Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 196: Small, Light, and Mild

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 196: Small, Light, and Mild

In preparation for my most recent Automation Discourse challenge, I began defining what I considered to be a Small Light Passenger Car - a vehicle class that is subject to reduced taxation rates compared to others. To that end, I proposed several criteria in this category that emphasizes efficiency and affordability. They were as follows:

• Maximum power output of 250 bhp.
• Maximum engine displacement of 2500cc (any kind of forced induction imposes a 1.5x multiplier), with a maximum of 6 cylinders.
• Maximum weight of 1500kg.
• Maximum width of 1950mm, with a maximum length of 4400mm and maximum wheelbase of 2650mm. (I could've reduced the maximum width and wheelbase to 1900mm and 2600mm, respectively, if I wanted to).
• Minimum fuel economy of 30 US mpg (combined). This accounts for the inherent lack of efficiency for normally aspirated engines compared to turbocharged equivalents (at least in the Ellisbury update).
• Body style must not be an SUV/crossover or truck/ute; all other body styles are eligible. Convertibles will receive a minor stat bonus, however, but only during forum challenges.
• No restrictions on seating capacity or drive type.

I implemented most of these restrictions for the actual challenge, with the exception of the width and length limits, since I wasn't sure if some body variants would be the right size. Otherwise, these were in line of what I wanted a small, light, and affordable passenger car to be - and prior to launching the challenge, I set the maximum price at $30,000, but raised it to $35,000 to allow for more freedom in engineering and design.

Before launching the challenge (and even several days after accepting submissions), I made a batch of test mules to see how viable its premise would be. Some of these showed more promise than others, but all of them confirmed my suspicion that too much power and weight would compromise performance (and drivability, if the car is large enough), while too much cost would limit its accessibility to the general public.

With the rules finally set, I decided to launch the Discourse challenge as planned. But the results are yet to be determined at the time of initial posting, so I'll leave the details on those until the next post.