Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Any foreigner coming to the East will sing praises of Eastern cuisine. The cultural heritage of the East, spanning thousands of years, has accumulated a wealth of experience in how to eat.

When Dr. Wright came to the East, food and drink were naturally indispensable. He was already amazed by the delicacies at the hotel, but now, arriving at the 960 Factory's cafeteria, he was even more surprised as plate after plate of dishes were brought out.

"This dish is Yu Xiang Rou Si (Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork), a specialty of our East, with a sweet and sour taste that also suits Western tastes."

"Qin, the food in your East is truly fascinating," Dr. Wright said. "Ordinary ingredients are transformed into different ways of eating. Take potatoes, for example. Before coming here, I would never have imagined that potatoes could actually be stir-fried as a dish."

In the West, potatoes are a staple food. A large potato is placed on everyone's plate, and the meal begins with a knife and fork. But here in the East, they are cut into thin strips and stir-fried.

Truly interesting.

"If you like our Eastern cuisine, then you can stay for a longer period. Even if you stay for half a year, you can eat something different every day."

Dr. Wright smiled: "Yes, I believe it, but I'm also very busy and can't stay longer. Once the matters here are finished, I have to go back."

He had investigated everything that needed to be investigated, and now it was time to go back, to return and discuss those matters with the company, and to purchase what should be purchased. What couldn't be purchased could only be regretted.

"That's a pity, but there will be more opportunities in the future. You are welcome to come back anytime," Qin Yang said.

"Yes, I hope to come back often," Dr. Wright nodded. "By the way, before I leave, I would also like to visit the Capital Automotive Factory."

Capital Automotive Factory? Qin Yang was taken aback: "What are you going to do there?"

"They are currently discussing a cooperation with AMC," Dr. Wright said. "Now that I'm here, I'll go take a look."

AMC, Cherokee!

When it comes to Sino-foreign joint venture cars, it's easy to think of Santana, after all, Santana is too famous. So much so that decades later, when the people who once looked at Santana with envy grow up and have money, they also want to buy a Santana to enjoy themselves.

In fact, before Santana, there were also joint venture projects in China, and that was the Cherokee. It was also the first to take the plunge in China.

It can be said that the success of Santana was built on the failure of Cherokee. Many lessons were learned from Cherokee, such as the most critical localization rate. At that time, many people felt like they were at the end of their rope, but they still had to bite the bullet and localize.

The localization rate of the imported Cherokee was very low. For a long time, it was necessary to use the CKD method, spending valuable foreign exchange to purchase spare parts from abroad, and then transport them to China for assembly. The original intention of establishing a joint venture car company was to save foreign exchange, but unexpectedly, the imported project became an assembly project, and it was even called to a halt in the middle because it cost too much money.

At this time, hearing about this project, Qin Yang was also deeply moved.

"President Qin? President Qin?"

Dr. Wright called out several times before Qin Yang reacted, smiled, and said: "It's nothing, I was just thinking about the Cherokee."

"President Qin knows about our car?"

"Of course."

In later generations, there was an advertising slogan that said, 'Not all Jeeps are Jeeps.' This is naturally for a reason. For a considerable period of time, the off-road vehicle in the East was Jeep.

The earliest Jeep was the 212, and later the Cherokee was introduced, which was called 213 in China. These were all authentic American Jeeps. Later, there were more and more off-road vehicles, but many of them were not of Jeep lineage.

In fact, the Cherokee was relatively advanced when it was introduced to the East. After all, the imported Jeep Cherokee XJ was the second-generation model of the Cherokee, and it had only just come out in 1984.

This period was exactly the era of soaring oil prices, so the Cherokee aimed at fuel efficiency. In order to save fuel, its dimensions were reduced by a large margin, and the weight was reduced, which naturally saved fuel.

More importantly, it also removed the traditional off-road vehicle's frame.

Hardcore off-road vehicles all require a frame, which connects the various parts of the car. This way, when the car is moving on bumpy roads, the frame can bear various torsional moments and prevent problems with the body.

Only cars have only a body, and all the parts are installed on the body.

However, although the Cherokee has a unibody construction, it did not give up off-roading. There are still two longitudinal beams running through the front and rear under its body, but the longitudinal beams are integrated with the body. Therefore, many Cherokees are taken for off-roading, and they are still fine.

As an off-road vehicle, the Cherokee is still competent, but as a vehicle planned to be a bestseller in the East, it is not competent. After all, the production of the Cherokee mainly relies on imported parts, the price is high, and when cooperating with American companies, many conflicts occurred due to different beliefs. The Capital Automotive Factory was very slow to digest and absorb the technology, and did not play the role of using foreign goods to improve its own technical level.

"President Qin, since you are so interested, why not go and take a look with me?" Dr. Wright extended an invitation.

Qin Yang smiled: "Dr. Wright, you build tanks, why are you interested in this kind of car?"

Why does Dr. Wright want to get involved everywhere?

"That's right, I build tanks, but our American ground vehicle companies cooperate with each other. Many parts on our tanks are also produced by car factories. Moreover, we have noticed that AMC's operating conditions are not good, so if we can help, we hope to help."

Qin Yang smiled. You Westerners also pay attention to helping each other? That's really meaningful, but since the other party said so, he might as well go since he's idle anyway.

"Okay, then let's go together."

Although they are both companies in the capital, there is not much contact between the 960 Factory and the Capital Automotive Factory. After all, they are mainly engaged in military industry and don't have much contact with automobiles. Later, when they became involved in the automobile industry, it was also heavy trucks, which had nothing to do with light vehicles.

This time, it's good to accompany Dr. Wright to take a look.

After eating, Dr. Wright and Qin Yang continued to tour the 960 Factory. He was full of interest in everything. The next day, they went to the Capital Automotive Factory.

The cooperation in the East is serious. In order to cooperate with the Americans, the Capital Automotive Factory also specially established a Capital Jeep Factory in order to introduce advanced Western technology. However, the process of this cooperation is full of twists and turns.

By the time Qin Yang and others arrived, they were holding what was probably the nth meeting, and the meeting was still spent in disputes.