for the next planned facelift of the FB-396. The study would be crucial in keeping factory efficiency up as it expands as well as reducing manufacturing costs.

For the study, the design team would analyze the thousands of parts and fasteners that made the car, then work at consolidating as many parts into singular parts as possible. By effectively reducing the amount of parts required to be bolted or welded into place, the design team could reduce the effective production units of various sub assemblies across the automobile.

Private Investor Board Meeting

Njord Automobile may have been able to generate a profit, and Hagerström may have been making a serious effort at growing the company, however the fallout effects from the rough launch of the FB-396 were not lost to the private investors holding shares of Njord Automobile AB and Njord Maritime Solutions AB stock.

Board members felt that Hagerström did not take action soon enough with the issues Hansson's designers were giving the production team - noting the endless design changes that caused factory tooling to be delayed. Some believed that Njord Automobile lost at least eight months of potential sales due to the team disfunction.

But what really broke the camel's back was the public crash test. Destroying the pre-production prototype meant the marketing team had no vehicle to advertise until near the release date, not to mention the steering shaft's failure painting Njord as a careless corporation in the public eye. Njord Maritime Solution's NB engine program was bleeding the company $4M per month, which many board members blamed Hagerström for citing a drop in sales after the crash test incident. But worst of all, Hagerström did not consult with the shareholders about performing the crash test, instead "going rogue" without the board's consent.

Image modified from New Georgia Encyclopedia

Private shareholder members of Njord Automobile AB and Njord Maritime Solutions AB came together to discuss what to do regarding Hagerström as CEO. Has Hagerström shown to be too risky to the valuation of both companies? Should the board remove Hagerström as CEO? Or maybe another solution is in order.

COMMUNITY EVENT: Private Investor Board Meeting

You will be roleplaying as one of the members participating in the Njord private investor board meeting.

Hagerström’s actions thus far in the story could be seen as divisive to the members of the board. Considering what has happened so far and what you believe might happen in the future, should Rasmus Hagerström be removed from the CEO position? Should the CEO be given an ultimatum to keep his position? Is the board overreacting and Hagerström has done a good job for the company?

Post your responses in the comments below, and feel free to debate with each other on your stances regarding Hagerström’s employment - this is a “meeting” after all. Feel free to ask questions as well if you need more information to formulate your response.

Your responses in this event will have a major impact on Njord Automobile’s organizational structure moving forward. You will have until at least 7 March to make your responses - where I expect to make the next chapter for Njord’s story.

Racetro · 7 March 2026 06:36

The HETVESIAN TIMES - 1950

ARCHANA HAS ATOMIC BOMB!

Modified image from picryl.

Gasmea is no longer the only nation to hold atomic weapons - the Socialist Party of Archana, or the S.P.A., has declared to have tested their first atomic bomb. The weapon, RAB-1, was detonated in a secret Archanan testing site with a blast force of 24 kilotons of TNT.
Since its first usage near the end of the war, Gasmea has been the only country with access to the atom bomb; a weapon that levelled the now nonexistent city of Naamburg, drawing former Schemmland to an unconditional surrender. With tensions rising between the capitalist nation of Gasmea and the socialist republic of Archana, the Archanan's creation of the atom bomb could risk absolute destruction if the two powers were to fall into war.
For the first time in history, we now have weapons so powerful that their usage could result in the mutually assured destruction of the human race, as well as all life on Earth.
In a public service announcement, Hetvesian Prime Minister Miettinen gave insight to the country's next actions with the atomic news. "The news of Archana's weapon today only makes my administration's priority of cooperative global diplomacy more important than ever."

1950 - Putting Njord FB-396s in a Row

Nothing came of the board meeting between Njord's private investors. The majority of members were reluctant to make any points or arguments for or against removing Rasmus Hagerström as CEO of Njord Automobile AB. It was unclear why the board was sheepish towards the decision, perhaps the board was more worried about shaking the Njord boat so early from the company's startup, risking premature failure. As such, Hagerström would remain as CEO, despite being completely unaware that the board meeting ever took place.

Over the last two years, Chief Designer Leonard Hansson's team had been hard at work optimizing the FB-396's manufacturability, Head of Marketing Filip Ohlsson developed a marketing campaign to improve Hetvesian market awareness, and new small business owners have been setting up Njord dealerships across the country. Another 6,432 FB-396s were shipped out the factory doors since 1948, now bringing the total amount of Njords on the road to 10,227.

Despite rising costs from the expanded headquarters, research, marketing, FB-396 redesign, and factory retooling for the redesign, Njord was able to maintain a breakeven with the revenue from FB-396 sales. With the FB-396 production optimizations, more cars could be produced with less effort. More revenue plus less cost equals massive profits.

With the FB-396 optimizations complete and the Reimsboden factory retooled rolling into 1950, the '51 model year Njord FB-396 makes its debut.

'51 FB-396 Refresh

After two years of work, the first refresh of the FB-396 was launched to the public. On the surface, not much was different with the FB-396; The rear gained separate indicator lights for improved visibility and the 1300 trim level introduced a simplified version of the AM radio. Under the bodywork however, significant changes were made that significantly improved manufacturability.

Tweaks were made throughout the car; the biggest improvement was made with the suspension. The original design had a difficult to assemble front suspension geometry; It was cumbersome to work on, requiring multiple technicians to hold various control arms and brackets in place while another bolted the assembly together. The assembly line had to be paused multiple times because of this issue.

Hansson's team simplified the suspension assembly considerably, and the manufacturing engineering team developed a hydraulically-actuated jig as well as significantly improved work instructions. This improvement turned a 30 minute job into a 5 minute process and eliminated a significant amount of line shutdowns and quality issues.

FB-396 Advertising

When Ohlsson was introduced to the Njord company in 1948, he and his marketing team got quick to work building the brand's awareness with the Hetvesian market. Utilizing magazine advertisements and radio commercials and working with aspiring small business owners set up dealerships, Njord was able to build a strong reputation as a maker of safe, reliable, and comfortable vehicles. In 1950, an internal marketing study determined 12% of buyers in the family, commuter, and premium markets considered purchasing a Njord, with a projected 3% yearly increase in awareness.

A Day at the Lake

The Reimsboden winter was especially brutal in 1950. Temperatures dipped as low as -40°C on some days, and the nearby lake Reimsee completely froze over.

On one winter day, shortly after the FB-396 refresh launched, Hansson decided to organize a day at the lake with his team for all of their hard work. Early in the morning, Hansson and some others drove some of the test vehicles from the Reimsboden R&D Facility down to Reimsee, where he, his team, and their friends and family members spent the day at the lake sliding cars on the ice and snow.

It was a blast of a time. Many of the employees brought some of their personal automobiles as well onto the ice, going sideways in everything from sports coupes to military surplus off-roaders. An impromptu race even occurred between some of the FB-396 (though most of the race was just spins and laughs).

When they weren't ripping tread on the Reimsee ice, they enjoyed some classic Hetvesian grillkåta: roasted sausages, grilled mackerel, potato gratin, and plenty of ice cold beer satiated their appetites. The employee's children played in the snow while the adults bantered in their cars, with some riding sleds being pulled by some of the cars. One man even did some ice fishing, however the noise from the cars scared all of the fish away.

At the end of the day with shadows drawing long, the makeshift event packed up and headed home. Some, including Hansson, had a bit of an afterparty at J. Porter's. Hansson barely remembers the afterparty - it became quite a blur after the flunkyball game out back started, but he knew he had a hell of a time from the killer hangover the next morning.

Detailed Specifications

Vehicle Downloads

Njord 1300
FB-396_-_1300.car (201.7 KB)
Njord 1300 L
FB-396_-_1300_L.car (202.5 KB)

Racetro · 16 March 2026 06:12

The HETVESIAN TIMES - 1952

ADVENTURIST DUO FIRST TO CLIMB WEISSHORN!

Modified image from Wikipedia Commons.

Two brave men achieved a world record this summer, becoming the first men to successfully summit the legendary Weisshorn: the world's tallest mountain.
Beginning in early May, explorers Frank Heldmann and William Palmer let a team of ten up the mountain, pausing at regular intervals to acclimate to the altitude. "The waiting was the hardest part of the journey," commented Palmer. "It was just us, the ice, and the wind ripping outside of our tents with nothing to do."
Many explorers before the duo have tried and failed to scale the Weisshorn, some even losing their lives in the process. With the mountain's steep height and slippery glacial cliffs, it was not going to let there be an easy climb.
"Those climbers gave us the information we needed to prepare - especially making sure to bring enough oxygen for the final climb," commented Heldmann. "I'm still reminiscing the moment we reached the summit. Beautiful. We could not have done it without our crew."
With the stunning achievement accomplished, we expect more climbers to take on the Weisshorn challenge - just be sure you know what you're getting yourself into.

1/3: The Invitation

Leonard Hansson stood over a drafting table with a pencil in one hand, his other wiping the sweat off his brow from the Hetvesian summer heat late into the afternoon. A small steel desk fan whirred hot, stale air over sketches and drawings of steering column concepts, occasionally picking up loose eraser shavings and graphite dust. Leonard had never been satisfied with the fiber-reinforced rubber steering coupling he’d used on the FB-396, and over the last few weeks he had been hard at work researching methods and making sketches for an improved column design, often staying late into the evening when his fellow coworkers had already gone home.

