In April 2007, the bankruptcy of New Century Financial Corporation, the second largest subprime mortgage company in the United States, exposed the risks of subprime mortgage bonds.
Starting in August 2007, the Federal Reserve responded by injecting liquidity into the financial system to increase market confidence, and the U.S. stock market was able to maintain its high level.
However, soon, the stock prices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two giants in American mortgage loans, plummeted, and financial institutions that held the bonds of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suffered large losses.
It can be said that the signs of a financial crisis have already appeared.
Under this situation, the American auto market has also begun to be affected.
On the one hand, the overall auto market is in a slump, and on the other hand, Japanese and Korean car companies such as Toyota Motor and Honda Motor are constantly on the offensive.
Therefore, whether it is General Motors or Ford, life this year will be difficult.
"Melgen, thanks to Xingchen Automobile this year, otherwise our losses would have been hundreds of millions of dollars more."
At the Detroit Airport, Ford invited a group of media to prepare for a special test.
Melgen, Vice President of Sales, and Chris, Vice President of Purchasing, both came to the test site.
The staff were still making some related preparations, and Chris and Melgen were chatting in the rest area.
"General Motors has lost more than 20 billion US dollars in the first three quarters of this year, which is more than double the amount we lost last year."
"If this pace continues, I feel that General Motors may start large-scale layoffs next year."
As the leader of the American auto market, General Motors' every move still attracts the attention of many people.
But this big brother is really dead now.
"Toyota's sales have already surpassed ours in the first three quarters of this year."
“Originally, we failed to capture the number one position in the market, but now we are ranked third in the market.”
"I have a feeling next year is not going to be easy either."
Although there is a more tragic case like General Motors, everyone's mood is not so depressed.
But Ford's situation this year is not optimistic either.
It's just that the situation is not as serious as General Motors.
So far, Ford has been losing money in the first three quarters.
However, thanks to the additional income from the sale of Aston Martin and the sale of Xingchen cars, as well as a series of measures taken by Mulally since taking office, the amount of losses this year is expected to decrease significantly.
Even if you are lucky enough, it may drop to less than 1 billion US dollars.
Although this situation is still relatively miserable, it at least allows Ford to maintain sufficient confidence.
"I can't understand the current market."
"The car market is not good, but the models of companies such as Toyota and Honda are selling quite well."
"But to be honest, the situation between us and GM is a bit miserable."
"Does the model we designed really not meet market demand?"
When Melgen asked, Chris didn't know how to answer.
Fortunately, at this time, the staff had almost completed the preparations for the test.
For this test, Ford was hemorrhaging a lot of money.
Not only are Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bugatti Veyron models rented, but also sports cars from Aston Martin, McLaren, Pagani and Koenigsegg.
The purpose is to compete with the Star W16 on the same stage and let everyone see the power of this sports car represented by Ford Motor Company.
The most eye-catching thing is that there is an F16 parked on another runway parallel to the runway where these sports cars are located.
This scene made the media who came to participate in the event very excited.
Not to mention so many top sports cars, just being able to bring fighter jets to compete together is not something that ordinary companies can handle.
That is to say, the American market has been handed over to Ford Motor Company, and Xingchen Motors is not suitable to establish a presence on site, reminding the American media that Xingchen Motors is a Chinese company.
Otherwise, this gimmick will definitely attract all the automotive media to take the initiative to spend money to travel.
Fortunately, Ford Motor Company fully considered Xingchen Motors' demands and arranged for professional personnel to shoot all the videos.
They even provided a live broadcast link to Xingchen Automobile, which fully met the promotional needs of Xingchen Automobile in China.
Whether a car is good or not, sometimes there is no way to simply explain it in one or two sentences.
But with so many top sports cars racing together, some performance comparisons are still very intuitive.
Acceleration performance from 100 kilometers to 100 kilometers, maximum speed, braking performance...
Many domestic consumers don't care much about things, but American consumers do care about them.
So after Xingchen Motors mentioned such a test, Ford Motors immediately responded positively.
They know better than anyone how much such a gimmick will boost the sales of the Star Sports Car.
Although this sports car is not designed to hit sales, the price of US$1.2 million still needs to be attractive enough to make consumers pay for it.
