Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 4: Why I Made Albury Motors Into What It Was

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 4: Why I Made Albury Motors Into What It Was

It would be churlish for me not to post something related to one of my fictional companies in Automation, but considering that I started writing this particular post on Australia Day (January 26th), I will delve into the backstory of Albury Motors first. As its name suggests, this manufacturer is headquartered in Albury, New South Wales. Its specialty is top-notch engineering and value for money, especially in the performance sector. To make this point clear, I deliberately limited the brand to just a few engine families (and even those had either six or eight cylinders - no more, no less), but created multiple variants within each one over time to reflect the introduction of new technologies. In addition, I set the year for the company's establishment to 1951 - 50 years after Federation. However, for the sake of realism, I stated in the company's lore that it manufactured other manufacturers' cars under license (albeit substantially reengineered) until it introduced its first wholly original design, the Centurion, in 1965 - a larger car, the Viceroy, followed later.

The marque's engines, instead of being manufactured offshore, were all produced locally, further reinforcing their cars' reputation as being designed, built and engineered entirely by Australians, for Australians, but unlike their real-life counterparts, I portrayed Albury Motors as an early adopter of new engine technology, especially for their overhead-valve V8s (catalytic converters in the early 70s, electronic fuel injection in the early 80s, and direct injection in the mid-00s). I did so because I wanted their model range to be sellable and highly competitive across all the markets in the game (the wealthy country of Gasmea, the backward but proud nation of Archana, and the small region called Fruinia). Moreover, their whole passenger car range since 1965 has used independent suspension at both axles (at a time when solid rear axles were still the norm on most cars) for improved sportiness and comfort, which are the key hallmarks of any Albury Motors product. In fact, I also used a double-wishbone front end for their rear-drive-based cars to enhance their sportiness even further.

In short, it is probably best to consider Albury Motors as a manufacturer that combines the best attributes of locally made full-sized sedans (Commodore, Falcon et al.) with the advanced engineering and high cabin quality of Euro premium brands (BMW, Jaguar, etc). However, in addition to their usual fare, I added a halo sports car to their model range: the Crusader, if for no other reason that no Australian manufacturer built such a car in real life. This two-door, two-seat coupe line was introduced in 1985 and has been in production ever since, providing class-leading performance at prices that undercut imported rivals. And last but not least, in addition to a few crossover SUVs (all of which are unibody designs), I even designed the CMS-16 - a small, mid-engined sports car - as a junior counterpart to the Crusader, which, owing to its combination of light weight and a small but highly responsive straight-four engine, contrasts nicely with the heavier, more aggressive front-engined V8 muscle cars on which Albury Motors built its reputation.

Albury Motors wasn't the first company I made a thread about in the Automation forums, though. That honor goes to Harris Cars Ltd., a British premium brand which, according to company lore, bought a controlling stake in Albury Motors in 1999 and retains ownership to this day. However, when you consider that in real life, the entire Australian auto industry will cease to exist by the end of this year, having Albury Motors fall under foreign ownership makes some sense, especially since their company lore now states that they will continue to produce cars after 2017. As for the parent company, its history will also be fleshed out... but that will have to wait for another post.