Hansson checked over his work, occasionally muttering details to himself and making notes in his drawings when the click-clack of footsteps on the concrete floor drew his attention. Moving his gaze from the graphite-dusted workbench, a slim yet sturdy figure dressed in a white top and a plaid grey pencil skirt came into view.

“Running on that midnight oil, again?” asked the woman, taking a seat next to Leonard before playing with her thick, brown hair.

Maria Lindholm had been at the company for a bit under two years working as a senior marketing professional under Filip Ohlsson, and had been friends with Leonard for a little over a year now. When she wasn’t outperforming her envious coworkers with impressive marketing performance metrics, Maria found entertainment in cracking jokes and finding ways to prod her peers - and she particularly enjoyed prodding Leonard.

“I have no idea how you manage to get so much lead all over yourself,” commented Maria, stretching back on her chair before assuming a relaxed position. “You might be done with that design of yours if you’d draw on paper instead of yourself.”

Leonard glanced down at his arms, coated in a mixture of graphite dust and sweat, then to his grey-stained, wrinkled shirt. When he looked down, a small snowfall of graphite dust shook loose from his long blond hair - so coated it was almost another color entirely. “Maybe so…” Leonard searched for a comeback for a moment before giving up, “But I think I might have a winner with this one!” He picked up the draft paper from the work station, not paying much attention to the cup of pencils he knocked over in the process, and explained his breakthrough idea with Maria.

“So when the car crashes, the steering column telescopes into itself?” asked Maria, leaning into the drawing now.

“Exactly!” exclaimed Leonard, grinning cheek to cheek. “That means any deflection in the steering system is constrained to the axis of the shaft. Not only is there no more play in the car’s steering, but this design might even be safer than the old rubber coupling.”

“Nice work, Leonard!” beamed Maria, tapping on the page, seeing her now dusty finger, then wiping it off on Leonard’s shirt. “I don’t suppose you’d have a prototype together in a few weeks, would you?”

“Definitely not,” responded Leonard, now back to making notes on the design sketch. “I’ve got an idea of what I want the shaft to do, the question is how am I going to make it do that.” He gestured Maria’s attention to the pile of crumpled papers underneath the drafting table. “I’ve been banging my head on this desk over the last few weeks.”

“Well I think it’s time you take a break before all this lead gets to your head,” prodded Maria, getting a half smile from Leonard. “Fortunately for you, I’ve got our trip planned out.”

“What do you mean trip?” asked Leonard, confused with the direction the conversation was now going.

“Mr. Ohlsson wanted me to enter a FB-396 into a local rally. He thinks it’d be a good way to showcase the car’s reliability. Gives the team some opportunities to get some action shots too.”

“Thirty kilowatts of power isn’t exactly race car territory, Maria,” said Leonard, bluntly. “I mean, I’d be happy to watch a rally, but I don’t think racing a FB-396 would really help you guys sell more cars.”

“It’s not that kind of rally, dumb dumb,” poked Maria, to Leonard’s mild annoyance. “It’s a regularity rally. Take a looksie.”

Maria produced a small flyer she had been carrying that Leonard noticed she had the whole time. Taking interest, Leonard looked over the flyer. It was pale blue in color, titled 1952 Klaffenstein Loop Road Rally with a painted image of a mountain. Flipping the page, Leonard read the event description and schedule.

The Klaffenstein Loop Road Rally, presented by the Ugenstadt Drivers Club, is a four day event from August 21-24. With the picturesque view of the Klaffenstein supervolcano in near constant view, this event will put you and your partner’s driving and navigation skills to the ultimate test. Your team will be tasked to reach each checkpoint of the stages under controlled time, speed, and distance targets; penalty points are scored by how close you meet these targets with the winner having the fewest penalty points.

Each stage is broken into multiple segments with multiple checkpoints on regulated sections. Stage start times will be dependent on your assigned time card at the event.

EVENT SCHEDULE:

THURSDAY
07:00: Car Show / Meet and Greet
10:00: First Car Begins Ungenstadt - Gronwald Stage
13:30: Group Lunch at Clodfelter’s
15:00: First Car Begins Gronwald - Shuffental Stage

FRIDAY
07:00: Group Breakfast Boda Cafe Bistro
08:30: First Car Begins Schuffental - Luremburg Stage
12:00: Lunch Break
13:00: Continue Schuffental - Luremburg Stage
18:00: Group Dinner / Luremburg Boat Museum Private Tour

SATURDAY
08:00: Group Breakfast Bella Vista Restaurant
09:30: First Car Begins Luremburg - Friedhain am Meer Stage
01:30: Group Lunch Appolo’s Fruinian Restaurant
14:00: Seemansinsel Trail Hike
18:00: Dinner Break
19:00: Continue Luremburg - Friedhain am Meer Stage

SUNDAY
09:00: First Car Begins Freidhain am Meer - Ungenstadt Stage
12:00: Lunch Break
13:00: Continue Freidhain am Meer - Ungenstadt Stage
16:30: Group Dinner Ungenstadter Bierhaus / Awards Ceremony

“Looks like fun,” commented Leonard, handing the flyer back to Maria. “I assume you need me that Thursday to show off the car?”

Maria stared at Leonard for a moment, her pale green eyes shimmering in the dim afternoon light bleeding through the windows, before letting out a laugh and a snort. “Oh, you’re not getting off that easy there, bud,” Maria said between her chuckles. “You’re gonna be my co-driver.”

Leonard could feel the blood rushing through his cheeks. Him and Maria? In a car together for hours on end? Touring the Hetvesian countryside? The very thought was intoxicating, almost too good to be true. It was too good to be true.

Leonard felt a pit forming in his stomach. Have I been getting feelings for Maria? This isn’t good. Every time I’ve caught feelings for a girl, it ended up blowing up in my face. Remember when you thought you were dating Irene back in high school? You asked her out to go look at Christmas lights and she said she had to study that night, only to learn she took her boyfriend to that very same date. How about Ellie? You two were good friends for years, and the moment your dumb ass told her you liked her she disappeared from your life forever. Or how about Vilda? Sure, how were you supposed to know she was the team principal’s girlfriend? It didn’t matter though, because asking her out got you fired from that job and nearly tanked your career.

Leonard found himself in a risky situation. Him and Maria? In a car for hours on end? Touring the Hetvesian countryside? The very thought was terrifying.

“A-are you…,” Leonard could feel his panic swelling, but fought back. He could not show Maria what he really felt about her. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean… I’ve got to get this concept ready to present to management in a few months, and-”

“Sounds like you’ve got plenty of time to work on it,” interrupted Maria. “And frankly, getting away from that desk might do you some good. Mr. Ohlsson did suggest bringing you along to get some real-world analysis on the car.”

Before Leonard could interject, Maria got up from her chair, handing him the rally flyer. “I suggest getting some rest and studying up on navigating, Leo.” Leonard never cared for nicknames, but he gave an exception for Maria; a choice he was now beginning to regret. “I’ve got to get home and start packing.”

Leonard, now alone, was stunned, nervously tapping his pencil between his fingers while staring at the event flyer long after Maria’s footsteps faded from the room. “What have I gotten myself into?”, Leonard quietly spoke to himself. The 1952 Klaffenstein Loop Road Rally stared back at him in bold white letters, the painted mountain looming over the schedule like a dare, or better articulated, a deathwish. Four days. Hundreds of kilometers. Just him and Maria in a car the entire time.

Leonard exhaled slowly and rubbed graphite from his fingers onto the edge of the paper. “This is a terrible idea,” he muttered. His eyes drifted from the drafting table to the flyer, back and forth until his head spun. He dreaded the coming days, and yet, he knew no matter what, he was going to the rally - even if Maria had to drag him there.

MoteurMourmin · 16 March 2026 08:00

Excellent writing, firstly. I can’t wait to see how this rally develops!

Racetro · 19 March 2026 02:11

2/3: The Stage

It was a hot Friday afternoon in the Hetvesian countryside, the rains from earlier in the week having left the pasture a deep, vibrant green and the air thick with moisture. The sky above stretched wide and blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds that cast lazy shadows amongst the rolling fields and rocky peaks. Long, gentle waves of grass and wild lavender flowers swayed in the low fields, only broken by jagged grey rocks and the rare cluster of pines that moved with the wind. The scent of damp earth hung in the gentle breeze, doing little to relieve from the overpowering summer heat.

Between the peaks and valleys, a long ribbon of pavement meandered like a small mountain stream cutting through the grasslands. It twisted and curved between the rocks and hills, occasionally disappearing behind a rise before rising again further into the valley, making its presence known with a glimmer of sunlight reflecting from the surface from the smooth, black tarmac.

The environment was peaceful and calm, with the sounds of robins fluttering in the air, grasshoppers chirping between the blades of grass, and the faint buzz of a little inline four beginning to echo between the rocky peaks of the valley, slowly growing ever so louder until a pale blue car crested the hill.

It was Maria’s Njord FB-396 - a 1300 L with a wooden roof rack framed in chromed steel and white numbers painted onto the windows. It was being driven hard with the little engine fighting for every horse it could push into the rear tires, whooshing over crests and around turns leaving a gust that left the grass on the roadsides dancing after it left.

Inside the little car Maria sat upright behind the wheel, guiding the car quickly through the country road while balancing the engine’s speed with swift gear changes and skilled pedal work. The vibration of the engine and the whine of the gearbox resonated throughout the cabin of the FB-396, only being interrupted by the driver.

