Era: Starting from divorce from female college student

Chapter 304: Mazda apologizes, the biggest winner, a matter of urgency

In August 1968, Zhao Mancang returned to Hong Kong Island because something happened in the Causeway Bay Automobile Group.

The first car model produced by Causeway Bay Motors Group has been on the market for some time and has been operating smoothly. However, recently there have been a series of complaints about safety accidents caused by brake failure.

This is definitely a major accident, and Zhao Mancang certainly takes it very seriously.

So he personally rushed to Hong Kong Island to inspect the factory's production.

Under the guidance of relevant person in charge, Zhao Mancang inspected all production links and found no problems.

So what went wrong?

"You've checked it out. It's really not a technical issue, right?"

In the conference room, Zhao Mancang looked at the management and asked in a deep voice.

In fact, for problems like this, Zhao Mancang generally would not deal with them personally, because once he came, the consequences would be something the management would not be able to bear.

"Yes, Boss, we have checked it over and over again, it's not a technical issue."

After a pause, the head of the technical department continued:

"We suspect this is a targeted instigation, based on verification by our technical and sales departments."

According to the technical director, the reason why such safety accidents occurred in the cars of their Causeway Bay Automobile Group was not because the quality of the cars they produced was not up to standard.

It's because someone is deliberately doing something bad.

Any quality problem will appear during the production quality and safety inspection process, and it is impossible for the problem to appear after the product has been on the market for more than half a year.

Last year, before mass production of this car, Causeway Bay Motors Group had conducted a large number of road tests. If there were any quality problems, they should have been discovered earlier.

This safety accident first occurred a month ago. It was just the first accident and did not arouse suspicion.

Then there were two more incidents, and then one or two every week. The time of the accidents was not regular, probably to confuse the public.

Until last week, three or four such accidental safety incidents occurred in succession in Tokyo, Osaka, Taipei, Garden City and other places.

It was also featured in local newspapers and has now become a hot topic of discussion.

This kind of highly targeted smear campaign is definitely intentional.

It’s just that the other party’s technical means were indeed superb and were not detected by the technical staff.

The reason why the head of the technical department had such doubts was not only based on a large-scale technical investigation to confirm that there was indeed no problem with Causeway Bay Automobile Group itself, but more because the data from the automobile sales department was extraordinary.

In April this year, after the cars completed road testing, the cars produced by Causeway Bay Motors Group began to be put on the market for sale.

Many car consumers are willing to buy Causeway Bay cars due to their low price, actual driving performance, beautiful appearance, safety and reliability.

The exterior design of cars in the 1970s tended to be more rigid and industrial, but the Causeway Bay car designed by Zhao Mancang tends to be softer and more perfect, more in line with aerodynamic requirements and the public's aesthetic taste.

In terms of appearance, Causeway Bay Auto has a very cool futuristic sci-fi car style with a stronger visual impact.

How could consumers not like a car that is both good quality and affordable?

Therefore, since its listing in April, Causeway Bay Motors Group has been working hard and its factories have been running at full capacity, producing 500 cars a day, which is barely enough to meet the growing demand for cars.

In other words, 500 cars can be sold every day.

From April to August now, a full four months, more than 120 days, 60,000 cars have been sold.

Such data is undoubtedly very impressive, especially for a car that has just been released. This is definitely exciting news.

If the cars of Causeway Bay Automobile Group are selling well, then cars of other similar brands will naturally not sell so well, especially cars of the same type with similar price and quality.

According to the head of the technical department, Mazda should be the best car among cars of the same type and price range.

The reason why Mazda is suspected is that after Causeway Bay Motors was listed, Mazda's car sales plummeted. For four consecutive months, they were "targeted" by Causeway Bay Motors in East Asia and Southeast Asia.

Mazda Motor Corporation has thought about fighting back, and they even lowered prices, but consumers still choose Causeway Bay Auto.

People are visual animals. When comparing Mazda cars and Causeway Bay cars, there is no doubt that people will choose the latter.

In fact, no matter which car brand it is, as long as it is not a luxury brand like Mercedes-Benz, many people would rather choose Causeway Bay Auto.

In fact, Causeway Bay Motors has already won market recognition for its exterior design. As time goes by, it may even replace other luxury car brands in the hearts of consumers.

Therefore, Mazda's loss was not unfair.

Since it is impossible to compete through normal means, it is normal for Mazda to come up with such unconventional methods.

