Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1400: Striving to Transfer Another Half of the People (4k)

“Committee Member Gao, if this thing is too long, it will affect the setup, won’t it?”

Gao Zhendong shook his head, somewhat amused and exasperated: "In some places, these days people just like long hoods, boat-shaped bodies, flamboyant exteriors and decorations, and lots of chrome parts..."

The other comrades were stunned; no matter how they imagined it, they couldn't believe how ugly it looked.

Seeing their expressions, Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. After all, our aesthetic sense has been passed down for thousands of years in an orderly manner. There have been occasional setbacks, but the basic framework remains unchanged. But if you encounter a country that has suddenly become rich and has no historical heritage, all sorts of magical things can happen."

Moreover, the majority of the country's former ethnic group had been scalped, leaving behind a motley crew with no leader.

The other comrades listened with amazement, but they also knew that Gao Zhendong was knowledgeable and erudite, so if he said there was such a thing, it probably was true.

"There's this too? No wonder you said that if we were to sell it there, we should listen to the Gauls' advice more on the appearance." Thinking about it, that actually makes sense.

Gao Zhendong nodded: "Yes. Moreover, in this respect, the other party is somewhat leading the Western trend, and the interpretation right is in their hands compared to the users there."

"With their approval on the exterior design and the combined technology of both sides, we hope this cooperation can achieve great results, just like the commercial airliner project! The only variable is that if their automotive policies change, they may no longer need us as a production base." The comrade from the Ministry of Foreign Trade was very hopeful, but also had some concerns.

Gao Zhendong laughed and shook his head.

He knew the other party's situation all too well. Not to mention now, even in the 21st century, the reason they revived luxury cars was not because they had any great ambitions, but because of the factional infighting within the freakish group that would eventually merge.

Even due to internal strife, the revived "luxury car" couldn't get a large car platform and could only make minor repairs and compromises on a mid-size car platform.

Is that all? What great future can they possibly have?

However, this reason cannot be revealed now, but Gao Zhendong had another reason to reassure his comrades: "Don't worry, even if they can cause it, as long as our automobile industry develops, there will be one reason that will make them never leave us."

"what reason?"

"Cost!" Gao Zhendong said. In his previous life, the high cost of car manufacturing was because the entire industrial chain was located overseas, and it took decades to rebuild an industrial chain that could keep up with the technological level of foreign countries.

If things continue to develop in this step by step, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we will maintain a technologically advanced industrial chain, and then we won't have to worry about who has higher or lower costs.

This one feature alone is enough to make the Gauls, who are inherently disadvantaged, indispensable.

"Cost...hmm. We'll go back and think about this carefully." The comrades from the Ministry of Machinery Industry seemed to be deep in thought.

Gao Zhendong had mentioned the supply chain issue to his colleagues at the 11th Ministry of Machine Building before this. As colleagues who had separated from the 11th Ministry of Machine Building, they were naturally aware of it and had already made arrangements for it.

"This time, I suggest we include all the best features, such as advanced technologies like vehicle stability control. We should include everything that's available, as well as some comfort features. We must make it a resounding success."

"But wouldn't this be giving them a bit too easy? After all, they're in charge of the appearance, and most people only remember the appearance," the chief engineer of the Ministry of Motor Vehicles pondered.

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "That's simple. Just make a twin model. The platform is the same. In the past, we had to make decisions about the half of the sales. We can just make a new model with the same platform and foundation and change the shell. Wouldn't it be wonderful if two flowers bloomed on the same stem?"

Technology is all about changing the shell.

Moreover, when it comes to the grandeur of ultra-luxury cars, we truly don't lose to anyone. Gao Zhendong is confident that there are many usable elements in luxury cars as well.

There may be different schools of thought in the expression of aesthetics, but whether the result is beautiful or not is generally the same for everyone. Different schools of aesthetic expression are all beautiful in the eyes of normal people, just like Sichuan cuisine and Shandong cuisine are both dishes. The cooking methods are different, but that does not prevent people from thinking they are delicious.

If there are unusual comments, it's almost certain that something fishy is going on.

Gao Zhendong's suggestion pleased the colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Trade. It was excellent! It saved face and saved time, without delaying things, and it was also usable domestically. As someone working at the Ministry of Foreign Trade, he had seen his share of foreign problems, some of which were truly unsuitable for domestic use.