“Next instruction,” Maria called out, eyes focused on the road. “Preferably before we drive past it again.”

“Four hundred meters, after crest, left at fork and maintain fifty five kilometers per hour.” Leonard was hunched over in the passenger seat with a folded route book, quickly performing calculations while recording his stopwatch. “Wait… make that sixty five kilometers.”

Leonard missed a call earlier in the leg, sending Maria down the wrong road until he caught his mistake. By the time they corrected course, they were already six minutes behind their target time before even reaching the first checkpoint. Now in the final third of the stage, they had clawed three minutes back by pushing the little car hard, but there wasn’t much road left to close the remaining gap before the final checkpoint. Leonard knew his mistake would cost them plenty of penalty points, but he couldn’t dwell on it now - he had to get Maria out of his head.

Over the hill the car glided over before coming back down to Earth, the suspension compressing and pushing the two into their seats. Foot on the brake, Maria pushed the clutch while blipping the throttle, moving the column gear lever into second. The engine’s RPM jumped, and the car swiftly rounded the corner.

Maria briefly glanced towards Leonard before quickly returning her attention to the drive. “You doing okay over there, Leo?”

Leonard could feel his lunch ready to make an exit, but swallowed, feeling a burn inside of his throat. He paused for a moment, as if wanting to say something before settling with a “Yeah, I’m good.”

Leonard was disappointed with how he’s been around Maria since coming to his realization about his feelings about her. In his heart, he wanted to tell her how he felt. He admired her wit, her confidence, her beauty, even how she brought out the fun side of him when they were together. But in his brain saying anything would risk destroying their friendship, not to mention he had no idea what being in a relationship was like having only experienced them vicariously. His feelings were a mess, and he felt he had nothing he could say when around Maria. It felt awkward.

Fortunately, the timed sections of the rally gave a break from the timid awkwardness when around Maria and allowed him to keep his mind on navigation, at least with the exception of early on in their current stage. Leonard flipped through the pages in the route book, quickly recalculating the target speed for each of the route instructions.

“After the rock formation, moderate right, maintain speed.”

The car sped around the corner, the summer sun glistening off the chrome trim.

“Slight right, caution ditch outside. Nothing for three hundred meters.”

Maria shifted into third gear before taking the turn, tires screeching as they clawed into the pavement. Completing the turn, Maria looked over at Leonard, smiling between a giggle. She didn’t care if they might be losing, she was having a blast. Leonard returned a smile before looking out the windshield, noticing a set of train tracks jutting out of the road surface.

“Shit! Maria!” shouted Leonard. “Tracks!” But there was no time to react.

THUMP-thunk! The jolt to the car shot up Leonard’s spine making his teeth chatter. Jostling from the impact, Maria struggled to regain control of the car, darting left and right as the suspension and chassis flexed. “I think the steering’s fine, I don’t feel any pull.”

“You alright?” asked Leonard, searching for the stopwatch that was knocked out of his hand.

“No, I have a left side too, you know,” replied Maria through a shit-eating grin. “Looks like your watch landed on my lap.”

Sure enough, there was the stopwatch. Leonard went to reach for the watch when the car veered right around another corner, pushing him into Maria. The stopwatch slid off her lap and clattered against the floor as Leonard instinctively grabbed the dashboard to keep from collapsing completely into her. His shoulder pressed against hers, the scent of vanilla and gasoline filling his nose at the same time.

“Whoa-!” Maria laughed, steadying the wheel with one hand while shoving Leonard back upright with the other. “Careful there, Leo. Buy me dinner first.”

“S-sorry. I didn’t mean to do that,” Leonard nervously sputtered, scrambling back to his seat before fumbling for the fallen stopwatch at his feet. Leonard, you idiot, he thought to himself. She’s your friend, now she might think you’re a creep. I mean come on, reaching towards her lap? It doesn’t matter if the watch was there, she wouldn’t have seen it that way.

“Leo! Where are we? I need the next call!”

Leonard snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at the route book.

He had no idea where they were. “Hold on, I need to find us.”

The FB-396 hummed along the pavement, Maria keeping the car under control dancing behind the steering wheel and on the pedals. Looking between the route book and out of the windshield, Leonard frantically looked for any identification of where they were at.

We just took two left corners, Leonard thought. If we’re where I think we’re at, there should be a slight left after this right.

The car moved right along the road, and the following corner was a hairpin right.

Damn! Leonard thought. Maybe I can use this though, I haven’t seen a hairpin in a while. Leonard flipped through the route book until he came to a diagram with a hairpin. We’ve got to be here, and there should be a rock on the outside on the exit.

Maria slammed on the brakes, nearly pitching Leonard into the dashboard, then downshifted hard. With a small slide, the car made it around the hairpin. Leonard scanned the roadside - no rock.

“Leo!” It was clear Maria wasn’t joking around anymore. “Where are we? I need you to communicate!”

“I-I don’t know!” Leonard shouted back. What else could he say? It’s not like he wasn’t trying.

The car rocketed up the hill, the little engine running at full tilt, the gearbox screaming like a banshee. Leonard frantically flipped through the route book, searching for any clue to their position. A left-right chicane. An off-camber left over a crest. A wildlife crossing sign. Leonard tried to find any indication of where they were to no avail.

“Leonard!” Maria shouted again. “Talk to me! Where are we?”

“I don’t want to give you the wrong call,” Leonard responded, becoming increasingly overwhelmed. “We might have already made the wrong turn. I can’t find anything.”

“Come on, Leonard,” Maria now looking into his eyes. “If we work together, we might find our position.”

Leonard knew she was right. “Okay, one sec.” He turned the pages in the route book looking for an identifier. “I think there might be an intersection at the top of this hill.”

“On it,” replied Maria, downshifting the car. The cabin was getting hot from the heat of the sun and the engine. The car clawed its way up the hill, the engine straining until they crested the top. Both Maria and Leonard looked out front, but no intersection was there.

“Damn it! Maybe we did take a wrong turn,” said Maria, her face beginning to worry.

Leonard couldn’t stand to see her disappointed and looked the opposite way outside of the passenger window. Beyond, he could see the grasslands stretching outwards and a thin ribbon of grey meandering between the hills, turning this way and that. His eyes followed the road. A gentle left into a moderate right. A small cabin surrounded by pines. A set of complex hairpins.

Wait, he thought to himself, leaning against the window until his forehead rested on the glass. I’ve seen these before.

“I might have something,” Leonard told Maria while quickly flipping to the end of the route book. Sure enough, there they were. The hairpins were unmistakable - and the stage ended at the cabin. “Yes! I know where we are!” shouted Leonard, looking back at Maria with a massive grin. “And there’s not much stage left.”

Maria’s smile returned, “Excellent, Leo! Show me the way!” She tightened her grip on the wheel, ready for the next call.

“Three hundred meters, drop to fifty five kilometer average, four consecutive hairpins.”

The car moved downhill gaining speed. Maria slammed the brakes, the drums squealing as they fought the car’s weight. The car shifted left, then right, then left again, tires chirping around each apex. Out of the hairpins, Leonard made the next call.

“Left through dip, hairpin right. Watch the ditch.”

Maria maneuvered the car through the dip, both pushing into their seats, then rotated the car around the hairpin - the inside tire scrubbing dangerously close to the ditch.

“Pick up speed to sixty kilometers, slight left. One hundred meters, stop at sign. Pause twelve seconds, then turn right.”

The car rolled to the sign and stopped. Leonard stared at his stopwatch.

“Twelve seconds,” he said quietly. Neither spoke, only hearing the ticking idle of the engine and the chirps of the grasshoppers outside.

“Ready… now.”

The FB-396 veered off right, regaining speed as Maria shifted through the gears.

“Four hundred meters, turn left. Watch for traffic.”

Reaching the turn, Maria swung left, noting no oncoming cars.

“Target forty kilometer average. Right over bend, stop at the finish.”

Leonard’s eyes flicked between the road and his stopwatch. Did they make it? Leonard wiped sweat from his brow, anticipating the finish.

As the car came over the bend, a cabin came into view. Beside it was a bearded man sitting under a black tent with a watch and a clipboard. Next to the man was a painted wooden sign with a red stopwatch icon. The duo had reached the end of the stage.

The car gently came to a stop and Leonard looked out the passenger window to the bearded man. As Leonard rolled down the window, the man walked towards the car, noting the arrival time on his watch.

“Do you have your timing sheet?” asked the old man.

“I do,” replied Leonard, sorting through the pile of papers in his lap. “It should be right-”

“Here,” interjected Maria, handing the old man a sheet of folded paper. “We had a bit of a nasty bump on the route that tossed everything in here.”

“Was it those train tracks?” asked the old man, writing on the timing sheet while recording numbers on his clip board. “The teams ahead of you said the same thing. Not sure why they didn’t make a note of that in the route book.”

The old man handed Leonard the timing sheet. “Not bad,” said the old man. You were five seconds ahead of your target window, gaining your team five penalty points." He flipped the clipboard around. “Most of the teams ahead of you went much faster - one team was almost three minutes ahead of their window. We’re gonna have to remind y’all at the group dinner about following the speed limit.”

Maria clapped in joy, and Leonard let out a massive sign of relief. They did it, and they did well. Now they just had to continue on the transit leg towards Luremburg.

“We’ll make sure to keep that in mind, sir,” replied Maria, knowing full well that they definitely were breaking the speed limit multiple times at the end of the stage. “Thank you!”

