Ooh, a company based in Aichi, that’s a lovely place! Certainly fits the maritime aspect of your brand.
Time is up!
I have complete subs from:
@Dog959
@conan
@Ch_Flash
@VanZandt_Breda
@Fishman501
@HyperMud
@l0jli
@Rise_Comics
@Prium
@MoteurMourmin
@BababooeyGamington
@Happyhungryhippo
@Edsel
@Chief
@AndiD
@moroza
Please put up an ad ASAP:
@Hilbert
@lotto77
@06DPA
@Mikonp7
Ad but no submission (disqualified from round 1)
@anihhilist
Shout out if I have missed you here!
oh no! my time conversion has failed me.
So, originally I had intended to enter, but due to me forgetting the day I forgot to. Either way, i’ll post it here because i put a lot of effort into it. Probably for the better anyway!
–1946–
BetterDeals has some leftover engines from their Land Speed Record cars. Someone mentions that it would be “Genius” if they put those into an extended chassis and turned it into a luxury car. This is the result.
400 horsepower comes from a rear-mounted 7 Liter Racing V16, making the car a complete deathtrap, so much so that BetterDeals (for once) decided to not put their car into production, as it was both far too expensive and far too dangerous. Theoretically, it could hit 255kph. But that depends entirely on if you have the will to live or not, as the brakes, tires, and aerodynamic balance are all so bad that you’d have a higher chance of surviving if you were in the center of a nuclear strike. It does have 4 seats though, so you can kill your non-existent dictator friends too!
The only existing model was supposed to be sent to the country of Velkarja, but as BetterDeals have door locks made from water, it was stolen and now sits in a warehouse in an unknown country.
SOV1A_-Djadania-_BetterDeals_Longtail.car|attachment (267.2 KB)
(If anyone wants this piece of garbage, for some reason.) It does have an interior but… It’s not finished. That goes for the rest of the car too, though.)
Haapala Race And Development!
Custom racecars from the hearth of Finland
Now offering orders for the Haapala 2800!
Featuring a race-ready 2.8L Inline 6 producing close to 150hp!
4 Speed gearbox tuned to reach speeds of over 200km/h!
All this wrapped in a handmade Aluminuim body weighing just 750kg!
Contact us now via mail for your own piece of Motorracing!
RULE BREAKERS
First, I want to start with saying that as this challenge works a little bit different than for example a CSR, all of the broken rules are only what I call “soft bins”. No car broke the rules bad enough to be excluded from the round. However, repeated soft bins in the future might result in a hard bin so I don’t want to see it happen just to test my patience as a host. Yet I think it adds more of a flavour to include the cars with consequences. Because yes, I will mod them to meet the rules if necessary, they may turn out worse and it will most probably also hurt people’s perception of your brand. Now, let’s move on to the rulebreakers…
CMG LESOVO BUCK AND LESOVO ELK @Chief
CMG promised high tech Druzhinian engineering when the Buck and Elk was shown at the 1945 Svalborg Automobile fair. Yes, we all know what high tech Druzhinian engineering is, sisal rope and fish glue threwn together by some drunkard called Rurik. Not only that, but the cars turned out more expensive than promised, making some of the presumptive buyers go for other brands.
OOC: I think you might have set up your techpool in campaign mode, making it way too costly in sandbox. Since I don’t play campaign I don’t know how easy it is to convert the cars into sandbox mode to get the techpool right. Maybe some more experienced campaign player can help? Anyway, I will lower the techpool and the results will be what they will be, and it will probably mean a rough start for CMG.
FULMINO CREMA @Ch_Flash
Also promising too much at the Svalborg auto fair was Fulmino. “The Crema will arrive in Velkarja for the 1946 model year”, they said. But high demand in its home market meant that the 1947 models were almost out when the first examples arrived at our shores.
OOC: You had set the model and trim years to 1947 instead of 1946. Since it was only one year wrong I presume it was a mistake, and an easily corrected one, so it is still a pass. Yet it will absolutely affect 1946 sales.
VAU RABBIT, VC DONKEY, UNION LONGHORN @Fishman501
Also the Velkarjan Auto Union promised high levels of engineering, but since their top tier engineers left in protest for the maritime industry that paid way better, they had to work with what they had, meaning that the cars became more expensive and less good than VAU promised.
