QFC33 - Good News! [FINALS OUT]

Community Challenges & Competitions
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Round 1: First eliminations

Roberto lets his friend Carlos into his flat in Old Terso. “So you still want to sell your classic Swanson? I brought you some car brochures a while ago - you looked through them yet?”

Roberto sits down and points to three stacks of brochures on his table. “Yes, I had a good look. Nice range of cars on offer from what I could see. Whittled things down to those that look like good candidates.”

Part 1.1: Too complicated

Roberto points to the first stack. “Here are the cars with all that fancy stuff that I don’t care about: Heads-up displays, electronic suspension or… differential settings - I don’t even know what that is - and lots of premium electronic gizmos in the interior that I don’t need or want for an honest driving experience. These are, in no particular order, …”

@T0M AT Suzume

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Complicated equipment (HUD + semi-active suspension), high service costs, good safety and sportiness, low on practicality and utility, (too) aggressive looks. Front discs are non-vented.

@Vento Clone Clari Eau’Aigu

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Too expensive and complicated to operate, but best fuel economy, comfort, drivability and sportiness. Magnesium wheels for some reason.

@BBestdu28 BMA Vita + Phase 2 Style Pack

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Too expensive and not that simple to operate, high service costs, drivability on the low side, but good fuel economy, clean looks

@RAZR Manda iQON

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Much too expensive and not that simple to operate, 2nd highest on comfort, highest service cost, low drivability, very brutalist looks. Magnesium wheels for some reason.

@Mausil Gaz Atotinma 1.0

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Much too expensive and quite complicated to operate, second worst reliability in the field, understated looks.

Carlos nods and looks at the second smaller stack. “What are these?”

Part 1.2: Too expensive

Roberto continues. “These should be easier to operate, but are way more expensive to buy or run than a bunch of others - and I am sure there are some good deals to be had among those with lower costs.”

@z2bbgr Nessa Marz - 1.2 SR-e95

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A bit on the expensive side, very good fuel economy, good drivability but worst reliability in the field.

@Texaslav Callahan Contrast 1.6 Comfort

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Most expensive in the field to buy, but best safety, good drivability and very good sportiness.

@lotto77 Halvson CZ Newton CDI Finale Edition

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Average purchase cost, but very high running costs, low drivability, low-ish reliability, looks a bit like Dracula from the front with the two ‘fangs’ on the outside. Having to operate a HUD is also not what I want.

Carlos nods. “And the third stack?”

“These look interesting, but hard to say more without more information.”

“Alright, I’ll get you some car reviews for the remaining lot. I’ll hand you some printouts after our next gig tomorrow?”

“Sounds good!”

To be continued…

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54

…I knew I overcooked it…

Good luck to the survivors!

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I hope my car’s worth the steep price :grimacing:

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Should have used vented disk lmao, beside that i wasn’t too sure about the simplicity part and i thought it was talking about the look lol, best of luck to the rest

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Round 2: Second eliminations

A week has passed and Roberto has read through the car reviews that Carlos has handed him as printouts. He has made careful notes and divided the printouts into two new stacks:

Part 2.1: Too uncomfortable (in no particular order)

@Happyhungryhippo Primus Publica Select

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Cheap to buy and run, quite practical but among the lowest comfort in the field. Front lamp arrangements are a bit odd.

@Danicoptero Tarquini Emozione S312T 1.0

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Cheap to buy, quite cheap to run, quite reliable, characterful looks, but among the lowest comfort in the field

@Ducethetruth100 Axxus MP5 i3 RS

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Cheap-ish to buy, good drivability, very practical, but lowest comfort in the field. Another set of odd front lamp arrangements

@HermannMatern Folski Piat - Biedny Gosc

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Cheap to buy, decent reliabilty, but worst drivability and low comfort as well. Upper part of the front looks like belonging to a much narrower car

Part 2.2: Just right? (= Finalists, also in no particular order)

@mart1n2005 Valiant Amigo

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@Maverick74 Ryuji Dani ES

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@shibusu CH4 Saberin Solsti ES

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@Knugcab IP Rubiq Final Edition

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@the-chowi Montagne Roraima X

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Stay tuned for the finals…

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So the “just right” are in the finals or also eliminated?

