Fontane

Fontane (CSX: FTN) is a Corrailite automaker. Founded in 1976 as the Franklin Car Company, it is currently Corraile's largest (and only) domestic carmaker, as well as being one of Corraile's largest single employers. In 2010, Fontane held over 21% of the domestic car market, with successful models such as the Dennetton and the Xaviour, a rise of over 3% from 2006's figures.

As the makers of the revolutionary Franklin Stanza, which went on to become Corraile's best-selling car throughout the 1970s, the company prospered during the 1970s and into the 1980s, until bankruptcy in 1993. Supported by the government throughout the 90s, the company was purchased by a consortium of businessmen, which then rebranded the company to Fontane Cars. It is currently headquartered in Automotive House in North Centreburg, with it's main factory in Brickworks.

Beginnings
In 1976, Fontane's corporate predecessor, the Franklin Car Company, was founded with investment from the Corrailite Government, with the purpose of creating an indigenous "car for the people", with low running costs and high fuel efficiency.

However, the project, dubbed Project Reliability, ran into challenges right from the beginning, chief among which was the lack of experience in engineering vehicles, which required high levels of mechanical engineering knowledge and experience. In order to gain such experience, project leader and Franklin CEO Jack Vaughman believed that a strategic tie-up with a major car manufacturer was necessary, and in 1976, the company signed a strategic agreement contract with General Motors, which provided engineering expertise as well as designs to allow the fledgling car manufacturer to design its first car, the Franklin Stanza.



The first mass-produced car to be built on Corrailite soil, the Stanza was built with largely GM sourced parts. Much of the vehicle's mechanical components, such as gearbox, chassis and suspension could be traced back to the Chevrolet Nova. Despite this, however, the car's engine was licence-built from British car manufacturer British Leyland, with the standard engine being a Morris 1.3L A-Series Straight 4 that was also used on the standard Morris Marina. This small-displacement engine ensured that the car did not have exceptional performance (top speed was 101mph), but allowed the car to reach a high level of fuel efficiency (39mpg highway, 27mpg city), and was simple and cheap to maintain.

Despite quality issues in the engine and the 4-speed gearbox with the first batches of produced vehicles, the car sold extremely well in the wake of its official launch in September 1976, allowing many ordinary Corrailites to own their first car. Selling at just $3200 brand new, the car was accessible to majority of Corrailites, and turned the Franklin Car Company into an instant success. For the rest of 1976, the company produced an average of 1,300 cars a month, and waiting lists extended into the months.

Diversification
By the middle of 1978, following the continued success of the Stanza, the company's management was convinced that the time was right to diversify the range of vehicles offered in the company's lineup. Thus, the company began studies to develop 2 new cars, one a large full-sized luxury car, the other a smaller, subcompact sibling to complement the Stanza.

By 1979, design work had been completed on both vehicles, with the smaller subcompact having been officially designated the Constanza, while the larger car, which would become the official car of the President of the republic of Corraile, had been designated the Presidential (Emperor for export markets). Both cars were officially launched at the Centreburg Motor Show in 1980, receiving much fanfare and interest.Both cars were simultaneously launched for sales in March, just a month after their debut at the Motor Show. Both cars, especially the Constanza, sold well for many years.

By 1981, the company publicly launched the Franklin Super S, the company's first sports car, fitted with a large 3.8L V6 engine brought in from GM. Launched in a blaze of publicity, the car gained favourable reviews from journalists and car enthusiasts alike, who enjoyed the cars apparent simplicity and performance. Market expectations also culminated in a more powerful version of the car, the Franklin Superstar S, with a much larger 5.0L supercharged V6, also from GM.

By the end of 1982, the company celebrated its 200,000th car off the assembly line in Brickworks.

Initial troubles
Encouraged by the apparent success of recent car launches, the company began to take steps to redesign it's best-selling model, the Stanza. Almost 8 years old by this time, the company invested over 35 million dollars into the redesign and redevelopment of the car, as well as requesting design work done by Italdesign Giugiaro.

