I have not seen one thread where everyone can post their ideas so I thought I’d start one. If there is one I can move my post there.
To start with, I am a follower of American cars, so I will be making my company in that style. Since the game starts in 1946 I will pretend that I have 3 devisions up and running already - an economy line, a mid-level luxury line, and an ultimate luxury line. I will create an economical small car that is cheap and profitable, from there I will make a larger one. To save costs, I will use the same platform to make a pick up truck but make it rugged. For the luxury line, I will make a large car that spares no expense. Hopefully I will have my play strategy right so that I can afford it. If it sells, I’ll make a coupe version and convertible. I will then make a convertible for each of the lower lines by modifying the luxury one. I want to see if this platform sharing will work in the game like in real life. I plan to expand in the 1950s with a large truck, bus (if we can do that), and van based off the truck. My engines for this time period will range from 4 cylinder to inline 6 cylinder and V8. I plan to use a few V8 and make many variations of them. Would love to see how this plays out.
In the 1960s and 1970s I will continue this trend and embark on muscle cars. I plan to have a few new models in each decade, but I also plan to keep the best of the old ones around. Hopefully I will have one compact, one luxury car, and one truck that will sell so well that I can keep making new versions of it forever. I also plan to really heavily invest in muscle cars and roadsters. However, I will be ready for the Asian invasion and gas crisis by investing in economy tech, and I will be prepared when it comes so that it does not take 30 years for the public to like my small economy cars. I’ll have 4 cylinder engines and forced induction developed early on to be ready. I’ll invest enough money to build these models from scratch if needed to make them better than the competition. The only thing I don’t know yet is what names I will have for my lines. I’m also thinking about having a separate line for commercial vehicles. I think the way real life should be is that cop cars and work trucks should be seperate but share components with the main lines so that is how I will make it.
So what kind of strategy will you play?
I’m planning to start with Cossack Autos, which policy can be summarised is one sentence “It may be bad, but it’s cheap”. I’ll start in France, with a Cossack 1000 model, having a 1.0 engine, 4 seats or 5 seats, and just being able to transport whole family with their cargos. I’ll try to extend the model range with small cheap pickup (introduced in the same year maybe) for rebuilding the economy. After a couple of years, I’ll probably have enough money to invest in design facilities, allowing me to make my own engines.
Then, the microcar in style of Isetta (called Voiturette) will come, and there will be also a new generation of 1000, with front mounted engine this time. I’ll propably make a station wagon and panel van version of it. I should have enough money then to extend the engine range, so after 1000, there will come 1200 (with 1.2 engine) and 1500 (with 1.5 engine). Moreover, somewhere in late 50, three new cars will come - new pickup truck (BTW.: The pickup trucks will have the designation of PU - for example Pick-up with 1.5 engine is PU1500), a full fledged van ( V series). In 60’s, I’ll propably cease the production of Voiturette, and replace it with a model of size between main line (commonly referred to as Ur-serie) and the discontinued Voiturette, it’ll be P series. I’ll also make a model larger than Ur-serie, belonging to M serie. In 70’s, there will be two important events. First is 1975 launch of CTE division, making the sportiest Cossacks, with the first model being 2000 CTE. In late 70’s a whole new brand, Ataman will be launched. Ataman will produce supersport exotic cars, and their first model will be called Vitesse. In 80’s Cossack Motors will expand onto the America, both as Cossacks and under a separate, premium brand, Hetmanate.
Great thread! I’ve been looking for a place to put these ideas out there.
My idea is Maple Motors, a premium/near luxury brand based out of Canada that has a strong core model focus. Think MINI meets Volvo…
“Smart shoppers buy a Toyota, smart DRIVERS buy a Maple”
Don’t quite have a model naming scheme yet but here’s what my lineup would be:
Compact hatch 1.6l L4 (hot hatch variant 1.6 turbo) FF layout
Midsize sedan 1.6l L4 and 2.5l L5 (premium trim gets 2.5l turbo, wagon variant available) FR layout
Compact pickup 2.5l L5 Truck Platform (turbo optional)
Compact SUV 2.5l L5 Truck Platform (turbo optional)
Constantly revolving halo car (one per decade?), either FR sports coupe with 2.5 turbo or maybe MR sports car with 1.6 turbo? Maybe a miata priced car and a corvette priced car?
