After entering the 20th century, brake defects of Pajero models broke out on a large scale, which is the famous "brake door" incident.
The most irritating thing is that after car owners experienced serious accidents due to brake failure, Mitsubishi Motors even denied it.
In the end, Mitsubishi Motors could not withstand the pressure of public opinion and carried out recalls all over the world. Only the models sold to China were not recalled. It was well known that Little Japan was Sima Zhao's heart.
How did Mitsubishi Motors solve the problem?
At that time, a state-owned enterprise research institute where Yao Yuan worked was responsible for a large amount of research and development work on oil mining machinery and equipment, which required frequent trips to oil fields and mining areas. The grassroots units below were equipped with a large number of Pajero off-road vehicles, all of which were used as commuters and tool trucks.
In fact, the Pajero off-road vehicle is a commuter vehicle in mining areas. It has no quality at all when driving on urban roads. It is just because of its strong off-road capabilities that it has been pushed to a high position by off-road enthusiasts, coupled with the strong publicity of Mitsubishi Motors.
, it was even once used as a model for Jackie Chan’s blockbusters.
Yao Yuan personally experienced a brake failure. The brake system suddenly failed when the vehicle was going down a mountain. Fortunately, the driver was an automobile veteran who had retired from the army. He used the friction between the vehicle and the mountain to save the seven people in the vehicle from danger.
From that moment on, Yao Yuan paid conscious attention to this matter.
As a technical researcher, Yao Yuan's focus is of course on technology. He originally thought that Mitsubishi Motors would come up with a good solution. After all, there are 700,000 to 800,000 original second-generation Pajero models in the world.
In 1991, the sales volume of Pajero models was 110,000 units. Until the brake door incident broke out in 2001, the sales volume was more than 100,000 units every year, with the highest number reaching 175,000 units in one year.
However, what surprised Yao Yuan was that Mitsubishi Motors did not introduce a once-and-for-all technical solution, but relied on simply moving the position of the sensing valve to deal with consumers!
That was until the third generation Pajero model came out.
On the contrary, various domestic subsidiary factories have used various methods to keep the large number of second-generation Pajero models alive in mainland China. Until 2021, there will still be a large number of second-generation Pajero active in areas with complex terrain and for off-road hobbies.
in the circle of
However, starting from the Brakegate incident, Mitsubishi Motors began to decline, until no one cared about the joint venture car and withdrew from the Chinese market.
Why did Mitsubishi Motors commit suicide?
The reasons are complicated, but Yao Yuan is certain that Mitsubishi Motors must have done research on the defects of the braking system and found that a huge amount of money is needed to make thorough technical improvements. It is using this money to invest in the research and development of replacement models and solve the defects of the second-generation models.
Between them, they chose the former.
In other words, they put the lives and safety of the huge number of second-generation Pajero owners before corporate interests!
Such a business that cares so little about human life has outraged the whole world.
Dealing with this kind of enterprise, Yao Yuan would have no psychological burden at all if he killed them.
So, does Yao Yuan have a technical solution? If so, what is it like?
Of course, Jitaro Mitsume is very concerned. The head office has decided to give up technological improvements on modern models. In other words, the future of the second-generation Pajero model is all tied to the Chunfeng Academy of Science.
Of course, Yao Yuan cannot know this decision.
Under Jitaro Sanme's expectant gaze, Zhan Chenggui said, "Because the brake pipeline has been moved as a whole, the entire chassis subsystem also needs to be adjusted accordingly, and the workload is very heavy..."
Yao Yuan said at this time, "Let me tell you."
Zhan Chenggui paused.
Yao Yuan said, "We have used the overall chassis design technology to optimize the entire chassis. Sanmu, what you see now is a brand-new chassis, which not only completely solves the defects of the braking system, but also optimizes the suspension performance."
When he said this, Jitaro Mitsume muttered in his heart, this is obviously our technical achievement, how come it has become a brand-new chassis? But there is nothing wrong with what Yao Yuan said, they have made comprehensive improvements!
Yao Yuan said with a smile, "According to the agreement between the two parties, Chunfeng Academy of Sciences has undisputed patent rights for this chassis and related technologies. Well, we have applied for patents in more than a dozen countries around the world."
As soon as these words came out, Sanmeji Taro immediately became alert.
He frowned and asked in a low voice carefully, "Mr. Yao, do you mean that if Mitsubishi Motors wants to use this technology, it needs to pay patent fees?"
Yao Yuan shook his head with a smile, nodded again, and said, "Pajero models sold in mainland China do not need to pay patent fees. In addition, patent fees must be paid according to the international market price. Considering the cooperation between us and Mitsubishi Motors
Because of the relationship, I personally set a price specifically for Mitsubishi Motors."
He raised a finger and said, "Each car only costs $3,000."
To be honest, for a mid-to-high-end car with a starting price of US$30,000 in North America, this price is not expensive. The question is, why do we still need to pay royalties for patented technology?
Yao Yuan had never mentioned this issue before.
Jitaro Mitsume shook his head and said, "Mr. Yao, the price is not expensive. It can be seen that it is a preferential price for our company. However, this technology is for the Pajero model, and we are the only buyer. But having said that, our previous
The agreement did not mention the issue of royalties for patented technology. We invest in BMW machinery and you help us solve the brake failure problem."
"Three eyes, these are two different things."
Yao Yuan pointed at the brand new chassis and said, "Of course there is no problem if you want a technical solution. You don't need to pay patent royalties. However, you must charge an improvement service fee. It can't be free, right?"
Yao Yuan interrupted him rudely and said, "Sanmu, what is your boss's idea? Investing 10 million US dollars in BMW machinery is not to buy technical services. We provide products and services, and you can use the money to buy them if you need them."
Should you buy it back and make it yourself or leave it to us? It’s your choice.”
Mitsubishi Motors is really working on this idea. Spending 10 million US dollars to solve the problems that can bring the entire Pajero series down from the altar is a huge deal.
Unfortunately, they are too self-righteous.
If it were anyone else, they might have been deceived. After all, Mitsubishi Motors' technical team also contributed. Even if the investment of 10 million US dollars is not counted, Mitsubishi Motors should still have a share.
Unfortunately, what they met was Yao Yuan who took their lives seriously.
In this world, no one who can blind Yao Yuan has yet been born, and there never will be.