At the Mercedes-Benz Bicycle Factory, Liu Jin hurriedly came here again after learning the news.
"Mr. Liu~"
Ren Siheng, Duan Hai, Lu Qing, Huang Zhiyuan and others all came to greet him.
To be honest, Liu Jin was the first minister to really attach importance to science and technology and industry. He went to new schools and universities every day, and often visited machinery factories and bicycle factories.
Although this is largely because these are Liu Jin's industries, it also shows that Liu Jin attaches great importance to technology. When they are with Liu Jin, they can clearly feel Liu Jin's attention and respect for them.
.
This is not true of other officials. When other officials look at them, they always have a condescending, arrogant and contemptuous attitude.
Especially those civil servants, they always feel that their talents are superior to others, and scholars are the most noble. As for Ren Siheng and others, they are just people who play heresy and have strange tricks, and they are always low-level people who cannot stand on the stage.
Therefore, everyone likes to report everything to Liu Jin in a timely manner, and if there are any problems, they can get timely guidance and help.
"Take me to see our car."
Liu Jin smiled and nodded, and then walked into the factory.
Walking into the factory, Liu Jin also found that the factory had been renovated. It was similar to the assembly line of later generations. Various parts were transported from one gate to another, and the car's site was transferred step by step from one end to the other.
, the whole process continues to add and install parts, and at the other end, a brand new car is produced.
"Not bad, not bad~"
"You are very skillful in using the flowing-seat production method."
Seeing such an assembly line, Liu Jin nodded with satisfaction.
It is not in vain that I have given numerous instructions to these industries under my command to use assembly line production methods, so as to improve efficiency and improve product quality at the same time.
"This is all due to your guidance, Mr. Liu. Our bicycles are also produced in this way, so we also use this method in automobile production."
"At the same time, in terms of parts, we also carry out strict quality management on all parts in accordance with your requirements. The errors of parts must be controlled within the specified range, so that we can better realize the assembly line production method."
When Duan Hai heard this, he quickly replied.
The production capacity of the Mercedes-Benz bicycle factory is much higher than that of ordinary bicycle factories. At the same time, the quality of Mercedes-Benz bicycles is much better than ordinary bicycles. It relies on the assembly line production method and strict quality management. All parts are standard parts and there are no tolerances.
Parts that are too large cannot be used on the product.
Start with small screws and keep improving, so that the products produced will get better and better.
"Hmm~"
Liu Jin nodded with satisfaction.
Follow the production line step by step.
After many suggestions from Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao, plus their own thinking and improvements.
Brand new cars look much better.
The front engine is covered with a hood, and the cover has a curved surface, which makes the front face look much more comfortable. The large Mercedes-Benz logo was also made at Li Jin's suggestion, about the size of a saucer, and made of metal.
The gloss looks high-end and classy.
The car body has been reasonably adjusted and divided into two rows, making it more spacious and comfortable. At the same time, the seats have also been designed and improved. They are no longer bare benches, but have added chairs with backrests and are filled with a lot of cotton. Inside, it is much more comfortable to sit.
Moreover, this seat also added a safety belt according to Liu Jin's suggestion, but there is still a difference between this safety belt and the safety belts of later generations. The latter ones can move freely, but the current one is locked in place like a rope.
What's more important is that it is no longer an open-top car. It has a roof to protect it from wind and rain.
Moreover, there is glass in the front, and the door is also equipped with glass, and it can also be manually lifted and lowered. It can be seen from the above that mechanics such as Lu Qing, Ren Siheng, and Huang Zhiyuan put a lot of thought into it. It can also be seen that their technology has indeed reached a certain level.
The steering wheel has also changed, becoming a round steering wheel.
At the same time, the throttle control is also divided into two parts. One part is the throttle under the foot, and the other part is controlled through the gears. A total of 1234 four gears are set, and there is also a reverse function.
In addition, the rearview mirror has also been added, and a manual bell similar to that on a bicycle is installed. When needed, it can be retracted and shaken, and the sound is relatively loud.
