The ATL Automobiles & Automakers Thread.

[Chipperback]

1. Timeline Winter Of Discontent/Willa Cather Landing/Land of Confusion "The Catherverse"
2. Model Name/Manufacturer: Chrysler C351-Lamborghini V-10 Formula 1 racing car.
3. Model Type: Single-seat FIA Formula 1 Regulation racing vehicle.
4. Model Year: 2012
5. Nation of Origin: Chassis produced at the Chrysler Formula 1 Ltd. Technology Centre, Poole, England. Engine produced at Automobili Lamborghini Corse. Modena, Italy
6. Production run: 2012-present
7. Number built: n/a
8. Engine: Lamborghini Balboni Corse-Spec 3.0 liter 72 degree 60-valve V-10
9. Horsepower: 800 horsepower in race trim @ 18,500 rpm
10. Drivetrain: RWD
11. Transmission: 7-speed Magnetti Marelli-Chrysler Semiautomatic Electronic Sequential Gearbox
12. Weight: 642 kg/1415.37 pounds with driver without fuel per 2013 Formula 1 Regulations
13. Description: Chrysler entered the Formula 1 World Championship in 2005, after the Plainsian corporation bought Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. which was looking to return to Formula 1 competition after a 13-year absence and very little success in their first go.

Chrsyler spent 2005 testing new ideas in chassis design while Lamborghini worked on a new-spec engine to enter the 2006 Championship. The team, with greater technical resources improved, but from 2006 to 2009, the team still didn't win a grand prix.

After 2009, Chrysler gambled on an ex-patriot Confederate to run the team. Lake Speed Jr., the son of the first Confederate driver to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix, and an accomplished team boss who had won championships at every level up the ladder. Since 2000, he had managed two smaller teams in Formula 1 (Minardi and Arrows), and led both from pre qualifying into regular point-scorers.

From his first day at Chrysler, Lake set a bold agenda, Beginning with bringing in a new driver lineup, that included signing Carl Edwards, a Missourian that had come up to Formula 1 through hardscrabble dirt tracking and stock cars on dusty Friday nights in the GPUR and paying his own way to Europe and fighting up the ladder.

In 2010, C-L was immediately competitive with veteran Rubens Barrichello, who netted Chrysler's first ever GP win (2010 Grand Prix of the Germanies at Hockenheim), and Edwards who carded two victories (Belgium and Japan).

In 2011 Barrichello retired from F1, and young Italian Marco Andretti came to the team. Andretti and Edwards each won a pair of races and Chrysler-Lamborghini rose from 6th in the constructors champions to third, right behind powerful Ferrari and McLaren.

The 2012 season and the C351 (pictured) was the breakthrough. Edwards was competitive everywhere, in winning five rounds of the championship...including a winning the final two races of the season in Texas and Brazil to chase down Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and become the first Plainsian to win the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship.

After the season, Marco Andretti left to take a seat once held by his legendary grandfather, the great Mario Andretti, at Ferrari.

But Chrysler perhaps received an upgrade. The two-time British World Champion Lewis Hamilton signed a three-year deal with the Plainsian team and would join forces with the man who nosed him out in 2012, Carl Edwards.

2013 seeks to be an exciting year for the team. On June 23, 2013 this team will be the home team for the weekend -- at the inaugural F1 Grand Prix of the Great Plains United Republic.
14. OTL Equivalent: Much of the current Formula 1 grid which some differences

 

[Petike]

Cool, but fix the typos.

 

[CaliBoy1990]

*Bump*!

Has it really been this long? Anyhow, I won't be able to contribute anything for a while, but feel free to post to your heart's content in the meantime.

 

[TheMann]

Timeline: Transport America / From The Streets of Detroit
Model Name: Mazda Furai M3C
Manufacturer: Mazda Motor Corporation
Model Type: Sports Racing Car, LMGT class
Model Year: 2014
Origin: Hiroshima, Japan
Engine: Mazda R26D Renesis quad-rotor turbocharged rotary, Hitachi hybrid-electric assist
Power: 655 hp (est.) using Le Mans-spec intake restrictors and 24 psi boost pressure
Drivetrain: Mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: 7-speed semiautomatic
Weight: 800 kg (1,766 lbs)
0-100 km/h: 2.5 seconds
Top Speed: 184-213 mph (depending on aerodynamic trim and gearing)
MSRP: $700,000 (est.)
Number Produced: 11

Description: The Mazda Furai was one of the first LMGT-class cars to race at Le Mans and in the IMSA series, as well as later involvement in the World Sports Car Championship and the European Sports Racing Championship. The car was a revolution in the class, which had been designed originally to be for sports-racing versions of modern GT cars, but the Furai kicked it into a new era. Powered by a hydrogen-huffing turbocharged Wankel rotary engine and with radical bodywork and a Hitachi-manufactured hybrid system, the Furai was a revolutionary car designed to, along with Toyota's awesome TS030 and Nissan's all-electric ZEOD RC, to go claim the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Japan in the aftermath of Japan's devastating tsunami in March 2011. Despite great promise, none of the three Japanese racers had claimed the race by 2014, when all three took advantage of rules changes to make radical cars to take on their opposition - the Formula One-engined Rebellion-Mercedes, the diesel-powered Audis, the roaring Corvettes and Panoz-Ford racers and Chrysler's wild SuperPatriot.

Mazda was unsuccessful at the 24-Hour race at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, but Le Mans was another story - mechanical problems slowed Toyota and Audi and the Mazda outpaced Corvette and Panoz-Ford to claim Le Mans for the second time - and to date make them still the only Japanese manufacturer to do so. Victory at the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring two months later, as well as wins at Six Hours of the Glen in the United States, the Bathurst 24 Hours in Australia and on home soil in the Fuji 1000 made sure that Mazda's awesome hydrogen-rotary-electric race car made headlines worldwide.

 

[CaliBoy1990]

Time to revive this.

Let's get this party started again.

 

[TheMann]

Timeline: Transport America / From The Streets of Detroit
Model Name: Chevrolet Corvair Monza
Manufacturer: General Motors, Chevrolet Motor Division
Model Type: Sports Coupe
Model Year: 1966-1973
Model Lifetime: 1960-1981
Origin: Willow Run, Michigan (1960-1973), Oakland, California (1960-1973), Flint, Michigan (1962-1970), Baltimore, Maryland (1974-1981), Oshawa, Ontario, Canada (1965-1981), Mexico City, Mexico (1960-1964), Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, South Africa (1960-1976), Pagewood, New South Wales, Australia (1960-1981)
Engine: General Motors Air-Power 2.7-liter Flat-Six
Power: 135-160 horsepower (NA versions), 175-205 horsepower (turbo versions)
Drivetrain: Rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: 4-speed manual, 5-speed manual (1966 and later), 3-speed automatic
Weight: 2,620-2,775 lbs
0-100 km/h: 6.6 sec (205 hp turbo with manual), 10.5 sec (135 hp with automatic)
Top Speed:
MSRP: $2,460 - $3,390
Number Produced: 166,851

Meet the car that began Detroit's revolution in care design - the rear-engined, air-cooled, unibody-construction, disc brake-equipped Chevrolet Corvair. Compared to the monstruous brutes that Detroit built in the 1950s, how does this fit into the mix, you ask?

The first-generation Corvair was such a massive hit that all of Detroit learned the benefits of an advanced design, and this drove Detroit to embrace technology and advanced design. While the second-generation Corvair would never match the famed early 1960s cars and their enormous popularity, the second-generation cars are often placed among the best-looking cars ever sold by General Motors, and the Corvair largely shed its economy-car origins in the second generation, aiming more to the car for the enthusiastic driver who wanted something with a significant turn of speed and fabulous handling, and turbocharged Corvairs delivered that in spades. Proving the point was the Corvair's abilities in racing - most notably the shocking run by the Corvair Monza Turbo of Eppie Wietzes and Tony Adamowicz in the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing a stunning ninth overall and winning the GT category. (The next year, the same car finished second in the GT category to a Corvette Stingray.) Today, second-generation Corvairs are collectors items, one of the trio of Chevrolet sporty cars of the 1960s alongside the Camaro and the Corvette.

 

[CaliBoy1990]

Timeline: Transport America / From The Streets of Detroit
Model Name: Chevrolet Corvair Monza
Manufacturer: General Motors, Chevrolet Motor Division
Model Type: Sports Coupe
Model Year: 1966-1973
Model Lifetime: 1960-1981
Origin: Willow Run, Michigan (1960-1973), Oakland, California (1960-1973), Flint, Michigan (1962-1970), Baltimore, Maryland (1974-1981), Oshawa, Ontario, Canada (1965-1981), Mexico City, Mexico (1960-1964), Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, South Africa (1960-1976), Pagewood, New South Wales, Australia (1960-1981)
Engine: General Motors Air-Power 2.7-liter Flat-Six
Power: 135-160 horsepower (NA versions), 175-205 horsepower (turbo versions)
Drivetrain: Rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: 4-speed manual, 5-speed manual (1966 and later), 3-speed automatic
Weight: 2,620-2,775 lbs
0-100 km/h: 6.6 sec (205 hp turbo with manual), 10.5 sec (135 hp with automatic)
Top Speed:
MSRP: $2,460 - $3,390
Number Produced: 166,851

Meet the car that began Detroit's revolution in care design - the rear-engined, air-cooled, unibody-construction, disc brake-equipped Chevrolet Corvair. Compared to the monstruous brutes that Detroit built in the 1950s, how does this fit into the mix, you ask?