OOC: What is said about the Lesovo cars could be said about yours too, more or less. Also, the Rabbit and Donkey seems to break the brake light regulations.
PRIMUS GP @Happyhungryhippo
Customers became rather pissed when they found out that Primus didn’t include a muffler in its price, but charged extra both for the muffler and the mounting to make the car street legal. This created a reputation of Hetvesian manufacturers being at Ebeneser Scrooge levels of frugal when it came to equipment included in the price.
OOC: No muffler. That is about as insane as if German premium manufacturers would have charged extra for dual mirrors or halogen headlights in the 80s. Wait. Nevermind.
UJI KOGYO DAIKII 900S AND 900T @MoteurMourmin
Customers waited for their Daikiis, but Uji Kogyo didn’t have its paperwork in order, meaning that they were standing at the port rotting for months while Uji Kogyo was having a dialogue with the Velkarjan customs.
OOC: You did one of the meanest things you can do to a host in a challenge this big and didn’t follow the naming scheme. Argh! 
HAAPALA 2800 ROADRACING @Mikonp7
The owners manual stated that the engine had hardened valve seats and could run on unleaded gas. That was also true, but some people thought that it meant Velkarjan low quality unleaded, which isn’t food for what is basically a racing engine. Haapala had to replace some pistons under warranty before an addition about minimum octane rating was added to the manual.
OOC: If it can run on 91 unleaded, it can run on 92 leaded so no big deal, a very minor rule violation IMO but still a violation.
RSA MODEL CE, NORDSTERN GLADIUS @Rise_Comics
Lots of people lost patience in this manufacturer. First, their paperwork wasn’t in order when it came to type approval of the cars, meaning that the deliveries were delayed, making lots of customers cancelling their orders and go for other cars instead. Then, when they arrived, RSA had been in a similar situation as VAU. Engineers leaving for the maritime industry meaning that the cars were way more rough in the end than they were first intended to be.
OOC: Techpool too high and not following naming scheme. What is said about other cars doing the same could be said about yours too.
DCMW GHURRUZ MEDIUM SIX, DCMW AL SHEIKH SUPERIORITY, DCMW KUTSHURIAT STANDARD @moroza
To become street legal, the second pair of high beams on the DCMW cars had to be replaced with yellow tinted fog lamps. DCMW responded by just including the yellow lights in the glovebox, stating that in some areas of Velkarja you had more use for an extra set of high beams than for a pair of fogs, and that the rules made no sense.
OOC: Technically dual headlights weren’t allowed just yet, also technically you could have been legal by setting the lens material to a yellow one on one pair to make them the foglights. But I guess that in a society this torn, a DCMW driver knows what a decent bribe to the cops looks like…
Sorry for missing out on what is actually a hard bin…
I somehow missed it the first time, but the cars from @lotto77 are from 1949, not 1946. At the current techpool, they aren’t possible to change back to 1946 like I did with the car from @Ch_Flash, also the age difference is more significant. Hence I see no other alternative than to instabin them unfortunately. 
You can still put up an ad if you want people to see what could have been…
Oh damn, that’s what I get for rushing them lmao
I might have not been paying attention when setting up my techpool, though I thought I had come under under the limit. Also I don’t understand the brake light breach, since the regulations only stipulate one brake light and one tail light (which are combined into one, which was stipulated to be allowed)
low effort ad i drank a little wine yesterday and can’t think for shit
The KAZ 2046 PAG-230
The KAZ 2046 PAS-450 and PAS-451
for any questions call your local consulate
all of the cars are shit and they will make you want to kill yourself and the radio only plays socialist propaganda but at least its cheap i guess
To show the development of the country, and to keep you entertained in between reviews, I will post short news snippets from every year. DISCLAIMER: They are all decided by dice rolls and my own imagination. If the country turns out left/right/conservative/liberal/whatever and something good or bad happens, it has nothing to do with my own political standpoints, and I hope I can post those updates without this thread turning into a political shitshow. Also, it should be kept in mind that the challenge starts in the 40s. Things might happen that seems highly unacceptable by the morals and standards we hold today, that does not mean that it represents my own worldviews. But I have promised myself that I won’t make it into a slippery slope that turns into not-nazi-germany or not-pol-pot’s Cambodia, I will pull the handbrake long before that, so I hope this will work out.