In business competition, it’s either you die or I live.

"If your guess is correct, then Mazda Motor Corporation should not be able to influence the local import and export departments. Otherwise, it would be difficult for our cars to enter the local market."

After hearing this, Zhao Mancang laughed.

If it was just Mazda Motor Corporation's doing, then he would be relieved.

What he feared most was not being able to find his enemy, or even determine what the other party's methods were.

As long as we can determine who is behind this and what specific means they used, then it will be easy to deal with.

Since Mazda Motor Corporation wants to cause trouble, just go along with it.

The other party's influence should be very general. Perhaps they have not thought of using methods such as raising tariffs to deal with Causeway Bay Automobile Group, or there may be other reasons.

In short, things are very simple now. Zhao Mancang wants to fight back.

"Public relations department, please issue an announcement immediately, explain the details of this incident, recall all the cars involved, compensate them, and appease the consumers."

"I will immediately dispatch personnel to find the individuals responsible for Mazda's actions and determine the specific technical means of entrapment. I will ensure that no one on the other side is spared."

"You also need to guard your own turf and not act recklessly. We must strengthen technological innovation. We, Causeway Bay Automotive Group, have only just entered this industry. Don't become complacent just because of good sales results."

After knocking for a while, Zhao Mancang left the meeting room satisfied.

After leaving the Causeway Bay Automobile Group, Zhao Mancang immediately notified the Black Cross Force and asked them to send someone to deal with the matter.

When it comes to underworld tactics, to be honest, Zhao Mancang is not afraid at all.

If it were before, he would definitely contact a private detective, but now there is the Black Cross Force. He spends so much money to support them every year, of course not for the sake of appearance.

Anyway, this is a mission. If you complete it well, you will get a bonus. If you don’t complete it well, then of course there will be no bonus.

Xie Pingzhou and Lake Butler each brought a team of ten people back to Hong Kong Island, and then, according to Zhao Mancang's order, started the investigation from Hong Kong Island.

Just as the Black Cross troops started working, Zhao Mancang came to the Peak Villa on Hong Kong Island to have dinner with Liu Baochan and her mother and son.

"Daddy, can you play football with me tomorrow?"

Zhao Zhicheng, who is already six years old, is not short and is almost as tall as a ten-year-old child.

Like his younger brother Zhao Zhirui, the two brothers were well-nourished, very naughty, and loved to run around.

So Liu Baochan let them play football. Surprisingly, it really cultivated their interest in football, and they wanted to play football all the time.

"Okay, no problem."

Zhao Mancang said with a gentle smile.

He doesn't spend much time with his children, so generally speaking, he will meet their requests.

This time, he plans to stay in Hong Kong Island for about half a month.

Even next time, if he goes to Sam again, he might consider taking Liu Baochan and her mother and son with him instead of leaving them in Hong Kong Island.

However, by then, he will need to purchase a property from Sam.

In the afternoon, he took the two brothers Zhao Zhirui to the nearby football field to play football. They were a group of little kids playing together.

However, there was actually a local wealthy man from Hong Kong Island who came to talk to him, but Zhao Mancang didn't like it very much and didn't chat with him for long.

This was his family time, and he didn't want to miss it because of the other person.

The other party was also a sensible person and did not continue to disturb him.

In the next few days, Zhao Mancang stayed in Hong Kong Island and accompanied Zhao Zhicheng and other children to many places to play.

At the same time, he did not forget to pay attention to the situation on Sam's side.

The biggest winner of the 1968 summer season was probably 20th Century Fox.

The company released "Jurassic Park" on July 4th, which sparked a dinosaur craze around the world.

However, compared to the madness of the Sam's movie market, the box office results in other markets around the world are not that crazy.

In mid-August, the box office of the movie "Jurassic Park" had exceeded 900 million US dollars at Sam's Club, but the total box office in all other markets around the world was only 450 million US dollars.

Not much!
Because the largest box office base during this period was Europe and Kimura, the box office in other places was very average.

There is absolutely no possibility for the University of Tokyo to introduce the movie "Jurassic Park", so there is no question of anything else.

What’s funny is that little kids like Zhao Zhicheng bought a lot of dinosaur accessories from outside, and Liu Baochan even took them to see "Jurassic Park" four times.

Among the new four giants in Hollywood, the other three Paramount studios also produced films such as "The Journey," "Star Trek," and "Rambo," which also had good box office results.