Otherwise, it is estimated that it will be difficult for the annual sales volume to exceed 10.
"Melgen, I have to say, this competition is really cool."
"As long as the Starry Sky W16 can successfully leave other supercars behind, even if it is eventually surpassed by the F16, it will still have a very good publicity effect."
Chris held a telescope and looked at the scene on the track.
With the commander waving the flag, the game is about to officially begin.
"Indeed."
"Chinese people sometimes have a lot of ideas."
"It is necessary for us to communicate more with Xingchen Automobile in the future to see if there is anything worth learning from some of their publicity techniques."
After several years of getting along, Nanshan Group's status in Melgen's heart has become very different.
Whether it is the amazing performance in the field of engines and gearboxes or the surprises that Xingchen Automobile has given everyone, it is worthy of Mergen to respect and value Nanshan Group.
"That's true. Now it seems that our choice to cooperate with Changan Automobile may not have been such a good idea."
"If the partner is Nanshan Group, maybe our performance in China can be even better than it is now."
When Chris said this, Melgen was also stunned.
He really hadn't considered this issue before.
However, a car company can only have at most two joint ventures in China, so it is definitely pointless to dwell on this issue now.
"Nanshan Group is very interested in Land Rover and seems to be interested in Volvo as well."
"Compared with selling Land Rover and other brands to other institutions, I think selling to Nanshan Group may be a better plan."
Although after Aston Martin was sold, the urgency for Ford Motor to sell Jaguar Land Rover was not as high.
But the sale of these brands has been decided within the company.
The difference is nothing more than when to sell.
Melgen and Chris are both senior executives of the company, so they naturally know this information.
"We can consider going to this year's Yangcheng Auto Show and find an opportunity to chat with Cao Yang to see what price they can get."
When Chris finished saying this, there was a roar from the other side of the airport runway.
The game officially started.
As a monster that can accelerate to 100 kilometers in just 2.5 seconds, the Starry Sky W16 naturally takes the lead and rushes to the front.
At the same time, the F16 on the runway next to it also started to move at full speed.
But at the beginning, each sports car must have accelerated faster.
Even in the first kilometer, all sports cars are faster than the F16.
Of course, it’s hard to say who will have the last laugh.
After all, at top speed, fighter jets will 100% kill these sports cars instantly.
"The Starry Sky W16 really did not disappoint. It took the lead and ran at the front. It's really great."
Melgen held a telescope and watched the race on the track.
For it, it would be great if the Starry Sky W16 could run smoothly to the end.
It will save a lot of effort when it comes to publicity.
"The performance of the W16 engine used by Xingkong is better than the 16-cylinder engines of other manufacturers. Coupled with the specially strengthened brake discs and other parts, it is normal for it to take the lead."
Chris also watched the competition on the airport runway with a smile on his face.
This competition is also a breakthrough for Ford's marketing.
Although the original idea was given by Xingchen Motors, it was Ford Motors that executed it.
Others don't know the story inside.
“The advantages of Starry Sky W16 are even more obvious!”
"But the F16's speed is also increasing!"
"The Porsche 911 has been surpassed!"
"Another sports car has been passed!"
The further you get to the back, the F16's advantages will definitely become more obvious.
By the time they reached the last two hundred meters, only the Bugatti Veyron and Starry Sky W16 had not been surpassed.
However, in just a moment, the Bugatti Veyron was surpassed by the F16.
Melgen and Chris were also looking forward to whether there would be an exception for the Starry Sky W16, but in the last few dozen meters, they still lost to the F16.
"What a pity!"
"Just a little bit closer!"
Melgen slapped his thigh hard.
"ah!"
"Melgen, why are you slapping my thigh?"
Chris on the side looked at Melgen speechlessly.
Have you suffered an unreasonable disaster?
"that……"
"Mistake!"
"It was a pure mistake!"
"Chris, there will be a competition with the Boeing 737 later. I don't think the Starry Sky W16 can beat the F16 fighter jet, but it should have no problem beating the Boeing 737."
Melgen quickly changed the subject.
"The Boeing 737 is a passenger plane after all. Although it is not slow, it still gives people the feeling that it is not that fast."
