Thank you for the design compliments and yes, the engines and other stats are not realistic but like you said Automation isn’t exactly set up for this far back, so I’m doing the best I can! The engines are far more powerful than they aught to be, but when I get to the 50s and beyond, I’ll have the actual automation unlock progression route to guide me with the parts! With these I’m just using the worst parts available to me and slowly upgrading them as I see appropriate as I go up the years to the '50s. The engines for the '30s cars should be near to IRL engine numbers hopefully, and I’m essentially skipping the '40s due to the whole ‘world on fire’ thing!
Phompsonby took a year off to develop new models, skipping out on the middle of the decade and returning in 1926 with the Phompsonby Limousine which was, as the name suggested, a limousine. The body had an enclosed cabin for passengers while the driver/chauffeur rode in the front with a standard windscreen for the time.
The limousine housed a Phompson Deluxe engine, designed to be smooth running and quiet for the passengers. The engine was a 1.5 litre inline 4 producing 89.2 Hp at 6,200 RPM and a maximum of 115.1 Nm of torque at 4,300 RPM. As was the Phompsonby standard of the time, it used direct acting OHC headers, regular leaded fuel and twin carburettors. The vehicle could do 13.7 miles to the gallon.
The vehicle was designed to get the passengers around in comfort and relative speed. The top speed was 82.1 MPH and 0-62 in 14.1 seconds. The gearbox was a longitudinal 4 speed manual without differentials.
The interior was designed for maximum comfort and passenger relaxation, with a hand made bespoke wood interior and all the luxuries you could ever need! Any and all amenities were catered for and no request was too small. As such, the limousine often varied from car to car, each one different to the last based on the whims of the buyer. The suspension and ride quality was built for comfort so that any and all bumps would be mitigated for the people riding in the cabin.
The limousine wasn’t manufactured in high numbers as it was never intended to be sold in large quantities. Indeed, Phompsonby knew this was a far rarer vehicle to be sold, so it was generally built ‘on request’ when someone who could afford it asked for one. As such, the limousine sold in very few numbers, generally less than 500 cars built between 1926-1930, at which point no-one could afford one due to the Great Depression. Phompsonby expected the car to not to sold in great numbers, so they didn’t loose much in unsold stock when the UK fell into the recession of the early '30s.
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in 1927, Phompsonby released a new general purpose vehicle to the public named the Phompsonby Standard. This was a basic car in the middle of their high end offers. Not as premium as the Family MKII or Longstar but more desirable than the Everyman just 3 years earlier.
The car the first time Phompsonby ever reused an engine in a vehicle, since it used the Phompson Traveller engine, the same as was used in the Phompsonby Wagoneer in 1923. It was a 1.8 litre engine producing 90.4 HP at 5,000 RPM and a maximum of 142.7 Nm of torque at 3,500. As usual it ran on leaded fuel with direct action OHC headers and single barrel duel carburettors. However, the vehicle weighed more than the Wagoneer, resulting in a little worse fuel economy at 12.9 miles to the gallon.
The speed of the car was also in the middle of the pack compared to their other offerings at the time. The top speed was 81.9 MPH and a 0-62 of 13.4 seconds, worse than the Longstar but very close to the Wagoneer. The car was rear wheel drive with a 4 speed longitudinal manual gearbox and no differentials.
The interior also mirrored the general purpose plan for the vehicle. It wasn’t as barren as the Everyman but not as premium as most of their other cars during this time. The interior had some amenities and the upholstery and dashboard was nice to look at and the vehicle was comfortable to drive. The car was also a 4 seater, enough to most situations but with enough space in the back for extra baggage.
The vehicle proved worth its development time, as it filled Phompsonby’s missing vehicle slot as a general purpose, everyday car of the people. It was large enough to suit families with children but without the high price tag of something like the Family MKII or Wagoneer. The vehicle was still fast, capable of getting around town or to holiday destinations and you could get there in relative comfort. The car remained on sale until the early 1930s when it was phased out along with a lot of Phompsony’s other cars due to the Great Depression.
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After the release of the Standard, Phompsonby were promising a great car. This car promised to be the pinnacle of car design. It would be large, premium, economic and powerful, with a fast top speed, all new engineering designs, a brand new drive train, gearbox and a complete overhaul of the current car building climate. What they came out with in 1929 was the Phompsonby Luxury and it failed on nearly every front. Phompsonby had never had a true failure of a car, only underwhelming or ‘on par’ with expectations, such as the Wagonner or Everyman. The Luxury was the first time Phompsonby failed to deliver a solid car.
