the Driver's Seat

Welcome to another issue of Autoduel Quarterly! If you were with us last time, you'll recall that issue 5/1 was a little late, and I promised that this issue would be a little early. Well, as I write this, it looks like we're going to pull it off and get this one out by the first week of June or so. Of course, disaster could still strike, so I'm not exactly gloating, but things look good so far.

The main reason I wanted to get this issue out a little early was so that everyone would have a copy in time for Origins 87, in Baltimore, MD. Complete rules for the 2036-37 AADA World Championship Tournament can be found in the "AADA News" section of this magazine. For mor information on Origins, contact tem at Box 15405, Baltimore, MD 21230.

Manhunt

The Combat Showcase has been out for nearly six months, now, and the response has been pretty good. A lot of people really like the "schematics" used to describe the cars, and even the people that aren't as enthusiastic don't actively hate them or anything. But as you may have noticed, a lot of people contributed designs and ideas to the book, and we came up missing some addresses on some of them. This may be because the contributor didn't put his name and address on every piece of paper he sent us, or it could be because we stupidly lost the information. Either way, we need the following people to contact us, because we'd like to send you a free copy of Combat Showcase and a modest contributor's check:

Laurence Mee, Adrian Quah, Javier Ramirez, Jeff Roberts, Russell Timmerman, James Wilson. Where are you?

In another related matter, it's time for the great autoduelling public to vote. We've had some requests to start using the "schematic" method of presentation in all Car Wars products - in the scenarios in ADQ, the new car ads, the Custom Features, solo adventures, expansion sets - anywhere we give a complete vehicle design. What do you think? Would you like us to switch to this format, or do you like the simple text descriptions we use now? Let us know how you feel on this.

Night of The Living Oops

Only one thing to clear up this time. In "ADQ&A" of issue 5/1, I gave contradictory answers to two different letters. I don't pretend to know how this happened. It just did.

First, I told Jerry D'Antonio of Aurora, CO, that Overdrive and Nitrous Oxide could be used together. Later, I told Ryan Watkins of Glendale, CA, that Overdrive cannot be mounted on a gas-powered vehicle. Obviously, they can't both be right.

At first, I figured that some gas-engine accessories (like Nitrous) and some electric-engine accessories (like Overdrive) could be mixed. But as I thought about all the possible combinations, I quickly realized that the whole thing was a complete mess. The two types of engines use completely different power trains to transfer the engine's power to the wheels, so any accessories that deal with the power train (like Overdrive, and Heavy-Duty Transmission) just won't work with both types of plants.

So, sorry about the misleading answer, Jerry. What I said to Ryan Watkins is how I think it should be. For now, gadgets designed for electric power plants can work only on electric-powered vehicles, and gadgets designed for internal combustion power plants can work only on gas-powered vehicles.

out of room for this issue. Keep On Duellin'!

--Scott D. Haring

Issue 5/2 Index