"But at any rate, I was racing against an airplane and won."
"This gimmick can be put to good use."
Chris looked at the Boeing 737 slowly sliding out on the runway, with a slightly regretful expression on his face.
"These two airplane races gave me some inspiration."
"After this wave of popularity passes, we can definitely find a more exciting competition to keep the popularity of Star Sports Car at a high level."
When Melgen said this, Chris looked at him expectantly.
"Think about it, if we let the Apache compete with the Starry Sky Sports Car, it will be more difficult than whether the Starry Sky Sports Car can evade Apache's missile lock."
"Do you think this is a very good marketing stunt?"
"Whether Apache wins or Star wins in the end, it can attract everyone's attention."
"For some wealthy consumers, what they care most about is whether the sports car they buy is special enough."
"After driving out, you can brag to others that your sports car can run faster than an airplane, and can even evade Apache attacks."
"Even if it can only be satisfied under certain conditions, it is enough to make many people find it interesting."
As Ford's vice president of sales, Melgen is quite clear about consumers' thoughts.
Especially for some high-end consumers, it is more difficult for ordinary people to grasp their ideas.
"This is indeed a good idea. You can consider waiting for this wave of popularity to pass before launching it."
"Maybe this is another classic car marketing case."
Chris also knows his stuff.
After hearing what Melgen said, he felt that it was indeed quite interesting.
While they were talking, the race between sports cars and Boeing 737s also started.
This time, there was no suspense at the beginning of the race, with the sports car taking the lead.
But halfway through the track, the Boeing 737, which was accelerating at full speed, also started to go crazy.
One supercar after another.
However, in the end, neither the Starry Sky W16 nor the Bugatti Veyron were surpassed by the Boeing 737 before crossing the finish line.
"Success!"
"Finally a good publicity stunt!"
Although the result was expected, Melgen couldn't help but clenched his fist and waved it in the air a few times.
“Both the Bugatti Veyron and the Starry Sky W16 outperformed the Boeing 737. I think we can also take this opportunity to hype up topics related to the pros and cons of the Bugatti Veyron and the Starry Sky W16.”
"As far as the price of the Bugatti Veyron is concerned, no matter what advantages or disadvantages the Starry Sky W16 has compared to it, if we can finally compare them together, it is already a winner."
The Bugatti Veyron, which was once the fastest among mass-produced sports cars, has now been surpassed by the Star W16.
This in itself is a good publicity point for Xingkong.
Now in the competition with Boeing 737, they are the only two companies that have succeeded.
Then it would be better to form a CP for them.
What a hot spot!
It’s not just the Chinese media.
"That's true. I'll make arrangements later!"
While Melgen and Chris were discussing the results of this special game, Autohome's live broadcast was officially delayed.
It's said to be a live broadcast, but it's actually a recorded broadcast.
But domestic netizens don’t know.
"Mr. Yu, this kind of marketing is very topical. I think it will definitely be a hot search on Weibo."
He Ling is personally responsible for today's live broadcast.
Autohome even dedicated pop-up ads on its homepage to attract more people to watch the live broadcast.
"There are already more than 100,000 online viewers!"
"It is estimated that as soon as the live broadcast ends, this matter will become a hot topic."
Yu Yu is very clear about the relationship between Xingchen Automobile and Weibo.
Not to mention that this live broadcast is already very topical, even if it is just average, it can be searched on Weibo.
Anyway, everyone in the industry already knows that hot searches on Weibo can be purchased with money.
Airborne hot searches and the like are perfectly normal.
It's just that this time she felt that even with its strength, the Starry Sky Sports Car could be a hot search.
"This kind of activity can actually be carried out several times, but it is probably difficult to replicate in China."
He Ling said with a little regret.
Even people who don't have a particularly high interest in cars will be interested in watching a big car and airplane race.
Not to mention those working in the automotive industry.
"Aren't you going to Dubai for a game soon?"
"Although there are no planes participating, I think it is very good to be able to gather so many sports cars together and combine them with the official website activities of "Need for Speed"."
When Yu Yu said this, He Ling nodded immediately.
