I want to be emperor

Chapter 1065 Song Erniu wants to build a car

In order to build this royal carriage for Luo Zhixue, Jinling Carriage Company and Tangshan Machinery Company had already carried out relevant design and development work two years ago.

When Luo Zhixue went overseas for inspection before, he planned to take a car.

However, because the power of the car was too small and it was not perfect in all aspects, let alone bulletproof and other safety features, we finally gave up.

Judging from the current technical conditions, it is not easy to make a car that has beautiful appearance and bulletproof performance at the same time.

After all, contemporary gasoline engines are still relatively primitive gasoline engines...the compression ratio is relatively low. If you want to increase power even slightly, the size and weight of the engine will increase significantly.

Even the most technologically advanced Tangshan Machinery Company is unavoidable from this situation. After last year's National Defense Strategy Conference, they launched a new generation of fifty-horsepower engines in order to supply armored vehicles and high-horsepower military truck engines to the military. Research.

And the size and weight of this thing are very large. This is a six-cylinder engine... Looking at it from the perspective of future generations, this thing is typically large in size and weight, not to mention fuel consumption. It is simply super. Oil tiger!

But... such a gasoline engine already represents the top level of contemporary engines, and fuel consumption data are not even key data for engine performance... No one cares about fuel consumption.

This kind of 30-horsepower or 50-horsepower powerful engine is generally used in armored vehicles, medium and large trucks, agricultural machinery, and engineering equipment.

As for ordinary cars...the power generally does not exceed 20 horsepower, and most of them are concentrated around ten horsepower or even single-digit horsepower. They use single-cylinder, mostly dual-cylinder, and four-cylinder engines. They are generally equipped with Expensive large luxury cars.

Luo Zhixue liked this car when he saw it, so he decided to ride it and experience it himself... Of course, he only sat in the back seat.

What Luo Zhixue has to do is to shorten this process.

The four major automobile companies have also launched driving training, repair and maintenance training services...the fees are not cheap.

In addition to these basic structures, the rest are some decorations that are actually dispensable and of little value... such as a golden dragon pattern, a bunch of gems, etc., are not worth mentioning.

This is also reflected in third-party automobile manufacturers.

There are many people in the contemporary Chu royal family, and there are also many people who need to travel, which requires a lot of cars.

Even the small tractor equipped with a heat pipe ignition engine launched by Hekou Machinery Company and the heat pipe ignition engine engineering equipment launched by its partners have been welcomed by many small and medium-sized farms and small construction companies.

For this reason, he did not hesitate to personally advertise the car and take the lead in riding the car.

Generally speaking, cars today are still very expensive, whether you buy them or use them.

In terms of appearance, this car is actually not much different from some early cars in Luo Zhixue's memory. There is a large car in the front, a double-row convertible in the back, the driver's seat on the left side of the front seat, and the co-pilot's seat on the right. , there are two seats in the back row, and behind the rear seats is a place to put the canvas top. When it rains or the sun is too strong, you can pull up the canvas top, and then the car becomes a closed The carriage is gone.

Taking Tangshan Machinery Company as an example, they currently have launched a total of three different mass-produced models on the market.

This three-type car uses a transmission with two forward gears and a reverse gear, a steering wheel steering system, and an open-top cabin. However, this thing has doors and double rows of seats, which can provide five seats. The maximum highway speed is It can reach 50 kilometers per hour, which almost represents the best technical level of contemporary small cars.

This is the inevitability of the new development of the automobile industry... Any new product must go through a process of reducing procurement costs and usage costs before it can be promoted and applied on a large scale.

But... cars are different. Their competitors are not steam locomotives, but horse-drawn carriages, so it is actually more difficult to develop.

This time, the imperial carriage built by Jinling Carriage Company and provided with technical support by Tangshan Machinery Company is technically a toy!

This steering wheel does not have any power assist system. It is up to you to turn the steering wheel to turn. Not only is there no power assist in the steering wheel, but there is also no power assist in the brakes... Whether you can brake the car depends on whether your foot strength is sufficient.

But it is not a bulletproof car... There is no way, the power of the engine is too small, let alone making it bulletproof, even if it is made into a closed compartment, it will bring a lot of structural weight, so we can only continue to use an open-top compartment.

This is because agricultural equipment and engineering equipment are urgently needed, and what they replace is not horse-drawn carriages, but heavier and more expensive steam-powered agricultural equipment and engineering equipment... At the same time, there are no difficulties in operation and maintenance. Problems such as trouble... Because the purchasing customers are all enterprises, they have enough capital to train professional drivers and maintenance technicians... Don't forget, they used to use steam engine tractors that were more troublesome to use.

The Jinling Carriage Company started manufacturing cars very early and received strong technical support from Tangshan Machinery Company. However, the total number of cars they produced was only more than 200, and most of them were purchased by the royal family, government, and dignitaries from all over the world. Toy.