VELKARJAN NEWS FOR 1946
Weather summary
The winter of 1946 will forever be remembered as the winter when the westwinds never calmed down. Just after the new year, the storm “Anastasia” came in from the ocean, one of the worst storms to reach Velkarja in many, many years. Fallen trees has caused troubles in a lot of places, taking care of them has been a tough and dangerous job, and unfortunately not one that everyone came home alive from. For being a storm coming in from the west, it did not bring any remarkable amounts of snow with it, but it has been quite a variation in how different areas has been affected there. The Karsfjell region has been struck hard by it, with blizzards and avalanches causing problems in the mountain areas. In Kainmark, some areas have experienced heavy snowstorms while other areas barely has been affected at all. Property damages are at a high level. Also, for being a storm coming in from the ocean, the winds were surprisingly chilly. Combine that with the fact that Velkarja was struck with a cold front after the winds had calmed down, that also held its grip over Velkarja, it means that the temperature for the first quarter was a couple of degrees below average, and the precipitation has just been a little more than average. But it should be kept in mind that an unremarkable average by no means is the same as the weather being normal. It has just been at different end of the extremes, and by march we could barely talk about anything resembling “spring” yet.
Temperatures stabilized at the beginning of april, being more normal for the time of the year, at an average 0.5 degrees over normal. There has been some occasional hard winds, mostly from the north east, however, nothing as serious as the storm at the start of the year. The rainfall has been at normal levels for the time of the year, and overall the weather for spring and early summer has not been standing out in any remarkable way at all.
There were fears in the third quarter of 1946 that January was going to repeat itself since very strong winds once again reached Velkarja, this time from east-south-east, although it never blew up to a storm and property damages were minimal compared to what we saw at the start of this year, even if there were some disturbance for the communications at sea. Temperatures have been average for the time of the year, although it has been remarkably less rainfall than usual we can’t really talk about something called “drought”.
The winds have still been strong for the fourth quarter, mostly coming from the north east, but they have calmed down compared to how it was in the summer. The temperatures have been close to the average for the period, but the winds brought snowfall with them, meaning that Velkarja got snow unusually early and in unusually large amounts for the period, still not bad enough to cause any major troubles though.
REPAIR WORK AFTER ANASTASIA CUTS INTO THE WHOLE INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGET FOR 1946
For a country with an already challenged infrastructure, the storm “Anastasia” could not have chosen a worse time to show up. The repair and cleanup work needed afterwards will be extensive. Fallen trees have caused problems on both roads and rail, as well as damaging the already crude network of power- and telephone lines. Some of the coastal roads have simply been swept away. In some areas, snow drifts did cause interruptions both on road and rail, before they could be cleared. The storm also caused a chaotic situation for the sea bound traffic. All in all, this also means that the much needed overall improvements in Velkarjan infrastructure is not something we will see in 1946. The costs to repair what we already have will be too extensive.
TUBERCULOSIS MORTALITY RATE AT AN ALL TIME LOW
In the last years, there has been a significant drop in the TB related deaths in the former Velkarjan region of Karvelia, current Velkarja. While an effective treatment is still to be found, it is believed that information campaigns about how to avoid spreading, as well as the building of sanatoriums, have had a positive effect. While the hopes for the newly invented Streptomycin are high, there’s yet no evidence that it will work, even if experts are following the evolution closely. “When it comes to the health and safety of the people, it is a topic way too important to make into an ideological one” , says the current healthcare minister of Velkarja, Vilner Berts. “It is obvious that the work done to fight tuberculosis under the Karvelian empire was a work done right, and we will keep doing the same work as long as it is proven to give good results”.