With the old man walking back to his tent, the duo in the FB-396 set off towards Luremburg.

Adrenaline beginning to fade, Leonard leaned back into his seat, watching as Maria maneuvered the car through the Hetvesian countryside. For a moment back there, everything had clicked. The calls, the corners, the timing - it felt effortless. He remembered Maria’s statement during the stage: If we work together, we might find our position. She trusted him even when he had no idea where they were.

Leonard turned his gaze back out the passenger window, watching cloud shadows shift across the field. We actually make a good team, Leonard thought to himself, looking out as the scenery rolled by. Maybe more than just a driver and navigator. The thought pleased him as he imagined the scenario. Me and Maria… together. He began to fiddle with the strap holding his stopwatch. No, Leonard. That’s dangerous thinking.

Leonard made a brief glance towards Maria, who was tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, then quickly returned his attention out the window. Maybe you think things are going well, but you thought the same thing just before your whole world fell apart. Besides, do you want to lose another friend? You haven’t felt a connection with anyone in years, and now you want to throw this away like last time?

Leonard’s grip tightened around his stopwatch, his chest feeling a dull, throbbing pain like his lungs would collapse from the pressure. And besides, Maria sees you as a friend, nothing more. You think she likes you? She’s friendly with everyone. She’s not treating you any differently from anyone else, that’s just her personality.

But the way she looked at you when you finally found the route… like she believed you could do it… like she cared. Leonard noticed a divot forming in his hand from grabbing the stopwatch, then leaned forward towards the glovebox, placing the stopwatch inside. Of course she would care, but not about you, idiot. Did you forget that you’re in a rally? Did you forget about who Maria is? She’s naturally competitive - look at what she does in marketing.

Maria continued the drive, quietly humming to herself as the car rolled along the asphalt - sunlight catching in her thick, brown hair.

You have to stay focused, Leonard. You just have to get through tonight and the next two days. Do that, and you can get out of this car before you do something stupid. Do that, and you can get back to finishing that steering design, alone, the same way you’ve managed for years. Do that, and-

“Hey Leo, I need to stop.”

Maria’s voice interrupted Leonard’s internal monologue, snapping him back to reality. At that moment, he heard a quick whump-whump-whump from beneath the car.

“Feels like we’ve got a flat,” said Maria, slowly pulling the car to the side of the road. “Can you help me change it? The spare should be in the back.”

Racetro · 21 March 2026 15:35

3/3: The Flat

"Yup, that's a flat alright," pointed Maria, gesturing towards the front-right tire deflated over a patch of silver gravel. "I'd bet that railroad had something to do with it. I'm surprised it's lasted this long."

Leonard and Maria were alone on the side of the road, with no sounds other than the buzz of insects in the fields of grass, a gentle wind flowing around the rocky peaks, and a ticking from the FB-396, hot metal contracting from the shutdown motor. Shadows in the field were growing longer, the evening sunset would be approaching soon.

“Nice,” Leonard responded, gently kicking the flat tire. “Well let’s get this thing changed while we still have daylight.”

Leonard climbed into the car searching for their tools, the seat’s leather skreaking under the shifting body weight. Now where did I put those? Did they fall under the suitcases? He lifted their suitcases one by one from the rear footwell and set them outside of the car, careful not to scratch or tear their exterior. Nope, not there, looking back at the now empty floorboard. Perhaps they shifted underneath the seats? He leaned down under the dashboard to check, being met with the seat rails outlining nothing but dust, debris, and a dried-out half-used canister of lip gloss. Uh-oh, not there, thought Leonard, accidently bumping his head on the steering wheel on the way back up.

I didn’t forget them at the hotel, did I? Leonard felt a cold sweat forming as he ran through that morning’s events.

I remember the car started rough this morning, so I grabbed the bag from the footwell, took out my screw driver, and retuned the carburetor. Then, another team asked if they could borrow our tools so they could take off their auxiliary lights. Did I forget to get them back?

Leonard pondered for a moment, looking at Maria who was still waiting by the flat. No, I remember getting them back. Maria reminded me to before they started their first stage. So where else would they be? Leonard thought and thought, swatting away a fly that was buzzing by his ear. “Aha!” he exclaimed.

Climbing out of the car, he pulled a box from the car’s roof rack and opened it, seeing a leather bag inside. Leonard glanced at the rest of the luggage strapped beside it. Spare fuel can, the black vinyl tool case, Maria’s overnight bag. Everything seemed to be there. Good, he thought. At least we didn’t forget anything important.

“I thought I lost these,” Leonard exclaimed, taking the bag out before returning the box to the roof rack. “I remembered we tightened the wheel nuts during lunch. Forgot tossing this up there.”

“Phew, that was a close call,” teased Maria. “For a sec I thought we’d be stuck here.” Maria opened the leather tool bag, still stained with light grease from their earlier tune-ups, and pulled out a flathead screwdriver. “I can work on getting this hubcap off while you grab the spare.”

We’d be stuck here. Leonard mulled over the comment. You’d be stuck here with me, that’s what you really thought. As Maria began prying at the hubcap, Leonard walked towards the rear of the car. What could be worse than being stuck with me? Leonard continued thinking. Nothing really, you’ve got enough proof for that.

Reaching the back of the car, Leonard stared at the FB-396’s rear badge, its white paint and chrome accents shimmering amongst the surrounding blue car body. Alright, keep it together. Remember why you’re here. It’s just to get some experience with this car and recording tweaks to make. That’s it. Just some research for the next facelift.

Leonard reached for the trunk handle, chrome and covered in road grime. Pop. Lifting the door, he was greeted by the spare tire, secured to the floor through a set of bolts.

Walking back towards the flat, Leonard saw Maria still prying at the hubcap, struggling to get it off. “Every time it’s about to come off, the damn thing snaps itself back in place!” exasperated Maria, getting some dirt on her skirt as she kept prying at the wheel.

“Yeah, those tend to do that,” chuckled Leonard. “Here, let me help.”

Maria handed him the screwdriver,and Leonard knelt next to her, grabbing another screwdriver from the bag. “On these wheels, you need to use two screwdrivers to stop it from popping back in.” Finding a small gap, Leonard pried the first screwdriver underneath the hubcap. “I had my team design them to stay on, just in case the car takes a sharp turn or hits a large bump.”

With the second screwdriver, Leonard found another gap on the opposite side of the wheel. “They have a side effect of being somewhat tricky to take off, but if you position your tools juuust right…” Gently pushing in on both screwdrivers, the hubcap made a sharp ping! before coming loose. “They pop right off every time.”

“Well look at you, Mr. Engineer,” quipped Maria, picking up the chrome hubcap from the gravel. “Say, where did you learn to work on cars? Aren’t designers supposed to make a mechanic’s life a living hell?”

Leonard gave Maria a look, then laughed. “I mean, that is true, but I wasn’t always a designer.”

Leonard chuckled some more, picking the wrench he needed out of the tool bag before moving back to the trunk.

“Oh, is that so?” asked Maria, playful as ever. “What were you, then?”

“Well, before this job, and before designing parts for Njord Maritime Solutions, I used to be a manufacturing engineer for an amateur racing team.” Leonard began loosening the bolts holding the spare down. “It wasn’t a very good team, mind you. They had this dumb idea of cramming a V16 into a chassis that definitely could not handle the excessive power. I guess fortunately for the driver, they could never figure out how to get that engine to work,” Leonard chuckled, removing the first bolt from the spare. “It was a bit of a shame, too. Before I joined, I heard that team used to be quite competitive. I spent most of my time working on the suspension, not that it really helped in the end - I mean, there’s no go if there’s no working engine.”

“A V16!?” repeated Maria, surprised at the story. “Yeesh, no wonder you’re not with them anymore! That group sounds like they’re… they’re…” Maria paused, looking for the right word. “Morons! Nincompoops! Nimrods!” She gave Leonard a smirk, their eyes meeting each other before Maria looked away, blushing. “Well I’m glad you’re with us now. I mean… just look at this car you made! Imagine if you didn’t leave.”

“I didn’t leave,” responded Leonard, temporarily stopping before continuing to loosen the last bolt. “At least… not voluntarily.”

“No?” asked Maria, tilting her head to the side. “What happened?”

Inside, Leonard began to reminisce his last few years with the racing team. Vilda. She was a sweet girl, going out of her way to check in on you, always asking what you were doing at work, when she’d invite you to go play mini golf or swim at the pool after your shifts ended. She liked you. You liked her. That much was obvious.

But what happened when you told her how you felt? She said she was already in a relationship with the team principle. That’s where you should have stopped, but you lost your self control. She made it clear she wasn’t interested, yet you kept trying, even though you knew she was already committed. You know how wrong that is? Of course you did, you even vowed that if someone did that to you, you’d lose any respect you had for them. You hypocrite.

Even if the team principle never found out, even if somehow you both got together, you know it never would have lasted. You never went beyond just asking her again, at least you’ve got that, but how do you know you wouldn’t push it further? That you would have just hurt Vilda in the long run?

But the team principle did find out, and - rightly - he fired you. It’s your fault, Leonard. It’s your fault for violating your values. Losing your career in racing was your punishment, and here you are about to make that same mistake again.

“I…,” Leonard paused, feeling tears starting to well before regaining composure. “I-I rather not talk about it.”

“Oh…” Maria could see something was bothering Leonard, choosing not to push him too far. “I’m here if you ever need to talk, ok?”