The first of them was equipped with a single-cylinder engine. The early model had only five horsepower. Today's improved model has eight horsepower. This single-cylinder engine is mounted on a small open-top four-wheel car they designed, without matching Gearbox, this thing doesn't even have doors or rear seats, everything is very crude, but even so, the price of this kind of car is as high as more than 200 yuan.

However, the market feedback for the above two types is actually not very good, and the sales volume is very low... because the driving experience and riding experience of this thing are not very good... the power is also small, the speed is slow, the torque is small, and the price is not cheap!

Why are cars so expensive nowadays? In addition to the high purchase cost of the car, the high maintenance cost is also one of the reasons!

Only those in the military think cars are cheap... That's because they think that although cars in peacetime require training and maintenance, they can directly train technicians for repair and maintenance, and then purchase at most some Just spare parts are enough, and the overall cost is controllable.

As for driving it in person... to be honest, he can't do it!

These three mass-produced cars of Tangshan Machinery Company basically represent the highest level of the Dachu Empire's automobile industry in the past two years, achieving a certain degree of balance between technology and cost control.

Finally, if it is a so-called high-end car equipped with a gearbox, shifting the gear is also a super difficult technical task. The engine speed must reach a very subtle node before the gear can be successfully shifted.

To sum up the above, it is not easy to drive a car these days. It requires special training to perfect the skills, and at the same time, the physical fitness should not be bad.

The second type is a car equipped with a two-cylinder engine. It is also a convertible car. It still has a single row of seats and no rear seats. It has 12 horsepower and is equipped with a gearbox for the first time, but there are only two With only one forward gear and no reverse gear, the price of this thing starts at 400 yuan.

This car uses a four-cylinder engine that can provide 18 horsepower, a two-speed transmission with reverse gear, a reverse disc steering system, drum brakes, a convertible cabin, electric headlights, a battery, and many features with a generator. Advanced technology vehicles.

But even so, only two to three thousand units can be sold a year...the sales volume is far inferior to that of more complex and expensive agricultural machinery and engineering equipment.

Cars these days, whether they are production vehicles or toy vehicles for the rich and powerful, often have specialized technicians to maintain them.

As for being able to repair a car before driving...that's not necessary. The main reason is that today's car technology is too advanced. If it breaks down without top-level tools and specialized spare parts, you really can't repair it. You need specialized technicians to repair it. and maintained.

Under such circumstances, the development of ordinary civilian cars and trucks will naturally not be smooth.

Even starting a vehicle is not that easy. Today's gasoline engines require manual starting...but there is no such thing as electric starting.

Unlike mules and horses, they don’t work but eat and drink every day!

Of course, this thing is also really expensive. The basic model starts at 600 Chu Yuan. If you want to have a better configuration, it will cost thousands of Chu Yuan.

It's very difficult to drive a car these days... It's not just a technical job, it's also a physical job.

After experiencing some cars, Luo Zhixue personally ordered a batch of special vehicles for the royal family from the Jinling Carriage Company for the royal family members to use.

How should I put it? Rich people don’t like it, but those who like it can’t afford it.

The third type, equipped with a 16-horsepower four-cylinder engine, is the best-selling car and is also a mass-produced car in the true sense. It is named Tangshan Type A3 car.

Therefore, despite the rapid development of the automobile industry in the contemporary Dachu Empire, Tangshan Machinery Company is aiming for a production and sales volume of 50,000 or more a year... but most of these production and sales are agricultural and engineering equipment. , the remaining small part are military vehicles. As for ordinary civilian cars and trucks, these sales are actually very small. Most of the cars are used as toys, while trucks are purchased by some special companies for special transportation scenarios. ... Ordinary private transportation companies or individuals purchase trucks for transportation... They have to lose money. The cost of trucks to pull goods is not low now. At the same time, transportation companies are not like the military that raises horses for ten years and uses horses for one day. , people use horses to transport goods every day, so there is no waste.

Under such circumstances, gasoline engine agricultural and engineering platforms represented by gasoline tractors and excavators are actually very popular in the agricultural industry and the construction engineering industry.

If you add in the accompanying staff carriages, it would take at least a few hundred cars to be barely enough.

As a result, it didn't take long for many adult princes and princesses, including the prince, to receive a gift from Luo Zhixue, a car produced by the Jinling Carriage Company.

It doesn't matter whether it works well or not. What's important is to send an order to Jinling Carriage Company and drive car consumption.

When the royal family purchased vehicles on a large scale, some members of the royal family began to use cars when traveling, especially when the prince went out to inspect the outskirts of Jinling several times and took a car.

Passenger cars have also officially entered the vision of the upper class of the empire... The car is no longer just a toy to satisfy curiosity, but has evolved into a real means of transportation. Soon, the empire's top officials quickly followed suit, and soon various ministries also found the Jinling Carriage Company or Tangshan Machinery Company and ordered their cars as vehicles for senior officials.