SCARE TACTICS MODERATELY SUCCESSFUL FOR DENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
In order to improve the sometimes tragically bad dental health in some parts of the country, the Velkarjan health ministry has created the short film “the sweet and white killer”, pointing out how sugar really affects your dental health badly. It has been shown in cinemas as an introduction before the main feature films lately, and interviews shows that it has to some extent positively affected dental health awareness. Critics, however, means that there had been more cost effective ways to get the message out, considering that there are only proof that the film has been moderately successful, and nothing more.
“DEFREPU” FORMED BY THE SIX FORMER KARVELIAN EMPIRE STATES
After a meeting in Yakovgrad, Karslavia, the six former states of the Karvelian empire has signed the paperwork for together forming “DEFREPU”, the Defense, Free trade and Peace union. This means that the cooperation between the states will stay strong, even after the fall of the empire. “After all we were only six different states that wanted to break free from the failing Karvelian rulership”, says Velkarja’s temporary prime minister, Pavel Ilves. “We did not hold a grudge against each other really, we all wanted the same thing, which was independence. Now we can finally work together on what matters, mainly defense and trade, while maintaining our independence”. For Velkarja, the forming of DEFREPU also means that the last of the Velkarjan troops near the Druzhinian border will finally withdraw at the end of the summer, being no longer needed in that region.
FISHING INDUSTRY IS FLAGGING FOR A BAD YEAR
Velkarjan fishermen is now warning that the catches for 1946 has this far been unusually small, compared to what usually is seen. A warning is issued that this might drive up the prices on fish, and even in some places cause shortages.
HOME SCHOOLING EXPERIMENT AMONG MOUNTAIN KARSANS PROVES SUCCESSFUL
The experiment started under the Karvelian empire, allowing home schooling among mountain karsans, has proved successful. Due to the problems with large distances between schools, combined with the challenging terrain of Karsfjell and the fact that many mountain karsans still are sticking to their traditional nomadic lifestyle, the experiment was started as a way to see if it could bring the sometimes subpar level of education among mountain karsans up to an acceptable standard. Evaluating the experiment, it has been proven that it was actually highly successful, and at least for the nearest foreseeable future it will also continue in Velkarja.
VELKARJAN SCHOOLS NEEDS MORE FUNDING
Experts are flagging for the fact that if Velkarjan schools won’t get slightly more funding, the levels of education may drop. With everything getting more expensive, running a school is not an exemption from that rule, and in some of the, especially smaller schools in the less densely populated areas, there is trouble to make ends meet at the moment. The answer from the temporary government is that “rebuilding Velkarja also means rebuilding what is basically the foundation for the next generation, we take the criticism seriously and will be looking into it”.
RIOTS IN SVALBORG CAUSES MAYHEM
Lately there has been increasingly large groups showing their disappointment with how the temporary government is running the country. It all escalated when illegal demonstrations took place in Svalborg just before christmas. Demonstrants shouted words like “Dig up Michail again and he would do it better”, “What do we want? Elections. When will we get it? Never!” and “We pay taxes, they only give promises back”. When police was called in to calm down the demonstrations, it escalated into things like molotov cocktails being thrown around, causing property damage but thankfully no injuries to any person. The leaders behind the riots are currently under arrest, but this has really caused tensions in the Velkarjan society for now.
We at Haapala will (and can’t) honor “warrenties” for negligence and inproper use of the wrong fuel.
They can request a new engine to be shipped to them though
((If you can afford a Haapala, you can afford the right fuel oJo))
SUMMARY OF THE VELKARJAN YEAR OF MOTORING 1946
It is now time to sum up the first year of private motoring in Velkarja. It really has been kind of the wild west, with manufacturers from everywhere trying to get a hold of the market, with everything from sensible cars to…cars that did not make much sense at all. First, let us take a look at the largest segment of the market, it is time for…
…THE COMPACT CARS.