For example, the box office of "The Treasure Hunt" has reached 368 million US dollars. Under normal circumstances, it would have made a lot of money. But this summer, they are really disappointed.

"Jurassic Park" is about to break one billion US dollars, which is the number one box office in film history.

Paramount would have to make three "The Treasure Hunt" movies to rival one "Jurassic Park."

How the hell can this be compared?
There is no way to compare!
The most ironic thing is that Warner Bros. followed suit and filmed a movie called "Cretaceous Era". By late August, the box office was about to break 200 million US dollars, and it continued to grow with a daily box office of more than 10 million.

All I can say is that 1968 was definitely the first year of dinosaur movies!
When other film companies saw the follow-up work "Cretaceous Era", they were all eager to make it.

It would be best if they could get authorization from 20th Century Fox. If not, they can only take risks.

However, 20th Century Fox's legal team will definitely be busy in the next few years.

It is foreseeable that more film companies will follow suit and make dinosaur movies.

Warner Bros. Pictures is destined to suffer heavy losses this time. Even if Jack doesn't want to lose money, it is impossible.

With the intervention of 20th Century Fox, the court will definitely make a judgment as quickly as possible and enforce it when the time comes.

This world still respects laws and fair competition.

Just when Zhao Mancang and Zhao Zhicheng and a few other little brats walked out of the New Territories Zoo and Botanical Garden, Mazda Motor Corporation was completely panicked.

Because the Black Cross Force had found the technical loopholes and relevant enforcement personnel they used to discredit Causeway Bay Auto, they directly invited reporters from TVB to broadcast the event live.

This matter caused quite a stir, and almost the whole world knew about it.

Mazda Motor Corporation's head, Yuta Saikawa, had to come forward personally, hold a press conference, and bow in front of the camera to apologize.

Yuta Nishikawa felt very frustrated, but there was nothing he could do.

They have no choice but to apologize, otherwise Causeway Bay Auto Group will definitely continue to produce more negative news.

Who made the Black Cross turn the Mazda Motor Corporation's base upside down and take away a lot of dusty black materials?

That's solid evidence like a mountain, not a fact that can be covered up by Yuta Nishikawa's few light sophistry.

After Mazda Motor Corporation apologized, Causeway Bay Motors Group's car sales suddenly ushered in a new round of retaliatory growth, and consumers had more trust in Causeway Bay Motors.

This matter is almost over here.

Zhao Mancang did not continue to pay attention to the subsequent situation. At this time, he had already arrived at a small villa near the University of Hong Kong. He went out to play with Lin Wan and others for two days, and then took Lin Wan and the children back to Beijing.

After arriving in the capital, Lin Wan and the others went home, while he came to the Lingjing Hutong compound to give a work report.

As soon as they met, the leader praised him highly.

This time, the film market on Sam's side was particularly hot, and it set off a craze around the world.

However, the ultimate beneficiary of this craze is the University of Tokyo.

Because the dinosaur accessories and other movie-related products that are extremely popular around the world are all produced by factories here at the University of Tokyo.

Let’s put it this way, in July alone, Todai exported more than 500 million dinosaur-related movie-related products, not including posters and the like.

So far, in the Sam's market alone, the peripheral products of the movie "Jurassic Park" have reached a revenue of 3.7 billion US dollars.

There is no doubt that this is an unprecedented success.

According to estimates, by the end of this year, the revenue from dinosaur movie peripheral products, just from the Sam's Club market, should reach 5 billion US dollars.

After all, the movie "Jurassic Park" cannot be shown in theaters forever, especially after the school season begins, theaters will become much quieter.

Isn’t it just like the extremely popular "Sadako" before?

Moreover, the novelty of "Jurassic Park" will disappear quickly, and there are almost no plots or points worth recalling.

The reason why the box office is higher is because of the curiosity, and the fact that nowadays, only movie scenes of dinosaurs can be seen in cinemas, but not on TV.

This is another important reason why the movie box office is so high in an era when entertainment options are extremely scarce.

"Okay, Mancang, you did a great job."

After Zhao Mancang finished his detailed report, the leaders all smiled with satisfaction and praised him again.

Praise is definitely due, because Zhao Mancang did a really great job this time.

No one expected that Zhao Mancang would be able to find another way to help Dongda earn more foreign exchange and become the biggest winner of this year's Sam's Movie summer blockbuster.

