A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 183 Thoughts About Cars

Later generations of the United States are called "the country on wheels", and it is a country where people love to travel by car, but it is far from the case now.

Driving this Cadillac from Chicago to New York is next to impossible.It's not just the stability of the vehicle itself, the most important thing is that the road conditions are not good, and it's not so convenient to refuel.

So they still can only take the train.

The New York Auto Show will be held in two days, and Li Yu has not been idle in New York for the past two days.

Harper Collins Publishing found Li Yu and first gave him the royalties of the first edition of "Star Wars: A New Hope", a total of 9000 US dollars.

Now there is no personal income tax in the United States (it will be introduced in 10 years), and all the money is in Li Yu's hands.

However, some of the money will be distributed to Lu Bicheng and De Ling in the future.

Editor-in-Chief James said: "Sir, you can open an account with an American bank so we can wire you the money from time to time."

Li Yu was going to follow his advice and open an account with Citibank, which would be much more convenient in the future.

The New York Auto Show has been held since the first year of the 1900th century, that is, in [-]. Of course, the scale is incomparable with later generations, but there are already many auto companies participating in the exhibition.

After all, 10 horsepower in 1903 is almost like a twin-turbocharged V100 engine more than 8 years later. Thinking about it makes people excited.

In short, if there is a cause, there will be an effect, otherwise Europeans would not dare to implement so many enviable welfare policies.

For example, the lack of chips in cars in the past few years has made it difficult for many car companies to produce, and car chips are mainly produced by several specialized car chip companies in the upper reaches of the industry.

Li Yu said with a smile: "I'd better start my own small business."

The two also knew Sierra, "Beautiful Sierra, you are the most beautiful lady in this pavilion, as dazzling as the best racing car."

In fact, many countries in Europe can have such high benefits and such long vacations. It seems that every day is like playing work. They are still developed countries. In addition to colonizing the third world for many years and sucking blood, another important reason is that they have been living for more than 100 years. Accumulated a large number of technical patents.

Henry Ford said to Li Yu next to him, "Where did you see this gentleman?"

"Yes," Li Yu said calmly, "I will set up a company to provide several car companies with technical support such as four-wheel drive systems, electronic ignition systems, and even key engine parts."

Sierra dissatisfied: "Didn't you agree to leave one for me?"

Sierra introduced: "He is Li Yu, from the Qing Dynasty."

Sierra said: "You are quite good at doing business."

What Ford brought today is its own prototype, the Ford 999, which was recently driven around by a racing driver and earned a lot of fame.

"It's you!" said Ford. "I remember. There's a picture of you in the newspaper."

Many coachmen in Europe and the United States are very displeased with cars, and often ridicule them in newspapers, such as many cartoons, which depict cars breaking down halfway, and drivers have to lie under the car to repair it.

Sierra greeted the two of them: "Mr. Leland, Mr. Henry, hello!"

In the eyes of the public, this is not a gentleman at all.

The reason why this can be done is also because the structure of today's cars is far less complicated than that of later generations.

There are many cars in the exhibition hall, but the most dazzling one at this auto show is really Cadillac.

Now his thinking is clear, the industry is really big, and the well-known car companies are not just the familiar Volkswagen, Toyota, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford, GM, etc. - these are the ones that can produce and sell cars enterprise.

Li Yu smiled and said, "Coincidentally, I still have the French version."

Li Yu happened to be very familiar with industrial design including automobiles.

He also suddenly thought of Tesla.

This idea was thought up from the moment Li Yu entered the hall.

Ford has really become a big chaebol in the future, and the rich are extremely rich.

Ford nodded again: "That's right."

But he also knew very well that in the environment of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, there was no suitable soil for engaging in industry.

And Li Yu looked at it for a while, and soon discovered many problems with this car.

There is another key point: these companies hold a large number of patents, and the patent fees alone are soft.

Wilfred quickly said: "This car is a show car, and we need to use it to attract big buyers."

It happened to be what Li Yu was good at.

Ford nodded: "Yes, sir, please continue."

Well, it's too good to sell.

In other words, Li Yu can be the upstream of the automobile industry first, and be the leader of industries like Bosch, or the invisible king.

Ford hasn't started producing the Model T yet, only a few prototypes.

Therefore, the four-wheel drive system is very critical, and this is also one of the biggest demands on vehicles in the subsequent World War I.