Leonard ignored Maria’s comment, focusing his attention towards removing the spare. With the last fastener removed, and a big huff, Leonard took the spare out of the trunk, rolling it towards the flat. Tools and parts in place, Leonard began to run through his checklist. Spare? Check. Lug nut wrench? Check. I’ve got everything I need. Kneeling down next to the flat, Leonard got to work removing the lug nuts, Maria standing behind him watching him work.

“Hey, I was meaning to ask,” pondered Maria, listening to the gravel rub underneath her pivoting foot. “Did you have anything going on? After the rally? I was curious if-”

“I’m a bit busy here,” interrupted Leonard in an irritated tone. A bit busy. Nice one Leonard. Let’s just throw her down into the gravel. Excellent work, asshole.

“Right. Sorry,” Maria said softly. The rejection in her voice was a sharp blade, and Leonard felt it twist in his gut. Any playful energy that was there was gone, snuffed out like a candle. The only sound being the mechanical click-click-click from the wrench on the lug nuts, contrasted by the buzzing from the insects surrounding them, now reminding Leonard that the sun was getting closer to the horizon.

With the last nut off, Leonard paused. I did forget something… the jack. Picking himself up off the gravel, Leonard moved toward the back of the FB-396. Why did you have to lash out at her, Leonard? He thought. She’s just trying to help.

He checked the side panels, being met with an empty void where a scissor jack would have sat. Great, this again, he thought to himself. He rummaged through the trunk picking up bags and parts, searching every crevice and cranny he could think of. Defeated, he called out to Maria. “Hey, do you know where the jack is?”

Maria, who had been staring out into the ever darkening valley, turned around. "“It’s in the black vinyl case, Leo. Right where it always is.”

Black case? I don’t remember seeing a black case? Wait, no, I do, it’s in the roofrack by the fuel can. Leonard stood up, climbed toward the roof rack, and removed some more bags and boxes from the roof rack before finally coming in sight with the case. “Found it.” No response.

Returning to the flat, Leonard began to open the case. Hmmm… it seems a bit light for having a jack inside, Leonard thought to himself. With the lid open, he peered inside, only to be greeted with no jack.

“Maria?” Leonard’s voice was thin.

“Yeah?”

“Where did you put the jack?” Leonard’s heart began to race.

“Didn’t I tell you it’s in the black vinyl case?”

“I wouldn’t be asking you if it was there,” quipped Leonard, now growing impatient.

“Are you sure it’s not in there? I could have sworn I packed it in there.”

“Maria, I’ve checked the case. It’s not there.”

“…What?”

“There’s nothing in it,” pointed Leonard, anger bubbling inside of him.

Maria stared at him, but had no answer.

“Where is it?” Panicking, he ran back to the trunk, tearing it apart. He desperately looked for any spot he missed in a frenzy all over the car. It’s not in the trunk. It’s not in the side panels. It’s not in the door panels. It’s not under the seats. It’s not in the rear floorboards. It’s in none of the boxes, bags, or anywhere in the roof rack. “Where is it!?”

“I… I…,” quietly stammered Maria. “I-I don’t know, I swore I packed it.”

The realization settled in his gut like lead. There was no jack. The tire was not getting fixed. He was stuck on the side of the road, with Maria, and nothing to hide behind. Leonard slumped against the passenger door, his legs finally giving out. His hands were now coated in a mixture of grease and the salt of fresh sweat.

“We’re stuck,” he whispered. “We’re actually stuck.”

“Leo… it’s okay,” Maria said, stepping closer. “The sweep car will come through eventually. We can just sit and-”

“No, it’s not okay!” Leonard snapped, the sudden volume surprising even him. He stood and paced along the narrow strip of asphalt, running a hand through his hair. “It’s never just okay with me,” he said bitterly. “I try to plan everything. I checked the car. I packed the tools. I did the math for every stage. And somehow I still screw it up.”

He looked at the flat, his world collapsing under the crippling heat and the deafening buzz of insects around him. He laughed sharply, feeling rawness developing in the back of his throat. "You just can’t trust me. I try… so hard… to do things right, but there’s no point. I’m the mistake.”

Maria opened her mouth to respond, but Leonard was already unraveling.

“I didn’t want to come on this trip,” he admitted, gesturing helplessly between them. “Not because of the rally. Because of this. I knew four days in a car with you would end like this eventually.”

He stopped pacing, staring down the road. He watched the air above the tarmac ripple, feeling sweat dripping down his back.

“I’d say something stupid. Or mess something up. Or just…” He exhaled slowly. “…tell you the truth.”

His voice dropped.

“That I haven’t been able to focus on work for months. Every time I sit at that drafting table I end up thinking about you sitting across from me.”

Leonard stared down at his boots, hands trembling as he wiped the burning sensation of salted sweat from his eyes.

“And then you’d leave,” he said in a quiet, shaky voice. “Just like everyone else.”

For a moment neither spoke. Wind moved through the tall grass by the roadside, a rippling ocean of green surrounding them in this sea of isolation. A few small ticks from under the car the only sound contrasting with the endless chirping of grasshoppers.

When Leonard spoke again, his voice was smaller. “You know why I left that job?” He swallowed. “I didn’t leave. I got fired.”

He stared out into the darkening valley.

“I pushed for something that was never there,” he said. “And I hurt someone who didn’t deserve it.”

The two sat in silence for a long while, watching their world go by, changing. The last of the day’s sunlight faded behind the rocky peaks, replacing the chirping insects with croaking frogs and the intense heat with a cool evening air.

Maria shifted. The gravel crunched under her shoes as she slid down the side of the car, sitting on the earth right next to him. She didn’t look at him; she looked at the horizon, where the orange light was being swallowed by a deep, bruised purple.

“You’re a real piece of work, Hansson,” she said softly. Her voice didn’t have the sharp edge of her usual teasing. It was weary, but steady. “You think you’re the only person who’s ever made a mess of things? You’re not.”

Leonard didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He just stared into the horizon, a man ready to disappear.

“I knew how you felt about me. I mean… you’re not exactly good at hiding it.” Maria looked at Leonard with a half smile, before looking back toward the horizon. “And just so you know, you’re not a burden.”

Leonard strained, exhaling sharply, keeping his focus on the sunset.

“I picked you for this trip, Leo.” Maria returned her gaze towards him, the last strands of the evening sunset catching her deep, pale green eyes. “I wasn’t told to bring you, I wanted to bring you.”

Leonard sighed, exhausted from the situation he found himself in. “Bad choice.”

“Damn it, Leo, forgive yourself!” pointed Maria. “I didn’t pack the jack. I checked the inventory list three times. I saw it on the bench. I remember thinking, ‘I’ll grab that after I finish my coffee.’ And then I didn’t. I was too busy thinking about… other things.” Maria found her hand was slowly drifting towards his, quietly pulling back.

“I don’t know what happened to you in your past. Maybe you did fuck up, but you’re here now, right? And do you know what I see? Someone who cares so much about what everyone else thinks of you that you forgot to think about what you want.”

“I…” Leonard had nothing to say. She was right. Leonard swallowed, his throat dry. The words sat heavy in his chest, but there was nothing left in him to fight with.

“I… I don’t know how,” replied Leonard, dejected.

Maria didn’t answer right away. The sky had deepened to violet now, the last light bleeding behind the distant peaks. Crickets had joined the frogs, their chorus filling the quiet space between them with a soothing symphony of chirps and croaks.

After a moment she leaned her elbows on her knees. “You don’t have to know how,” she said. “You just have to stop assuming the worst outcome every time something matters to you.”

Leonard gave a weak laugh. “Right, like that strategy has worked out well.”

“Maybe,” Maria said with a shrug. “But hiding hasn’t worked either.” She nudged his boot with the toe of her shoe, watching him under the darkening sky. “And for the record, you didn’t ruin the rally.”

“I think your broken car begs to differ,” quipped Leonard.

“Which means we’ll be the last to Luremburg, eat dinner late, and probably get mocked by the other teams,” Maria replied. “Hardly the end of the world.”

She tilted her head toward him. “And we finished the stage, only five seconds off the target. That’s actually impressive considering you were halfway ready to jump out of the car."

Leonard snorted despite himself. “You noticed that, huh?”

“Oh please,” Maria said, playfully bumping his shoulder. “You were gripping that stopwatch like it owed you money.”

For the first time in what felt like hours, Leonard felt the knot in his chest loosen slightly. Maybe she does care, he thought to himself. Even though I pushed her away, she’s still here, by me. But… why?

They sat quietly again. The valley had grown darker now, only a faint ribbon of pale sky lingering above the hills. Above them, some of the first stars came into the view twinkling above them, a evening peace settling over the valley.

Maria was the first to break this new silence. “Can I ask you something?”

Leonard braced instinctively. He had not forgotten his past, dreading her question. “You’re going to ask anyway.”

“Correct,” Maria replied, slightly turning towards him. “When you said you’d tell me the truth… was that it? Or is there something you left out?”

Leonard rubbed his palms against his trousers, smearing grease across the fabric. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to deflect, change the subject, or make a joke. Try and pretend the whole thing never happened. There was no point now, though. Maria knew something was up, and hiding it any longer wouldn’t work. “The truth is…” he began, staring at the gravel between his feet, “I like you, Maria.”

Leonard paused for a moment, realizing what he had just said.