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I think this round had 19 entries overall, if you count the “just right” ones you have 19, so I guess they are the ones heading for the finals.

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Yeah that’s not quite clear

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Still in. After the first round there were 9 cars left in the competition. If Just Right? category would be eliminated, there would be no car left in the competition.

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Maybe a better trim could have helped here. Well, that’s life.

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I’m guessing my comfort is one of the lowest because of the manual gearbox. I tried giving it an automatic, but I wasn’t happy with the result.

Sometimes you just can’t get a car right, and this was one of those times for me. Still, it was a nice challenge, tight budgets are always fun. Good luck to the finalists!

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That magnesium wheels info was new to me as well lmao. Maybe I missclicked. Nevertheless, I had fun. Good luck for the finalists.

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Thanks for the review and the challenge, had a lot of fun designing and driving around in Beam with this one. May the best win!!

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Magnesium wheels are lighter than regular alloys, but are also more expensive and are thus mostly reserved for higher-priced high-performance cars.

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Round 3: Finals

Alright, here we go… drumroll

5th place: @the-chowi Montagne Roraima X
Average purchase cost (but more than the other four finalists) and service cost, not very economical, high safety, rugged appearance, scores high in the 3 1-star criteria, but average at best otherwise.

4th place: @Maverick74 Ryuji Dani ES
Still reasonably cheap to buy, average running costs, good drivability, clean nice looks, very practical but not too comfortable. The Valiant Amigo has slightly less comfort for much less cost.

3rd place: @mart1n2005 Valiant Amigo
Cheapest to buy and very cheap to run, clean looks, but lowest safety, low-ish reliability, low-ish comfort and no AUX port for the MP3 player (CD only entertainment). The latter could be fixed with a new head unit, but ultimately too many compromises despite the very low cost, compared to the two higher-placed cars. If Roberto were a less successful musician, that’d probably be his choice.

2nd place: @Knugcab IP Rubiq Final Edition
This one has a CVT and thus gave me a headache due to the odd stats it currently produces. Had to hand-adjust reliability (like a 10-speed adv. auto) and fuel economy with some educated guesses. In the end, an average purchase cost, low service cost, good safety, good practicality, decent comfort, a nice boxy utilitarian look, but non-existent sportiness.

1st place: @shibusu CH4 Saberin Solsti ES
Average purchase cost, good comfort, top sportiness, lowest practicality due to 3 doors and 4 seats (sport and prac are both 1-star though), average in the rest. Front lamps look somewhat unnerving. Costs are similar to 2nd, 4th and 5th place. Ultimately, the combination of best comfort and sportiness among the finalists sealed the deal. Congratulations!

Some observations on the finals:

  • All five were quite distinctive entries
  • 3rd-5th were relatively clear cut
  • The decision for the top spot in the end it was close, but - despite some arbitrariness due to the fudged stats for the IP - 20 vs. 0 sportiness is hard to beat, even though the IP is ever so slightly better in several other areas.
  • By the way, both bins would probably have made the finals, with a potential podium even for the Zephorus…
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Sorry. I had no ideas CVTs were that borked at the moment, if I knew they caused troubles I would have spared you the headache.

Also, I say it already now, if the winner can’t host, I will also choose to pass hosting down, since I hosted QFC not too many rounds ago, and with hosting ARM currently and 24h in the pipeline, I don’t need a third challenge to worry about.

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No worries, it wasn’t too much trouble - and if I had known that I would have banned them outright. :grin:

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I was aiming to be the cheapest so I’m glad I at least got that right. Maybe just some standard infotainment would have faired better for me.

Congratulations to the top two places though, and if shibusu can’t host I am able to

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I didn’t mean that I didn’t know what it was, but I remember wanting alloys or steel, but I may have missclicked. Thanks anyways.

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Been a busy day today, elated to see the little wrong-side-engine managed to come in first. I’ll be taking up hosting duty for QFC34 (sorry mart1n)

and it’s done:

3 Likes