#CSR 33: Highway to Hell
November 17th, 1998 - It’s a cold, damp morning in Milton Keynes. The wind is blowing strongly, skies are a homogeneous shade of grey. On top of the desk, work is piling in faster than it gets out. Or would do, if he cared. Why do I do this everyday is the obvious question that keeps coming to his had. The lack of engagement, of connection with whatever is this weeks big paperwork is suffocating to him.
The only sparkling of hope is his new company car. As part of the recent promotion (more paperwork, more stress, more demands for an added mite on the paycheck, how great), he’d be getting a car from the class above. The French riviera, Saint-Tropez, Monaco. No more boring rep-mobile sedans, oh no. Now, he could aim for something posh, something premium. Perhaps, a car with nice handling, to ease off having to get out of morning in the dark. Or maybe, a good motorway cruiser, that will insulate him in his little cocoon. The brochures all have to be on his desk by next week, for him to pick his next car. Will he buy yours?
However, reality is a bitch sometimes. The new, improved car can’t be that much of a step up, otherwise our junior executive would end up with a car better than his boss’. Unthinkable.
The goverment also wants to spoil his fun, by adding all kinds of rules and tariffs.
#Rules
- Year: 1998
- Fuel economy above 33.9 mpg UK (28.2 mpg US, 12 km/l, under 8.33 l/100 km)
- Under 60 months engineering time for the trim, under 80 for the engine.
- Under 100 production units for the trim, under 80 for the engine.
- Car must be a 4-door sedan, with 5 seats
- 95 Ron Premium unleaded fuel.
On the topic of price, the car price with 30% markup will be added to the expected anual costs for 3 years, which are comprised of fuel bills for 10,000 miles per year (16,000 km). The target car price is $19,000 (with 30% markup), cars can be a bit more expensive than that, if they use less fuel and are worth the premium, and they certainly can be cheaper, but our young executive won’t buy a subpar car.
Make your cars sensible - I have added the engineering time and production units limits to try and see if that would lead to more sensible cars. I reserve the rights to disqualify cars that don’t meet sensible standards.
######That means, please don’t send V12s.
#Deadline for entries is February 11th @ 23:00 GMT.