Wilfred quickly ran over: "Father, it's all your fault for selling all the cars you produced! Miss Sierra was going to order one, but now she's angry."

Edison's DC generators had serious problems at the time, and Edison promised Tesla that if he could improve these DC generators, he would give him $[-].

Mr. Leland said, "Are you the rumored Li Yu who discovered Pluto and found extragalactic galaxies?"

On the day of the auto show, Sierra came to find him in a carriage.

Tesla believed it was true, and in less than half a year, he really transformed all 24 DC generators in Edison's company.Then I went to ask Edison for money, but Edison actually replied: "You don't understand, this is our American humor."

Sierra and the Carnegie family behind her happen to have a certain status in the United States, and they can help with future patent applications, import and export, and distribution.

Li Yu smiled and said, "It's me."

Even Li Yu can apply for patents in the UK, Switzerland, Sweden, and Germany.

Li Yu said, "You don't need to mention whether you want to buy a car or not. I'm more interested in some technologies of cars."

The automobile and the automobile industry are two concepts. There are too many upstream and downstream related industries involved in the automobile, and the collection is a giant.

Like Europe, there are still a lot of horse-drawn carriages in the United States, and many people don't think cars are the future.

When Tesla left Serbia to work as an engineer in Edison's company, Tesla was absolutely top-notch in terms of technology, and it can be said that it surpassed Edison by a lot.

James also said: "In addition, we have already negotiated with Europe that "Star Wars: A New Hope" will be released in English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish and other languages ​​in Europe, but The translation work will take some time."

Leland said in surprise, "The Japanese customer just offered twice the price, I remember you agreed."

Ford recalled what Li Yu said for a while, "You also know cars? If such an excellent system can really be produced, I will purchase it unconditionally, but we need to see successful samples."

Wilfred smiled awkwardly: "Miss Sierra, do you think this is good, I will provide you with a car with better power."

As soon as Li Yu and Sierra walked in, Wilfred saw them: "I'm here! I'm here! You guys are so slow, just 10 minutes ago, all the cars we produced this time were sold empty."

There are hundreds of automobile companies in the United States at this time, but most of them are small workshops. If you want to compare them, they may be a bit like our self-employed people in later generations. Participate in a racing competition, and if you become famous, you can continue to raise funds to start a company.

At this time, Mr. Leland, the founder of Lincoln Motors and Cadillac Motors, was chatting with Henry Ford.

And in their upstream, there are some companies that are not well-known to the public but are actually very important and very profitable, such as Bosch in Germany, Continental AG, Denso in Japan, and so on.

"It was all father's idea," said Wilfred.

Kang Zhuang Road ah.

This is also the current operating model of many car companies. As mentioned above, they need to use prototype cars to gain fame and obtain financing through competitions and other methods.

Li Yu said: "Mr. Leland's words are very reasonable, but I have a solution. The engine is a design problem. In a nutshell, the number of cylinders can be increased, and the volume and cost can be controlled at the same time."

"Technology?" Ford himself was an engineer, fascinated by automotive technology.He had opened several car companies before, but they all went bankrupt because he was too obsessed with technology research and development and neglected company operations.

Ford was stunned for a long time before he said, "Could it be true that you can solve all these problems?"

And the significance of automobiles to modern industry is also great.

"Okay, then I'll look elsewhere." Sierra turned and left.

Especially in a country like Japan, cars are almost the lifeblood. Japan is the third largest GDP country in the world, so you can imagine the significance of cars.

In other words, these companies belong to the hidden champions in the auto industry.

There are five famous international auto shows in later generations: Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany, Paris Motor Show in France, Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland, North American Auto Show and Tokyo Motor Show in Japan.But the North American auto show, that is, the Detroit auto show has not yet started, so the New York auto show is basically the largest auto industry event in the United States.

Li Yu will not be a vassal in a certain company, so he must do the preliminary work first, such as registering the company, registering patents, etc.

Li Yu's vision is very vicious. At any rate, he was a mechanical major at the time, and he was quite familiar with cars.

Ford said: "If this is the case, sir, you can come to my company, and we can make a lot of money together!"

Speaking of the environment in the late Qing Dynasty, it was indeed difficult to develop a large-scale automobile industry (other types of industries were also difficult), but it was much easier to do technology research and development and technology supply.

It can also be said to be technical barriers, making it difficult for late-developing countries to bypass.

Even if cars have not been popularized on a large scale, there are not few people who love cars now.

