My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 979 Big is awesome
Wei Dong was still a little confused; wasn't it a Buick?
He'd never heard of this Pontiac before; Chennault's Stiepunk was more like it.

But he experienced this scene firsthand.

When the lord's momentum is too strong, and everyone is trying to profit from the leader's great achievements, no one dares to expose the shortcomings and hidden dangers.

They are afraid of being disliked and marginalized.

What I fear even more is being relegated to this thankless and dirty work during this triumphant time.

The loss would be huge.

So now that Wei Dong has revealed it, the others are relieved and are following suit with their own revelations.

It's definitely not just General Motors that's involved.

Seeing that their colleagues had already spoken, the others cautiously said, "Toyota... I heard that Toyota, following our lead, seems to have stolen the design of Pontiac's concept car and is also preparing to launch their Minivan next year..."

The CEO roared, "Where's the car model? Where's the information?"

Indeed, this confirmed Wei Dong's suspicions; it must be that experience of working hard and making great contributions but being fired.

This led the CEO to adopt a high-pressure style at Chrysler.

Everything revolves around him; he's the only one who matters. You can't do without him.

This made everyone below extremely careful to protect their own interests.

Only now did I get up to ask if there was a fax machine here, so they could send one over from North America right away.

Yu Xiaoqiu quickly led him to her secretary's office.

Wei Dong observed that the president clearly preferred this situation of being in control of everything and enjoyed the power of everyone submitting to him.

Satisfied, he looked down at her and asked, "So what should we do now?"

The atmosphere suddenly cooled down slightly.

Then someone tentatively suggested that a redesign should be made.

Others followed suit and discussed it.

Wei Dong listened to his wife translate, saying that the seven- or eight-seater minivan he loved in Hong Kong was actually launched by Chrysler in 83.

In 81, the Dodge 600 sedan was launched to stem the bleeding and ensure the company began to make a profit.

But the blockbuster model was the Dodge Caravan launched in 83... By the way, Chrysler's current strategy is that once a certain model sells well, they will rebrand and launch two or three other models under its umbrella!
All of this is thanks to the president's great guidance!
Even though we had clashed with Chrysler last year, this was the first time we had ever been deeply involved in their internal meetings.

Qin Yuye was extremely surprised and kept whispering information close to her husband's ear.

It seems that her extensive travels in North America over the past two months have greatly expanded her vocabulary.

The main reason is that I didn't expect the great Citibank, a great internationally renowned car brand, to be so sycophantic internally.

Wei Dong took it all for granted, but later he found out that Citibank was even more outrageous, the same everywhere.

This situation is almost inevitable if the ruler starts out with a desire for grand achievements.

He only focused on the essence of the matter, and even covered his mouth to discuss, "Have you noticed? This old man is awesome, but the way everyone around him is praising him makes him a bit arrogant. We must not be like that..."

The main problem is that the couple is too young.

If one continues to be this successful and is flattered by others for decades, one's mentality will truly become inflated and distorted.

Qin Yuye repeatedly said yes.

The CEO, who was watching closely, turned to the students who were whispering in class and asked, "Pete, do you have any objections?"

Qin Yuye conveyed the message nervously.

Wei Dong immediately said, "I am a heavy user of this commercial vehicle. My company in Hong Kong has more than ten or twenty of them. If there were other options on the market, I would not necessarily use this one. It is only because this is the only option, but there are many differences."

Listening to the administrative director's proud, broken Mandarin translation, Xiong Guoming and Lao Cheng were undoubtedly filled with awe.

At this moment, it was the top of the Fortune 500, a super car empire with a peak of 300,000 to 500,000 employees!
It would have been impossible to hold a meeting in such a rudimentary environment if it weren't for a visit abroad to cut ribbons, or if Wei Dong hadn't casually mentioned a very serious issue.

He really dares to say things like that at such a highly specialized product-related meeting.

In short, even the top executives of the car companies listened attentively.

Listen to Wei Dong's unrestrained speech: "It's too low-end. You may not know that the most I drive in China is a Suzuki eight-seater small four-wheel drive van. The Dodge Caravan is only slightly better. The interior and seats are terrible. The simplest improvement is to change the current second-row seats into two comfortable single sofas like these. Isn't making sofas your forte? It would immediately bring out a sense of prestige."

This is the situation that Buick GL8 created in mainland China.

Wei Dong didn't know if other cars had done this before, but the GL8 popularized this 223 seating layout in districts and counties.

The true style of official and business vehicles, and the various hyped-up Alphard and new energy aviation cabins, were all pioneered by the GL8 in Wei Dong's opinion.

He also believes this is the biggest difference between MPVs and other types.

If the back row is a row of seats, then it's a minivan, not a business vehicle.

As a security guard, he has personally witnessed the changes in the vehicles used by business owners, from Bluebirds and Santanas to Mercedes-Benz and BMWs, and then to commercial vehicles, when they came to the tax office.

