automationgame.com

"At Meridian Motorworks our mission is to build cars that are special in terms of style, quality and performance for real-world owners. We recognize that automotive passion is not restricted to the uber-wealthy, and neither should our products be. We know that a large number of motorists are enthusiasts who aspire to own a car that really delivers in all the ways that are relevant to them without overextending themselves financially for capabilities they can never really use. It is this practical enthusiast market that we will build cars for." (..after all, gotta have a mission statement, right?)

The tycoon layer of the game is a ways off I know - in the meantime I tinker once in awhile to get the hang of things and practise my design skills. The latest effort is a modern little mid-engine - nothing outstanding on the styling, but I do have a question:





Some people seem to already know (or roughly know) what the cars they design are going to cost to build. As far as I know at this point all we have are the material costs and production units. Is there a formula for estimating the cost to build based on that? (eg: materiel cost + prod units times 'x'). Basically I'm trying to understand if the designs I come up with fit in with my mission statement above.

On the "Overview" tab there is a "Total Costs" segment, that lists the total costs including production units, it does not count tooling costs yet since that hasnt been implemented.

...and I just knew it would end up being right in front of my eyes but that I'd need someone to smack me over the head with it to see it! Thanks!

So, just over 20 grand to build this little 230hp mid-engine number... not too bad I guess.

Sell it for $59,990 driveaway and it looks like a bargain for a mid engined sportscar! If it's 4cyl then sell it for 45 - 50k...

Yup, 4-cyl 1.7 turbo; that's the biggest that would fit. And I tweaked it to 240hp, 210 lbs torque without negatively impacting reliability or anything else. 0-100 km/h happens in 4.9 seconds... If Toyota still made an MR2 turbo my guess is that would be this car's target competition. I've also tuned a non-turbo version of this same engine but am undecided whether releasing that would be a good idea. Hp is passable but torque is rather low for what this car is. Maybe use it in some other model.

Then you're a bit high in your price, the mr2 would be more a $35k car. At $50-60 grand you're in lotus exige or evora territory.

my prices were in Australian dollars so over here the cheapest Lotus is $80k!!! The SW20 Toyota MR2 was sold here for $50k and was NA so your turbo car would be a bargain and your NA version would be competitive so you're doing well with your original mission statement.

Yeah, there is often a significant price difference from the US here in Canada as well, regardless of the currency exchange rate. People often hatch plots to buy a car south of the border and drive it back, but after the import tariffs you get hit with plus any costs for meeting Canadian specs it often ends up being not worth the trouble.