Sergeant Richard Waller and chief of the Texas Highway Patrol, Mike Davidson propose a plan to the state government.
In this universe, the THP has not upgraded their fleet in over 10 or so years, resulting in slow and underperforming vehicles that can’t keep up with the modern car of that time.
The plan they proposed is about upgrading the fleet, and increasing the budget of the THP for the expensive fleet upgrade. The plan ultimately gets revised a little, and is passed by Texas legislature.
The fleet upgrade will replace the 30 cars, but at a budget of $1.2M. An additional 15 vehicles will be added to the fleet, with more cars coming in the future as separate orders.
Can you create the perfect all-rounder highway patrol vehicle that will tough out anything you throw at it? Let’s see what you can do!
Priorities
3 Star
Performance (0-60, top speed, cornering)
Safety
Reliability
Drivability
2 Star
Purchase Price
Service Costs
Fuel Economy
1 Star
Comfort
Aesthetics
Practicality (a small 2-door coupe might be great for highway chases but not so useful for transporting suspects or K-9s)
Offroad (especially in Texas, it might be helpful if the car can at least handle some dirt/gravel roads)
Rules
Model and family year: No requirements here.
Trim and variant year: 2007
Wheelbase 100in - 120in
Engine capacity: Max. 6600cc
Price: Min. $10,000 - Max. $25,000 (using Automation estimate)
Fuel: 87 AKI / 91 RON
Race parts: None are to be allowed whatsoever, including race compound tires.
Techpool: Default +5 all round for engine and trim.
Quality: No limit.
Emissions Regulations: WES 10 or higher.
Naming Scheme + Deadline
Rule discussions end on June 8th or earlier.
Entries open on June 10th, and close on July 2nd, or any earlier for both of these times.
Value for money could be added to the list of criteria - a cheaper car that does things just as well as a more expensive one is more likely to get the nod.
One cool thing of the past that challenges haven’t done for quite a while - and what might fit in here quite well - is to set a budget for a number of cars, and then the question becomes, for instance, do we buy 3 great cars for a higher budget or 4 good enough cars for a lower budget?
If the client has two cars to choose from, and the cheaper of the two does the job just as well (in general) as the more expensive one, then it gets the nod, while the other one is eliminated. Simple as that.
I second the idea of value for money, that’s something that would definitely happen in this situation.
I’d also add a requirement for either sportiness or a minimum performance threshold, otherwise based on current priorities there’s no advantage on making it fast or agile as tuning for that will usually lower the priority stats.
1:
Radials are to not be allowed at all, as that tech would be just aftermarket or for very high performance cars.
2:
Turbos are allowed, and the displacement limit is due to the wheelbase limit, which is 100 - 120 inches, which basically makes the car pretty big, and a smaller engine (i.e. 1.8L I4) could be less efficient for, well, high speed pursuits.
3:
You are right about the price, I could shave $20K off.
4:
WES limits are gonna be implemented, thanks for reminding me!!
I’m sorry, but it is wildly inaccurate to suggest that radial tires are only for high-performance vehicles in 2007. Maybe in the 1960’s, but I’m not even sure you could buy a new car with cross-ply tires in 2007.
I also second @_Az’s comment above about factoring in performance. Maybe 0-60 time, top speed, and cornering G’s? Sportiness is an easier metric, but it also measures things having to do with a sporty driving experience (like engine loudness, favoring a manual transmission, and favoring non-power steering) that would not matter to a police department.
I think fuel economy and service costs also should be factors here, although perhaps a bit lower on the scale.
I would also suggest dividing criteria and separating them into 1-, 2-, and 3-star categories. I would suggest the following:
3 Star
Performance (0-60, top speed, cornering)
Safety
Reliability
Drivability
2 Star
Purchase Price
Service Costs
Fuel Economy
1 Star
Comfort
Aesthetics
Practicality (a small 2-door coupe might be great for highway chases but not so useful for transporting suspects or K-9s)
Offroad (especially in Texas, it might be helpful if the car can at least handle some dirt/gravel roads)
I’m also wondering if it might make sense to require a standard interior? It seems to me like a police department would not want to shell out on leather seats.
You are not getting my point. Why limit engine size when smaller displacement turbo engines are just as powerful as large displacement NA engines?
Take for example the Toyota 1NZ-FE Turbo engine. Used in the E140 Toyota Corolla, wheelbase 102.4 inches. Displacement, 1.5L, power 141-150hp.
And then there’s the Chrysler 2.4 engine. A 2.4L naturally aspirated inline 4 that was used in 02-05 Jeep Liberty and 96-00 Dodge Caravan etc. That makes, drumroll please… 150 horsepower!
So why put in place a minimum displacement limit when a turbocharged engine can achieve the same amount of power as NA engine, but with much smaller displacement?
I actually had no trouble meeting the now-extinct engine size requirements. It has 3.6L V6!!! WOOOO, GOD BLESS FREEDOM!
I just wanted a hill to die on.
*Despite our claims of using American steel, all Volitor Metropolitian models are assembled in Mexico City, Mexico. Made using adequate quality Mexican steel.