“I’ve liked you for months,” he continued. “Probably longer than that. I just kept telling myself it was a bad idea.” He took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. “So I buried it under work,” he said, looking down at the ground below him. “Or convinced myself you’d never feel the same way. Or that if I said anything it would just end the same way everything else has.”

He shook his head, “And I didn’t want to lose you as a friend.” He finally looked towards her, seeing her study him with an expression he couldn’t quite read.

“Well,” she responded slowly. “That explains a lot.”

Leonard blinked, feeling both relief and confusion. “…That’s it?”

“Well, I don’t know. What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Laughter? Awkward silence? You telling me that you’re married to a man built like a brick house?"

Maria burst out laughing, Leonard joining with her.

She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Leo… I didn’t bring you on this rally just to test the car, or keep the thing running, or to give me the wrong directions." She playfully punched him in the arm, “Definitely not to give me wrong directions.”

Leonard caught himself rubbing his arm - she punches hard, he thought to himself.

“You’re one of the most thoughtful people I know,” she continued. “I mean, you clearly care about what I think about you, right?” Maria smiled, “My point is, I like you too.”

For a moment Leonard simply stared at her, certain he’d misheard. “You… what?”

“I like you,” she repeated, her smile turning into a grin. “Though I will admit, a nervous breakdown in the middle of nowhere wasn’t exactly the romantic confession I had in mind.”

“Oh God,” he sighed to himself, burying his head in his hands. “I really made myself look like a fool, did I?”

“Oh, I knew you were a fool long before that,” teased Maria. “Honestly? I think it’s kind of charming.”

Leonard lifted his head from his hands, his hair disheveled. “You’ve got to be joking, right?”

“Only a little,” leaning back against the car door beside him. “You know what the funny part is?” she said. “I was actually trying to ask you something earlier.”

Leonard groaned, “Before I snapped at you.”

“Yeah.”

“That being?”

Maria hesitated, suddenly looking a bit less confident. “I was going to ask if you wanted to stay an extra day after the rally,” she responded, playing with her hair again. “I’ve heard the river by Ungenstadt is mighty refreshing to swim in. I thought it’d be fun to relax in the water together.”

“You were asking me out on a date.”

“Well I was attempting to,” Maria corrected. “Before you interrupted me."

Leonard stared out into the darkening valley, stunned. For years he had been so certain that every possibility would end badly that he never allowed himself to see when something might actually go right.

“Besides,” she added casually, stretching her legs in the gravel beside him before resting her hand in Leonard’s. “We’ve got at least two more days together, and I need my navigator to make sure we don’t go careening down a cliff.”

Leonard laughed, a real one this time, “I’ll try my best.”

“Good.”

They sat quietly again, the night settling around them. For the first time since as long as he could remember, Leonard had a glimpse of hope for his personal future. I don’t know if this is going to last, he thought. I may eventually mess this up, but frankly? Hell with it. Just enjoy this moment while you can.

After a few minutes Leonard glanced down the empty road. “I don’t think there’s any cars coming, Maria.”

“I guess not,” replied Maria, getting up from the ground before making a big stretch. “We’re probably going to have to limp the car towards civilization. Hop in, navigator.”

Climbing back into the FB-396, Leonard opened up the route book while Maria started the car, the dinky inline four purring to life between the car’s illuminated headlights.

“So…” asked Leonard nervously. “Does this count as our first date?”

“I’m not sure,” replied Maria, shifting the car into first before slowly pulling forward. “You haven’t bought me dinner yet.”

ThatEpicBob · 22 March 2026 14:47

absolute cinema

cant wait for the 90’s

Racetro · 26 March 2026 13:35

The HETVESIAN TIMES - 1953

HETVESIAN INDUSTRY COMMITTEE POLLS AHEAD OF UNITED CITIZENS COALITION!

Election day coming around the corner, the latest nationwide polls are showing a change of tides coming to Parliament; the Hetvesian Industry Committee (HIC) has overtaken the United Citizens Coalition (UCC) 38% to 34%, an 11% swing from 1949. Tailing opponents Western Loyalist Party (WLP) and Hetvesian Democratic Socialist Party (HDSP) polled at 14% and 8% respectively.
For the last eleven years, the UCC has been the majority party within Hetvesian Parliament, passing policy favoring national isolationism and strong agrarian protectionism. Constituents have been critical of the UCC since the turn of the decade, feeling that the party's response to rising industrialization across the globe has been lethargic.
The HIC, formed in 1938 and currently led by Nick Schaus, has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity after the successful passing of the Safer Citizens Act in 1949 - intensifying automotive safety regulations in Hetvesia. The passing of the act has been successful in protecting local industry from Fruinian imports as well as improving accident survivability in new cars for Hetvesians.
"Globalization is the next chapter for our nation," campaigned Gustav Schutte, HIC party representative. "With the right leadership, I can see a future where Hetvesia is the world's leading exporter of high-quality, luxury products." The HIC has vowed to promote policy favoring rapid industrialization, national protectionism, and the development of job-growing export markets.
In a press interview outside the Berlau Parliament building, UCC party leader and Hetvesian Prime Minister Miettinen commented, "I agree with Mr. Schaus that Hetvesia needs to position itself as a strong competitor in the world economy. With that said, unrestricted industrial expansion and focusing our economy on exports will reduce quality of life for Hetvesian citizens - poorer air quality, greater wealth separation, and reduced workers rights being just a few of the unspoken side effects."
Voting booths will be open 6 September from 08:00 to 18:00. Make sure to bring your Voter's Registration Card and a valid form of ID to your local office to be eligible to vote.

1953 - Independent Njord

At first, Maria Lindholm and Leonard Hansson were quite awkward with each other after the rally. They did not talk much for a few weeks: Leonard got back to work on the steering column, coming to a solution for the next FB-396 facelift, and Maria analyzed emerging markets for future Njord products such as estate cars. Leonard was the first to break the silence, asking Maria out to dinner and a walk around town. Since then, the two have been on multiple dates and even a short trip to Fruinia. Though nothing has been made official yet, you could mistake the couple as being in a committed relationship.

The turn of the decade has been fairly kind to Njord Automobile AB since the release of the optimized FB-396 in 1950. Over the past three years, Njord has manufactured 15,319 FB-396s and delivered them to happy drivers across the Hetvesian country. Of the 15,319 sold, 9,680 were the 1300 L and 5,639 were the 1300 - a clear indicator of the strong economy and Hetvesian's premium taste in cars. Since 1950, Njord Automobile generated $3M in profit, just barely breaking even with the manufacturability study costs.

Things were not looking so good for Njord Maritime Solutions AB - the bleeding costs of the NB engine program had not turned around. There was clearly no market for moderately-sized inboard marine engines; Njord Automobile being the largest customer since 1951. A tough choice had to be made before the entire maritime company risked bankruptcy.

NB Program Shutdown

Njord Maritime Solutions AB CEO Knut Grönberg had made the difficult decision of shutting down production for the NB family line of inboard marine engines. Facing high production costs and low product demand, Maritime Solutions' gamble on catering to customers looking for moderately-sized inboard engines had not made returns, losing the company millions every year. With the program shutdown, the production facility twenty minutes west of Gernau was sold to Stenmark Corporation - who would utilize the site's casting infrastructure to manufacture refrigerator appliances.

From the shutdown of the factory followed a mass layoff of employees: 1,350 people were now on unemployment and in search of new work. Unlike those employees, the board of investors and upper management knew about the planned factory shutdown years in advance, having organized Njord Automobile AB to purchase tooling from the Maritime Solutions company for continued production of the NB2 engine in their newly built engine factory - just next door to the FB-396 car factory in Reimsboden.

The unfortunate situation at Njord Maritime Solutions AB could not have come at a better time for Njord Automobile AB. With the purchase of patents, production rights, and tooling for the NB2, powertrain production could be vertically integrated within the organization; significantly reducing production costs. The lower production costs would give Njord a significantly higher margin, potentially moving profits above just breaking even.

Full control over the NB2 engine also meant many of the limitations on design changes were now gone. Taking advantage of the situation, the engine would be upgraded for the next major facelift of the FB-396.

'54 Njord FB-396 Facelift

Releasing in mid 1953, the '54 model year FB-396 would mark a significant refresh of the overall design by bringing the car to modern standards. There were major changes throughout the design: a more powerful powertrain, upgraded safety systems, and a new body option.

A Bigger Engine

Gaining full control of engine design, the powertrain has been upgraded for the new Njord. The engine - the NB2-AUTO-40KW - builds off the original NB2-30KW by adjusting various parameters for modern automobile use. The most notable upgrade comes with engine size where an enlarged cylinder bore increases displacement to 1,488 cc. The intake manifold has also been optimized to utilize engine harmonics across the rev range, now bringing 38 kW (51 hp) @ 4100 RPM and 105 Nm (78 lb-ft) @ 2600 RPM. No significant impact to fuel economy was made, the car achieving 12 L / 100 km (19.4 mpg).

The upgrades to the powertrain have made the FB-396 safer for the modern road - especially with the rise of high-speed highways. With the new powertrain, the FB-396 is capable of 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 19.5 seconds.

Embracing the Rocket Age

The FB-396 has accrued a substantial exterior refresh bringing the car inline with the jet and rocket-age styling seen with Gasmean cars. The front fascia replaces the slotted grille with a gridded one, and the chrome trim has been redone to mimic the contrail produced by rockets.