Li Yu said steadily: "I will provide it to the gentlemen, and it will definitely satisfy you 100%."

The booth next to it is Ford.

Conversely, without them, all car companies would be paralyzed.

Li Yu and Sierra went to the auto show in a carriage, feeling a bit like moving from the old era to the new era.

Mr. Leland also said: "Yes, the points you mentioned are the problems we need to solve urgently. Once it proves to be a mature and reliable technology, it will be great news for us."

Ford opened his mouth, and Li Yu's short sentence almost explained the current status of the automobile industry.He paused before saying, "I didn't expect that you, a foreign academician of the Royal Society and a member of the Astronomical Society, would have such deep insights into the machinery industry."

But since mankind entered the first industrial revolution, technology has changed too fast. Sometimes when the times abandon an old thing, it is really too fast to say hello.

Wilfred's old face flushed slightly, Sierra said beside him: "So that's what happened."

——Of course, there are only a few auto companies that can grow big.

Li Yu said: "As for the electronic ignition system, I think I can provide a complete solution for this design."

The four-wheel drive system, although it is a configuration that is only required for high-end models or off-road vehicles in later generations, is actually really important at this time, because the road conditions today cannot be compared with those in more than 100 years. Many, not to mention the level of paving.

Wilfred scratched his head: "But the price offered by those Japanese is too high."

Li Yu said: "As for the four-wheel drive system, I believe both of you understand that the core problem lies in the universal joint, and it will be fine if its stability and reliability can be improved."

There are no car models in today's auto shows.

It is true that the automobile is a very important industry, even in later generations, it is also one of the pillar industries of the big countries.

Sierra pointed to the back: "Isn't there another one?"

"This is really great!" James said, "Our work can be advanced faster. According to my preliminary estimate, the sales volume of this book in Europe will not be less than 20 copies. If the sequel can continue to sell well, the overall sales volume will increase significantly." It will increase significantly.”

These companies can be called automotive technology suppliers, and almost all automotive companies cannot do without their technical support.

These are all high-tech, do not require too much capital investment, and do not rely heavily on the industrial environment, which is a better direction.

It can even be said that with the current road level, driving is almost off-road.

Li Yu smiled: "I'm really interested."

Of course, another way is the auto show. Many companies hope to make their products popular and receive large orders.In this way, they not only facilitate financing, but also can rest assured to produce.

You see, even Japan, South Korea, Singapore, etc., which are developing later, even if they have become developed countries, the people have worked very hard.

Li Yu looked at the car in front of him and said: "I have observed it just now. There are many things that can be improved for this car. In fact, it is not only this car, but also the Cadillac model A next to it. But I think you two Mister is probably most interested in engine improvement, four-wheel drive system and electronic ignition system, right?"

Mr. Leland next to him said: "The points you mentioned are difficult to solve. The engine problem can be improved by increasing the displacement. But the four-wheel drive system is really difficult to realize. Last year, someone designed a four-wheel drive system. Driving a car, but the stability is very poor, and the cost is too high. As for the electronic ignition system, it is limited by the design and stability, and it is difficult to popularize, because it is not as stable and reliable as the joystick.”

And off-road, of course, the most needed is the four-wheel drive system.

There is also the electronic ignition system, which is also something that has been completely popularized and even taken for granted in later generations of cars. You can't just use the joystick like the hand-cranked tractor every time you drive.

Today's auto companies are highly competitive, and whoever has advanced technology or can reduce costs is a sharp weapon to occupy the market.

"It's an honor to meet you!" Ford said. "Why are you at a car show? Are you looking to buy a car?"

There are many reasons for the weak horsepower of cars now, but in the short term, the points that can be improved quickly are engine displacement, cylinders, intake and exhaust design, etc.

Just like any emerging industry, at the beginning, a hundred schools of thought contended, but in the end, only a few giants remained.

There are also many core components in the key engine and gearbox of the car, which are also produced by these upstream technology companies, such as the CVT gearbox that Japanese cars are very fond of. Its core component, the steel belt, comes from the German Bosch Group ( Of course, there are other companies also provide).

I didn't give him money...

Tesla argued hard, but in the end Edison just gave him a salary increase.

This is the delicate relationship between the boss and employees.

So strictly speaking, Edison is more like an entrepreneur than an inventor.Of course, his company was indeed very successful. Many important American companies had Edison's shadow in their early days.

(End of this chapter)