Quick Fire Challenge 4

[Lanson]

Hello everyone!

This is my first hosting so if I F it up, please let me know so I can learn (quickly) and fix things. That said, here we go!

Quick Fire Challenge original thread
https://discourse.automationgame.com/t/quick-fire-challenge/42211

Previous (QFC 3)
https://discourse.automationgame.com/t/quick-fire-challenge-3/42568

This QFC our customer is a family that enjoys skiing in the mountains, and wants a nice SUV or MPV to carry the family on their travels.
Suv or mpv body types, they do not want a minivan. In fact, try to stay far away from the minivan stereotype.

Family of 6, more seats are OK but they want comfort, and any wheelbase that can fit 3 rows.

They want a “New” car for the build year 2015, but bodies from any year if you’ve got a retro idea and think it would look good for '15. The family likes to go to the mountains and ski. Climate is central-northern America, in the rust belt, so try to make it survive the elements if you can.

Rules for the round:
Body style Wagon type, SUV or MPV (not a sliding-door minivan)
3-rows needed
Seats - sit at least 6 (3rd row can be +2 jump seats or bigger)
Quality sliders +/- 3 to keep it simple and easy to judge
Fuel - Up to 95RON Premium
Must be road legal with lights, plates, catalytic converters, etc., all the typical QFC original points.
No race parts, these are standard vehicles for families.
Engine ET 150 max (debatable if you want to talk with me on it.)
3 Row Back row can be +2 or bigger.
At least 15 Miles Per Gallon
$60,000 budget
Noise - nothing major, let’s try for under 45. A throaty engine is nice if it doesn’t drone the cabin.
Safety of course important, at least standard 10’s
No V16’s, it wouldn’t load for me.

Naming convention: Model and Family: QFC4-{Forum Username} : Trim and Variant [whatever you want]

Major Priorities
Comfort - it takes hours to get to the mountain top, so a comfortable ride is what they want.
Driveability - We don’t want any crazy handling characteristics to screw up a good family trip.
Practicality - The family packs heavy and will benefit from a high practicality to store their stuff.

Moderate Priorities
Safety - It is part of being a modern people carrier to be safe. Don’t want NHTSA on your tail.
Prestige - They aren’t posh people, but they would like a nice ride with some clout.
Reliability - Obviously, being broken down on the mountain slope is no way to enjoy a vacation.
Environmental resistance - The family wants to keep their vehicle quite a while, so it would be nice if it didn’t turn into swiss cheese in 1 year.
Service Costs - no specific maximum, but a vehicle that has lower running/service costs is going to be a huge plus.

Minor Priorities
Economy - America is a big country, and (in uh… 2015 or so), gas isn’t terribly expensive and they’ve got places to go! Try to balance economy with all the other traits but don’t lose your head over it, as long as it gets better than 15MPG.
Offroad ability (at least a nudge for the dirt and gravel paths) - It won’t be doing rock crawilng but 24’s on rubber bands might not do well on the mountain.
Sportiness - This is more of a half-star but it still matters. A more sporting vehicle would be preferred. Visualize yourself as Clark Griswold wanting a nice machine to scoot the family around and you got the idea.

Deadline

We got some holidays coming up, how does everyone feel about prior to July 4th? So, July 3rd 12:00 AM EST (UTC-5) on Sunday, July 3rd 2022**? If that’s too soon, we can push it out but I think it might be OK.

Inspiration rides:

What would Clark Griswold buy in 2015? Have fun!

Changelog

• added Wagons to the body options and specifics about not wanting minivans in this particular QFC - 6/17
• added secondary priority of Service Costs - try to modulate the service costs to keep the family able to afford to maintain it. - 6/17
  -added naming convention to match QFC tradition - 6/18
  -fixed dyslexic naming convention -6/19

[Texaslav]

What about cars that can fit 6 people in 2 rows? I wanna see a Multipla entry lol

[AMuteCrypt]

As far as date is concerned… The 3rd is probably the latest date it should close, as that’s 2 weeks to make a car.

