Thanks Everyone! I have a few new ones to show off.
[size=150]1995 Hornet GT[/size]
The Hornet was first introduced in the mid 80’s as an alternative to the classic muscle cars. It was positioned as an entry-level sports car below Camaro, Mustang, and Oakland’s own muscle car. Utilizing a turbocharged 4 cylinder engine, it was not only quick, but it was fuel-efficient too. While the typical American muscle car of the time focused on raw power, Oakland took a different approach with the Hornet, instead tuning the car to be lightweight and agile. This led the first generation Hornet to become one of the best handling cars of the 1980’s. The 2nd Generation follows in the same footsteps as the first. While it has grown in size by a small amount, it still follows the same lightweight, nimble, 4-cyl formula that made the first gen Hornet so popular. It’s mainly competed with other lightweight Japanese sports cars.
The 2nd gen Entourage was introduced in 2000 and improved upon everything that made the original such a hit. The introduction of the Acer in 1996 meant that engineers could focus on making Entourage a proper performance sedan. The fruits of their labor were shown the Entourage MK.II achieved a podium victory in the World Rally Championship in 2001. Despite great success, Oakland decided to pull out of WRC with the end of the 2nd generation Entourage, citing rising costs. It was the last Entourage with AWD available as an option, becoming solely RWD in the 3rd Gen onwards. Oakland has since decided to re-enter the WRC, but it is unclear if the Entourage will be used.
The Woodward brand is Oakland’s luxury car brand. It focuses on mid to high-end luxury cars. The Azalea was introduced in 1992 as a brand new design that would be able to better compete with it’s European and Asian rivals. The first generation Entourage was based on the Azalea and they have shared platforms ever since. While they both share the same power-train, the Azalea is more composed and has a softer feel to increase the feeling of luxury. For the second generation (pictured), the AWD layout was pushed and marketed much more in order to try and distinguish it from the primarily RWD Entourage. Fewer components were shared between the two as well. The Azalea had a unique dashboard design and shared minimal sheet metal with Entourage. The second generation Azalea went on to become the best selling car for the Woodward brand. For 2005, limited numbers of hybrid Azaleas were produced. This served as a test bed to perfect Oakland’s hybrid system, and in 2008, the third generation Azalea became the best-selling hybrid luxury sedan. Non-hybrid versions would still be sold to cater to the enthusiast.
For the 1998 model year, the Acer model line was upgraded with the addition of the Black Edition. It featured exclusive Midnight Black Metallic paint, found only on the luxury Woodward models, as well as unique front fascias with upscale touches. Projector headlamps and a rear spoiler were also added. The Acer Black Edition was originally going to be sold under the Woodward brand, however, a last minute decision from corporate decided that the Azalea was to be the only mid-sized car in the Woodward lineup. The car then became a sub-model of the Acer it was based on. Power-train options remained the same as the existing Acer line, with the Black Edition coming standard with a V6. For the final model year, the Black Edition came standard with a supercharged variant of the standard V6, producing 290 HP.
The charm R-Spec is just awesome… especially these bumpers! But all you other cars are also super awesome ^^
And the descriptions about your cars are a great idea too!
~Nyan
Thanks! I’ve been challenging myself to design cars that emulate the looks of specific eras. With the parts/bodies we have so far, I think making cars from the 90’s-2000’s is easiest. That being said, I’m eagerly awaiting pop-up headlights for some 80’s designs . I really liked the sedan we had in one of the previous updates. I had some really cool 2010’s designs based off of it, like the Entourage MK. IV. The new sedan has more of a 90’s feel to it (to me at least), which isn’t bad, but its harder for me to create compelling designs that look like they belong in the 2010’s.
[quote=“NyanCatx3”]The charm R-Spec is just awesome… especially these bumpers! But all you other cars are also super awesome ^^
And the descriptions about your cars are a great idea too!
~Nyan[/quote]
Thank you! The redesigned Charm RSpec is one of my favorite designs that I’ve made. And I love making the descriptions for my cars. I spend much more time on them than i probably should lol. It’s fun just to sit and daydream about how i would market the car and how it would sell and coming up with back-stories for each of the models. It really makes the whole experience, for me at least. I’m glad to see others enjoy reading my descriptions.
I assume you would be talking about the first (mid 2000’s) Charm RSpec? The Focus/Fiesta ST was actually my main inspiration for that one (I bet you couldn’t tell )!
Thanks! Which Opel does it remind you of? I can’t think of any that look quite like it. Nevertheless, I’m really happy that you like the design.
And the black lips were from a previous version of Automation. I’m not sure why they took them out, but i’m sure there was a reason. I just hope that they make it back in soon, because I really liked the way they looked.
I dunno, it sort of reminds me of the Insignia OPC for some reason… And they definitely shouldn’t have taken it out! But then again, what do I know about game design, lol
Here’s a preview of a car I have just designed. It is a dedicated, FWD sports car from the mid-late 90’s. Think of it more as a Honda Prelude than a Civic coupe. It would primarily compete with cars like the Prelude, Celica and Eclipse. Power would come from a ~250hp Turbocharged 2.2L Inline-4.
Hopefully I can get some more pictures and add a description soon.
After a short break, I’ve picked Automation back up and started designing some new cars! I hope to post them in the next few days; but for now, here is a teaser. It’s the first generation of the Oakland Hornet.
Also, It’s amazing what boredom in class can produce. A while back I made an excel doc with my company’s lineup from 1980 to 2020. It’s nothing too official, ill probably change it up many times, but for now, I like it how it is. I might spin the trucks off into their own brand, and i still need to do one for Woodward. Anyways, I just figured you guys would enjoy looking at this. Cheers
In the mid 80’s, Oakland wanted to enter the entry-level sports car market, but didn’t want to dilute the powerful image of the Phantom muscle car. After many months of debate, it was finally settled upon to create a whole new car rather than re-engine the Phantom. This allowed the new car, dubbed Hornet, to take a new approach towards the American Sports Car. Instead of focusing on raw power, Hornet focused on precision and balance. This led to the Hornet to become one of the best handling cars from the 1980’s.
From the start, the Hornet was designed to be an attainable sports car. It was designed to be affordable, so you could have one in your garage instead of a poster on your wall. Even though the inexpensive base model was lacking on power and accessories, it had the same suspension components as the top-of-the-line Turbo model, making for a very capable car. With seating for 4 and decent fuel economy, the Hornet was practical too. The Hornet went on to become one of Oakland’s most iconic vehicles, not due to record speeds or power, but because of exceptional driving dynamics in an affordable package. In fact, the Hornet eventually led to the Phantom’s demise, as the Hornet vastly outsold the Phantom. The Hornet was produced continuously from 1986 until 2009, when financial uncertainty led to it’s discontinuation. Production of the 5th generation picked back up in 2011, however.
. I really liked the sedan we had in one of the previous updates. I had some really cool 2010’s designs based off of it, like the Entourage MK. IV. The new sedan has more of a 90’s feel to it (to me at least), which isn’t bad, but its harder for me to create compelling designs that look like they belong in the 2010’s.
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