The automobile's electronic system has been upgraded from 6 volts to 12 volts, enabling more reliable starts and brighter headlights. The lights themselves have also been upgraded: a recessed headlight housing, reshaped front indicators, and larger rear taillights with built-in amber indicators. Also new is the indicator light on the sides of the car, acting as both the "rocket" on the updated chrome trim as well as better signaling to other drivers and pedestrians intended direction changes.

Safety Made Even Safer

The FB-396 - one of the safest family cars available - has become even safer. Along with the aforementioned lighting system upgrade for better visibility, the interior has received the Njord touch. The steering system has been upgraded with a collapsible shaft, both improving steering feel while driving and minimizing risk of impalement during a crash. The upper dashboard also introduces cushioned padding to minimize concussions. The passenger mirror now comes standard on all trims.

New Body Style

The Njord FB-396 now comes in two flavors. The traditional sloped sedan you know and love is still available, but for those looking to haul a thing or two the new estate body style is here. The rear slope has been pulled upwards and outwards, and the cargo storage area has been incorporated into the full cabin. The 1,220 L of cargo volume is accessed with a enlarged rear tailgate for easier loading and unloading of goods.

Trim Options

There are now three trim packages available for the FB-396 with five new colors to pick from: Svart, Glaciar Gra, Havsskum, Blekt Gult, and Rott Vin.

The 1500 is the standard model of FB-396: coming with a larger engine, upgraded twin leading shoe front brakes, and an AM radio for $13,000.

The 1500 L adds some creature comforts and luxury styling: upgraded radio speakers, front fog lights, leather seats, and whitewall tires for $14,500.

The 1500 LE brings all of the options from the 1500 L along with the new estate body style, available for $14,400.

Detailed Specifications

Vehicle Downloads

Njord FB-396 1500
FB-396_-_1500.car (208.1 KB)
Njord FB-396 1500 L
FB-396_-_1500_L.car (208.3 KB)
Njord FB-396 1500 LE
FB-396_-_1500_LE.car (204.4 KB)

Racetro · 12 April 2026 01:20

The HETVESIAN TIMES - 1954

"WHITE HOLIDAYS" TOPS BOX OFFICE!

Christmas movie sensation "White Holidays" has dominated the box office, raking in $15 million in profits beating out "The Caine Submission", "20,000 Fish Underwater", and "The Ben Dover Story".
"White Holidays", directed by Fabrice Bertillon and starring actors Donnie Dickerson, Cecil Chaney, Myrtle Kane, and Joyce Hopkins, is a musical produced and distributed by Lens Flare Studios. Notably, the film utilizes DreamVision, a wide screen film process developed by Lens Flare and utilizes TechnicallyColored film for a colored cinema screen experience.
Film reception has been generally positive. Diane Justice of The Eastport Inquirer writes "'White Holidays' is a wonderfully charming and gay film that the whole family can enjoy." Film critic Cody Bonner called the film "A technological marvel; a representation of the advancements in modern cinema." Not all reviews have been positive, however. Frank Horn of Space Magazine commented "Lens Flare has done it again with great picture quality. Unfortunately, the sound and score fails to give the ears the colorful buffet your eyes will enjoy."
The 120 minute film is still being shown in theatres across the globe, and expected to be available to view until mid January.

1954 - Njord Town Hall Meeting

Image modified from Trey Ratcliff

Njord had held “town hall” meetings every year; that much was normal. However, this year was different. Each year beforehand the town hall meeting was held in a large meeting room at the company headquarters, though the last few years the meeting had been held in the Reimsboden factory since there were no rooms large enough to fit all of the new employees at HQ. For 1954, the annual meeting was held in a massive rented theatre downtown.

The hall itself was grand, decorated with green floral wallpaper, lacquered cherry pillars with carved roses and thorns, and accented with painted gold trim and classic paintings - depicting numerous plays from the Elizabethan era. The whole theatre was lit with numerous accent and dish lights, each casting a warm yellow-white glow, and the ceiling - covered with coffered wood panels - attached were three gold and crystal chandeliers, the center being the largest. Within the theatre sat numerous rows of pews, each adorned with pillowy red velvet cushions supporting the hundreds of people inside.

The people themselves were Njord employees: sharp-dressed engineers, flashy marketers, suited managers, and technicians in business casual. Some were still dressed in dirty overalls; technicians who had just enough time to leave their overtime shifts at the factory to make the event. Amongst broken conversations between peers, glasses of bubbling champaigns, and various small plates of hors d’oeuvres sat Senior Marketing Professional Maria Lindholm, adorned in a deep green silk dress and small brown heels. Next to her was Chief Designer and boyfriend Leonard Hansson, wearing a black suit with a pale blue tie.

“Haven’t we been here before?,” asked Leonard, gesturing at the pinewood stage at the front of the baroque theatre halls.

“Maybe…” responded Maria. “Wait, yes I remember. It was that theatre play, Little Lisa.” Maria took a sip of wine before bumping Leonard with her elbow. “Remember they tried to kick us out? I mean come on, what’d they expect us to do, not laugh?”

“You were snort laughing when the little girl’s parents died. That’s kind of messed up don’t you think?” responded Leonard, holding back a grin.

“Okay, but you have to admit throwing mannequins dressed as her parents off the “cliff” stage was so bad it’s good.” Maria laughed, joined by Leonard.

“I still say the mannequin’s wig falling off mid-air was the highlight,” said Leonard between chuckles. “Still messed up though.”

Maria and Leonard sat back, admiring the theatre’s artworks while listening in on the conversations around them - many of the technicians hadn’t forgotten about the Maritime Solutions’ layoff last year.

“I’ll admit I am a bit nervous about this, Leonard,” said Maria, rubbing her forehead. “Something’s up, management wouldn’t be putting us in an art house with free food and drinks for no reason. I think they’re buttering us up before serving bad news.”

“I don’t think so,” replied Leonard. “Mr. Hagerström mentioned some reorganization was going to occur during our one-on-one, sounds more like some expansions are coming down the line. He’s also been having me shadow him a bit so he must be planning something big. A promotion maybe?”

“Hopefully,” replied Maria. “You two tend to work closely anyways, at least as long as I remember. You could be right though about promotion, sounds exciting.”

“We’ll have to see,” responded Leonard before the lights in the theatre dimmed for a few seconds. “Looks like they’re about to start, I’ve got to get back to my team. See you after the show?”

“You can count on it, Leo.”

Weaving through crowds of people, Leonard had just enough time to get back to his seat before the lights of the theatre slowly disappeared, replaced by dim aisle lights and a bright spotlight shining towards a lone microphone in the middle of the pinewood stage. Conversations turned to murmurs, murmurs turned to whispers, and whispers turned to silence. Across the stage walked a tall man dressed in a sharp black suit with a black tie and black leather shoes that squeaked on the polished wood surface. He had jet black hair with some strands of grey dotted around and a clean-shaven face. It was Njord Automobile CEO Rasmus Hagerström.

Stopping at the microphone, he turned towards the audience and pulled a small stack of notecards from his jacket pocket. Beside him, assistants set up a large screen and turned on a slide projector. As the projector hummed to life, light cast out of the lens and slowly brightened an image onto the screen.

Leonard had to squint to make out the image on the screen; the Njord company logo. There’s no way the people in the top pews can see that, thought Leonard. For spending so much on renting the theatre, they sure hadn’t planned the presentation part very well.

“Good evening, and welcome to our year end town hall,” boasted Rasmus’s voice from the theatre speakers, confident and powerful. “What can I say except excellent work with an eventful year. In just one year, our company has changed and grown considerably. The vertical integration effort of the NB2 engine program was a herculean effort by our team, yet we prevailed. In just one year, we built a brand new engine factory right here in Reimsboden. In just one year, we’ve added 200 employees to our company to manufacture those engines in-house. In just one year, we put our homemade engines in the refreshed FB-396, bringing customers a better, faster Njord. Fantastic work everyone, that deserves a round of applause!”

The room erupted with clapping and cheers before Rasmus began to speak again, the projector casting a new image onto the screen with a heated mechanical chunk.

“Buyers have recognized our expertise in the auto business; they love our cars! In just one year, we have sold and delivered over 7,000 units of the FB-396 with prospective sales expected to increase!

The room erupted into a standing ovation, peers commending each other on their accomplishment.

“This effort took every one of you to achieve, and I would like to recognize the efforts of some of our star individuals. Mr. Hansson, may you stand up?” gestured Rasmus to Leonard.

Leonard stood up from his seat, met with more applause from the crowd before sitting back down.

“Mr. Hansson, what can I say except ‘WOW’,” spoke the CEO. “This car you and your team have made is revolutionary. It’s hard to believe that you made the first iteration of the FB-396 almost ten years ago. It is so ahead of the competition with your safety-minded innovations, it has been successful at one of our core company principles; you have made a car that customers can both walk away from and come back to. In fact,” Rasmus laughed. “Your team may have done too good of a job, we’re over a year into production and still have preorders to fill!”

The crowd laughed along with Leonard. Has it really been that long already? Leonard thought to himself. It feels like time just flew by.

“And how could I forget Head of Marketing Filip Ohlsson. Mr. Ohlsson, could you stand up please?” Rasmus’ request was followed by a suited man near Maria standing up to applause from the crowd.

