The Henry Ford of Entropia?

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With the recent release of vehicles, it was just a matter of time before a pioneer auto dealer emerged. Enter Colin "Archman" Hungwell from Skillin' Villains and we have our first high-in-the-sky auto dealership located at the Athena Spaceport.

I first became aware of this enterprising Entropian when I came across his post here, and found it rather interesting with quite the potential. I contacted Archman to gain more information, as well as explore what his ambitions were surrounding this new service.

I made arrangements to meet Archman at the Athena Spaceport, and found him standing under a street lamp next to his own vehicle.
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After the initial greeting, I got right down to business. First on my agenda was to inquire about the dealership motto ... "If you want to drive well, drive a Hungwell."

It was obvious that it was part of his name, but where did it come from. He said his last name was just a play on words, and made up the name when he became an Entropian in November of 2005 after the sale of the asteroid to Neverdie. "Never did I imagine that my 'Hungwell' name would become a part of my brand," chuckles Arch. He shared that his society mate Neutrinox is the one who came up with the slogan, and he liked it, so incorporated it as part of the dealership branding.

Arch has always been a hunter by profession, with his highest professional level being 51 Laser Pistol (Hit), but has dabbled in crafting, which he likes to do when he has extra PED from hunting. He initially crafted basic filters to unlock Blue Print Comprehension (BPC), and then didn't do much crafting until textures were introduced.

Now, crafting vehicles has his attention; especially after receiving his own on the first day they were introduced. He was visiting ROCKTropia at the time, and shares that tenacity paid off. He said that having fun driving his vehicle around, and letting others drive it, was of great influence and inspiration with regard to starting up the dealership.

Prior to going further with the interview, I asked if he would take me to the vehicle showroom. He pointed in the direction of a platform, but apparently I made a wrong turn, because the next thing I knew, he was alongside me asking if I needed a ride.

"It's back around the other way," he said, so I decided to follow rather than run off in a direction I thought he was pointing.

Upon arriving at the North tower platform, Arch brought his open-air showroom to life, and precisely positioned each vehicle into formation for efficiency of viewing.

I can see why he chose such a location, because the backdrop of the televator, tunnel, distant bridge, and teal-colored laser rays beneath the platform was just breathtaking.

From the original 27 crafted vehicles, he had 15 left, and they were going fast. I asked how he came about acquiring the blueprints for crafting and he said, "Longtooth gave me the ability to try and loot a vehicle BP. I had my first solo uber HoF on them and I used some of that to fund my car part crafting."

He shared that he looted a 54 attempt Valkyrie (L) BP, and was successful in crafting 27 of them. "There are 9 materials needed to make a Valkyrie, and 7 need a separate blueprint to craft," says Arch. He said he crafted some parts, and then bought the rest off auction.

I was curious as to what his future goals were regarding the "Hungwell Dealership" and whether he had anticipated increasing his inventory. "I hope to continue my business for the foreseeable future and craft some Humvees to go with my Valkyries. If things go really well, I might partner with a colorer/texturer and offer some one-of-a-kind vehicles for promotions or events," says Arch.

In the meantime, his society mate SoftHart has offered her services to the Skillin' Villain members, providing they already have the paint and textures of course, but Arch says he also can do a little painting and texturizing.

As the interview was coming to a close, Arch said, "Want to see my 15 car pick-up magic trick?" I said sure, and in an instant, right before my eyes, the entire vehicle showroom disappeared. The wonders of virtual space, eh?

Prior to parting ways, Arch wanted to see my vehicle in person, as he had only seen it in photos, so I obliged him and whipped it out ... ok, I didn't whip it out, but spawned it on the platform.

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Despite his quiet and business-like persona, I've always known that there was madness to his methods. Next thing I know, he asked if I wanted to race to the storage center. Not one to turn down a challenge very often, I said, "Why not." We stepped down from the circular platform and got into position.

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So, who won this little mini-race? This is all I'll show you, but ... who got to the storage center first I will leave as a mystery.

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Thank you Mr. Hungwell for a most pleasant experience, and we will be keeping our eyes on you to see just how much like Henry Ford you become. We wish you well with your dealership, and look forward to your enterprising services within the community.


Special thanks to: Lykke (TheNun) for her creative graphic header.

