Solved: Rust never sleeps

[Wendax]

Yes. This answer puts an end to this puzzle. I think it won't be the last one that follows this scheme, but creating such a puzzle surely will take some time. Thank you for your interest and participation. Following the coming-to-light of the solutions was as fascinating as the creation of this puzzle.

The points total:

Ehhxekt: 9 points
Tom_I: 9 points
4popoid: 7 points
targhediferro: 5 points
Joao: 1 point

Congratulations!

[4popoid]

Thanks Gerd!  Great puzzle. 

One suggestion for the next one.  Would it be possible to identify one category, such as Rust in this puzzle, differently than the other category, such as Hint in this puzzle?  I found using numbers for both categories quite confusing.  I realize using letters for one category can be difficult, especially when there are more than 26 items, but I certainly find totally separate identification systems much less confusing in the heat of the chase.

Again, thanks for a great puzzle! 

[Ehhxekt]

Thanks for the puzzle! It was great fun trying to find my way through this brilliantly conceived labyrinth, and the deeper I got into it, the more I was impressed... quite a piece of architecture!

[Wendax]

 

[targhediferro]

I too want to thank you Gerd for this very interesting puzzle; I learned a lot of things about the cars that formed this hard challenge, and it has been very amusing. My congratulation to the other puzzlers who identified some vehicles I would never been able to.

[Carnut]

Great puzzle!  I've enjoyed watching others solve it and have learned plenty!

[Tom_I]

Yes, a really good puzzle. The restriction of locking a puzzler out for one stage after a correct identification was a great idea, and added another dimension to the puzzle. It added an element of strategy, if you had your eye on a particular stage. But then with a pretty evenly matched set of puzzlers taking part, somebody else could grab your answer before you could get to it.

Excellent stuff! It must have taken a lot of work to devise it, but I'm glad you did, and I really enjoyed it.