The first-generation Corvair was such a massive hit that all of Detroit learned the benefits of an advanced design, and this drove Detroit to embrace technology and advanced design. While the second-generation Corvair would never match the famed early 1960s cars and their enormous popularity, the second-generation cars are often placed among the best-looking cars ever sold by General Motors, and the Corvair largely shed its economy-car origins in the second generation, aiming more to the car for the enthusiastic driver who wanted something with a significant turn of speed and fabulous handling, and turbocharged Corvairs delivered that in spades. Proving the point was the Corvair's abilities in racing - most notably the shocking run by the Corvair Monza Turbo of Eppie Wietzes and Tony Adamowicz in the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing a stunning ninth overall and winning the GT category. (The next year, the same car finished second in the GT category to a Corvette Stingray.) Today, second-generation Corvairs are collectors items, one of the trio of Chevrolet sporty cars of the 1960s alongside the Camaro and the Corvette.

Nice job, TheMann. I gotta see if I can come up with some of my own stuff again sometime.

 

[CaliBoy1990]

Revival: Mustang edition.

In honor of the 50th birthday of the original Pony Car, I present this to you:

Timeline: None in particular(open for adoption! )
Model Name: Ford Mustang 25th Anniversary
Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Model Type: Sports Coupe
Model Year: 1989/1990
Model Lifetime: 1979-1993 (3rd Generation Fox Body)
Origin: Flat Rock, Michigan
Engine: 302ci small-block Ford Windsor V-8
Power: 257 hp @ 4800 rpm
Drivetrain: Front-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Weight: 3,189 lbs.
0-60 mph: 6.2 seconds
Top Speed: 159 mph
MSRP: $22,578
Number Produced: 10,519

For the Mustang's 25th anniversary, a special model was debutted in April 1989 and introduced to dealerships in July of that year. The engine's power was bumped up from around 205 hp @ 4,200 rpm to 257 bhp @ 4,800 rpm with a redline of as high as 6,200 rpm. This model was capable of a top speed of almost 160 miles an hour and proved to be a worthy rival to both of GM's top pony cars, Pontiac's Trans Am and Chevy's Z-28 Camaro. It would later serve as the inspirational basis for the SVT Cobra, and Cobra R of 1993, the latter a supercharged 280 horsepower world-beater.

 

[CaliBoy1990]

Here's another car that was made in the universe of "For All Nails", as what it could have been:

Timeline: For All Nails*
Model Name: Galloway Go-Getter
Manufacturer: Galloway Motors
Model Type: Economy Sportsmobile
Model Year: 1973
Model Lifetime: 1971-1979
Origin: Michigan City, Indiana, C.N.A.
Engine: 1842cc/2052cc/2208cc inline 4 cylinder
Power: 90 hp @ 4,900 rpm (1842cc), 117 hp @ 5,200 rpm(2052cc) 148 hp @ 5,350 rpm (2208cc)
Drivetrain: Front Engine, Front-Wheel-Drive
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Weight: 2,352-2,577 lbs.
0-100 km/h: 9.1 sec. (2208cc), 10.6 sec., (2052cc), 12.5 sec. (1842cc)
Top Speed: 107 mph (1842cc), 114 mph (2052cc), 129 mph (2208cc)
Number Produced: 462,789
Description: One of Galloway's more economic models aimed at younger buyers. Featured in FaN #46.


*Although a canon car in FaN, the specs are my own. Credit goes to Dan McDonald for the original creation.

 

[CaliBoy1990]

In honor of Mother's Day, I offer this car, a sporty version of Pontiac's Trans Sport minivan.....sometimes affectionately referred as the "dust buster". (my mother owned one IRL until about 2000 or so, btw. It was a good car. )

Timeline: None in particular(open for adoption! )
Model Name: Pontiac Trans Sport GT
Manufacturer: Pontiac
Model Type: 4 door sport minivan
Model Year: 1995
Model Lifetime: 1994-97(1989-99 for the regular model)
Origin: Tarrytown, New York
Engine: Supercharged 3.8 liter L27 V-6
Power: 202 hp @ 4,800 rpm
Drivetrain: Front-engined, front-wheel-drive
Transmission: 5-speed manual, 4 speed auto available.
Weight: 3,729 lbs.
0-60 mph: 9.2 seconds
Top Speed: 142 mph (manual) 139 mph (auto)
MSRP: $20,819
Number Produced: 29,109 (1994-97)

 

[TheMann]

^ A supercharged GM V6 should be capable of considerably more than 202 horsepower, and something with 202 hp that weighs 3,730 lbs is not exactly gonna be worthy of being called a sporty machine, and I don't believe any of that generation of GM minivan had a manual transmission.

If you wanted to make a mom van with a real edge, you need one of these, my man.

This is a Renault Espace minivan (one of the most popular of all time) with a 3.5-liter Renault Formula One V10 engine for power. The result was something like 800 horsepower, standing start to 200 km/h in less than seven seconds and a top speed of 194 mph. Try that for a grocery getter.