Governments in various places also began to place orders for cars to be used as rides for governors, chief envoys and other high-ranking officials.

As for the military, they have already placed orders.

Members of the royal family and senior officials of the empire took action, and soon a wave of car travel began in the Chu Empire.

What is good is good, what is good is what is done below.

The big bosses above are all starting to take cars, and the mid-level officials, nobles, and wealthy people will naturally follow suit.

Just as the Great Chu Empire used horse-drawn carriages to replace sedan chairs from top to bottom, the contemporary Great Chu Empire has started a wave of cars replacing horse-drawn carriages.

This wave has even reached the Americas!

Song Erniu, who was located in Jinshan City, North America, also learned about the car wave in East Asia through telegrams.

Song Erniu, who claimed to be the first-class rich man in America and a prominent figure in high society, would naturally follow the practices of the upper class in his native country. He hurriedly instructed the person in charge of the Songjiang branch via telegram to help order a few A Jinling brand car produced by Jinling Carriage Company.

Because Jinling Carriage Company is full of orders, and their automobile business is actually a small workshop model that produces high-end luxury cars on a small scale, with very limited production capacity.

It was not easy to order, so I found some connections, entrusted some people, and spent a lot of money to buy one.

But one car is not enough... He, Song Erniu, is a social figure in America after all. A car cannot reflect his social status, and in addition to what he needs when going out, his wife also needs it when going out. Consider having a backup if the car breaks down.

So Song Erniu asked people to find Tangshan Machinery Company and purchased two newly produced four-cylinder A-3 vehicles.

Then it was entrusted with shipping and transportation, and also hired people to conduct driver training and technical team training... In the end, it cost at least 5,000 Chu Yuan.

At this price, even Song Erniu felt heartbroken!

Although he is rich, as a self-made rich man, he knows the true value of these five thousand yuan better than ordinary rich people... This is almost the total income of an ordinary worker in sixty or seventy years!

This car is so expensive!

Then I asked people from the Songjiang branch to inquire about the local automobile market. I heard that the automobile industry there has begun to explode. This year’s total output of various automobiles, including agricultural, engineering, military and civilian When it was expected to exceed 100,000 units and the total market size could even reach 500 million yuan, he was shocked!

This is a huge market of 500 million yuan!

And judging from the continued protection of the stock prices of various automobile manufacturers on the stock market, these automobile manufacturers have made a lot of money.

At the same time, the four major local automakers are suppressing the other three automakers in order to compete for the market. They all sell core components such as engines and gearboxes to third-party automakers. Although the conditions are very harsh, they are still These core components are sold externally.

Song Erniu sensed an opportunity!

Because after his investigation, he found that there is still no automobile manufacturer in the Americas... let alone those real automobile manufacturers that can produce engines. Even third-party automobile manufacturers that rely on purchasing core parts, assembling, producing and selling them themselves. No.

Maybe, I can set up a third-party automobile manufacturer in the Americas, sell assembled cars, and become the leader of the number one automobile manufacturer in the Americas!

Although there are few people in the Americas, only tens of millions of people, and there are relatively few wealthy people, there will be a market no matter what.

Of course, his goals are limited to ordinary passenger vehicles and engineering carriages. As for agricultural vehicles, don't even think about them... The four major automobile manufacturers all regard agricultural vehicles as their basic base and never open related technology licensing or sales to the outside world. Core components.

Because in the contemporary so-called automobile market, various types of agricultural vehicles occupy an absolute majority, with large quantity demand, high market acceptance, high unit prices, and high profits... The agricultural vehicle market can account for 80% of the entire automobile market. above.

Tangshan Machinery Company is a typical example. There are basically no restrictions on the engines they supply to external parties, such as single-cylinder and twin-cylinder small-horsepower engines. As long as you sign a long-term supply contract with them, pay enough for technical consulting fees and patent licensing fees, and then match If you purchase a lot of their parts, then sell them all!

However, the supply of four-cylinder engines is restricted. Currently, it is only supplied to a few strategically cooperated engineering equipment manufacturers, defense automobile manufacturers, and Jinling horse-drawn carriage manufacturers. The supply of these engines has strictly restricted uses, so it can only It is used for the production of engineering equipment, military vehicles or civilian luxury cars within the scope of the contract. It cannot be used in the field of agricultural equipment.

Because this engine is also the engine used in their main agricultural equipment.

As for the 50-horsepower six-cylinder engine under development, basically except for the defense automobile manufacturers, other manufacturers are counting on them for the time being.

These are all to ensure the market share of agricultural equipment, the core market in the automobile market.

