Vehicles & Travel Ideas

So... 10 years and still no cars, huh? Here's some ideas I had for that, and how to improve the travel system along with it since revamping base systems seems to be a theme for DLC packs recently.

Realistically, a pack with this much work put into it would likely be an expansion pack. If they gave us a free travel update then cars by themselves could just be a game pack, though. My idea for this pack would be to make travel in TS4 very similar to how it was in TS2. TS3 really can't be used to compare to TS4 because the open world drastically changes things, especially when it comes to travel. Here's what I would put into the pack if I were making it:

• Add cars to buy mode in a range of prices from $10k and up. Give rich sims something really expensive to spend their money on.
• Add functional driveways and garage doors, and update old garage doors from previous packs to be compatible. While the driveways from TS3 would be ideal (place them anywhere and the car will route off-lot no matter where it is), the driveways from TS2 would be the bare minimum (short driveway that only attaches to the front of the lot, is straight, no routing customizations). Something like connecting pieces that are straight, diagonal, and curved so that we can make somewhat custom driveways would be realistic IMO. The ability to place a parking spot anywhere on the lot and then use a tool to draw a drive path would be spectacular. Parking spot items should include traditional bumper bars as well as an "invisible" spot.
• Add personal helicopters! These were always stupid, ridiculous luxury items in TS2. Bring them back for some added charm and with the bonus of ignoring travel time changes (we'll get to those).
• Add a rabbithole "shop at car dealership" interaction on the phone. Sims can leave the lot, have a pop-up appear after a few seconds with a randomly generated list of cars from the buy catalogue at a discount, with an option to select one or leave. Leaving brings your sims back immediately. Selecting one keeps your sims at the dealership for another hour or two, then they drive home in their new car.
• Add a driving skill. The ability to give lessons to sims teen and up, passing the driver's license test, and potentially any driving-related careers can be tied to this skill. It increases by driving, being taught by another sim, reading a book, going to driver's education classes, or researching online. Learning online or by reading should only get them a few levels in before they need real experience, though. Increasing skill past level 6/7 should take an extremely long time without career-related driving boosts. Driver's ed classes need to provide a significant skill boost (ex. one full level of a 10-level skill) and be available to teens and up. Again, these can be a rabbithole. 
• Passing a driver's license test by going to the DMV-equivalent (rabbithole) for an hour. Have sims have a chance to pass based on their driving skill, with a certain threshold guaranteeing that they'll pass (maybe level 6 or 7 of a 10-level skill). Sims created in CAS that are YA or older can have a license automatically, but everyone else should have to pass the test. No free license if your teen didn't pass and becomes a YA.
• Car keys as inventory items that summon the car with a car key click animation. This feels most realistic for TS4. Having the cars actually parked at community lots and such would be great, but maybe expecting too much at this point. Just please don't have our sims put the whole car in their inventory...
• Integrate car maintenance skills into the handiness skill, with high skill required to make upgrades to cars and medium skill required to perform maintenance on them.
• Add a "junker" car in buy mode that is fully customizable with high handiness skill, but doesn't work at all when you buy it. Basically let sims build a car from the bottom up and select frame and color while they work.
• Add a "Driver" career. Traditional rabbithole, 2-branch career, tied to the driving skill and maybe a little bit of handiness in the early levels. Requires you to have a license before you can join. Branches could be a racecar driver (driving and charisma) and a professional driver (driving and mischief?) that works for rich & powerful sims.
• Add an Uber-style freelance career or odd jobs that requires you to have a license before you can join. Still a rabbithole, with work time and pay based on how far the client wants to go.
• Add mischief interactions like sneaking out to street races or attempting to steal a sim's keys and take off with their car.
  
  Now we get into travel changes. Travel in TS4 has always annoyed me, with the ability to hop from Mt. Komorebi to Sulani in literal sim-seconds. This pack would be the perfect opportunity to make travel a bit more realistic.
• Travel takes time, with a few exceptions. Time will change based on distance and mode of travel. With one sim in the household/playable, the time will just skip as they load into the destination lot. With more than one playable sim, the traveling sim will disappear and be off-lot and inaccessible during travel time (similar to them being at any rabbithole) then appear at the destination lot when the time has passed. Preferably with a pop-up to switch to the traveling sim when they arrive.
  • Traveling in-neighborhood is as instant as it has always been, regardless of travel mode.
  • Traveling in-world but outside of current neighborhood will take a small amount of time. Maybe 1hr if your sim is walking, 30min if they have a bike, and 10 min if they have a car.
  • Traveling to neighboring worlds takes 5x longer than traveling in-world. (This will require all current and future worlds to be assigned a distance from all other worlds)
  • Traveling to distant worlds requires your sim to go to an airport (another rabbithole, let's be realistic) and then fly to their destination. The whole process from start to finish should take several sim hours. You could accompany this with rare scenario cards of things happening to your sim at the airport or on the plane.
  • If your sim has a helicopter, they can use it to bypass all travel times.
  • If your sim has a fully upgraded rocket, they can use it to travel to Batuu with no travel time.
• Bring back carpools, taxis, and school buses. Sims going to school/work will have a carpool or bus arrive before work starts, and wait for a little while after it is supposed to start in case your Sim is running late. They'll be brought back by the bus/carpool at the end of their work day. (Perfect opportunity for some fun, unique cars that you only see as carpools for specific jobs!) Owning a car or bike would give your sim the option to take themselves to work/school. Sims traveling anywhere will have the option to call a taxi/Uber-equivalent and leave for the location once their ride shows up. Getting a taxi/Uber-equivalent would cost money. Maybe have the option to call a friend for a ride if they're available, or use a friend's travel mode if you're traveling with them.
• Emergency vehicles and vehicles for townies that visit. Firefighters should show up in a fire truck, pregnant sims can get a ride in an ambulance when they go to the hospital to deliver (if nobody is available to drive them), and townies should be assigned random vehicles if they don't have one on their lot. Would be great to see townies using different cars/modes of travel based on their financial status.

Those are my (long-winded) thoughts and ideas for a car/travel pack! What would you guys like to see with something like this?