 

[CaliBoy1990]

^ A supercharged GM V6 should be capable of considerably more than 202 horsepower, and something with 202 hp that weighs 3,730 lbs is not exactly gonna be worthy of being called a sporty machine, and I don't believe any of that generation of GM minivan had a manual transmission.

If you wanted to make a mom van with a real edge, you need one of these, my man.

*snip*

This is a Renault Espace minivan (one of the most popular of all time) with a 3.5-liter Renault Formula One V10 engine for power. The result was something like 800 horsepower, standing start to 200 km/h in less than seven seconds and a top speed of 194 mph. Try that for a grocery getter.

Now that's a cool-looking minivan; I could honestly picture Sebastian Vettel or Danica Patrick driving this as their second car.

Here's a slightly different version of the OTL 25th Anniversary Edition Camaro.

Timeline: None in particular(open for adoption! )
Model Name: Camaro Z/28 25th Anniversary Special
Manufacturer: Chevrolet(General Motors)
Model Type: Sports Coupe
Model Year: 1992
Model Lifetime: 1982-1992
Origin: Van Nuys, California, U.S.
Engine: 350ci small-block V-8
Power: 247 hp @ 4800 rpm
Drivetrain: Front-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: 5-speed manual, 4 speed automatic
Weight: 3,308 lbs
0-60 mph: 6.2 seconds
Top Speed: 156 mph (manual), 147 mph (automatic, 3.08:1 final)
MSRP: $18,282
Number Produced: 16,176

Description: In honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Camaro, GM commissioned this special edition model as a swan-song for the 3rd generation models. This model's 350 was retuned to produce horsepower at slightly higher revs, 247 @ 4800 versus 242 @ 4400 for the normal version. The 5-speed transmission was also specially re-worked to squeeze as high of a top speed as possible out of the Z28. All in all, many buyers were thrilled, and over 16,000 were sold.

 

[CaliBoy1990]

Here's a Camaro built specially for racing.

Timeline: None in particular
Model Name: Camaro Z/28 Special
Manufacturer: Chevrolet(General Motors)
Model Type: Sports Coupe(modified for racing)
Model Year: 1974
Model Lifetime: 1974-1981 (2nd Generation production model, Mark II)
Origin: Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Engine: 350ci small-block V-8
Power: 394 hp @ 5800 rpm
Drivetrain: Front-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: 5-speed manual, 3:92.1 or 2:88.1 gearing
Weight: 3,087 lbs
0-60 mph: 5.18 seconds
Top Speed: 168/177 mph
MSRP: $40,000
Number Produced: 168

Description: In an alternate universe not much different than our own, this special edition Camaro was modified for racing by a 3rd party. There were two gearsets: one for shorter & technical circuit racing, and one for racetracks more like *Nascar-the latter was partly constructed with extra fuel economy in mind, but the car had a top speed of 177 mph in 4th gear, and was still capable of 168 mph even in 5th, and at only about 4,800 rpm as well.(One car boosted to 560 bhp was capable of almost 220 mph!)

 

[Fubart Solman]

Here's my TL's version of the Model T. Improved roads prompted Henry Ford to give the Model T a bit more power and better (still crappy) brakes in 1913. Ford also made the Ruckstell rear axle (with slight modifications) standard, effectively doubling the amount of gears compared to the early models.

Timeline: Nineteen Twenty-Four: The Rise of the Progressives
Manufacturer: Ford
Model: Model T
Type: Roadster, Touring Car, Town Car (2 and 4 door variants)
Model Year: 1914
Years Produced: 1913-(at least 1916) (Production started in late 1908)
Origin: Detroit
Engine: 2.7 Liters
Horsepower: 26 HP
Drivetrain: Front Engine; Rear-Wheel Drive
Transmission: Four Forward, Two Reverse
Brakes: Rear Drums
Weight: Lowest Weight: 1350 lbs
0-60 MPH: Haha
0-55 MPH: 45 seconds
Top Speed: 55 MPH (~90 km/h)
Cruising Speed: 50 MPH (~80 km/h)
MSRP: $450-$800 in 1916
Number Produced: 1 Million total of all variations from October 1908 to August 1915

When I get to the 1930's in my TL (eventually), I'm hoping to have Husqvarna become a somewhat successful car maker. I'll add more details once I reach that point.

