Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Switching from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive isn't easy, as it requires adding parts. But going from four-wheel drive to two-wheel drive is just a matter of removing parts. What's so difficult about that?

It all depends on whether you want to do it or not. For Americans, it's better to do less than more. So, even for a small change like converting from four-wheel drive to two-wheel drive, it took them several years to solve. As for the Capital Jeep factory? Don't even count on it.

"If there's no four-wheel drive system, is it still a pure off-road vehicle?" the Americans were still unwilling.

"Everyone, we're just giving customers more choices. Those who need it can choose the four-wheel drive version, and those who don't can choose the two-wheel drive version. This way, they can choose the right model according to their needs, and the user base will be larger. Your company started by building off-road vehicles, but didn't the Cherokee you eventually built remove the frame? That shows you've also compromised with reality."

Qin Yang's words made some people's faces turn ugly, but they couldn't refute him.

They did start by building off-road vehicles, but the market for pure off-road vehicles was getting smaller and smaller. In order to better adapt to the market and gain customer recognition, they had to work hard to reduce fuel consumption. On the one hand, they had to improve the engine's economy, and on the other hand, they had to reduce the car's weight, taking a two-pronged approach.

They reduced the size of the car and removed the frame, all in order to reduce weight. Now, to further reduce weight, they also have to remove the four-wheel drive system?

"You can see that the best-selling cars in the American market are Island Nation cars. These cars focus on fuel efficiency. Even if oil prices drop again in the future, we must contribute to the world's environmental protection and reduce fuel consumption as much as possible. Believe me, two-wheel drive cars have a market not only in our East, but also in America."

Marion nodded: "Yes, reducing fuel consumption is a very important task now, but it's not easy to reduce fuel consumption. Those Island Nation cars are so fuel-efficient, I really don't know how they do it."

"How else could they do it? They must be sacrificing safety," Qin Yang said. "Their cars are as thin as paper. Once an accident occurs, the car shell simply can't withstand the violent impact. They focus on fuel efficiency, but ignore safety. This is a losing proposition."

Marion's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Moreover, I heard that there are also problems with their designs. Some models clearly release the accelerator, but can still accelerate automatically. This is not just a design error, it's simply a disrespect for the driver's life."

The light in Marion's eyes grew brighter.

Everyone present was a little curious. What was President Qin talking about? Why were these foreigners so interested?

Of course they were interested! Qin Yang had provided them with a good way to solve their competitors!

Since the oil price increase in the 1970s, American cars had not been selling well. After all, American cars often had large V6 and V8 engines, which consumed a lot of fuel. Island Nation cars began to occupy the American market, and this trend became more and more obvious.

American domestic car companies suffered a huge blow, and the confidence of the Island Nation people became stronger and stronger. After the Plaza Accord and the appreciation of the yen, the Island Nation people became the most confident nation in the world, believing that they could acquire the whole world by buying, buying, buying.

But American domestic car companies wouldn't stand for it. Who would watch Island Nation car companies occupy their market? If they couldn't compete head-on, they had to think of some crooked ways.

The solutions that Qin Yang proposed were really great! They perfectly solved the problem!

They could trick Island Nation car companies once, deliberately find safety defects, then exaggerate the crisis, let everyone know that Island Nation cars were unreliable, and then fine them a large sum of money. This way, American car companies would regain their upgrading and vitality!

"President Qin, thank you for these reminders," Marion said happily.

Dr. Wright was a little curious. He knew that Marion was a very arrogant person, but he didn't expect him to admire a young man like Qin Yang.

"Has your company agreed to the two-wheel drive plan?"

"We've agreed. We can build two-wheel drive cars," Marion said. "We also want to do our part in reducing fuel consumption. President Qin, do you have any other suggestions?"

"If you want to reduce fuel consumption, you mainly have to start with the engine," Qin Yang continued to give pointers. "Large-displacement engines consume too much fuel and will gradually be eliminated. Small-displacement engines will be popular next, but the engine still needs to have enough power. So, I think the next era will be the era of turbocharged engines. If you're interested, we can cooperate and jointly develop turbocharged engines."

Whenever turbocharged engines are mentioned, some people sneer at them, saying things like squeezing power, and how it will be in five or ten years. In fact, these are just old wives' tales.

Turbocharged engines have existed for a long time. Aircraft engines during World War II almost all required superchargers. After the end of World War II, many diesel vehicles also entered the turbocharged era.

For example, the introduced Steyr WD615 engine has a version with a supercharger. In later generations, various truck engines have superchargers.

As for lifespan? As long as you don't use inferior engine oil, many superchargers can have the same lifespan as the engine. As for squeezing power, as long as you strengthen the cylinder block and pistons and use it normally, the lifespan is not a problem.

If you are reluctant to refuel and go to small gas stations all day long, you may really have problems, and then you will complain, why was it okay for the old Santana to add private oil, but this new car can't? It's clear that turbocharged engines are unreliable!

Anyway, since I'm idle, it's normal to show off a bit to these people.

"Turbocharging?"

"That's right, turbocharging. Compared to mechanical supercharging, it doesn't need to consume power. It's just that there's a sudden burst when the turbo kicks in. As long as it's matched well with the gearbox, it's still okay," Qin Yang said. "For example, if you make a 2.0T engine, it's a 2.0 naturally aspirated engine before the turbo kicks in. After the turbo kicks in, it can reach the power of a 4.0 engine. It can be fuel-efficient when you want to save fuel, and it has power when you want power. Isn't that great?"

Are turbocharged engines fuel-efficient? That depends on how you say it. Compared to engines with the same displacement, they definitely consume more fuel, because more fuel has to be injected. But the car's operating conditions are different. It's often idling, and at this time, it's more fuel-efficient than a large-displacement engine with the same power. When you need to step on the accelerator, the power can still burst out.

"President Qin, do you have this technology?"

"Of course we do. Our Factory 960 has been providing supporting turbochargers to many units in China. If you want them, we can also provide them. If you use your 2.5-liter engine to modify it, you can increase the power to that of a 4.0-liter engine."