The design that culminated from this year-long and exorbitant programme was the second generation Franklin Stanza, which despite having undergone a major facelift, had changed little under the bonnet. It shared similar running gear with the original Stanza, the same 1.3L BL A-series engine and despite strong calls by buyers, retained the cumbersome and restrictive 4-speed manual gearbox.

The resulting car was similarly launched to much publicity, like its predecessor. However, the car received largely negative reviews, claiming that the vehicle was underpowered, and had certain issues with build quality. Furthermore, the car was too expensive to be considered a true replacement to the original Stanza, given that the unit price of a second generation Stanza was almost double that of an original Stanza. As a result of this, sales were poor, and the production of the second generation Stanza was quietly dropped in favour of a modernised design later on.

Similar problems plagued a redesigned Presidential/Emperor. The redesigned car was received poorly by the motoring press and as a result, did not sell well, both at home and abroad. The failure of these two car launches damaged both Franklin's reputation at home and abroad, as well as damaged the company's finances.

Bankruptcy
As a result of these failed car launches, Franklin slipped into the red in 1987, with losses extending into 1990. This weakened financial position was further exacerbated by increased competition after the Corrailite Government decided to liberalise the car market and allow imports to compete with Franklin on a more equal footing. As foreign car marques, such as Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford became cheaper, fewer Corrailites were buying Franklin vehicles. This forced the company into filing for bankruptcy protection in 1990.

During this period of time, Franklin employed more that 11,000 workers across 12 different manufacturing plants in Corraile. Fearing a large public backlash should a company of such size go insolvent, the Corrailite Government offered to nationalise the company, with the Government purchasing 80% of all company shares in the wake of the company's filing for bankruptcy protection.

Further problems began to hit the company hard. On te first workday of 1991, workers at the main assembly plant in Brickworks walked off the job and went on strike, demanding higher wages and working conditions. This strike further damaged an already battered company, which was already teetering on the brink of insolvency. Despite this perceived difficulty in restoring plant operations, it was completed in under 48 hours after much discussion with the Car Workers of Corraile Union (CWCU).

Between 1990 and 1999, Franklin continued to be under Government protection and ownership. Similarly, a new management, headed by Simon Ronaldson, was working to push through a necessary restructuring of the company, which would allow the company to return to full viability. During this period of time, Franklin continued to launch updated versions of the Stanza and the Constanza, but ended production of other models such as the Super S and the Emperor/Presidential.

A new management
In 1999, the Government voted in Parliament to re-privatise the company, and in April that same year, the Government officially announced its intent to sell the company back into private hands, and by July 2000, the Fontane Company, set up for the purpose of purchasing the company, signed an agreement with the Government to transfer ownership of 50% of all Government-held shares in the company.



The company was renamed to Fontane Cars, and the company set about reinventing the company's image, as well as to appeal to newer car buyers, so as to return the company back into profitability. The 1990s saw improvements to the company's lineup, where the Stanza and Constanza brand names were finally retired in favour of newer model names that the company hoped could reinvigorate the company's image and resonate with younger buyers. Both the Stanza and the Constanza was replaced by the Aviant, a compact car that was also available in hatchback form to compete with other subcompact hatchbacks of the period, such as the Toyota Corolla and the Ford Fiesta. The car was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the first such Corrailite-built car and was considerably cheaper than most of its competitors, launched at just $4500. The resulting success of the car after its launch in 2000 saw the reinvigoration of the company's fortunes, as the car rose quickly to become the 2nd-best-selling car in Corraile for that year, and continued to hold that spot for 2 more years.

Emboldened by the success of the Aviant, the company launched the mid-sized Fontane Xaviour in 2003, bringing the company into direct competition with other car manufacturers. In comparison to the large V8s that were commonplace in most American-built mid-sized cars, the Xaviour had at its launch, a modest 2.0L straight-4 engine, although this was quickly replaced in production with a 2.4L V6 afterwards. Due to the better fuel-efficiency that the car delivered over it's contemporary American competitors, the car sold well over the next few years, and the success of the car along with the earlier Aviant helped the company pay off its government-held debts ahead of schedule.

Products
As of December 2011, Fontane currently produces these cars: