Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 145: Double Down

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 145: Double Down

For the first time ever in my hobby as an Automationeer, I decided to host two different challenges on the forums at the same time. Normally, such an ambitious endeavor would be too much for me to handle, but the nature of the challenges I hosted this time around made it possible. The first one, QFC21, was themed around minivans and had a moderate turnout; the second one, the 1984 Letaran Auto Convention, also had a modest entry list, but was open to various types of cars. So let's recap how it all went down.

For QFC21, I themed the challenge around modern minivans, with a seating capacity of 6 to 9 full-sized seats. Sadly, many of the entries missed the mark in one way or another, but the ones that didn't drew plenty of praise from me. It was a close-run thing, but in the end, I gave the win to the Swanson 317 TPM, a small, sharply-styled, and yet well-packaged minivan whose blend of economy, drivability and affordability gave it the edge over its (generally) larger opposition.

The Swanson 317 TPW - a (relatively) small wonder of the modern minivan world that triumphed over its opposition with superior drivability, economy and affordability.

As for the 1984 Letaran Auto Convention, the entries were divided into three categories: Standard, Luxury/Performance, and Non-Production, the last of which contained cars which were not eligible for the overall win, but instead designed purely to showcase the creativity of their designers. The Standard category contained everything from small and cheap commuter cars to larger, mid-size and full-size sedans; the Luxury/Performance category, on the other hand, was populated solely by high-performance cars, ranging from affordable sports cars to high-end supercars. The winners in these two categories were the Kessel Strata and Vaughn Sirin, respectively; the former was a futuristic, aerodynamic mid-size executive sedan, while the latter was a light, affordable mid-engined sports car. In the end, I gave the win to the Strata for its greater (and more effective) use of what was considered advanced technology for the time, such as anti-lock brakes and an electronically controlled 4-speed automatic transmission.

The Kessel Strata (above) and Vaughn Sirin (below) were the two standouts of the 1984 Letaran Auto Convention, with the former's use of advanced technology (for the era) giving it the edge.

In addition to this, the Canmo Pegasus V8T claimed top honors in the Non-Production category - it may have been only one of two cars entered in that particular class, but it took the idea of advanced technology even further than the Strata, and its futuristic styling reflected that.

As a high-tech harbinger of things to come, the Canmo Pegasus V8T looked every inch the futuristic sports coupe that it was.

Around the same time as when I hosted these challenges, I was busy entering another - but that is a story for another post.