 

[TheMann]

Timeline: Transport America / From The Streets of Detroit
Model Name: Dodge Copperhead
Manufacturer: Dodge Sports Car Division, Chrysler Corporation
Model Type: Sports Car
Model Year: 1994
Model Lifetime: 1993-2002
Origin: Mack Avenue Assembly, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Engine: 2.3-liter Chrysler Star Four Inline-Four (1993-2002), 3.6-liter Chrysler Pentastar V6 (1996-2002)
Power: 178 hp (four-cylinder 1993-1996), 204 hp (four-cylinder 1997-2004), 323 hp (V6 1996-2002)
Drivetrain: Front-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: six-speed manual (1993-2002), five-speed automatic (1998-2002)
Weight: 2,494 lbs - 2,817 lbs
0-100 km/h: 5.2 seconds (323 hp V6 / manual), 6.9 seconds (204 hp / automatic)
Top Speed: 130 mph - 159 mph
MSRP: $18,750-$22,800 (1993),
Number Produced: 315,765

The Dodge Copperhead was the two in Chrysler's one-two-three punch of sports cars in the 1990s, starting with the awesome V10-powered 1992 Dodge Viper and finishing with the 'factory hot rod' Plymouth Prowler. The Copperhead was aimed directly at the small sports car market, which was busted wide open by Mazda's awesome MX-5 Miata. The Copperhead was more of an exotic machine than the pedestrian Miata, but both cars competed early and often against each other, and both cars gained a well-deserved reputation for being the best small sports cars that money could buy.

Both in a way got lucky in the way, as the Toyota MR2 and Pontiac Fiero, which had been the small sports cars of the 1980s, both moved up substantially in size for the 1990s, and the Alfa Romeo Spider was replaced in 1994 with a front-wheel-drive spider. With the combined sales of the first-generation Miata and first-generation Copperhead between them worldwide topping 750,000 units between 1990 and 2002, the small sports car became a way of driving for many.

The Copperhead was a pretty basic car in engineering, a unitary steel chassis and fiberglass bodywork, but the Copperhead differed from the Miata in a substantial way by having the gearbox at the rear of the car for better weight distribution, but the car still had the clutch behind the motor and was mounted on a subframe which could be removed for ease of assembly and service, which also included the rear limited-slip differential (all Copperhead had LSDs, with the early viscous-type differential replaced with a spring-block type mechanical LSD for 1995) and the inboard disc brakes. Fiberglass bodywork and galvanized steel chassis made sure that durability and reliability were pluses, and the Copperhead was famed for its quick throttle response, supple damping, strong-feeling and responsive steering and unkillable brakes, which made the car a hit with enthusiasts worldwide.

 

[TheMann]

Timeline: Transport America / From The Streets of Detroit
Model Name: Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale
Manufacturer: Alfa Romeo Automobiles, a Division of General Motors
Model Type: Grand Touring Car
Model Year: 2014
Model Lifetime: 2014-2017
Origin: Milan, Italy
Engine: 6.8-liter Alfa Romeo JTS3 V12
Power: 565 horsepower
Drivetrain: Front-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: Tremec TR-6070 7-speed manual, ZF Freidrichshafen 8HP70 8-speed automatic transmission
Weight: 3,286 lbs - 3,511 lbs
0-100 km/h: 3.8 seconds (manual), 4.0 seconds (automatic)
Top Speed: 205 mph (manual)
MSRP: $185,000
Number Produced: 1,272 units

What happens when you cross a C7 Corvette, an Alfa Romeo V12 and bodywork by Zagato that was designed as homage to a legend? This, pretty much. Alfa Romeo's first real supercar since General Motors' takeover of it from Fiat as part of the Fiat-GM deal in 1999, the TZ3 Zagato was the first appearance of the high-efficiency Alfa Romeo JTS3 engine series, and indeed the V12 used by the TZ3 was basic two JTS3 V6 engines with a common flat-plane crankshaft with a center powertakeoff. The state-of-the-art aluminum chassis from the C7 Corvette was also used, with Zagato's own bespoke bodywork on top and a first-class interior inside, with many of the components of the C7 Corvette, and the use of the Tremec and ZF Freidrichshafen gearboxes from the Corvette.

The TZ3 Stradale was expensive, but even at its $185,000 base price, some 1,272 cars were made for worldwide production, and many of the developments from the TZ3 Stradale, including Alfa Romeo's bespoke suspension components, would be used on other variants of the Corvette. The car's handling wasn't quite as good as the Corvette, much of that being the extra weight of the long V12 forcing the weight distribution further forward and the TZ3 making do with fiberglass bodywork as opposed to the carbon-fiber panels used on many Corvettes. Despite that, however, the machine was widely seen as an excellent flagship for the Italian firm and another example of Alfa Romeo doing well under GM ownership.

 

[CaliBoy1990]

Here's my TL's version of the Model T. Improved roads prompted Henry Ford to give the Model T a bit more power and better (still crappy) brakes in 1913. Ford also made the Ruckstell rear axle (with slight modifications) standard, effectively doubling the amount of gears compared to the early models.

Timeline: Nineteen Twenty-Four: The Rise of the Progressives
Manufacturer: Ford
Model: Model T
Type: Roadster, Touring Car, Town Car (2 and 4 door variants)
Model Year: 1914
Years Produced: 1913-(at least 1916) (Production started in late 1908)
Origin: Detroit
Engine: 2.7 Liters
Horsepower: 26 HP
Drivetrain: Front Engine; Rear-Wheel Drive
Transmission: Four Forward, Two Reverse
Brakes: Rear Drums
Weight: Lowest Weight: 1350 lbs
0-60 MPH: Haha
0-55 MPH: 45 seconds
Top Speed: 55 MPH (~90 km/h)
Cruising Speed: 50 MPH (~80 km/h)
MSRP: $450-$800 in 1916
Number Produced: 1 Million total of all variations from October 1908 to August 1915

When I get to the 1930's in my TL (eventually), I'm hoping to have Husqvarna become a somewhat successful car maker. I'll add more details once I reach that point.