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Thank you VERY much ... especially for your incredible help with all of this since I'm just learning my way around here. The graphic header you did for me just rocks Hon, and while I usually give my graphics gurus an idea of what I'd like when I forward the photo, this was totally your idea, and the creativity fit perfectly with the theme of the article ... well done.

Ahhh ... the photo only shows where I was at in that moment in time, but who knows if I may have hit a tree or two along the way, giving Arch room to pass :D ... especially since it was my first time driving at Athena. Who knows, maybe we didn't go any further than the end of the tunnel bridge. ;)

After seeing Arch's thread at EF, I thought it would make a good story since July 30th is Henry Ford's birthday, and if he were alive today, he would be 147 years old. :)

Thanks again for the assist on this first article. Now I'm going to wait until you're available for my first training lesson toward becoming a future Wiki Wookie. :D

 

Thanks ... and I think you better get to The Bar, because Narfi is out of control using his glowy blade to slice up lemons and limes ... even though I suggested he try it. That's only because he said that he received a message that he wasn't skilled enough to use it. There just has to be alternate uses for these things.

Thanks Jet ... and I guess I better be careful who I offer free advertising to on MSR (everyone), because loud car commercials would just clash with the music.

Ya, ya, ya ... rematch race indeed ... ok, let's try it again and drive around in circles on the platform to see who falls off first ... and how fast you can hit the recall button before hitting water.

Hey WK ... thanks, and nice to see first-time posters. :)

Hey my friend ... thanks for the support, always ... and I'm going to have a cool second name soon (like yours) ... Wiki Wookie ... as soon as I can get my purple ass in gear to get started ... I'm waiting for my handler.

Well hello Roni ... glad you enjoyed the read ... I plan on being busy here ... I love the cubby hole the bosses have found for me, and I see that you are also a fellow NewsReporter, so I suppose I'll see you on the inside. Oh, and ... next time my brother heads to Rome I'll have him look you up ... me too when I eventually get there. :)

 

Well, it's another one of those places incredibly connected with Egypt in one way or another, so there's definitely some kind of mysterious thing going on there too. I downloaded some stuff onto my Kindle about Egypt and Rome so that I can read it during my office hours at the campus if no students need to see me. All my paperwork, etc. is done outside of the campus, so it's actually free time for me unless a student needs to see me.

I'll have to check my lotto tickets from last night, and if I won, then first order of business is to finish teaching the Summer and Fall, which ends mid-December, then hook up with you guys for New Years in Rome, and Egypt next Easter, or whenever it is. I would SO do that.

Oh, didn't know about the NewsReporter thing with Roni, and ... maybe I have him mixed up with someone else regarding Rome ... I probably do ... I like placing people all over the map, so if you're not in Rome Roni (<-- sounds cool), then enjoy it while I have you there.

 

Thank you Lava ... and nice to have your support here as well, it' always appreciated. ;)

Hey Ozi ... been a while, hope you and the Mrs are doing well. I like your idea about expanding the dealership stuff, because hopefully we'll have even more different models of cars in the future ... especially if prototype artists like Arokh keep submitting their creative images.

 

Thanks Tim ... and you are absolutely right, for many reasons. I love writing about our universe and the creative things that our fellow Entropians get involved with. It not only showcases possibilities, but also may be an inspiration to others to get creative themselves. There are lots of cool things going on in our universe, and it doesn't hurt adding a bit of storyline to it to add to the fun factor.

It also doesn't hurt from a PR perspective when it comes to the developers either, because it shows that even though we may not always agree with how our universe is delivered at times, we still have options to kick up the fun factor in an otherwise incredible environment.

As I've said so many times before ... it's not just about hunting, mining, and crafting ... there is SO much more to how we engage in this universe.

Thank you as always for your continued support. ;)

Oh, and ... the staff here is ... well, aside from being a bunch of nutbars behind the scenes ... they're amazing, and an awesome crew that believes in team work. That to me makes it an incredible experience.

 

It's just a fun story with a play on a RL person who was quite the pioneer and instrumental in the auto industry ... that's it. It's not an official title or endorsement ... even the title of the article asks the question "The Henry Ford of Entropia?" ... so I thought everyone got that ... maybe not.

Perhaps in my writing I should make things like this clearer for some? Didn't mean for it to be anything but a fun thing, and certainly not confusing.

Maybe in the future MA will consider assembly lines, who knows ... there was certainly potential when Hades was still in existence.