Chapter 1045: You can ask Mr. Gao more about selling things

Gao Zhendong stretched his head and took a look, and was delighted. Our comrades in the Thirteenth Ministry of Machine Building are indeed very creative.

They actually put a 463 engine in this replica sedan!
“Did you replace the engine?” Gao Zhendong asked with a smile.

“Yes, not only the engine, we also installed the semi-automatic transmission you mentioned. Hahahaha, it’s an automatic transmission after all. It’s quite interesting.”

The engines at that time, even if they were of the same displacement, were much larger than the 463 engines, mainly because the integration of the engines was not that high and there were many bits and pieces. Although the 463 was not natively adapted to this car body and engine compartment, the comrades still installed it, and there was still some space left, which shows how big the original engine was.

Gao Zhendong looked quite happy: “Is it running smoothly?”

The leader of the Thirteenth Machine Department nodded and said, “Well, we ran it for 5000 kilometers without changing the person or the car. There is no problem. Some problems are not caused by the engine. If there is a difference, it is that the power is much greater. The original imitation 1.9 engine of this thing only has 70 horsepower.”

Although this is a high-end domestic car, the engine is still very poor. The original imitation engine has low power, and the imitation makes it even worse, 70 horsepower. If this is put on the market decades later, I am afraid that car reviewers will criticize it to the sky.

5000 kilometers may not sound like a lot, but to put it bluntly, it is very rare for a car nowadays to run 5000 kilometers continuously without any engine problems.

This result made the leaders of the 13th Ministry of Machine Building very happy, and it was even better than the original one from the Russians.

In fact, whether it is the Citigroup, Hans, or the Russian cars that we imitated, since the Russians themselves started out by imitating others, the cars we can see these days have a relatively high degree of technical homology. In short, even if the cars look similar, the Russians are just a little bit different.

It is stronger than the Russians, especially the engine. This makes both the 13th Ministry of Machine Building and the Ministry of Foreign Trade full of confidence!

“Come on, come on, you are the chief contributor to this car. Without your engine, this car would not be able to be built. Come, sit in and try the feeling.” The leader of the Thirteenth Ministry of Machine Building was in high spirits.

Gao Zhendong was quick to follow the advice and wanted to give it a try too.

Sitting in the retro-style driving seat, Gao Zhendong touched here and there. It can’t be called retro style, this style was popular and fashionable at that time.

“How is it? Not bad, right? This car is much faster than the original one, and it accelerates much faster. When our driver comrade first drove this car, he was not used to it at all and almost had an accident, hahahaha.”

The leaders of the 13th Ministry of Machine Building were very excited.

The engine power soared from 70 to 120, so the speed must be much higher, right?

The torque has also increased significantly, so won’t the acceleration be faster?

Gao Zhendong also praised it highly: “Well, this car is good.”

Although it has not been driven yet, it is always right to say good things in advance. And this car is really good. In fact, about 10 to 15 years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, there was a window period when some of our technologies were not much behind the world’s advanced level.

The main reason is that the technology we are imitating or catching up with is also in the development stage. We can get the latest imitation objects, and the technology of these objects is not so advanced that it is difficult to catch up.

So when Gao Zhendong said that this car is good, it was not nonsense, it is really good. The chassis is a fusion of multiple companies including Citi, Hans and the Russians, the exterior style incorporates our own style, and the biggest shortcoming – the engine – was eliminated by Gao Zhendong in one fell swoop and even slightly exceeded.

This is an engine with the same technical level as the engine used in Hans’s top-of-the-line Mercedes-Benz luxury car, and it even has slight advantages in some areas.

“Comrade Zhendong, this engine you made is really good.” The chief engineer of the Thirteenth Machine Department said: “During the test, its reliability and stability are even better than the 220-liter engine of Hans’ Mercedes-Benz 2.23S!”

Gao Zhendong was not surprised at all. Hans’s high-end cars had many strange problems with their engines, such as tetracycline oil burning as oil. The engine he made came from the Japanese. In this regard, the Japanese technology decades later was still trustworthy. The main thing was that there were not many places for this thing to break. As long as the materials and manufacturing were up to standard, there would be no big problem.

Although this is true in theory, Gao Zhendong is still very happy that it can be confirmed by his comrades. To some extent, reliability is more important than power.

“To be honest, if the total power of this engine was not so different from that of large cars, we would have wanted to install it on large cars. However, it is still very suitable for smaller luxury cars.” The leader of the 13th Ministry of Machine Building said with a smile.

Gao Zhendong knew what the big sedan he was talking about was. It was indeed too big. As a popular engine, the 463 was indeed smaller, and it was a bit petty to use it on that. Our big sedan used a replica 5.6-liter V8 engine with a power of 200 horsepower. Compared with the 463 horsepower of the 2.0-liter L4 of the 120 engine, it only accounted for a larger displacement and higher power. The difference between the power per liter of 35 horsepower/liter and 60 horsepower/liter was huge, but the big sedan was different. The total power should still be higher. It had to pull more than just a shell.