Timeline: Transport America / From The Streets of Detroit
Model Name: Dodge Copperhead
Manufacturer: Dodge Sports Car Division, Chrysler Corporation
Model Type: Sports Car
Model Year: 1994
Model Lifetime: 1993-2002
Origin: Mack Avenue Assembly, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Engine: 2.3-liter Chrysler Star Four Inline-Four (1993-2002), 3.6-liter Chrysler Pentastar V6 (1996-2002)
Power: 178 hp (four-cylinder 1993-1996), 204 hp (four-cylinder 1997-2004), 323 hp (V6 1996-2002)
Drivetrain: Front-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: six-speed manual (1993-2002), five-speed automatic (1998-2002)
Weight: 2,494 lbs - 2,817 lbs
0-100 km/h: 5.2 seconds (323 hp V6 / manual), 6.9 seconds (204 hp / automatic)
Top Speed: 130 mph - 159 mph
MSRP: $18,750-$22,800 (1993),
Number Produced: 315,765

The Dodge Copperhead was the two in Chrysler's one-two-three punch of sports cars in the 1990s, starting with the awesome V10-powered 1992 Dodge Viper and finishing with the 'factory hot rod' Plymouth Prowler. The Copperhead was aimed directly at the small sports car market, which was busted wide open by Mazda's awesome MX-5 Miata. The Copperhead was more of an exotic machine than the pedestrian Miata, but both cars competed early and often against each other, and both cars gained a well-deserved reputation for being the best small sports cars that money could buy.

Both in a way got lucky in the way, as the Toyota MR2 and Pontiac Fiero, which had been the small sports cars of the 1980s, both moved up substantially in size for the 1990s, and the Alfa Romeo Spider was replaced in 1994 with a front-wheel-drive spider. With the combined sales of the first-generation Miata and first-generation Copperhead between them worldwide topping 750,000 units between 1990 and 2002, the small sports car became a way of driving for many.

The Copperhead was a pretty basic car in engineering, a unitary steel chassis and fiberglass bodywork, but the Copperhead differed from the Miata in a substantial way by having the gearbox at the rear of the car for better weight distribution, but the car still had the clutch behind the motor and was mounted on a subframe which could be removed for ease of assembly and service, which also included the rear limited-slip differential (all Copperhead had LSDs, with the early viscous-type differential replaced with a spring-block type mechanical LSD for 1995) and the inboard disc brakes. Fiberglass bodywork and galvanized steel chassis made sure that durability and reliability were pluses, and the Copperhead was famed for its quick throttle response, supple damping, strong-feeling and responsive steering and unkillable brakes, which made the car a hit with enthusiasts worldwide.

Timeline: Transport America / From The Streets of Detroit
Model Name: Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale
Manufacturer: Alfa Romeo Automobiles, a Division of General Motors
Model Type: Grand Touring Car
Model Year: 2014
Model Lifetime: 2014-2017
Origin: Milan, Italy
Engine: 6.8-liter Alfa Romeo JTS3 V12
Power: 565 horsepower
Drivetrain: Front-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: Tremec TR-6070 7-speed manual, ZF Freidrichshafen 8HP70 8-speed automatic transmission
Weight: 3,286 lbs - 3,511 lbs
0-100 km/h: 3.8 seconds (manual), 4.0 seconds (automatic)
Top Speed: 205 mph (manual)
MSRP: $185,000
Number Produced: 1,272 units

What happens when you cross a C7 Corvette, an Alfa Romeo V12 and bodywork by Zagato that was designed as homage to a legend? This, pretty much. Alfa Romeo's first real supercar since General Motors' takeover of it from Fiat as part of the Fiat-GM deal in 1999, the TZ3 Zagato was the first appearance of the high-efficiency Alfa Romeo JTS3 engine series, and indeed the V12 used by the TZ3 was basic two JTS3 V6 engines with a common flat-plane crankshaft with a center powertakeoff. The state-of-the-art aluminum chassis from the C7 Corvette was also used, with Zagato's own bespoke bodywork on top and a first-class interior inside, with many of the components of the C7 Corvette, and the use of the Tremec and ZF Freidrichshafen gearboxes from the Corvette.