Not to mention Tangshan Machinery Company, even Hekou Machinery Company, which sells heat pipe ignition engines, does not allow the heat pipe ignition engines it sells to be used in the field of agricultural equipment... Their automobile business relies on small and medium-sized low-end products. Farm tractor equipment has a life.

Therefore, in the contemporary automobile market of the Dachu Empire, agricultural vehicles are actually the core market, and everything else is leftovers...

The agricultural vehicle market is currently the most competitive market among the four major automobile companies... Even Lee's Power Company hastily launched their closed-ignition engine agricultural tractors to the market, let alone because the market is in short supply. , coupled with the Li brand, their tractors are selling pretty well.

In the agricultural vehicle market, the American market is also an important market, accounting for about ten percent of agricultural vehicle sales.

But... in the Americas, there are many farm tractors, but there are very few ordinary cars and trucks.

There are no third-party manufacturers either.

Song Erniu was wondering if he could set up a third-party automobile factory to assemble cars... The automobile industry was about to explode. If he had the opportunity to get a ticket to squeeze in, he wouldn't say no. It will definitely bring you the second wave of rapid development in your career.

Now that patents are stuck too hard, we should first assemble cars, develop chassis and other non-core components ourselves, acquire some easy-to-obtain patents one after another, and then maintain the research and development of core components such as engines and gearboxes...that is, first Step in and get a ticket.

When many core patents expire in the future, I estimate that I will be able to accumulate some technology, and then I can make engines and other core components to build my own cars for sale.

As long as we take this path, the prospects will be quite wonderful...

However, the automobile industry is not that easy!

He asked people to do some simple research... and found that even if it is to assemble a car and purchase all core parts, the investment will start at 100,000... This 100,000 refers to the early research and development funds... Don't say goodbye. Yes, the salary of R&D personnel alone is a huge expense!

The current automobile industry is so booming, but there are not many professional talents. Therefore, the current professional talents in the automobile industry, especially engineers who can engage in automobile research and development, are more wolf than meat, and each of them is worth a lot!

Nowadays, an ordinary automotive engineer can earn an annual salary of more than a thousand dollars. If he is a first-class automotive engineer who can play a leading role, such people cannot be hired by their annual salary alone. In addition to the high annual salary, they also have to pay a price. Only if you pay a lot of money for shares, will they give you a chance to talk.

Just to set up a basic automobile research and development team, the salary expenditure is a huge amount...

And this salary level is still the price in the home country. If you want people to come to work in the Americas, I am afraid that this price will have to be increased.

Not only the personnel expenses are high, but also it is not easy to mass produce... The equipment that can make cars is more expensive than the last one. Even if it is just an assembly factory, it is probably not worth more than ten or two hundred thousand.

A conservative estimate is that if you want to set up a third-party automobile company capable of producing cars, it will require an investment of at least four to five million Chu Yuan... After all, you can buy engines and other things, but chassis R&D, production and parts integration are still more important. You have to do it yourself, it's very expensive.

Of course... In fact, you can also just start it slowly in the small workshop mode. Many small workshops in China do it this way, but Song Erniu doesn't want to do this.

Song Erniu either doesn't do it, or he has to build a large-scale mass production factory, and he won't build a small workshop for fun.

This is the era of big industry. Tangshan Machinery Company has set up super large comprehensive factories, all aiming for an annual output of 100,000.

You still have a small workshop with an annual output of hundreds of units... Unless, like the Jinling Carriage Company, it specializes in high-end luxury, otherwise, a third-party small workshop will not only rely on procurement of core components, but also reduce production costs. If you don’t come down, you’re still playing with wool...

Of course, even if you build a large-scale assembly plant, there is actually no way to compare costs or even compete with the four major automakers.

Since the four major automobile companies dare to sell their own core components such as engines and gearboxes to third-party assembly plants, they are not afraid of you competing with them...

Because no matter what, the cost of the third party will be higher than theirs, and much higher... When they sell you the engine and gearbox, it is equivalent to making more than half of the profit from the entire vehicle!

Considering the cost alone, if it is an ordinary vehicle with little performance difference, such as a Type 3 car, it would be cheaper to buy an engine and gearbox and assemble and produce it yourself, rather than directly purchasing the complete vehicle from Tangshan Machinery Company...

Therefore, third-party manufacturers generally take a relatively unique route, such as Jinling Carriage Company, which specializes in high-end luxury carriages, focusing on the rich and powerful and the official car market... No matter how good their technology is, they just have the ability to sell their cars. Not to the royal family, not to other companies, not even Tangshan Machinery Company.

Most other third-party manufacturers also have some unique advantages of their own...otherwise, third-party manufacturers that simply don't have any special technologies or special channels will basically not survive.

Now what Song Erniu has to consider is, if he wants to directly assemble cars, what type of cars should he make to avoid direct competition from the four major manufacturers, and at the same time gain market recognition in the Americas?

(End of this chapter)