Gao Zhendong didn’t care. What he wanted to make was an engine for popular use. Not many of that special engine were needed. No matter how difficult it was, it would be enough if the comrades could make some by hand.

“How is it? Chief Engineer Gao, do you have any comments on this car?” the leader of the Thirteenth Ministry of Machine Building said with a smile.

Gao Zhendong nodded: “Well, I do have a suggestion. Do you think the manual transmission is a bit inconvenient to operate?”

The gear shift of today’s manual-automatic transmission is still a gear lever, which is the same position as the original manual transmission lever. It is also a classic position, but Gao Zhendong happened to know that there is a position where this thing can be installed. It is not to replace the original gear lever, but to create a gimmick.

“It’s not that bad. It’s the same manual transmission position as before, but you don’t have to shift it around. Just push and pull it.” The chief engineer of the Thirteenth Machine Department said with a smile.

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, “It looks like this, the features of the manual automatic transmission are not highlighted, it looks a bit like everyone else, and when it’s sold, it loses some highlights, it’s a pity for the manual automatic transmission.”

Eh? Chief Engineer Gao has a lot of ideas in this regard? The leaders of the Thirteenth Ministry of Machine Building remembered that when they were communicating with the comrades from the Ministry of Foreign Trade about foreign trade matters, the comrades from the Ministry of Foreign Trade learned that this new engine was invented by Gao Zhendong, and they specifically told him that he could communicate more with Comrade Gao Zhendong in terms of selling things, as he had a lot of ideas.

“Mr. Gao, tell us about it. We can learn from you.” He was very interested. He remembered that comrades from the Science and Technology Department had said that Chief Engineer Gao was very persistent in vehicle equipment, such as the three-point seat belt, which had only been invented a few years ago.

“Let’s add a paddle shifter. Anyway, the semi-automatic transmission of this gearbox is electric, so it’s just a matter of adding a set of switches,” said Gao Zhendong.

It’s true, with the current power level of this car, plus the sporty feel brought by the shift paddles, this thing is perfect for tinkering with… No, it’s perfect for satisfying the needs of car sports enthusiasts.

Creating influence and gaining loyal fans all depend on these details. Haven’t you seen that Volvo has been talking about the three-point seat belt for decades?

“Shift paddles?” This was a new thing, and all the comrades gathered around, especially those from the Beijing Automobile Factory, whose eyes lit up.

“Yes, add it here. You don’t need to take your hands off the steering wheel. You can change gears by just pressing a button behind the steering wheel. It’s convenient and fast, and it maximizes the sportiness. It’s also a good gimmick, which is good for sales, hahaha.” Gao Zhendong gestured a few times behind the steering wheel.

The leaders of the Thirteenth Ministry of Machine Building have learned from the leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Trade what it means to be very thoughtful in selling things. Do you want to say that this thing is necessary? That’s not the case, but it is very suitable for publicity. It is indeed like what Chief Engineer Gao said, it is very meaningful.

Isn’t this just cheating foreigners out of their money? Hahaha, Chief Engineer Gao is really capable! The comrades from the Thirteenth Ministry of Machine Building started laughing.

“Well, this is a good suggestion. You should do it and implement it as soon as possible.” The leader thought of the time arrangement of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and felt a little anxious, so he said to the comrades from the Beijing Automobile Factory.

The good thing about this thing is that it is a new idea, but it is not difficult to implement. Gao Zhendong also knows that, as far as he knows, the shift paddles have become popular and are installed on A00-class small cars worth tens of thousands of yuan. The technology and cost are very low, and it is just a gimmick to scare people.

“Chief Engineer Gao, do you have any other ideas about this car?” As expected, it was right to call Comrade Gao Zhendong to handle any matter, and the leaders of the 13th Ministry of Machine Building were very happy.

“Other aspects are fine. I don’t need to tell you about comfort and reliability. The comrades at Beijing Auto are more familiar with them than I am. And you should be trying to meet the deadline of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, right? It’s not good to make too many changes. As long as the appearance has its own characteristics and meets your aesthetic standards, the performance is advanced enough, the reliability is good enough, and it has certain characteristics, it’s enough. But…”

As expected, Chief Engineer Gao knew the arrangements of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, or could guess them.

“But what?”

“However, you can carry out some preliminary research on electronic systems in advance as a technical reserve. Even if it takes ten or twenty years to develop them, you can still maintain your distinctive advanced nature in the automotive industry,” said Gao Zhendong.

Can it maintain its advanced nature for decades? Then this matter must be done! The comrades of the Thirteenth Ministry of Machinery knew very well how difficult it was and how much significance it had.

“What electronic system is it?” Yes, Chief Engineer Gao is a top expert in electronics and he must have good suggestions in this regard.

(End of this chapter)