The Idol's Ride (One-off challenge)

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

The Idol's Ride

A one-off challenge.

Sotenbori, Osaka, Japan, 2022.

After experiencing rapid growth throughout 2020 and 2021, Open Corp, a talent management agency, has decided to replace their fleet of old and decrepit vans with new people carriers.

Given their enormous success over the past year, Open Corp. is willing to splurge a little on their corporate transports. They want a large, comfortable, and luxurious MPV that can transport their staff and talents discreetly, as well as their guests. In addition, the vans need to look good both inside and out (they’re spending a lot on each one, after all), projecting its presence on the road without attracting the wrong kind of attention.

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Rules:

Trim

• Model year ≤2020
• Trim year 2020
• Max Price: $65000
• Max trim ET: 160
• Minimum wheelbase (rounded to the nearest 0.1m): 3.0m
• No semi slick tyres
• Must be an MPV
• Must have 7 seats
• Tyre sizes must end in “5” (e.g. “215”)
• An interior is required and will be judged in much the same way as the exterior.
• The interior must have 2 first row seats, 2 second row seats, and +3 third row seats
• Techpool must be 0

Engine

• Family year ≤2020
• Variant year 2020
• Max engine ET: 160
• Maximum loudness: 35
• At least one muffler required
• Catalytic converter required
• Unleaded fuel only
• 95 RON/91 AKI fuel required
• Intercoolers are required for turbocharged engines
• No V16s
• No race parts
• Techpool must be 0

Naming Convention

• Model/engine family name: TIR-(your forum username)
• Trim name: name of your car
• Variant name: name of your engine

Additional Rules

• A forum post/advert with pictures of the car and brief info on design/engineering/lore is required.

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Design Inspirations

Exterior Inspirations

Lexus LM

Toyota Alphard

Toyota Vellfire

Nissan Elgrand

Buick GL8 (别克GL8)

Buick GL8 Century (别克GL8世纪)

Hongqi HM9 (红旗HM9)

Trumpchi M8 (传祺M8)

Voyah Dreamer (岚图梦想家)

Denza D9 (腾势D9)

Maxus G90

Kia Carnival

Mercedes-Benz V-Class

Toyota Granvia/GranAce

Honda Elysion (old but still somewhat relevant)

Interior Inspirations

Lexus LM

Toyota Alphard

Toyota Vellfire

Nissan Elgrand

Buick GL8

Hongqi HM9

Trumpchi M8

Voyah Dreamer

Denza D9

Maxus G90

Kia Carnival

I encourage you all to do some further research so you can get the exterior/interior design and engineering right. The Chinese names of some of the cars are provided for your convenience.

Video Catalogues

2002 Toyota Alphard promotional video in JAPAN トヨタ アルファード(10系) ビデオカタログ - YouTube

2008 Toyota Alphard promotional video in JAPAN トヨタ アルファード(20系) ビデオカタログ - YouTube

ホンダ エリシオン ビデオカタログ 2004 Honda Elysion promotional video in JAPAN - YouTube

2002 Nissan Elgrand promotional video in JAPAN 日産 エルグランド(E51) ビデオカタログ - YouTube

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Priorities

Exterior/Interior Design

As with any company, appearances are important. Open Corp. well-proportioned and cohesive design that is pleasing to the eye, a car that would leave a lasting impression or at least show others on the road who’s boss. Same goes for the interior. Much like food, you feast with your eyes first.

Realism

If it doesn’t make sense, then don’t do it. Excessive quality slider usage will be seen as minmax. Do your research and if you are not sure about something, ask.

Comfort

Open Corp. wants their MPVs to be plush and comfortable, both to please clients/guests and to make trips to the concert halls/studios more relaxing for the company’s talents. Rough rides in this segment and price point will not be tolerated.

Drivability

It’s an MPV, a rabbit’s monkey should be able to drive it without issue.

Presentation

What good is a well-engineered car if its advertising campaign is lackluster? A good ad would certainly help tip the scales to your favour.

Safety

The vans will carry people important to the company so their safety is paramount.

Reliability

The MPVs will work hard carrying passengers throughout its five year lifespan so good reliability will be appreciated.

Fuel Economy

Every drop of gas saved means less overhead, which is good.

Sportiness

It’s not a sports car, but it should still handle well and have an ample reserve of power for when necessary.

