Motor City [a.k.a. Oldtimer]
(1995 Max Design)


The last game developed and published by Austrian 
developer Max Design before they were bought out 
by Sunflowers, Motor City (marketed in Germany as 
Oldtimer) is an excellent simulation of the car 
industry that is sadly not as well known as Impressions' 
Detroit. Although they both tackle the same subject 
matter, Motor City is a much better game due to a more 
realistic and versatile economics model that underlies 
the game.

The idea in Motor City will be familiar to Detroit 
players: as manager of a fledgling car company, your 
job is to expand your business by designing and selling 
cars. Similar to Detroit, most of the time you will be l
ooking at the premises of your company, on which you start 
with only two buildings: administration, and warehouse. 
Motor City includes many more options and details that 
Detroit lacks. For example, before you can build a car 
you must choose general concepts, e.g. size (small, medium, 
or large), whether its roof can be opened, chassis type, 
and engine type. All these components cost money, of course. 
Since building cars take time to complete (and the time 
varies depending on how many bells & whistles you add to it) 
but you have fixed costs to pay every month, having a 
long-term business plan, including astute timing of when 
to market new models, is crucial to winning the game. 
There are numerous statistics you can access at any time 
to see how you faring in the industry, from overall financial 
position to track record and trends.

Overall, I am very impressed with Motor City's depth and 
variety of options. Detroit is a lot of fun, but it often 
feels as if it could have been about any other industry 
had Impressions substitute cars with other products. Motor 
City, on the other hand, contains many industry-specific 
details that aren't common to other industries. The bottom 
line is, if you want a more sophisticated business simulation 
than Detroit, Motor City is a must-have. It may not be as 
accessible as Detroit, but its economic model is hard to 
beat (and quite educational as you put more time into studying 
how the market works). Top dog, without a doubt, and a two 
thumbs up from this fan.