The TZ3 Stradale was expensive, but even at its $185,000 base price, some 1,272 cars were made for worldwide production, and many of the developments from the TZ3 Stradale, including Alfa Romeo's bespoke suspension components, would be used on other variants of the Corvette. The car's handling wasn't quite as good as the Corvette, much of that being the extra weight of the long V12 forcing the weight distribution further forward and the TZ3 making do with fiberglass bodywork as opposed to the carbon-fiber panels used on many Corvettes. Despite that, however, the machine was widely seen as an excellent flagship for the Italian firm and another example of Alfa Romeo doing well under GM ownership.

All great, you guys.

Here's the 1969 ZL-1 Corvette, re-imagined.

Timeline: None in particular
Model Name: Corvette Stingray ZL-1
Manufacturer: Chevrolet(General Motors)
Model Type: Sports Coupe
Model Year: 1969
Model Lifetime: 1968-1982 (3rd Generation C3)
Origin: St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Engine: 427ci big-block V-8
Power: 493 @ 5650 rpm
Drivetrain: Front-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: 4-speed manual, 3:08.1 gearing
Weight: 3,583 lbs
0-60 mph: 4.8 seconds
Top Speed: 168 mph
MSRP: $8,769
Number Produced: 284

Description: Possibly the most powerful of the vintage Corvettes ever produced.....only 284 of these elusive Stingrays were ever built by the St. Louis works. Many of these cars are still around today, including some being used as racers, now as then. A true classic for the ages.

 

[Masked Grizzly]

Always contemplated an ATL scenario where Scotland’s rival to the Mini is not the Hillman Imp but essentially a Wartburg-powered Trabant Hatchback built at Linwood with a production run almost as long as the original Mini.




· Timeline: None in particular
· Model Name: Galloway 1000 3-door SSS
· Manufacturer: Galloway Motors
· Model Type: 3-door Hatchback or 3-door Estate
· Model Year: 1973
· Model Lifetime: 1964-1980 (for 2-Stroke variants)
· Origin: Linwood, Scotland
· Engine: 993cc 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine (of Wartburg origin)
· Power: 55 (or 57) hp / 78 ft lbs (previously 50 hp / 72 ft Ibs) @ 3000 rpm
· Drivetrain: Front-engined, front-wheel-drive
· Transmission: 4-speed manual
· Weight: 600-640kg
· 0-60 mph: 13-14 seconds
· Top Speed: 88-95 mph
· MSRP: £770
· Number Produced: 790.050
· OTL Equivalent: Closest would be a 37-45 hp / 50-57 hp 993cc 3-cylinder Wartburg 2-stroke powered version of the stillborn Trabant P-602 V (hatchback) prototype.
-Note: figures may possibly be an underestimate given the heavier Warburg’s performance with the same 993cc 2-stroke engine-

In order to bring 6000 jobs to Scotland to offset significant unemployment that resulted from redundancies in the declining shipbuilding industry on the nearby river Clyde, the UK government regional assistance policy provided financial grants to a wealthy socialist-leaning entrepreneur called Edward Reid to build a new computerized car assembly plant on the outskirts of Glasgow in the town of Linwood after the Rootes Group rejected the idea and proceeded to assemble its upcoming Imp / Swallow cars by expanding its existing Ryton plant near Coventry.

Edward Reid revived the defunct Galloway brand as Galloway Motors and soon inked a deal with East Germany to help develop East Germany’s car industry in return for providing components and knowhow to the Linwood factory. Initially the strike-prone factory produced locally-built versions of the Trabant P-602 V 3-door hatchback / estate called the Galloway 1000 3-door / Wagon powered by a Wartburg-sourced 45-57 hp 993cc 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine before the 993cc 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine was finally dropped in 1980 with updated post-1980 models receiving a 60 hp 1191cc 3-cylinder 4-stroke petrol and 34 hp 1103cc 3-cylinder diesel engines until production finally ceased in 2000.

The 50-57 hp Galloway 1000 3-door SSS was a rather curious nippy rival to the likes of the 55 hp Chrysler Imp Sport (built at Coventry and since converted to Front-engined FWD featuring a hatchback with the engine now uprated to 928cc) and 60 hp Austin Mini Classic 1000GT (featuring 3-door hatchback or split-tailgate, Overhead Cam A-Series units, interconnected Hydragas suspension, front-mounted radiator / electric fan, etc) with the Galloway’s 2-Stroke engine being an considered an asset by some in terms of performance and a liability by others in terms of emissions until it was replaced by a 60 hp 1191cc 3-cylinder 4-stroke petrol from 1980.

Alongside the Autobianchi Primula, the Galloway 3-door also has the distinction of being one of the first smaller cars to feature a hatchback.

Though many Scots took to the Galloway cars to the point where they would become Scotland's national car despite the nippy and agile reputation within Scotland it was still considered the butt of jokes by the English as a smoky Scottish Communist Ersatz-Mini made of Cotton.

 

[Fubart Solman]

Snip

I love Trabants! I didn't know that there was a hatchback concept (it looks terrible, and not in the endearingly terrible sense of the word that I'd use to describe the sedan versions). That being said, as someone who loves crappy European cars from that era, great job!

