Coastal Motors

Coastal Motors

File:Car logo coastal.gif
Type	Publicly traded company
Industry	automobile
Founded	February 22, 1924 (1924-02-22) in Tonning, Themiclesia
Founder	National Railway Company
Headquarters	Tonning , Themiclesia
Area served	Septentrion
Products	cars
Brands	Catapult → Panomica Standard
Number of employees	82,000 (2012)
Website	http://iiwiki.com/wiki/Coastal_Motors

Coastal Motors is a Themiclesian motor car company, registered in 1924 in Tonning, Themiclesia.

History

Steam era

The National Railway Company of Themiclesia had explored road transport based on steam technology since the beginning of the 20th century, but with limited experimental success. Most of the company's resources went towards improving steam locomotives, and early models were essentially miniature locomotives attached to a car's chassis. In 1925, the motor car division was spun off as a private company with minor government stakes, receiving the name Coastal Motors the same year. As its parent was in a state of financial security in 1925, Coastal Motors inherited a considerable amount of cash and equipment. The leader of the division and later President of Coastal Motors Hsom-man Kjod had been exploring the Organized States for novel technologies that might revive the failing steam car market, and in Dabner Coble's design he saw potential. He invested almost half the company's available cash, around $1.3 million, into the Coble design to receive 40% its shares, which in effect gave Coastal ownership becuase the other 55% was split between the Coble brothers, who often could not agree with each other. Another factor in his decision was Coble's thousands of outstanding car orders that he was unable to fulfill due to shortage of funds to purchase equipment and materials; Oble, who was convinced of the value of his design, accepted the investment in order to focus on improving the design rather than corporate management and fundraising.

Products

Steam

Model B

Model B was under production before the Cobles sold a 40% stake in their company to Coastal in 1925. It was closed to orders as early as 1923, but at least 2,000 orders remained unfilled when Coastal acquired the stake. With Coastal's investment, all Model B cars were delivered in 1935.

Model P

Model P
Overview
Manufacturer	Coastal
Production	1930 – 1947
Assembly	Tonning, Themiclesia
Designer	Dabner Coble
Body and chassis
Class	coach-size
Body style	4-door limousine, 4-door sedan
Layout	mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Powertrain
Engine	4-cylinder, double-acting
Transmission	Stephenson valve gear
Dimensions
Wheelbase	3,665 mm (144.3 in)
Length	6,120 mm (240.9 in)
Width	2,230 mm (87.8 in)
Height	1,920 mm (75.6 in)
Curb weight	2,320–2,890 kg (5,115–6,371 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Model B
Successor	Model Q

Model P was an improved version of the Model B, developed in 1930 at the instigation of Kjod. He requested Coble to make the P the "car to end all cars", one that would reverse the fortunes of steam in the automobile market. A firm believer in steam himself, Coble began to spend less time on supervising Model B's production and perfecting the Model P. The latter featured a quadruple cylinder engine (in steam terminology, the engine referred to the expander unit where pressure was converted to work) that utilized a much higher pressure than before, reaching 1,560 psi, compared to the 1,020 psi that was available on the Model B. The Model P also incorporated novel features such as artificial coolants in the condenser, which drastically improved steam recovery from exhaust, reducing the frequency of "water breaks" that the Model B had to take every 200 to 300 miles or so, to every 900 to 1,100 miles. The Model P used Stephenson's value gear, which made for more precise engine timings and stroke synchrony; the new valve gear was developed and tested by Coastal's former parent, the National Railway Company. Altogether, the Model P became the most efficient car on the market in 1932, delivering 19 miles to each gallon of fuel.

The Model P retained the Model B's most desirable selling points. It was even more silent both outside and inside the car, and marketing material said its passing was "like a ghost on tiptoes". Improved insulation allowed the interior of the car "to be as silent in motion as not in fire". In terms of power, the Model P's engine produced 2,880 ft-lbs of torque, and at peak operational speed of 120 MPH developed 912 HP; this figure, according to Coble, "can be exceeded, but we do not recommend the operator of this vehicle to attempt it." In a trial run in 1936, the car set the vehicular land speed record of 150 MPH, which suggests the engine developed 1,134 HP at peak performance.

The Model P's greatest weakness, like the Model B before it, was its price. While Coble never claimed his cars were built for economy, the Model B's cassis was sold for $10,000 in 1925, and this rose to $20,000 for the Model P in 1936. Admittely war-time shortages in materials and skilled labour were responsible for its pricing, its price never decreased even after the war. In the 30s, a basic car sold for $365, and a decade later it rose to about $600. In 1945, the Model P towered over the rest of the car market, even racing cars, at $38,500 with a basic body, and premium bodies could bring the total price north of $60,000. In Themiclesia, a custom Model P served as the "Golden Root Carriage" that the Emperor used in state processions. Despite its exubrant price, several thousand were sold to royalty, governments, and celebrities in Casaterra and the OS.

Model Q

Model Q
Overview
Manufacturer	Coastal
Production	1947 – 1970 1981
Assembly	Tonning, Themiclesia
Designer	Dabner Coble (to 1961) Henry L. Grap
Body and chassis
Class	coach
Body style	4-door limousine, 4-door sedan
Layout	mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Powertrain
Engine	4-cylinder, double-acting
Transmission	Stephenson valve gear
Dimensions
Wheelbase	3,575 mm (140.7 in)
Length	6,030 mm (237.4 in)
Width	2,150 mm (84.6 in)
Height	1,720 mm (67.7 in)
Curb weight	2,410–3,290 kg (5,313–7,253 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Model P
Successor	line discontinued

The Model Q was the successor to the Model P, entering production in 1945 and withdrawn in 1957. As the pinnacle in Coble's engineering career, it incorporated the most efficient engine ever fit into a steam car. Like its predecessor, Model Q had a four-cylinder compound engine; two cylinders at 4" were driven by high-pressure steam from the flash boiler, and exhaust from this cylinder fed into the other pair of cylinders at 5.5".

The Model Q's chassis cost $29,250 at launch in 1947, and various changes soon brought it over $40,000. It continued to rise for unclear reasons until its discontinuance in 1970, at which point each sold for over $110,000. Since coachwork was in practice by Coastal exclusively, its added considerably to the final price; a basic body cost about the same amount as the chassis in the late 40s, while a finely-crafted one with customized interior could run as much as $100,000 in the same era. As coach-built cars lost popularity and coachbuilders retired, coachwork became more expensive even more pridigiously than the chassis. In 1970, a basic body was listed for $230,000, and a fully-customized coach with artisan wood, metal, and stonework could only be quoted as "upwards of $1,000,000" in Coastal's product catalogue. In 1981 the Model Q made a brief return in a limited run, Coastal taking orders for only two months; all 43 units ordered were by the Themiclesian government.

Gasoline

S/X series

In 1931, Coastal began to experiment with gasoline engines in order to compete in foreign markets, which was leaving steam power. Though Chief Engineer Coble was not enchanted with the idea, management overcame his resistance by appointed a different Chief Engineer to work on a chassis powered by a gasoline engine. Coastal chose to use exactly the same chassis that Coble desinged for the steam-powered cars to make for a gasoline-powered product, partly because they would not need to begin a different coachworks in anticipation for a new line of cars whose success was still uncertain. As the steam line was at the Model P then, the gasoline chassis was named the Model PS.

See also

• Themiclesia