Chapter 1793, small three-wheeled transport vehicle
"Huh~huh!"
In the Mercedes-Benz car factory, Liu Yuan was driving a motorcycle happily.
This motorcycle is still very well made, its control is similar to that of later generations of motorcycles, and its speed is not bad. The key is that it is very powerful. When you press the accelerator, the speed will increase immediately.
The only drawback is that it's a little floaty. The tires are too small, so I need to use bigger tires. I just drove it casually in the factory area, and the speed is not very fast. If the speed increases on the highway, then this small tire will
Too dangerous.
After parking the motorcycle slowly, Ren Siheng, Duan Hai and others also hurriedly gathered around, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Liu Jin was okay. He is now the chief minister of the cabinet, the emperor's right-hand man, and the cornerstone of the country, but he can't make any mistakes.
, otherwise they cannot take responsibility.
"Mr. Liu~"
"This motorcycle is generally well designed, but there are still areas that need improvement."
Liu Jin stopped the motorcycle, pointed at the motorcycle and said.
"Please give me some advice~ Mr. Liu~"
Ren Siheng, Duan Hai and others also said quickly.
"The biggest problem is the tire problem. Motorcycles and bicycles are different. The speed of bicycles is limited, so there is no problem in using smaller tires."
"But motorcycles are much faster and more powerful, so it's obviously not possible to use tires that are similar to bicycles."
"This tire needs to be improved and made wider to increase friction with the ground. This will make it more stable and will not cause it to drift due to excessive speed. It will also be safer."
Liu Jin pointed at the tire and said.
"Liu Gong, after hearing what you said, we realized that during the test, we always felt that this motorcycle was too floaty and would easily fall when it went fast."
"We still couldn't figure out the situation. It turned out that the problem was with the tires."
When Ren Siheng heard this, he suddenly said with enlightenment.
"Yes, when we were testing it, we always felt that this one was too floating and very unsafe, but we still didn't understand the reason. We thought it was because our design was unreasonable, but the problem actually appeared on this one."
Duan Hai also nodded and immediately wrote it down.
"I will have the tire replaced with a wider tire later."
"Actually, those of you who work on machinery should understand this principle."
Liu Jin looked at them, thought for a while and said.
"They manufacture cars, bicycles, and research engineering machinery. They should be aware of this. The design in all other aspects is very good. Why do they leave this obvious mistake?"
"Is it to send my flattery?"
Soon, Liu Jin thought of a possibility. They might have deliberately left such a question for themselves to see. In this way, when he came over to look at it, he could give some advice and show his sense of existence.
Ma Dan.
Sure enough, it has been the same since ancient times. As long as you have power and resources in your hands, people will naturally come to flatter you, and they will make you feel comfortable.
"Mr. Liu, although we are engaged in mechanics, we are far inferior to you, Gong Liu. You are a disciple of an expert and are well versed in ancient and modern times. Even if you have not learned these things, you can still see the problem at a glance."
"It really makes us admire you."
Duan Hai said with a smile.
"Yeah~"
Liu Yuan was speechless immediately. He was indeed a flatterer.
After thinking for a while, he said: "How much does this motorcycle cost, and how much do you plan to sell it for?"
"Mr. Liu, the production cost of this motorcycle is much cheaper than that of a car. It only costs more than 30 taels of silver. Our selling price is currently set at around 120 taels of silver."
Duan Hai quickly replied.
"120 taels of silver?"
"It's not too expensive, but it's not cheap either. People may need to work for a year or two before they can afford it."
Liu Jin thought for a while and said.
In later generations, when motorcycles first entered the market, they were very expensive, and it might take ordinary people one or two years of work before they could afford a motorcycle.
When the industry was relatively backward and in its infancy, industrial products such as bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles were very expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary families.
But as industry became more and more developed, especially when it was able to produce a variety of industrial products, the prices of these products dropped significantly, as did various home appliances.
The situation in Ming Dynasty is similar now. Bicycles, cars, and motorcycles have just come out and are expensive. Cars are luxury goods that only the truly rich can afford.
Bicycles and motorcycles are also very expensive. People often need to work for a year before they can afford them, and they need to save money for a long time.
