[PDC] Political Design Challenge Round 10: Parks and Recreation

[GassTiresandOil]

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK - 1990:

It’s the new year, and Yosemite’s busy season will soon be here. The Park’s director has noticed a need for a few new vehicles. Currently, their fleet consists of either the same cars used as police cruisers, or pickup trucks. She wants a vehicle that can pull double-duty; one that has the space to accommodate multiple passengers if need be, but also be able to transport materials to the various places within the park.

That’s where you come in.

RULES:

FRONT ENGINE VEHICLES ONLY
Model and Trim year set to 1990
Max Price - $24,500
Max Engine PU - 40
Max Engine ET - 120
Max Trim PU - 95
Max Trim ET - 95
Space Frame chassis not allowed
Must run on 91 RON fuel
Catalytic Converter mandatory
No manual transmissions
Must have at least 5 seats
No Fiber Glass panels
No forged, limited production, or race parts

SCORING

Drivability - Score times 20%
Comfort - Score times 20%
Safety - Score times 15%
Utility - Score times 20%
Offroad - Score times 20%
Reliability - Score times 20%
Styling - Score out of 1-5

For example, let’s say you get a Drivability score of 41.6. I’ll take 20% of that (8.32) and add it to your final score. You should be able to calculate your own score (with the exception of styling) before you even submit. But, please keep your score to yourself so no one uses that as a benchmark to beat.

Styling - This is mainly an engineering challenge, so styling won’t exactly carry a car to the winner’s circle. The best styled car will receive five points extra. Just make sure the vehicle is road legal and all the doors have handles and such. For those interested in liveries, these vehicles have historically been white, with a green stripe down the side, though that isn’t necessary for the challenge.
I reserve the right to bin vehicles with absolutely no effort given to styling.

*I WILL NOT BE JUDGING ON ABSOLUTE AUTHENTICITY. The CSR’s already do a pretty good job with that. I’m hoping this challenge will let you explore how Automation scores its various categories, and maybe you can use this knowledge in the future.

INSPIRATION

Standard naming convention applies:
MODEL: PDC10-Username
TRIM: Vehicle make and model
FAMILY: PDC10-Username
VARIANT: Engine name

I’ll leave this up for a couple days to field any questions or suggestions. Submissions will open Sunday, September 27 at 8:00 am EST. If all goes well, submissions will end Friday, October 9 at 8:00 pm EST.

[mart1n2005]

I would be careful doing such a stats heavy challenge as you get people making strange choices to min max the figures.
For example this kind of vehicle would be body on frame with a solid leaf rear axle in 1990 but obviously that wont do well in comfort or driveability so you would end up with loads of unibody double wishbone SUV’s.

[abg7]

Will environmental resistance be a factor in judging? I’m expecting it to be so if the client wants to keep their new fleet of cars for a long time.

On top of that, I’m suggesting that 91 RON regular unleaded and a catalytic converter (preferably a three-way item) should both be mandatory.

[SenseiB12]

Environmental resistance affects the Utility score, so it’s at least somewhat accounted for.

[GassTiresandOil]

There were unibody SUV’s back then. The Cherokee would be considered light truck monocoque. But I’ll restrict some of the choices some so the entries don’t seem TOO far fetched. Keep in mind, different suspension choices effect other stats than comfort, too.

[GassTiresandOil]

Thank you, I forgot about converters and such. As for the environmental resistance, it would be nice to judge that, but it does have an effect on the utility score (and trying to include a perhaps 3 digit number where lower is better into a formula where increasing numbers are added might give me a headache). It could be done, but I’m trying to keep is simple for everyone.

EDIT

I have revised the rules to exclude some of the weirder options in the materials and chassis department, revised the scoring on styling, and added some more explanation about this round.

[S31]

When you say “Autobox mandatory”, Do you mean Auto only or Ad.Auto allowed as well?

[GassTiresandOil]

Sorry, I will clarify that to read “No manual transmissions”.

[DrPepper2002]

could you increase the cost to about $25000 instead of $23000 so we can make our cars a bit less… basic?

[GassTiresandOil]

I’ve adjusted the price up to $24,500 and also upped the car PU and ET both to 95. I still want the caps low enough so it forces you to make decisions about how to build your vehicle.