“Mr. Ohlsson and his team of marketing experts has given me a problem that I love to have; too many people want to buy a Njord!” The crowd laughed and jeered before Rasmus continued, “which brings me to answer some questions I am sure you are all wondering. ‘Why did Mr. Hagerström bring us to this fancy theatre and fill up our bellies with drinks and desserts?’ Well for one, there’s just too many of you to fit in the factory. But that’s not the core reason, no. I’ve brought you here to celebrate our accomplishments and to announce an exciting future for our company!”

The projector made another chunk, flipping the image cast by the warm glow of the lens onto the screen. It was a photo of the Gasmean flag.

“Export, or die,” exclaimed the CEO. “The fact of the matter is our world is getting smaller, and we need to grow rapidly if we are to survive. We have made excellent strides in growing our company already here in our home market - one in five Hetvesians are aware of the existence of us - but just North of our borders are our Gasmean neighbors. Gasmeans love cars, and we have an opportunity to fill niches in their market for compact, Hetvesian cars.”

Rasmus switched to his next slide, being met with light applause.

“We call it Operation North Star,” announced Rasmus. “It is our five year plan to break into Gasmea with a new car, and it will take work from every one of you to pull it off. Over the next five years, we will transition through three key phases.”

“Phase One is the Gasmean introduction, our company’s strategy to develop excitement from our Northern neighbors for the Njord brand. Mr. Hansson and his team of designers are going to develop a highly advanced concept car showcasing Njord’s advancements in safety technology. This concept car will be toured across Gasmean technology and auto shows by the new Gasmean division of our marketing team.”

“Phase Two is the development of our new production model. Once Mr. Hansson’s design team completes the concept car and collects feedback from Gasmean customers, work will begin developing a production ready model utilizing most of the technology showcased in the concept.”

“And finally, Phase Three. For this final phase, which will begin as the production-ready model of our next car nears completion, we will be expanding the Reimsboden factory to handle the increased demand from not only the Gasmeans, but the Hetvesians anticipating the next Njord.”

Rasmus paused for a moment, letting his announcement settle with the murmuring crowd before beginning his finale.

“This is a tall order, and to ensure we are successful in this mission I’d like to announce some position changes in our leadership team.” Rasmus switched the slide, a small organizational chart appearing on the screen.

“Firstly, the current Chief Designer position will be split into three new positions: Chief Designer, Production Director, and Head of R&D. Leonard Hansson will still act as Chief Designer, and will be responsible for the design and engineering of Njord’s automobiles. Senior Manager Benjamin Lindblad from Mr. Hansson’s team will be promoted to Production Director; he will be taking on the responsibilities of managing vehicle and powertrain production in our factories. We do not have the Head of R&D position filled yet, but they will be responsible for researching advanced technologies along with managing the Reimsboden test facility.”

This is good, Leonard thought. With how big the company had been getting, it was becoming difficult to manage everything. I’ll have more time to focus on design, maybe even spend more time with Maria after work.

“As previously mentioned,” reminded Rasmus while switching slides, “we are developing a separate marketing branch with the sole target of selling Njords to Gasmea. Filip Ohlsson will continue as the Hetvesia Head of Marketing, and to heed the Gasmean expansion, Maria Lindholm will be promoted to Gasmea Head of Marketing.”

Jumping from her seat, Maria celebrated the announcement as some of her peers stood up besides her, cheering. Leonard wasn’t able to reach Maria - there were too many people in the way - though he celebrated from afar her promotion. It’s about time she gets recognized, he thought.

With the crowd settled down, Rasmus concluded his speech. “I want to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight. Operation North Star is going to challenge us in ways we have never experienced before, but if the last eleven years is anything to go by then I’m confident we will continue to achieve great things with the Njord family. Now enough listening to me, it’s time to celebrate before this theatre kicks us out!”

Racetro · 19 April 2026 00:04

The HETVESIAN TIMES - 1956

UFO PHOTOGRAPHED BY CATTLE RANCHER IN LAR!

The number of claimed sightings of "flying saucers" continues to grow, especially in the Great Plains region of Gasmea. The latest supposed sighting - photographed by cattle rancher Bailey Mason near the small town of Lar - is the clearest photo evidence yet captured.
"I saw's it with my own two eyes," says the cattle rancher in a television interview from Channel 3 News. "I've seens it a few times matter-of-fact trying to get my cows. Dad gum thing's fast too, always gits before I can shoot it, gun or camera, except this time I got it before it flew off at 200 miles or so."
Many experts are doubtful of the encounter. In a response when asked to comment on the findings, Zeilwies University of Applied Sciences physics professor Sören Schleiermacher writes, "Based on the geometry that can be ascertained from the blurred, grainy smudge in the photograph, a craft of such shape would have to break the laws of physics to fly. Considering the impossibility of the craft, the image source, along with an already long list of debunked 'sightings', this is yet another scam to add to the pile."
Military representatives in Gasmea are taking things more seriously regarding sightings of UFOs. Many generals suspect the UFOs are top secret spy planes built by the Archanans, and have thus responded with increased defense budget spending and a stronger air presence along the Gasmean-Archanan border.
What do you think of these sightings? Could these craft be high-tech military weapons? A conspiracy theorist rambling nonsense? Or perhaps these are our first sightings of something more alien? Write to our paper and give us your thoughts.

1956 - The Future... Today

After four years together, Leonard and Maria Hansson have officially declared their marriage during the spring of 1956. The marriage ceremony was held in a small white chapel in the rural countryside by Reimsee. The newlywed couple did not have much time to celebrate their honeymoon however; both were responsible for preparing Njord for their newest model to release in 1959.

It is two years into Operation North Star: the FB-396 continues to comfortably sell to people across Hetvesia and Njord's concept car has been completed just in time for the 1956 Crafton Auto Show.

The competition is stiff in Gasmea. Big cars. Big engines. Big tailfins and miles of chrome. It is the peak of the dream car concept era, and the largest auto conglomerates straight from Crafton have put on a show of their glimpse into the future.

Within the Crafton expo center a plethora of concepts are displayed in each of the manufacturer booths. Fighter-jet inspired low-slung sports cars with glass bubble canopies. Massive land barges with mile high tailfins and a turbine engine. One manufacturer even brought a concept for a nuclear-powered car - though thankfully the nuclear part was just a display.

Njord Automobile was located far off in the East wing of the expo with other Hetvesian automakers. Since Maria - the Gasmean Head of Marketing - had a tight budget to stretch over multiple auto shows, and Njord was a newcomer for Gasmea, Njord was reserved little floorspace in the show. Njord's booth was considerably small; having just enough room to fit their newest concept car with some standing room for photographs.

The Futaero

Coming from the mind of Leonard Hansson - Chief Designer - and his team of top tier engineers, Njord Automobile is proud to present a sneak peek into the future of motoring: the Futaero.

The Futaero is a striking look at the Njord of tomorrow, an automobile that eschews the size and luxury you come to expect in a Gasmean car with Hetvesian sense and prestige that sets this car above the rest. It is the culmination of the best-of-the-best technology Njord has to offer in terms of quality, style, and safety.

The Futaero is the car of your dreams, except you're not dreaming. It's real, and it's right here. And the technology on this car? Maybe you will see it in your driveway in the not to distant future.

Style and Substance

Beautiful, isn't it? No fake turbines. No gaudy tailfins. Just a well balanced car that isn't afraid to show sophistication through subtlety. The stretched front grill flows the entire length of the car, giving the visual of a low, sleek machine reminiscent of the streamliner locomotives of the 1930s. The body itself is rounded and tapered, utilizing optimal aerodynamic geometry to not just look like it can cut through air but also do it.

The functional styling carries into the interior as well. Large leather seats cushion the driver in a spacious room of body-matched paint, thick carpet, and chrome. For the driver? A high-visibility gauge cluster and sporty floor-mounted shifter. For the co-pilot? A premium AM radio with a high-quality mono speaker. For the rear passengers? Rear doors and plenty of legroom. With all that and a massive rear trunk, the car of tomorrow makes no compromises in practicality.

A Future Worth Living For

Njord Automobile is committed to making the motoring world safer, and the Futaero is a shining example of our principles. Lap belts standard for all passengers: front and rear. The canopy has been designed to practically eliminate blind spots with a large safety-glass greenhouse. Also note the collapsible steering column, a feature we already offer in the FB-396.

The biggest advancement is in the chassis; a unibody construction featuring a safety-cell encompassing the passenger compartment with reinforced steel members. This provides a stiffer frame than what is possible with current ladder frames, offering superior ride dynamics as well as collision safety. The Futaero isn't just the car of tomorrow, it is the car that will ensure you make it to tomorrow.

A New Heart

This is not just a show car; it is a go car. Underneath the bonnet is a brand new inline four that Njord has been developing to be used for the next production model. That's right, this very engine will be in the next new Njord you can purchase, and it will have all of the technological advances introduced by this engine.

A tri-valve single overhead camshaft. A twin-barrel carburetor with optimal fuel economy and performance. Even premium reverse flow mufflers to keep the interior comfortable for relaxed passenger accommodations. From just 1.8 liters, this powertrain is expected to put out quite a punch once it reaches the market if our road tests are anything to go by.

Coming Soon

We hope you've enjoyed a glimpse into the future of Njord. Where some of the technology you will see at the Crafton Auto Show may come far into the future, many of the features you are seeing with the Futaero concept have a strong chance of becoming the next Njord available for your purchase - whether that's in our homeland in Hetvesia, or to you at the coming Gasmean Njord Automobile dealership network.