BRIEF
It is 2019, and Roberto Carlucci is an aspiring musician in the vibrant arts scene in Fruinia’s capital city, Terso. He loves vintage and retro clothes and furniture, and the two most modern things he owns are a high-quality MP3 player with wired headphones, along with a feature phone (aka dumb phone).
His current daily driver is a 1960s era Swanson, and while he likes it very much, he recently witnessed a huge traffic accident in Terso with a vintage car of similar age, and he was shocked how badly it fared against modern vehicles, even at modest inner city speeds.
After some days of internal deliberation, Roberto decides to take the plunge, sell his vintage Swanson and buy a brand new car instead. Luckily, one of his bandmates, Carlos, is a car guy and Roberto asks him to help out.
“All new cars are going to be quite safe right? So all I want otherwise is something simple and honest, with as little gadgets, bells and whistles as possible. Maybe connect my MP3 player to the entertainment unit, but that’s about it. Like that… whatever it was called, that you joked about in the past… that the guy on First Gear liked so much?”
Carlos nods. “The Sandero? Yeah, but they are not sold here anymore, unfortunately.” He thinks for a second. “Give me a week or so and I’ll have a list of cars that we can go through together.”
“Alright. Oh, and leave any Mara off that list. I don’t want to look that desperate.”
Carlos nods again.
PRIORITIES
3 star
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Simplicity: Roberto lives the retro lifestyle and has learned to appreciate the simplicity of his vintage cars. He wants his new car to have little fuss and be easy to operate. (In Automation terms, this solely relates to the trim equipment choices.)
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Drivability: It’s going to be Roberto’s daily driver, and navigating Terso traffic can be challenging at times.
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Purchase cost: As an aspiring musician, money is tight for Roberto. After all, this is an unplanned purchase.
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Running cost: Roberto does not want to pay more than necessary for fuel and service costs.
2 star
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Safety: Since this is the main motivation for purchasing a new car, Roberto wants at least good state-of-the-art safety features. He is not looking for ultimate safety though.
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Looks: Roberto wishes that his new car matches his lifestyle values, but he is not a car guy at heart. So anything between modern understatement and retro chic goes - nothing overly flashy. Interiors are neither required nor will be judged.
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Reliability: While used to the odd shenanigans from his past vintage rides, Roberto hopes that a brand new car leads to less headaches in this area.
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Comfort: Roberto’s time in the car should be reasonably comfortable. He will rarely travel long distances though.
1 star:
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Practicality: There should at least be ample space for his three bandmates to take them to a gig in town or on a road trip.
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Utility: Roberto plays the saxophone, so luggage space is not crucial.
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Sportiness: Terso streets their heavy traffic rarely allow a car to show its speed or handling prowess within the city. Roberto does not venture past the city limits enough for this to truly matter.
Unimportant:
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Offroad: Roberto has no inclination to leave the well-maintained Fruinian asphalt roads
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Environmental resistance: Fruinia is warm and dry, so rust is not a problem.
RULES
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Model year: 2019 or earlier
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Trim year: 2019
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Family year: 2019 or earlier
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Variant year: 2019
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Techpool: all default +5 (to keep things simple for QFC)
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95 RON unleaded fuel
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Engine loudness max 50
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Engine must pass WES 11 emission standards (as required for Fruinia in 2019)
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At least four full seats
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No legacy car bodies
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No positive aero values (test track tab)
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No race parts or semi-slick tyres
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ESC required (due to laws)
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Max toe values between -0.15 and +0.15
The usual realism rules apply. I am not averse to judicious use of positive and negative quality within reason, however - especially since techpool is fixed to default values.
NAMING CONVENTION & SUBMISSIONS
Game version: Ellisbury Open Beta
Naming convention Model & Family: QFC33 - Your forum nickname
Naming convention Trim & Variant: free
Send a Discourse PM to me with the .CAR file
Create a short post in this thread with at least one picture
Submissions opens: 09/10/2023
Submissions close: 15/10/2023, AOE (anywhere-on-earth)
If an open beta patch drops three days or less before the due date, the deadline will be extended by three days and resubmissions will be allowed in that case.
Therefore, consider NOT submitting early to make everyone’s life that bit easier…
).