Make sure you capture this style – the sophisticated feel of a single seat.

Actually, whatever the technical complexity, domestic companies can do it all now. Qin Yuye had cooperated perfectly, his excited eyes and steady tone conveying his message.

The president's eyes lit up.

But said nothing.

Let Wei Dong continue: "Then, could the sliding doors be electric? Pull them, and whoosh... they'll slowly slide open. This could be added to the higher-end models, and paired with the Fifth Avenue seats we sat in today, they'd be very expensive!"

To be honest, the only thing Wei Dong could appreciate about the Chrysler Fifth Avenue, currently the company's most high-end model, was its leather sofa.

He doesn't understand chassis tuning or anything like that.

But if you describe it like this, everyone present is a veteran in the automotive industry, and they can definitely imagine that sense of sophistication.

Two people actually managed to hold back their raised hands, almost cheering.

Wei Dong wasn't finished yet: "As for the appearance being too square, it should be a little rounder. Since it's aimed at home, government, and commercial use, the current trend is for it to be a little rounder."

He's just spouting nonsense.

In fact, the North American market is very different from the later mainland China market, and consumers have many different habits and views.

Even the European version is often a special edition, while the Asian version is completely ignored.

The GL8 was actually a failed model that wasn't popular in North America, but it was a hit in the Far East for decades.

The seats and power sliding doors are fine; they're just minor adjustments, and you can make them into a higher-spec model.

Changes to the exterior often represent the largest cost factor for the entire vehicle model, a best-selling model that generates hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars in revenue for the company each year.

How much courage does it take to propose changing the appearance?
The executives who were just about to applaud were now all solemn and silent.

Therefore, the CEO should choose to sit at the end of the long conference table so that he can see everyone's reactions and expressions out of the corner of his eye without having to turn his head.

Perhaps those who dared to speak up had already been kicked out of office politics;
Perhaps the nearly ten-year turnaround has made all the senior executives accustomed to relying on the president to point out the direction;

In short, at first glance, they're all cowards.

This is how Wei Dong felt, sitting on the side at the end.

So he couldn't help but wear a slightly mocking expression on his face.

In the car that just arrived, he didn't even respect the president.

The CEO was looking at him closely, and he could naturally tell that this big shot's expression showed disdain for these cowards who dared not take responsibility or fight.

The reason why awesome people are awesome is that, in addition to having awesome abilities, they also have awesome temperaments.

Being petty and calculating, always looking before and after things, will never lead to a great life.

This is the confidence that only truly capable people understand among themselves.

Maybe he's been purging and suppressing people because he doesn't want any outstanding individuals to emerge from his upper echelons who could potentially replace him.

But Wei Dong is not a threat at all. He is an external force and has made it clear that automobiles are not his main business. Other companies make billions of dollars a year in computers.

Therefore, it poses no threat whatsoever.

Just as the president was about to speak, Yu Xiaoqiu returned with the two senior executives.

I present you with a long memorial...

The president laughed as soon as he saw it, and jokingly suggested that Wei Dong take a look first.

The couple laughed too.

In the era before email was used to send pictures, fax was the fastest way to send pictures, tables, and documents.

Although the black and white image is blurred like an African man's face, the fact that the surrounding background is omitted and turned into white makes the dark outline of the car model in the middle stand out very clearly.

GM's concept car is as smooth as a pebble!
Toyota, on the other hand, added a touch of realism to this futuristic, rounded design.

Because anyone with even a basic understanding of car manufacturing processes knows that an eggshell-like, completely transparent cockpit is unrealistic.

There are difficulties in mass production in terms of cost and safety performance.

Toyota has precisely adjusted those curved windows, rounded front lips, and other features to fit production perfectly.

Several dark images connected to a fax tape seemed to confirm what Wei Donggang had said: rounded shapes would be the next trend!
The model that has been the main source of profit for almost all of the past three years has been copied by competitors. If they launch a new model in a targeted manner, they can catch the competitors off guard.

That would be a complete catastrophe.

Now, it turns out that the hidden danger was actually true, even though Wei Dong, an outsider, casually pointed it out!
Moreover, he "infers" based on logic, isn't that ability even more impressive?
What's even more impressive is that he not only pointed out the problems, but also provided directions for solutions.

When the fax paper was being passed around, the way Citigroup executives looked at this Asian contract manufacturer supplier changed.

Wei Dong then lightened his tone and said, "They've gone a bit too far. That concept car definitely won't look like this, but Toyota's might actually be released. So let's take the best and make up for the worst. Don't make it so rounded... Actually, I have a suggestion. The front of the car could be a bit longer. It should look like an SUV from the front and an MPV from the back. It would be luxurious, grand, and high-class, attracting consumers from both sides."

It actually followed the path of later new energy vehicles, such as six- or seven-seater large SUVs.

Doesn't the North American market really like large displacement engines and large size?
Then let's make it bigger!
(End of this chapter)