The water barrier and fenders were also added, and they were still made of thin steel sheets based on the wheels. But looking at the car's tires again, Liu Jin laughed again.
Because this car tire is still too small, it is a little larger than a bicycle tire, and it feels similar to the motorcycle tires of later generations.
"Not bad, not bad~"
"really not bad!"
Gu Fu
Although there are still many shortcomings, it is still an extremely perfect and complex industrial product for this era, and only the Ming Dynasty can produce and manufacture it.
It is extremely rare to be able to achieve this level. You can't ask for too much, and you can't expect to get it right in one step. Many things need to be accumulated slowly over a long period of time and studied slowly to make continuous progress. .
Rome was not built in a day.
Hearing Liu Gong's exaggeration, everyone around him laughed happily.
Everyone is working so hard and working so hard, naturally in order to get recognition and Liu Jin's recognition.
“How much can we produce in a day now?”
Liu Jin thought for a while and asked.
"We only have this one production line now. If we go all out, we can produce more than a dozen vehicles a day."
"We are prepared to invest in the construction of a specialized car production factory. When the time comes, we will recruit more workers and build supporting factories to strive to produce more than 5,000 cars per month."
When Duan Hai heard this, he quickly replied.
"Producing more than a dozen vehicles a day is quite efficient."
"Take your time. A factory specializing in automobile production can be built and the scale can be larger."
"But if it is a large-scale production, strict quality control must be carried out on each link and each product, and a complete set of quality control processes and systems must be established."
"Otherwise, the cars produced will break down within a few days of driving. This will not only affect the customer experience, but more importantly, it will damage our own brand and destroy this new automobile industry. "
Liu Jin thought about it and started to give instructions.
"Yes, I understand. This is what we have always insisted on doing. The quality of our Mercedes-Benz bicycles is the best. Even though they are expensive, they are still more popular than other bicycles."
Duan Hai nodded quickly and replied.
"Now the output is only a dozen vehicles a day, how are you going to sell them?"
Liu Jin nodded and asked about sales again.
"We plan to adopt the same sales method as bicycles and open two stores in Beijing and Tianjin to provide sales and after-sales related services."
"Currently, because our production is limited, we also plan to adopt a customized approach. For all orders, we collect money first and then deliver the goods."
"In addition, in terms of price, our production costs are very high. After calculation, the cost of this car exceeds more than 300 taels of silver. Therefore, in terms of selling price, our price is set at more than 6,000 taels of silver."
Duan Hai also reported to Liu Jin in detail matters related to car sales.
"More than 6,000 taels of silver, this is not a figure. You can directly buy three houses in the capital."
When Liu Jin heard this, he couldn't help but marvel. This price was definitely prepared for the rich. Ordinary people, even ordinary middle-income earners, would definitely not be able to afford it.
But if you think about it carefully, cars have never been cheap. In the beginning, they were only affordable to the rich. It was not until Ford invented the Model T car and the assembly line production method that its price dropped significantly.
, began to enter the middle class.
As for the real popularity of it to ordinary people, that will be when the automobile industry has developed to a very complete level.
The price of 6,000 taels of silver is really expensive.
But now that the output is small and only targeted at the richest people, this price positioning seems to be appropriate.
What's more, Mercedes-Benz cars have naturally been positioned as luxury cars for a long time. The luxury cars of later generations are also very expensive and cannot be afforded by ordinary people.
If you think about it this way, the price is quite reasonable.
"It is indeed very expensive, but if it were not for this price, we would not make much money at all, and we would have to invest in building factories, research and development, etc."
"Maybe after our new factory is completed and put into production, the price can drop further, but for now, the price of this car can only be set high."
Duan Hai also nodded and replied.
"Well, that's it. Let's get it done before the Chinese New Year."
"Also remember to send the best car to His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Liu Jin nodded and told him that he must let Emperor Hongzhi and the Crown Prince advertise for him.