3 platforms, 2 engines, nearly a full lineup if you include low/high grade trims, wagons, and performance variants.
Could be built in 1-2 plants on 3 lines (maybe even farm out a line at a competitor’s plant for extra volume)
Might need to augment that lineup with a bigger people mover and maybe a city car (turbo triple?)
Basically we could sell a car to anyone who walks into our showroom. I think a slightly premium brand image (and some motorsport pedigree) could make such a firm viable, if not exactly volume leader.
I don’t think something like that will be possible in the game.
I think what I will be doing is stealing all the best bits from countries and different companies. My company will be based in the UK
Example in the 1950s and 1960s I think I will make alot of fast four door saloons and coupes that are very stylish, I am thinking jaguar here with the MK2, E-type etc
For the 1970s I will give the UK a proper muscle cars as we had none. When the USA was making loads of wonderful stylish cars with big V8s, we were potting around in little crap boxes with 1.3 litre engines.
When the 1980s arrive I will be looking towards Audi and BMW I like the cars that came out in that period such as the quattro.
From 1990 onwards to today I will be looking to the far east, I will be making my own Skylines, GTRs etc but I think maybe not making alot of cars FF, I might take BMWs thinking and make them either FR or 4x4.
Start with an Econo box and a big car. From there, make a musclecar. Then a wagon. Then, a RACE CAR!!! 
This is my vehicle lineup end goal, of course I’ll likely start with the cheap models and work my way up as time progresses, integrating turbos and such as technology allows. This plan also assumes scalable block sizes, if they stick with fixed blocks I may up the displacements (i.e. 2.0L instead of 1.6L) since there’s no real weight penalty.
A16/A16T: Subcompact FR coupe and/or hatchback, n/a or turbo DOHC 1.6L I4, target weight 2500 lbs
B24/B24T: Compact FR sedan, n/a or turbo DOHC 2.4L I6, target weight 3000 lbs
C32/C32T: Mid-size semi-luxury FR sedan, n/a or turbo DOHC 3.2L V8, target weight 3500 lbs
D48/D48T: Full-size luxury FR sedan, n/a or turbo DOHC 4.8L V12, target weight 4000 lbs
E32T: GT style FR coupe, turbo DOHC 3.2L V8 only, target weight 3000 lbs
F48T: Exotic MR supercar, turbo DOHC 4.8L V12 only, target weight 3000 lbs
G24: Compact 4WD off-road vehicle, n/a DOHC 2.4L I6 only, target weight 3500 lbs
Things I will definitely *not *build:
FWD vehicles
Convertibles
Large SUVs/trucks
A American car company that is near what Ford has but with more muscle in the '50s keeping it up in the '60s and trying to keep it alive in the '70s with a eye on tech that will keep RWD alive for a family sedan.
Some other projects that I will attempt.
American flagship luxo sedan that is v-12
American family car in the '80s/'90s that is RWD (Sorta like the Aussie Falcon but American)
A proper hot hatch (just like the Dodge/Shelby Omni GLH)
[quote=“T-5 Killer”]A American car company that is near what Ford has but with more muscle in the '50s keeping it up in the '60s and trying to keep it alive in the '70s with a eye on tech that will keep RWD alive for a family sedan.
Some other projects that I will attempt.
American flagship luxo sedan that is v-12
American family car in the '80s/'90s that is RWD (Sorta like the Aussie Falcon but American)
A proper hot hatch (just like the Dodge/Shelby Omni GLH)[/quote]
That’s a cool idea! By the way, I just realized what your username means, LOL!!!
As for me, I would also like to model my company after an American car company. At first I was thinking Ford or Lincoln…but then out of the blue I decided to go for something a little more, “ambitious”. I’m going to try to revive Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg and build nothing but expensive, exotic luxury and sports cars. Since they stopped making them before the war, I’ll have free reign over what they could/would have looked like after. 
I bet a lot of us petrolheads will do everything we can to build RWD manual cars, even if they’re family trucksters 
Perhaps our auto firms will crash and burn because if I ran the show, everything would be mid engine and turbo… Bwahahaha!