AERO MOVE COUPÉ @Edsel
The Aero Move Coupé has been the top seller in the largest of the segments, meaning that it is one of the most common sights on Velkarjan roads. It is not hard to understand why. Yes, considering that most Velkarjans has been used to seeing large old ARVAs used as taxis and police cars, it seems almost bizarre that a car can be this small. But under the surface you find a car more grown up than you think. It can, after all, fit two adults and two children without too much struggle. Not very comfortable, but then again no car in this class does. A 23 hp, 787 cc 3-cylinder is propelling the rear wheels through a 3 speed gearbox, it won’t break any land speed records but the power is adequate for such a light car. Of course it is very nimble to drive, but also surprisingly secure and stable, it does not feel dangerous at top speed, and the rack and pinion steering adds to its nimble and secure feeling. It would be to overexaggerate things to say that it is built as a bank vault, but it is by no means shoddy or patched together. It won’t win beauty contests but many people thinks it looks “cute” and “funny” in a good way. Despite its size, it can tackle neglected Velkarjan roads quite well. It simply does everything good enough, and despite its size it is very much a real car. And certainly one of the cheapest ways to get into one at a price of 7600 Velkarjan marks, which makes this hit a sweet spot for a people desperate to get into motoring, that is still struggling financially. The service costs are the lowest in its class, as well as the fuel economy is the best one. Of course the car is not flawless. The lack of safety glass is worrying, especially in a small car where you sit this close to the windshield, even more so on Velkarjan roads where trucks can send debris flying against the car at any time. All in all, 2039 Velkarjans decided to get behind the wheel of an Aero Move coupé in 1946.
VAU 20/4 RABBIT @Fishman501
Despite VAU having a harsh start, the Rabbit became the second most purchased car in its class. And it is not hard to understand why. Even if VAU promised a lower pricing than it got in the end, it still undercuts even the tiny Aero Move in price, and for that money you get a much larger car, with four doors and five full seats. It is also obvious that we are dealing with a car built in Velkarja, for Velkarja. It takes on harsh road conditions without any struggle. But of course a low price means that you have to sacrifice something. It is absolutely not as refined as the Aero, with for example a solid front axle instead of the double wishbone setup of the Aero, and it also shows in its driving dynamics. It also does not appear to have the same levels of craftmanship. It also looks a bit dated already as new, and has somewhat funky proportions.
Under the hood we find a 902 cc inline four, with a 29 hp power output, once again hardly a powerhouse, but gives the car adequate performance for what it is. A 3 speed manual gearbox sends power to the rear wheels. It feels decently stable on the road, but solid front axle is hardly a recipe for a comfortable ride, and the brakes could have use for a bit better bite. There is not much in the way of equipment, but at least it has safety glass and a surprisingly modern detail - rack and pinion steering, especially unusual on a solid front axle car.
In our opinion the VAU is a price bargain for a family that has outgrown the Aero, and we can absolutely understand why 1849 Velkarjans decided that a Rabbit was the car for them during 1946.
PANDANI CARDENAL @Prium
As we see it, the Pandani Cardenal has one thing speaking against it, and that is the price. 9630 Velkarjan marks is a steep increase compared to the other cars in this class. But if you want four doors, five seats and something that is actually a modern car as opposed to the VAU, this is your only choice among the compacts. And it is a very appealing one, that makes all the other cars in its class look old fashioned, with high build quality, even some thoughtful features, like a dashboard designed to not hurt passengers, should you have to instantly brake or even worse crash, as well as a laminated windshield and a hood designed not to go through that one in a crash, but bend instead. It feels decently stable even at speed, and even rather comfortable for a small car, even if it takes some time to get used to the front end being a bit bouncy. It also features the traditional recirculating ball steering. Great for comfort, but not as precise as the rack and pinion of some of its competitors. It is also of course not as nimble as the very smallest cars.
The chassis setup is modern but not ground breaking, with a double wishbone suspension up front and a coil sprung rear axle. The engine is a 30 hp, 1001 cc four cylinder, propelling the rear wheels through a 3 speed manual. The brakes seems to work well for the resources the car does have.
Our guess is that the Pandani buyer is one that has researched his car purchase through and through, and values other things than just sheer size. Appearantly we had 1520 Velkarjans making that decision during 1946, making it the third most sold compact.