Gao Zhendong's suggestion effectively addressed these concerns and also provided an explanation to other countries on the same front. They might disapprove of the demons and monsters over there? No problem, we have authentic revolutionary classics here!

"Great! We will emphasize this to the other party during the cooperation."

As his comrades were leaving, Gao Zhendong remembered something.

"By the way, if the collaboration is successful, when it comes to naming the car model, it's best to combine transliteration and semantic translation, rather than using the conventional method of direct transliteration or abbreviation. In short, the name needs to be discussed and agreed upon by both parties."

The comrades nodded. They would have paid attention to these words even without Gao Zhendong saying them. Committee Member Gao was too meticulous, even reminding them of this.

They didn't know that Gao Zhendong said this mainly because the other party's "luxury" car series had such a terrible name in their previous life, it was like it didn't have a proper name at all, what did two letters mean?
The worst part isn't even that; the car's name originally meant "Goddess," but in China it's jokingly referred to as "loser" or "loser"...

This is like someone whose given name is Shang Fei, but whose surname is Shi, and who ends up being known as Brother Fly.

The car itself is quite unique, but the name combined with it is just... freaking ridiculous! Gao Zhendong didn't dare to take any risks, so he gave as many instructions as he could.

After seeing off the comrades from the Ministry of Machinery Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Gao Zhendong sat down, took out another set of documents, and pondered something.

That car's powertrain is quite unique, offering a lot of potential benefits, so much so that he doesn't dare to use it all at once.

As a plug-in hybrid vehicle, it does not use the DHT transmission commonly used in plug-in hybrid vehicles when Gao Zhendong was traveling, but instead uses a parallel hybrid structure.

This structure is more complex than DHT. Some say it's more reliable in terms of throughput, while others say it's more complex and not the optimal solution for new energy sources.

However, these things didn't matter to Gao Zhendong; on the contrary, they brought him an advantage.

—This thing has a complete power system, from the engine to the transmission to the three electric components, it's a very complete set.

What Gao Zhendong is holding now is the data on automotive hydraulic coupling automatic transmissions.

In layman's terms, it's an automatic transmission. And a high-torque one at that, since that car is a diesel, its torque is inherently high. Gao Zhendong is well aware that the current AMT is a stopgap measure; although it's called an automatic, if it's not done well, the jerking is very obvious.

They can lure customers in and then exploit them, but if they don't update their content for a long time, the outcome won't be good.

However, it is still quite difficult for other domestic companies to make breakthroughs in automatic transmissions. This is an objective reality. In Gao Zhendong's previous life, we only really got this thing quite right in the 21st century.

This "sharpness" refers to the ability to be used in mass-produced vehicles, where reliability, cost, maintenance, and performance all meet commercial standards.

It's impossible for Gao Zhendong to do it himself; his only skill in this area is being a knowledge transporter.

And now, this thing has come to him in its fresh and clean state.

The three core components of this car are still quite advanced for this day and age. The fact that the battery pack in this car is nickel-metal hydride means that, whether in Gao Zhendong's hands or worldwide, it is still unrealistic to develop hybrid pure electric vehicles like those of the past.

Gao Zhendong wasn't in a hurry about this; he had plenty of time, and he could keep profiting from this for decades!

However, the domestically produced automatic transmission in this car, after removing the parallel mechanism with the electric system, is truly the best automatic transmission available today.

So what if it's made in China? Domestic automatic transmissions from the 2020s are technologically advanced enough, with all the necessary features. In fact, they were downgraded by the system when they were first proposed.

We have to lower the price; the technology these days simply can't replicate that original case.

So what Gao Zhendong has is a 4AT transmission, and a mature and advanced one at that, representing the pinnacle of mass-produced transmissions under current technological conditions.

The 8AT was changed to a 4AT, but it made Gao Zhendong beam with joy. "This 8AT is enough for me to live on for decades!"

However, this box cannot be handed over to the comrades in the Mechanical Engineering Department. Firstly, it is too densely packed, and secondly, some things need to be removed before it can be used. If this matter is handed over to the comrades in the Mechanical Engineering Department, they, who are more familiar with automotive mechanics, will easily see some clues. At the very least, they will find it strange that Committee Member Gao designed this automatic transmission with so much useless work.