Practicality

The vans will be used more to carry people than things, but the van should at least be able to carry some luggage.

Service Costs

Lower is better.

Price

Value for money is important as always.

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Submissions

• Submissions will open on Saturday, 17th September at 0.00 WIB (UTC+7). The rules will be open to deliberation and subject to change until then.

• Submissions will close on Monday, 17th October at 0.00 WIB (UTC+7).

• Due to the unstable state of 4.2, resubmissions will be allowed should there be an update that tampers with the cars’ stats. If no such updates happen, however, there will be no resubmissions.

Good luck and have fun!

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[abg7]

Your premise is well-suited for a CSR, QFC or TMCC, but with all of those still having an instalment in progress, it makes perfect sense to use it for a stand-alone challenge.

[Lanson]

Oddly when I read the brief and started looking at interiors, I expected to see more of a limo type design (large, curved bench seat, champagne glass holder, and the like.) Does that type of design not exist in Japan? Everyone gets their own (cushy) seat? Interesting!

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

I don’t think that Japanese/Chinese/wherever manufacturers make that kind of interior design out of the factory, though there are probably some converted vans out there with a limo type interior design as you mentioned.

Some of the inspiration cars (e.g. Lexus LM, Toyota Alphard/Vellfire Royal Lounge, Buick GL8 Century, etc.), however, do offer ultra-luxury 4-seater variants which come with even bigger and comfier seats, a TV, fridge, etc. much like a limo, but with only two rear seats. And for those looking for more practicality, most vans also come with 8 seats like the average minivan.

The 4 seat MPV interiors:

[Lanson]

Right on. It’s probably a legal thing, since the aftermarket can get away with seating positions not exactly crash-worthy. Ok I got it, thanks!

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

UUUUOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BLAST AWAY THE COBWEBS IN MIOSHA UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HAGS UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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Open Corp Garage, Osaka, 2022

“…look, Shinobu. I’m telling ya, we don’t have any more vans that you can use!”

“Oh come on, we need to get Aquamarine to the studio quick! Aren’t y’all responsible for, y’know, keeping the vans up and running?”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do anything about it! We’re still waiting for parts to come in from China! If we had the money to perform basic maintenance or even better, buy a new fleet of vans to replace our old dinosaurs, we wouldn’t have this issue! Where did all the superchat and merch money go, huh? Go get a taxi and tell Taniya-san to put that money to good use for once!”

“What? Hey-”

The mechanic hung up, sighing in frustration. Today was a busy day for the company’s talents and staff. The company’s fleet of vans were scurrying around the city, taking their passengers where they needed to be. And yet, despite serving as the company’s arteries, they were in a state of disrepair. Out of its fleet of eight vans, three were out of service. Those that did work were on their last legs. In contrast, Open Corp was at its highest point yet, having recently expanded to South Korea and the Philippines to massive fanfare with the local audience. Sitting in the garage’s office, the mechanic took out a cigarette.

“Some fuckin’ company this is…” the mechanic thought.

“Hey, old man!” one of the younger drivers exclaimed as he entered the room.

“What is it?” the mechanic replied.

“Taniya-san is here!”

Taniya entered the room. The CEO of Open Corp, in the flesh. Establishing the company in 2017, Taniya first focused Open Corp on software development, before dipping its feet into the idol industry and growing it into the titan that it is today.

“Afternoon, Oda-san.” Taniya said.

“Ah, Taniya-san.” Oda replied, putting the cigarette away, “How can I help?”

“Well, it has come to my attention that, perhaps, we have been neglecting our hard-working drivers and vans for far too long.”

“Well, Taniya-san. As you can see, we really could use an upgrade. Or at the very least, some funds to keep our fleet up and running. Shinobu-san just called us and-”

“I know, I know. Shinobu-san told me.”

“Sh-Shinobu…” Oda muttered.

“Anyway, this place is getting an overhaul and we are getting new vans.” Taniya continued.

“Really? That’s great, Taniya-san!”

“Yes! There will never be a parts shortage again! All our vans will be running and they will help move our assets reliably in comfort and style!”

“Yes, yes, of course!”

A brief silence occured between the Taniya, Oda, and the young driver.

“So, what exactly are we replacing these old gals with?” Oda asked.

“I don’t know.” Taniya replied, “We’ll have to figure that out first.”