Similarly, the profits from manufacturing these things are extremely high now. The production cost of a bicycle is only a few taels of silver, but it costs more than 20 taels of silver.
The cost of a motorcycle is only more than 30 taels of silver, but it costs more than 100 taels of silver. The cost of a car is only one or two hundred taels of silver, but the price is as high as several thousand taels of silver.
These are enough to show how terrifying the profits are, and it is absolutely a huge profit industry.
Of course, as competition becomes more and more fierce, prices will definitely fall rapidly, and gradually drop to perhaps only 20 to 30% profit. Once fully industrialized, the profit may not even be 20%. In future generations,
The major automobile manufacturers have huge scale and amazing output, but their profit margins are not high.
The main reason is that the automobile manufacturing industry can support a large number of workers, drive the development of a large number of related industries, and pay a large amount of taxes, so it is still an industry supported by the government.
"We will launch our motorcycles on the market as soon as possible before the Chinese New Year."
After thinking about this clearly, Liu Jin also gave instructions.
"Yes, we are already setting up related production lines. By next year we will build a motorcycle production factory here in Beijing, specifically to produce motorcycles."
Duan Hai quickly replied.
"In my opinion, we should not use the Mercedes-Benz logo and brand for this motorcycle. We should get another logo and brand to avoid lowering the brand of the car."
Liu Jin nodded with satisfaction. Looking at the Mercedes-Benz logo on the front of the motorcycle, he suddenly felt that it lowered the grade and brand of Mercedes-Benz.
It is not acceptable for a motorcycle costing more than 100 taels of silver to bear the same logo as a car costing several thousand taels of silver.
"Yes, we will redesign a logo and give it a name later."
Although Duan Hai didn't quite understand why he had to re-create a logo and name, he just wanted to listen to Liu Jin's words and do it.
"Also, this motorcycle has many uses."
"It can be designed as a three-wheeled vehicle with a compartment at the back. In this case, it becomes a small truck. It can be used to carry hundreds of kilograms of stuff without any problem, and the practicality is greatly increased."
Liu Jin looked at the motorcycle in front of him and remembered the three-wheeled motorcycles that were very common in rural areas in later generations. They were very convenient for transporting food and agricultural products, and they had a windshield in front.
Even if you drive this in winter, it won't be too cold.
This kind of three-wheeled motorcycle is quite popular and very practical. Compared with motorcycles, it is actually more suitable for rural areas.
"Tricycle?"
When Ren Siheng and Duan Hai heard this, they were really dumbfounded this time. Looking at Liu Jin, they didn't know what was inside Liu Jin's head.
Many things have just come out, and Liu Jin can already think of many related strange things. As soon as the internal combustion engine came out, Liu Jin thought of cars, trucks, buses, etc., and asked people who studied engineering machinery to
Category.
Facts have proved that these things are very useful and very popular. The market response is very good, which greatly facilitates people's lives and production.
Now that this motorcycle has come out, Liu Jin is actually thinking about a three-wheeled vehicle again. This is only a two-wheeled one, so you have to make a three-wheeled one. This brain and this thinking really can't keep up.
"Yes, we will design and manufacture it later."
Duan Hai and Ren Siheng also nodded quickly and replied.
"Hmm~"
Liu Jin nodded and looked around the motorcycle carefully.
In comparison, Ming Dynasty may really need tricycles more, especially in the vast rural areas of Ming Dynasty. Tricycles can replace horse-drawn carriages. Although horse-drawn carriages are also very comfortable to use, the power and limitations of horse-drawn carriages are also obvious.
Motorcycles are also very useful in places with poor roads, such as Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, mountainous areas, hilly areas, etc. In these places, before roads were widely popularized, motorcycles were a very good means of transportation.
In plain areas, traffic conditions are better.
This tricycle is even better, because it can not only carry people, but also transport a lot of things. Whether it is transporting grain, transporting sand and gravel, etc., it is very good. It is very easy to carry several hundred kilograms, even
In plain areas, it is no problem to transport more than a thousand kilograms. If the power is sufficient, it is possible to transport two thousand kilograms at a time.
Therefore, we must produce to meet the needs of various places in Ming Dynasty.