[nialloftara]

This seems like fun, already working on a prototype. The rules allow for a lot of freedom in design, nicely balanced.

[abg7]

@GassTiresandOil

Submissions will open Sunday, September 28 at 8:00 am EST.

It should read September 27th, not the 28th.

And load capacity is factored into a car’s utility score, as far as I am aware.

@GassTiresandOil

Must have at least 5 seats

That means we could theoretically submit something with 6 or more seats, but I’d rather settle for just five, given that fitting a third row generally reduces cargo volume while also increasing the price.

And I’ve made a test build already; I just need to see if I have to fine-tune it before submission.

[GassTiresandOil]

Yes, you’re right. Today is the 27th.

SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN

[george_m997]

1990 GMD XT Type G ( Mid Range ver. )
its a Family offroader, perfect for multipurpose function

got it done a bit cheaper than the max allowed

the car

[mart1n2005]

The 1990 Knightwick Adventure

[Aruna]

‎

Kyung-Yeong Sayuti Touring Optional Package '90

[S31]

HOT NEWS!!

Amazing natural life discovery!!

(announcer)
We stop our programs, because of this amazing discovery made by one of our journalists!!

(journalist)

Yes!! I’m into the natural science laboratory in the fearsome jungle of BEAM

Hidden from the masses in the thick jungle, the MAHG Gamma '90, has been spotted for the first time!

We knew its existance for a long time but we never had any way to put an image of it in our minds!

Here are the first pictures taken of this rare animal!

We can see it in its natural habitat

Lying down the beach maybe to heat up its body, is it a cold blooded animal?
Or is it to perfect its tan?
Is it to use the chlorophyle present on its body?! Is it a GMO that turned bad?!
We don’t know anything about it!!

We can see it in its intimacy, certainly having a pee

Having a bath

Following a track, hunting a prey?

Here’s a picture of it, jumping on the said prey?

End of the day, It has climbed over the top of the jungle (its nidification point?)
Or roaring to impress the most fearsome beasts of this rude environement?

These are the firsts illustrations of this lonely animal!
Wooooo, what a discovery!! We’ll try to add more cameras to get more infos!!

Back to the studio!

(announcer)
Thank you for communicating us these information! We’re sure this will blow up the scientific community!!

Let’s get back now to our cat playing with cardboard program!

[Fletchyboy100]

The Brantan Bourbon XLT

Named after the street, not the drink you alcoholic!

But Wait! Isn't That Your CSR126 Entry Just With A New Year To Fit This Challenge?

It’s got an all new V8 for 1990.

[abg7]

1990 MAD Ouray 4x4

[Marv666]

Autodelta proudly presents their newest vehicle for 1990, the brand new Autodelta Amazone AWD Turbo Intercooler:

1990 Autodelta Amazone AWD Turbo Intercooler - press release

The Autodelta Amazone AWD Turbo Intercooler - Go anywhere, without leaving a footprint!

A vehicle that truly marks the start of this decade. The last decade in the century of the automobile is here! We at Autodelta completely overhauled the idea of an SUV, because we where fed up with outdated designs on SUVs. We put our best design team on the task of building the most modern compact SUV you ever saw. We combined it with our most environmentally friendly engine ever in a vehicle. But we made sure that the Amazone is still able to bring you anywhere you want in the toughest of terrains Mother Nature has to offer. The Amazone does this with a manually lockable All Wheel Drive system, a smooth 4-speed automatic transmission, underbody skid trays and a healthy dose of ground clearance.

The engine
Looking at competitors compact SUVs we saw either underpowered small engines, heavy V6 engines or turbo diesel engines with great fuel efficiency but a lack in every other department. At Autodelta we decided to combine the best of all those worlds. Our brand new all aluminium 1400cc four cylinder engine is compact, light and fuel efficient. With state-of-the-art exhaust after treatment systems the Autodelta Amazone has a footprint comparable with a compact car! To make sure this wonderful powerplant works for you, we fitted this engine with a turbo and intercooler. These provide the engine with the power and torque comparable with conventional compact SUVs.

The Autodelta Amazone AWD Turbo Intercooler - Go anywhere, without leaving a footprint!