CSR130 - Retail Therapy
November, 2019. In the suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Darren, late 30s, just finalized his divorce. He’s in an emotional and erratic state and looking for a fresh start. What better relief than retail therapy? And what larger purchase than a brand new car. Or even better, a brand new truck.
Darren does not need a pickup truck. He’s never had one before and he has a white collar job. But he’s always wanted one, and after finding himself suddenly single after over 15 years of marriage and the big 40 knocking on the door, he’s not going to even remotely resist being impulsive about this. The 2020 models are hitting dealership lots, and his heart says: Reinvent yourself with a new image and a new truck.
You can go a number of ways about this, Look at the current crop of pickup trucks available in the US market in 2020 as your guide. Be it a midsize off-roader fit for a MOLLE-clad tacitcool broverlander, or a 1-ton luxury limousine of a dually for the man wears bolo ties and cowboy boots to the office, or anywhere in between. What’s important is the truck needs to WOW. Appearance and first impression is everything.
He’s also the type of guy who thinks that a Honda Ridgeline or any new EV trucks are an affront to his value system. Don’t reinvent the wheel engineering something crazy. Trucks are pretty orthodox.
Should be a 2020. 5 passenger Quad cab or extended cab much preferred over a regular cab. If you want to use an SUV body and chop it into a pickup, that is allowed. 4WD is a must, AWD is not allowed.
Very High Importance
- Appearance
As stated, this is an impulse buy. Make him WANT the truck at first glance. The trucks may be stock or may be equipped with dealer-installed accessories if you’d like.
High importance
- Engineering Realism
- Drivability
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Off-road
- Prestige
- Value for money
It’s his only vehicle, so it needs to fulfill the duties of an everyday vehicle, but it also is meant to impress, and can do so via off road capability, prestige, or both. While the budget (both price and ET) is large, offering good value for money is still important.
Medium importance
- Safety
- Fuel economy
- Running costs
- Environmental resistance
- Utility
Any good modern truck shouldn’t drop the ball on these items.
Max price: 78,000 Automation Pesos
Max trim ET: 190
Max engine ET: 215
Fuel Type: 95 RON
Catalytic Converter required.
Final notes:
- Appearance is the #1 priority here. Styling is inherently subjective so that’s going to be up to personal taste come judgement time, salt be damned. Impress me with a great design, or go crazy with a custom touches, or make a dually, or whatever you can think of. 3D fixtures are a styling game changer, and I look forward to seeing what you can do. I will be looking for what I think are the best looking trucks, not the wildest looking trucks, but these are of course by no means mutually exclusive.
- Don’t think of the price and ET limits as targets to aim for unless appropriate for your truck. If you’re making a midsized truck it probably should be less expensive and less fancy than a top trim full size, and I will take that into account when judging.
- Utility is a bit of a broken stat as far as I know, so while it would seem like a useful stat here, it’s not of high importance. Darren’s not really hauling much anyways.
- While the construction of current trucks is pretty orthodox, there are a wide variety of engines found in the examples so you’ve got more freedom to play around there.
Submissions will be due in one week, at 2000 hours GMT, December 6th.
Please submit with the standard CSR format, Model and Family: CSR130 - yourname. Trim: Vehicle name. Variant: engine name or whatever you want.
