Avanta Interview with LeadAcid

The History, Present, and Future of the Legacy Automaker

"Avanta operates like a band, you can't have a concert with just one instrument."

To say 2021 has been big for the fictional automotive community would be an understatement. This year has seen the rise of many new automakers, the announcement of tons of exciting cars, and so much more. However, one of the industry’s biggest surprises was the return of legacy automaker Avanta Car Company.

The car company began operations in April 2009 under founder Zephyred. The group grew quickly over the years, with the brand managing to gain over 2,000 members thanks to the consistent release of quality vehicles until 2017. Since May 2021, Avanta has been given a new lease on life under the direction of LeadAcid, whose team aims to give the brand a modern reinterpretation with the goal of recapturing the hearts of customers. To further understand this new vision, I conducted an interview with LeadAcid:

Cereal_Tree: Hi LeadAcid, thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me.

LeadAcid: Hello, thank you for having me.

CT: First, I just wanted to say how exciting it must feel to be bringing back a ROBLOX automaker that's over 12 years old. How long have you been planning this revival?

LA: As long as early February back in 2021.

CT: What was the process like before you made the first announcement in May?

LA: To be honest I was in the right place at the right time. Zephyred had come online out of the blue after disappearing for a few years. I sent him a DM, and as the reunion was going on we joked about reviving Avanta. But then he gave us the go-ahead. I would say it was interesting keeping it all secret when we first discussed it back in early February, mostly planning on how we will go on into the future and what our brand identity would be.

CT: And this wasn't your first experience in the automotive industry, was it?

LA: My first foray into the automotive industry was with a group called Boidsie Motors, sadly the original owner disappeared without a trace, however, I did stay on the group for a while until it was shut down and moved to a group called Blue Motors (founded by Blueice506). I made a few cars, then founded my own group called Robo Motors that focused on 70's and 80's cars at a time when everyone was focusing on modern cars. I produced a few but it didn't really take off. I then kinda retired from building cars.

CT: With all of your previous background developing for and running an automaker, has it made running Avanta easier, or have there been unexpected challenges?

LA: I have a confession to make: I am horrible at Blender. However, while I can still make a decent car with bricks, it helps to have a small team of developers that can overcome this hurdle. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses but once you come together, you all can do anything. As for running the group, I find it to be easy due to previous experience at a former job as a group leader, though I expect this to get harder in the future as we grow.

S_undown and Hipas_Account, two Avanta developers, in front of a Zeta Coupe Avard

CT: The Zeta, of course, is one of the most iconic cars in the Avanta lineup. It's appeared in many hit games, such as Car Crushers 2 and Greenville, and has amassed thousands of sales on the ROBLOX library. Many people expected it to be the first car released post-revival, but they were also surprised to see that it was a remake of Zephyred's original second-generation design. Why not release a modern rendition first?

LA: We actually planned to make a modern one first. However, since the people who were going to make it have jobs, it was unlikely we would have something out by the 2021 Inspiration Auto Show deadline. Hipa thankfully stepped in and we settled on one from the late ‘80s. This led to our first ‘88 Zeta prototype. As I said, we all have our strengths and weaknesses but you can still pull through.

CT: Assuming a modern Zeta is currently in the works, what are some other plans for the future of Avanta?

LA: A segment I see nobody going into is commercial vehicles, we want to do something special with the reintroduction of the Packer. It might be a while till you see a modern Zeta, but we plan to tease our new design philosophy with an upcoming concept car you might have seen teased in #industry-news.

CT: In the past, Avanta was known for providing affordable, conservative vehicles that were easy to use. With growing competition from new automotive companies, for instance, Colt and Hyperion, how do you plan to adapt Avanta’s brand identity to capture a new era of car buyers?

LA: We want to push Avanta outside of expectations by doing things differently than our competition and not following the crowd. With future products, we aim to push our vehicle upmarket while maintaining affordable entry points into the brand. To us, keeping the link between the company's Dutch roots is just as important as everything else. Avanta operates like a band, you can't have a concert with just one instrument.

CT: I genuinely appreciate your time to talk to me. It's been awesome, and I'm super excited to see what's in store for the future.

LA: Thank you, and have a nice new year.

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(This interview has been edited for length and clarity)