“I… see…”

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ROUND OPEN

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Countdown Timer

Changes to OP:

• Added Mercedes-Benz V-Class and Toyota Granvia/GranAce to inspirations
• Changed deadline from October 24 to October 17

The deadline is still quite far away, so take your time and make the best designs you can.

Good luck and have fun!

Generic idol music to vibe to

FACT - YouTube

Never Ending Midnights - YouTube

I’m Your Treasure Box ＊あなたは マリンせんちょうを... - YouTube

Stellar Stellar / 星街すいせい(official) - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWGY2acU-ZeTnH4EvPHYEcqCUx145dDUP

[DuceTheTruth100]

Yall got some sick ass vans I wish we had here in the states!!!

[mart1n2005]

Do any of the rules need changing after the update? I haven’t compared my car as I haven’t downloaded it yet.

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

I haven’t really looked into it yet, but I’ll let you all know if I’m going to change the rules

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

Hmm … Damn bratty male idols …!!! Collabing with an female idols Graduation correction is needed …

An important announcement from Open Corp.

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日本語

シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグはクソ野郎です、彼は私のクソ妻に腹を立てました。 そうです、彼はハリネズミのようにクイリーなペニスを取り出し、私の妻に腹を立てました。 Twitter. com: シャドウ ザ ヘッジホッグ。 かなり小さいことを除いて、このクルミのサイズです。 そして、何を推測しますか？ これが私のドンの外観です。

そうです、赤ちゃん。 すべてのポイント、羽ペン、枕はありません - 見てください、それは2つのボールとボングのように見えます. 彼は私の妻を犯したので、私は地球を犯すつもりです。 そうです、これはあなたが得るものです：俺のスーパーレーザーピス!! 私が地球に小便をするつもりはないことを除いて、私はより高く行くつもりです。 私は月に放尿しています！ オバマさん、どうですか？ 私は月に腹を立てた、あなたは馬鹿だ！

おしっこのしずくがクソ地球に落ちるまであと 23 時間あるんだ、今すぐ私の視界から消えろ、私もおしっこする前に！

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English

We would like to notify you that, in light of recent updates, Open Corp has decided to amend the ruleset of The Idol’s Ride (One-off challenge). The changes are as follows:

• Maximum engine variant engineering time raised from 150 months to 160 months.
• Turbocharged engines must now have an intercooler.

With respect to the above, we would like to encourage all participants to use this as an opportunity to evaluate their entries to ensure that they do not violate any rules, and make improvements to their engineering and design.

In addition, due to multiple violations of contract, Open Corp has also decided to terminate the entirety of Openstars, effective now. We would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.

We hope that you will continue supporting and enjoying our company and the talents that are affiliated with us.

Thank you very much.

Open Corp.

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Open Corp logo kindly made and provided by @The_Stig_Is_A_Spy

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

Additional rule changes:

• Techpool must be 0
• Must have 2 first row seats, 2 second row seats, and +3 third row seats

For those of you who are working on an entry, you have 11 days until the submission deadline. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask. It helps liven up the thread too.

Thank you.

Countdown Timer

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

One Week Left!

This is a friendly reminder that you have just a week to get your submissions in. You have until midnight October 17th to submit your car and forum post. If you need more time, I would be more than willing to extend the deadline. Open Corp and its idols and staff are looking for to seeing what you’ve come up with!

Countdown Timer

[randomBullets]

How do I get this to work right. I don’t understand…

[Lanson]

A little Z-offset ok in the advanced trim sections? just a few notches.

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

Replace the panel gap fixture with a very thin cutout made with patchwork/negatape. Make sure that the cutout is at least one layer above the body moulding fixture, as per this post:

Crowd sourced detailing guides

Custom Panel Gaps @2021 CorsicaUnknown. Do not steal. ‎ ‎ ‎ That is all.

Panel gap fixtures often don’t work very well when placed on top of other body moulding fixtures, except for Gizmo’s body shaping kit which has its own panel gap fixtures.

[Lanson]

teasing and showing that I’m trying to get this bish done.

[randomBullets]

huh? what is patchwork/negatape??

[randomBullets]

what is advanced trim section?

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

These fixtures, found under the “body moulding” category

[FidleDo]

2020 SYN-Senko 84

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The Senko 84 “Celebrity”

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