I will run a company like Alpine or Abarth but with some bigger sports cars too.
I plan to do a Alpine A110like car but with a i4 a i6 and an V8!!
And a Mid engined V12 supercar
I’m going to have 2 brands (undecided on the names). One will make sensible beige cars while the other will make completely bonkers cars, such as a van with twin turbos and 700 horsepower. And it will be mid engined!
That or I’ll replicate Toyota, except I won’t cut off the Supra and Celica (and all of their other fun cars that they let go of)
[quote=“Slim Jim”]
[quote=“T-5 Killer”]A American car company that is near what Ford has but with more muscle in the '50s keeping it up in the '60s and trying to keep it alive in the '70s with a eye on tech that will keep RWD alive for a family sedan.
Some other projects that I will attempt.
American flagship luxo sedan that is v-12
American family car in the '80s/'90s that is RWD (Sorta like the Aussie Falcon but American)
A proper hot hatch (just like the Dodge/Shelby Omni GLH)[/quote]
That’s a cool idea! By the way, I just realized what your username means, LOL!!!
As for me, I would also like to model my company after an American car company. At first I was thinking Ford or Lincoln…but then out of the blue I decided to go for something a little more, “ambitious”. I’m going to try to revive Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg and build nothing but expensive, exotic luxury and sports cars. Since they stopped making them before the war, I’ll have free reign over what they could/would have looked like after. [/quote]
Thanks lets see how sucessful it is. LOL yeah I have ruined a bunch of transmissions when I was younger in my 5.0.
A rehash of Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg would be awesome.
I will deliver a rolls royce when only a mini as been asked for. 
I want to try an eastern bloc manufacturer that makes cars on a shoestring budget with outdated tech. First challenge will be actually being viable. Second challenge will be somehow marketing the crap to the west and making enough foreign exchange revenue for the glorious party leadership to import better Mercedes cars and expensive consumer electronics for themselves.
I will try and give the range from the cheap to the very sporty to the luxury.
I will most likely focus on super cars/ luxury cars though.
I’ve been having great fun trying to make the best econo-engines I can in the engine designer, so I’ll probably start with an econobox car and go from there, unless the game follows history and there’s no demand for such cars in the early years. I’ll also definitely want to make a cargo van and a muscle car. I’m curious how the luxury options will work but that should be fun too.
I’ll probably have FWD on the econobox and obviously RWD on the muscle car. I’d like to dabble with AWD and see what I can do with it, especially if we can choose an Aluminum or Carbon Fiber driveshaft. Late model econobox will have a turbocharged I3/I4.
I want to try and make accessible sports cars like BMW E30/E36, Nissan S13/S14/S15 and so on, being reasonably cheap and having really good engines,
mostly keeping to i6 N/A and turbo, kinda don’t like the V8’s and stuff 
RWD with AWD as an option …
my company will probably crash and burn in the first years of production 
I will have a rather diverse company… a cross between BMW and Lotus, based in the USA. Then I will start producing all the vehicles I think we should have made in the USA, using the design philosophy of classic BMW’s in a lighter lotus-esque platform. The sedans will be luxurious, fast, and handle good, while the sports cars will be brutal, no-compromise champion race cars. The Grand Touring cars will be the bread and butter of the company. Mid-sized sports coupes designed for luxery, handling, and top speed that will put most to shame on the autobahn. My platforms will comprise of about 60% front engine-RWD, 25% mid engine-RWD and 15% AWD.
I am going to make a company that produces vans and super cars and refuses to use anything but mechanical fuel injection.
On a more serious note, if the game will allow you to have more than one brand I’ll diversify what I produce quite a bit. One of my definite goals in that case is to have a specialized Engine production company which may also in some cases supply my car division or even the competition.
Vans, wagons, boring middle aged man cars and (occasionaly sporty) ecoboxes with turbocharged i4s and i5s sounds about my bread and butter. Hopefully it will also be possible to have different “trim” levels for a single model, so you can equip the same ecobox with a powerful DOHC i4 and a cheap, reliable DAOHC or SOHC i4.