UJI KOGYO 900S @MoteurMourmin
The Uji fills a slot between the tiny Aero and the somewhat larger Burgwart, Pandini and VAU. As such, it features lots of ornamentation making it look a bit like a tiny luxury car, but still already a little bit dated compared to more modern competitors. The luxury is only skin deep, but it features some unexpected things. One of them is four wheel drive, and we are honestly asking us why. It is no better at tackling bad roads than its two wheel drive competitors. It also has a little bit more power than most of its competitors, with a 36 hp 901 cc 4 cylinder, featuring a race car like overhead camshaft layout. The engine is mounted up front, the chassis layout is modern with a double wishbone front suspension and a coil sprung rear, as well as rack and pinion steering.
It drives very well, it is one of the best put together cars in its class, so it is rather free from flaws overall, but what makes us a bit skeptical is the pricing. 8800 Velkarjan marks for such a small car is just too much. It also is the most expensive compact to service, and 9 l per 100 km is fuel economy you can find in some larger cars. So, a good but not great car, that has priced itself out of its own market, that had teething problems with its importer, and that only seats 3. That earns it a fourth place in the compact car market at 1292 units.
BURGWART P9 @Happyhungryhippo
Burgwart’s main problem was that they didn’t optimize their engine for Velkarjan conditions. Some buyers stayed away from it altogether since it required the hard-to-get 92 octane fuel. Others tried to put low quality fuel in its tank, leading to a not fully deserved reputation of Burgwarts being unreliable. But fact is that it appears less well built than the competitors in the class.
Another problem is that it has really nothing speaking in its favour. It is not a bad car, it just finds a kind of awkward spot in the middle. It gives you some size, but does not offer four doors or a full sized back seat, unlike the VAU or Pandani. It has some technical refinement with individual front suspension, coil sprung rear axle and rack and pinion steering, but so does most of its competitors. It looks almost as dated as the VAU. People wanting a refined and still more roomy and practical car went for a Pandani instead. People wanting a lot of car for their money got a VAU. So, this was what was left if the japanese alternatives were too small, the VAU too primitive and the Pandani too expensive. And there is nothing wrong with that, but to expect that customer base to fill it up with 92 was just too much. All in all, this lead to only 999 people going for a Burgwart in 1946.
Keep in mind that a lower or higher sales figure does not mean that you won or lost this round. As I see it, there will only be winners in this challenge. A very niched car can be a slow seller for example, but still doing good in finding a niche nobody else has thought about.
TO BE CONTINUED…
You predicted our response correctly: those extra lights are extra highbeams, too high to be effective foglights, and the rules 1. don’t forbid those as written, and 2. if they did, would not make any sense.
Unless, I suppose, we’re operating under the “forbidden unless explicitly allowed” paradigm. We implore the Velkarjan government not to go down that path for untold countless reasons.
Well. The light regulations said “one pair of headlights”, stipulating that another pair of yellow foglights were allowed. I agree that it was maybe a bit vague in its wording, and making sense? No, but then dual headlamps weren’t allowed until 1957 in some of the US and 1958 in all the states, as an example. But the DCMW debate might be the reason why they will be allowed already by 1952 here, who knows?
Tbf, they were only “banned” in the US because US law actively required a really specific type of headlights. I don’t know of any other country that did anything so drastic, and the Velkarjan rules earlier definitely didn’t sound that restrictive. But hey, ambiguous legal disputes like this are part of the fun in these sorts of challenges.
Also, holy cow I picked the right market to export to. Being a segment leader (and if I understand right, a best seller?) in a market the car wasn’t even optimized for is blowing my mind. Though I would be enjoying this lore no matter what; I like this “no winners or losers, we’re just telling a story” approach, and I’m really excited to see how the rest of the market shapes up…
The thing is, I wouldn’t have liked to be as restrictive with the headlight regulations, but at the same time they can more or less make or break the “face” of the car, and I wanted to avoid having to judge cars that looks like anacronisms, because some newbie thinks it is a good idea to slap on 21st century headlights in 1946. I am fully aware that there were some very interesting headlamp designs pre the 1940 US regulations, like the Ford teardrops. So, a compromise will be that I probably allow twin headlights for the second round and lets the regulations loose for the third one since by then we started to see some fun stuff at least from European manufacturers…
Also, I can’t say if the Aero will be the best selling vehicle yet since I haven’t done all the calculations. But since the compact car segment will be the largest one at least for 1946, and the Aero is the best selling car in that one, there’s a rather large chance.