What needs to be removed is the automatic transmission and the parallel mechanism of the three electric components. This advanced system, which embodies the hard work and dedication of automotive industry personnel decades later, is superfluous at this point.

"A pearl has been cast before swine," Gao Zhendong muttered to himself. "Don't be upset, your day will come!"
Gao Zhendong didn't think long before he realized that his advantage lay in having a comprehensive technical system at his disposal, with no shortage of personnel, equipment, facilities, or materials. Even if something was lacking, it was easy to replace it.

Therefore, this matter naturally had to be handed over to the comrades in the technical department of the third factory.

Gao Zhendong made a phone call, and soon two comrades arrived at his place.

"Chief Engineer Gao, what's your task?" One was an old face, the other a new one.

Gao Zhendong was somewhat taken aback. Where are my men? And why is there a stranger here?

"This comrade is..."

"Oh, Chief Engineer Gao, this is a newcomer. Half of our colleagues have been transferred to the 11th... oh, now they're at the Ministry of Machinery Industry," the familiar face from the Mechanical Section of the Technical Department said with a smile.

As the birthplace of the 463 engine, the comrades in the Mechanical Section of the Technical Department of the Third Factory were definitely highly sought after by the Eleventh Ministry of Machine Building at that time.

The Eleventh Ministry of Machine Building tried every trick in the book to persuade half of its staff to leave. If it weren't for Zheng Liangshu's insistence, probably not even half would have been left. However, the Eleventh Ministry of Machine Building ultimately benefited the Ministry of Machinery Industry, but that's another story.

However, the Eleventh Ministry of Machine Building did not only know how to exhaust resources, so after the personnel were transferred away, it replenished this area with a group of comrades from the Eleventh Ministry of Machine Building who had a good foundation in mechanical technology.

—Sustainable exploitation is what they want.

Gao Zhendong was delighted. Good heavens, a training camp, huh?
He nodded and said, "I see, um, good, good."

He genuinely believed it was a good thing. The more comrades who went out from here, the greater the role they could play. Even if Gao Zhendong was made of iron, how many nails could he hammer? It was the large-scale departure of these comrades with technology, achievements, and experience that guaranteed the healthy development of the entire industry.

Initially, one or two engine models would suffice, but with industrial development, without a sufficiently strong technical team, it would be difficult to sustain. This is another reason why Gao Zhendong is not worried about the French abandoning cooperation. With these comrades, whether or not there is cooperation is irrelevant; as long as the key is obtained and the door is opened, anything is possible.

After praising it several times, he handed over a set of documents: "Your task is to test-produce this thing! I hope that after this is successful, half of you will be transferred away!"

Half of them will be transferred away? Is this some kind of good thing? The comrades in the mechanical department were completely confused.

Wait a minute, was the reason half of them were transferred last time because of 463?? !!! I think I understand now!

The comrades from the Mechanical Engineering Department received the documents with great excitement. The work that Chief Engineer Gao had assigned in such a serious manner must be extraordinary. The last time something similar was the 463 engine. There is no need to elaborate on how important that thing was.

"An automatic transmission?!?" The mechanical engineering students were stunned when they saw the cover. They were just thinking about the 463, and now its partner has arrived.

The comrade who was transferred from the Eleventh Ministry of Machine Building was overjoyed. He was both excited and apprehensive about this mysterious unit when he was transferred here. After all, there was no discussion, no mobilization, no conversation, and he was sent here with just a transfer order.

I'm still getting used to it. It's too strict, with too many rules. Going to work is more troublesome than taking a plane.

Now it seems there's a reason for all of this.

The birthplace of the 463 is now developing automatic transmissions. This unit should be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Machinery Industry, shouldn't it?

Ministry of Machinery Industry (17th Ministry): Say it again? Say it again and we'll deduct your salary!
"It's a 4AT!" The comrade from the Mechanical Engineering Department was surprised. This has many gears, which can save fuel! Before this, even the comrade from the Eleventh Ministry of Machine Building had only encountered a 3AT, and the effect was not very good.

No wonder Chief Engineer Gao said that if this project succeeds, half of the Mechanical Engineering Department will be transferred away. It would be a miracle if the Ministry of Machinery Industry could resist the temptation of a successful 4AT transmission.

The two comrades couldn't help but start looking through the documents on the spot, and when they saw the general layout, they were stunned.

(End of this chapter)