[Lanson]

3 rows, comfort could dive hard with 2 rows given the need to spread out on trips.

[Lanson]

July 3rd it is. I think its plenty of time for a no-interior build IMO. I’ll add each vehicle to my tracking sheet as we go.

[cake_ape]

I’d advise to be careful with the tracking sheet. Some people might not like their car’s details aired publicly. And definitely don’t add the cars before the deadline is passed and judging is complete. Adding them before the deadline would give later entrants an edge.

[SheikhMansour]

Possible semi-meme ideas: 3-3-2 setup, full industrial spec 9 seater

[Edsel]

@Lanson

Suv or mpv body types, they do not want a minivan.

Wait, I’m confused; “MPV” and “Minivan” are synonyms (To my understanding, the former is generally a European term, the latter a US term). Do you mean that we can use minivan bodies, but should still make them crossover-like?

Also, a suggestion: what about wagon bodies? Do you think a 3-row wagon make sense here? (presumably in a lifted style like the Subaru Outback or Audi A6 Allroad)?

[Lanson]

Hmm…
I could use some extra opinions on this. Does everyone feel the same way?

[Lanson]

I think as long as we keep the doors opening with hinges vs. going with a slider, we should be good. I ran a few builds under the MPV and SUV style, and they turned out fine. Yes, essentially we want a more SUV/Crossover esque option here.

Re: Wagons so if you can make a 3-row wagon fit, heck yes. Great idea.

[cake_ape]

I mean, I have nothing against the sheet. In fact I just added my ARM15 car to it. But it should remain an opt-in thing. Yes, hosts have posted spreadsheets with major stats before, but your tracker goes way beyond that in detail. If you insist on adding all cars you receive to it, then you shouod put a big disclaimer in the OP saying that by submitting you consent your car to be added and specs be made public in this way.

[Texaslav]

Yeah, I’m not crazy about the sheet. Question, though: since price is not listed as a priority, are we trying to max the 60k here?

[Lanson]

I’d still like more opinions but I can honor putting the tracking sheet on a private doc until the completion of this QFC. And if anybody specifically does NOT want me to insert their tracking sheet data at the END of the competition, please let me know and I’ll honor that too. I’ll be using a tracking sheet to help objectively judge, since we’re staying clear of Beam and test driving, but I will keep it private until we’re all done and clear. Sound good?

[Lanson]

Yes, I can clarify because really, as long as we stay under 60k, the family can afford the payments and enjoy the car. I also will add service costs as a 2nd star priority. I told you I’d screw it up.

[AMuteCrypt]

As someone in a similar position regarding release of cars…

Get people to opt in, not out. It’s generally considered bad form to release that stuff without explicit permission. I’d suggest cloning your sheet, then copy-pasting everyone who has opted in after the challenge.

[Lanson]

OK we will proceed with an OPT-IN process.

What this means is that if you want your vehicle’s stats in the stat tracker I’ve built Automation Stat-Tracker - Google Sheets
Please inform me and I will add it. Until then, the data will be on a cloned tracker with identical tracking methods. This will be what I use to objectively judge the vehicles presented.

Thanks for all the feedback, you’re making my first hosting go semi-smoothly.

[mart1n2005]

I won’t lie I haven’t looked at your tracker system, however is judging going to be based on realistic engineering choices for the type of car or is it a case of bigger number = better.

Like an all independent suspension unibody full size SUV will of course have better numbers than an actual realistic body on frame with solid rear axles

[Texaslav]

I mean, the Traverse/Acadia are a thing. The Durango is literally in the inspirations and is a unibody/multilink car. As much as I’m a solid rear axle ladder enjoyer, it’s a fact that modern, IRS unibodies exist and are the ‘rational’ choice.

[mart1n2005]

Interesting. I didn’t realise something as large as the Durango was a unibody construction

The bigger stuff here from BMW, mercedes and range rover are unibody but I’m not sure if they are a but expensive for this round.

[AMuteCrypt]

The BMW X5 is listed as starting from 54k here and the Land Rover LR4 is 50k here. Both within the budget.