 

[CaliBoy1990]

Always contemplated an ATL scenario where Scotland’s rival to the Mini is not the Hillman Imp but essentially a Wartburg-powered Trabant Hatchback built at Linwood with a production run almost as long as the original Mini.




· Timeline: None in particular
· Model Name: Galloway 1000 3-door SSS
· Manufacturer: Galloway Motors
· Model Type: 3-door Hatchback or 3-door Estate
· Model Year: 1973
· Model Lifetime: 1964-1980 (for 2-Stroke variants)
· Origin: Linwood, Scotland
· Engine: 993cc 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine (of Wartburg origin)
· Power: 55 (or 57) hp / 78 ft lbs (previously 50 hp / 72 ft Ibs) @ 3000 rpm
· Drivetrain: Front-engined, front-wheel-drive
· Transmission: 4-speed manual
· Weight: 600-640kg
· 0-60 mph: 13-14 seconds
· Top Speed: 88-95 mph
· MSRP: £770
· Number Produced: 790.050
· OTL Equivalent: Closest would be a 37-45 hp / 50-57 hp 993cc 3-cylinder Wartburg 2-stroke powered version of the stillborn Trabant P-602 V (hatchback) prototype.
-Note: figures may possibly be an underestimate given the heavier Warburg’s performance with the same 993cc 2-stroke engine-

In order to bring 6000 jobs to Scotland to offset significant unemployment that resulted from redundancies in the declining shipbuilding industry on the nearby river Clyde, the UK government regional assistance policy provided financial grants to a wealthy socialist-leaning entrepreneur called Edward Reid to build a new computerized car assembly plant on the outskirts of Glasgow in the town of Linwood after the Rootes Group rejected the idea and proceeded to assemble its upcoming Imp / Swallow cars by expanding its existing Ryton plant near Coventry.

Edward Reid revived the defunct Galloway brand as Galloway Motors and soon inked a deal with East Germany to help develop East Germany’s car industry in return for providing components and knowhow to the Linwood factory. Initially the strike-prone factory produced locally-built versions of the Trabant P-602 V 3-door hatchback / estate called the Galloway 1000 3-door / Wagon powered by a Wartburg-sourced 45-57 hp 993cc 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine before the 993cc 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine was finally dropped in 1980 with updated post-1980 models receiving a 60 hp 1191cc 3-cylinder 4-stroke petrol and 34 hp 1103cc 3-cylinder diesel engines until production finally ceased in 2000.

The 50-57 hp Galloway 1000 3-door SSS was a rather curious nippy rival to the likes of the 55 hp Chrysler Imp Sport (built at Coventry and since converted to Front-engined FWD featuring a hatchback with the engine now uprated to 928cc) and 60 hp Austin Mini Classic 1000GT (featuring 3-door hatchback or split-tailgate, Overhead Cam A-Series units, interconnected Hydragas suspension, front-mounted radiator / electric fan, etc) with the Galloway’s 2-Stroke engine being an considered an asset by some in terms of performance and a liability by others in terms of emissions until it was replaced by a 60 hp 1191cc 3-cylinder 4-stroke petrol from 1980.

Alongside the Autobianchi Primula, the Galloway 3-door also has the distinction of being one of the first smaller cars to feature a hatchback.

Though many Scots took to the Galloway cars to the point where they would become Scotland's national car despite the nippy and agile reputation within Scotland it was still considered the butt of jokes by the English as a smoky Scottish Communist Ersatz-Mini made of Cotton.

Good post there! Here's a product from a world in which the Japanese automaker Nissan collaborated with Oldsmobile much in the same way that Toyota did with Chevrolet in our own.

Timeline: None in particular
Model Name: Starfire II
Manufacturer: Oldsmobile (General Motors)
Model Type: Sports Coupe
Model Year: 1984
Model Lifetime: 1983-1988
Origin: Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Engine: 305ci V-8
Power: 177 @ 4600 rpm, 193 @ 4800 rpm
Drivetrain: Front-engined, rear-wheel-drive
Transmission: 3 speed automatic, 4 speed manual
Weight: 2,785 lbs.
0-60 mph: 9.6/8.7 seconds
Top Speed: 118 mph (automatic), 127 mph (manual)
MSRP: $9,278-12,821
Number Produced: 284,772 total, 64,198 in 1984.
Description: This particular Oldsmobile model was created after collaboration with the Japanese automaker Nissan in 1981-82-the revived Starfire was partially based on the Silvia 240RS, but with a rear hatch and Olds's 305 V-8 engine in the place of the turbocharged inline-4 of the S-110(and later, S12) Silvia. The Starfire II would outlive it's 160SX cousin by a year, but, unfortunately, despite it's relative success, it would not be revived for a further generation; it was discontinued for the 1989 model year. The Silvia, however, would survive until 2002 in Japan, and until 2005 in the U.S. as the 200SX.