True to their word, Phompsonby did mount their largest engine yet in the car, a massive 2.2 litre inline 4 engine named the Phompson Luxurious. It also produced the most amount of horse power yet from one of their engine, being their first civilian engine to break 100 horse power, making 110.1 Hp at 5,700 RPM and a maximum of 172.8 Nm of torque. However, nothing was really ‘new’ about the engine that Phompsonby promised. It still used leaded fuel with direct action OHC headers and single barrel duel carburettors, though it did use eco carbs. The engine could also do 16.1 miles to the gallon, but it wasn’t the 25 miles to the gallon Phompsonby promised.
The car was fast, faster than even the Longstar, though by now that car was 8 years old! The top speed was 88.5 MPH, faster than any production car from them before, though the 0-62 was 12.5 seconds, slower than the Longstar. The car also failed to deliver on the promise of a new drivetrain and gearbox. The car was still rear wheel drive with a 4 speed manual longitudinal gearbox and no differentials.
The car was also deemed ugly compared to other offerings from other companies and from Phompsonby themselves. The car was long, too long for the engine and it served to be a nuisance when driving, as the car was too long for the tighter UK roads. The colour was meant to be regal, with a black body and red highlighting colour, but the overall design of the car was not up to Phompsonby standard. The headlights didn’t fit with the style of the car, though the new spoked wheel design was indicative of the wheel design to be used on most cars in the 1930s. The interior was very premium as promised, with a similar level detail and care put into it as given to the Family MKII. However, this just served to make the car even less desirable, as the interior was just as good on the Family MKII and that car was all round better than this car.
The car was a massive flop when it was released. Barely any sold and it was universally disliked by nearly everyone. It was too long, ugly, expensive and underwhelming. Nearly everything Phompsonby had promised did not get delivered with this car, resulting in extremely poor sales and a massive monetary and time loss by Phompsonby into this car. It didn’t revolutionise the motor industry, new engineering techniques were not employed, the suspension, gearbox and engine design were all the same, the only improvement of the engine being that it was larger, resulting in the increase of power.
The car was on sale for less than a year and its failure ushered in the Great Depression in the UK as well as the end of Phompsonby’s ‘Golden Age’. The company financially crashed from the combination of the failure of the Luxury, the market crash of the Great Depression in the UK and an overall lack of people buying their current offers, partly from the failure of the Luxury but also from the Great Depression. Phompsonby wouldn’t produce a new car for nearly half a decade after 1929 while it was struggling to recover and waiting for the global economy to recover.
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Going into the 1930s Phompsonby were in a HEAVY ‘Dark Age’. The massive failure of the Luxury and the Great Depression hitting the UK meant Phompsonby were nearing bankruptcy several times, only being kept afloat by the success of the ‘Green Arrow’ and their racing team. In 1934 Phompsonby started to attempt a comeback to the market, releasing the Family MKIII, the next incarnation of their Family line.
It was tradition at this point that the Family line of vehicles used inline 3 engines and the Family MKIII was no different. The car used a 1.8 litre inline 3 engine which made 96 HP at 5,800 RPM and a maximum of 136.5 Nm of torque at 3,700 RPM. The car still ran on regular leaded fuel and used direct action OHC headers and single barrel duel carburettors. The engine was the most efficient of all the Family models at 11.6 miles to the gallon.
This version of the Family was the fastest of them so far, capable of 83.9 MPH and a 0-62 in 13.3 seconds, all of which were improvements over the MKII. It still used a 4 speed manual longitudinal gearbox with no differentials and rear wheel drive.
The Family line were most known for their exquisite interiors. As such, the MKIII also delivered on that as well. The interior was once again hand made, premium wood, varnished and polished to the highest degree. The seats were soft and comfortable, capable of absorbing most bumps or humps on the road. There was as many amenities as possible for the time, once again focussing on passenger and driver comfort.
The car was not a massive success. It performed far under Phompsonby’s expectation for one reason, the failure of the Luxury. Because that car was also a luxury car and failed massively, the public were wary of this new offering from Phompsonby. The loyal customers of Phompsonby did purchase the Family MKIII and loved it, but many new customers were scared away due to the failure of the Luxury, or they purchased a Longstar or pre-owned Family MKII. The Family MKIII didn’t give Phompsonby the jump start they wanted back to success and the car was discontinued in 1938 as the Second World War loomed. It also marked the death of the Family line, as Phompsonby decided to drop the naming convention after this car.
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