Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 164: Leap of Faith

 Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 164: Leap of Faith

It didn't take me very long to host my first Automation forum competition after switching to the latest open beta build, and by all accounts, it was a success. This time, I decided to host the second stage of the fourth round of the Journey of Ownership challenge. The premise was as follows: having made and lost a fortune overseas (only to regain it once again a few years later), a wealthy businessman was once again ready to splurge on a car he could really enjoy on weekends and special occasions. He'd already done so way back in 1982 (which is when the first stage of this JOC was set), only to sell it about a decade later as his finances grew increasingly strained. Now, however, he had realized that not replacing it would be a mistake, and so, in 1995 (which is when the second stage of JOC4 takes place) he began weighing up his options.

With that, I created a set of requirements and recommendations, and waited for the entries to arrive. By the time the deadline had passed, I had received 14 entries - and immediately I started reviewing and ranking them. Some fell at the first hurdle for not meeting my requirements, while others were eligible but fell short of a podium finish due to poor engineering and/or design choices. Eventually, I was able to narrow down the field to three.

Every single car I received for JOC4B, plus one additional car (not part of the challenge, though) carrying all the testing equipment in its luggage compartment.

The first of the top three contenders to go was the Cornell Special Works Stellarum Langenschwanz (the fourth car from the left in the top row of the picture above), a hulking behemoth of a machine powered by a large iron-block V12. This, combined with its AWD drivetrain, pushed its curb weight to over 2 metric tons, and yet it had the performance to be a front-runner. Even so, I could not get over its excess mass and downmarket mid-grade stereo, so it finished third.

Next was the Cavaliere Nobile Strato TTS Evoluzione (the third car from the left on the top row) - a weird-looking wildcard that nevertheless justified its inclusion in the top three due to having very good stats around the board. Only its styling held it back from the top spot, which went to... the Zephorus Grimsel (the fifth car from the left in the top row). This was, in fact, the only entry to tick all of the client's boxes, scoring top marks in nearly every category, and out-performing the other cars where it mattered most.

The Zephorus Grimsel that won JOC4B, next to the "camera car" used for this challenge.

All in all, this was a highly satisfying and enjoyable challenge for everyone involved, and not a moment too soon - the first stage of this JOC had taken much longer to complete than anticipated. Moreover, the latest update to the Automation open beta build imposed reliability penalties for excessive torque loads on gearboxes (inevitable with all turbocharged engines, and possible if the lower ratios are too close); thankfully, I completed this challenge before this update was released. In short, this was one of my better outings as a challenge host, and it leaves me optimistic for the future of Automation after the 4.3 update.