After the excitement, the leader then asked calmly:
"Do you have any plans for the future?"

Facing the leader's question, Zhao Mancang nodded and said:

"Our production capacity should be reduced now. Movie-related products will enter the off-season for a while. Maybe around Christmas time, things will recover a bit."

"In addition to movie-related products, we should now focus on other products such as cars."

At present, the car brands from the mainland have not yet been exported and are still undergoing road tests. They can only be sold after passing the road tests.

According to Zhao Mancang's idea, domestic automobile brands should establish their own sales companies and after-sales services, which is also a great way to train technical personnel.

Especially the after-sales service, which is not available in China at present.

There are almost no private cars in the country at present. Perhaps the big capitalists have cars, but there are almost no cars now. In any case, there are very few.

Even if there is, car maintenance work is the driver's job, not the after-sales service that the car factory should provide.

Therefore, this point must be learned.

Zhao Mancang didn't know whether doing so would lead to some reforms being carried out in the country ahead of schedule, but he had no choice but to do so.

According to the plan, before the end of this year, a car named Otto, independently developed in China, will be exported to Hong Kong Island and Southeast Asia for sale.

No one knows whether Otto Auto can successfully become a best-selling brand, but Zhao Mancang is very confident about it.

After coming out of Lingjing Hutong, Zhao Mancang returned home.

Xiao Baozi, Xiao Taozi and the others need to get ready and then go to school.

It's almost September now and school is about to start.

But the little kids’ hearts are still in Hong Kong Island and they really want to play.

Zhao Mancang couldn’t control whether they wanted to play or not, but if they didn’t study hard, haha, they wouldn’t be able to play during the next winter vacation.

On the first day of school, Zhao Mancang sent the children to school. As soon as he returned to work, he received a call from his mother-in-law saying that someone had come to their house.

Are there guests at home?

After returning home, Zhao Mancang was puzzled to find out that the other person was the person who wanted to commit suicide whom he had rescued before.

Shu Qingchun was not grateful to Zhao Mancang for rescuing him, but his family was very grateful.

I don’t know if someone said that, but although Shu Qingchun’s life is difficult now, it is not as painful as before.

His family would not leave him alone and would keep a close eye on him to prevent him from becoming depressed and jumping into the lake to commit suicide again.

Zhao Mancang gladly accepted the gratitude from Shu Qingchun's family.

Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda!
Although Zhao Mancang did not have such an idea, he was very happy that the other party was willing to come and express his gratitude.

In the blink of an eye, it is already December and Otto Motors is about to be launched on the market.

Zhao Mancang manages remotely and provides remote guidance to the heads of automobile companies in cities such as Hong Kong Island, Garden City, Taipei, Kimura, and Tokyo via satellite phones.

Whether Otto can become an overnight success and become the leader among similar car brands this year depends on now.

Mazda Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, Honda Motor Corporation and other local automobile brands in Kimura looked at the sales outlet of Otto Motor Corporation in surprise.

This year is really weird. In the first half of the year, a Causeway Bay Automobile Company brand appeared, and in the second half of the year, an Otto Automobile Company popped up. My goodness, what is going on?

At this time, they have no feelings about car brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, because they are still luxury car brands, and their historical heritage is not comparable to Causeway Bay Motors, Otto Motors, etc.

No matter what the enemy thinks, Zhao Mancang has only one idea, which is to kill him.

Buy a car and get free appliances!
Get 15% off on purchases over 200,000!

Free five-year warranty!
The slogans for various activities have all been put up. As long as consumers are not stupid, they will know what kind of car they should buy.

The fact that Otto Motors offers a five-year warranty is enough to show that the quality of this car brand is absolutely top-notch.

So it was a great success on the first day of sales.

As good news came from all over the place, Zhao Mancang couldn't help but smile.

This is definitely a very happy thing because it is the first time that Todai has sold industrial automobile products.

It has only been twelve years since the first Jiefang car rolled off the production line on July 13, 1956.

If domestically produced cars are only used for personal use, then product quality and other issues are not a big problem. However, if independently designed and developed cars can sell well abroad, then that is indeed something to be proud of.

However, Zhao Mancang did not remain proud for long. A phone call came in, which was extremely urgent and made him stop smiling.

Something happened near Beijing Nanyuan Airport, something serious.

(End of this chapter)