Domestic automotive media people are really blessed this year.
Basically every month there are some OEMs holding large-scale activities.
Traveling all over the world, flying (playing) everywhere!
"Mr. Yu, these comments are quite interesting."
"At first, Mr. Cao suggested that our videos could display subtitles for comments. I didn't think there was anything special about it, but now I slowly feel the beauty of it."
Looking at the subtitles floating on the screen, He Ling was in a good mood.
"I'm sorry! The starry sky sports car is so powerful? How dare you compete with a fighter jet?"
"The Starry Sky W16 actually left the Bugatti Veyron behind. It's really an exaggeration!"
"Whoever can own such a sports car will have a free girlfriend, right?"
"Every car is so handsome, I like it so much!"
“When can I afford one of these!”
"It was said upstairs that girlfriends are free, why can't boyfriends be free?"
"Are you sure you're watching a race car?"
…
Various comments filled the screen.
More than 100,000 people are watching online, and the number is still growing.
You can imagine how many comments there will be.
"Ayang, this time we cooperated with Ford Motor Company in North America. Although they made most of the money, for Xingchen Motors, the harvest is actually not small."
Naturally, Fang Sisi quickly saw the news on the hot search on Weibo, and then quickly learned about the relevant situation.
"That is to say, the situation of Ford Motor has been relatively difficult in the past two years. Otherwise, they may not be willing to help others sell cars, even if it contains good profits."
"Not to mention that when we put forward a publicity plan, they immediately actively implemented it."
Cao Yang is quite satisfied with the current cooperation between Xingchen Motors and Ford Motors.
I didn’t make much money, but Xingchen Automobile’s popularity definitely increased.
Especially when promoting domestically, we can make full use of Xingchen Motors' excellent performance in the United States.
"In order to achieve better publicity effects, Ford Motor Company is also working hard, and even F16 fighter jets have been mobilized."
"This would be unthinkable in our country."
Fang Sisi was also very emotional when she saw the high popularity on Weibo.
"A large automobile company has a huge local influence."
"Especially after the sales of Xingchen Automobile increased this year, I have a deeper feeling about this."
"In the future, Nanshan Group will be led by Xingchen Automobile and drive the development of industries such as Nanshan engines, Nanshan gearboxes, Nanshan robots, Nanshan equipment and Nanshan auto parts."
"Gradually it has become an industrial giant and the largest private enterprise in China."
From a competition organized by Ford Motor Company, Cao Yang thought of many things.
If you want to have a greater say, you must have greater strength.
As the news of Xingkong W16 racing against an airplane spread on Weibo, various automotive media also began to show off their power.
[Airplanes and cars compete on the same field, the Starry Sky W16 accelerates to 100 kilometers in 2.5 seconds to illustrate the strength of supercars]
【Who can win in car or airplane racing? 】
[Exciting competition between F16 fighter jets and cars, the result is incredible!]
[Exciting competition between Boeing 737 and cars, the result is incredible!]
[Xingchen Automobile makes history again, outperforming Boeing 737! 】
[Punch a Bugatti, step on a Lamborghini, Xingchen Motors is awesome! 】
[Starry Sky W16, the fastest mass-produced sports car on earth! 】
[With a price of 10.01 million, Starry Sky W16 is a great value for money! 】
[Do you still want to buy a Lamborghini worth tens of millions? outdated! 】
Various marketing articles quickly appeared on the Internet.
Some are published on Autohome, but many more are published on other media.
This time, not only the car channels of various portals were interested in this news, but also other social news and the like also reported this content.
After all, racing between sports cars and airplanes is still very attractive.
Not to mention that the protagonist is a supercar produced by China itself!
Even Liu Tianwu, who had just been promoted half a level, took the initiative to call.
"Mr. Cao, congratulations to you, Starry Sky W16 has given a breath of fresh air to the Chinese automobile industry."
Obviously, Liu Tianwu has seen the relevant news.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t say it like this.
"It's a pity that we almost won the F16."
"We will strive to break the record we created in the future!"
Cao Yang was also in a good mood.
The publicity effect of this wave is definitely full marks!
The key is that this kind of thing is very beneficial to improving the brand power of Xingchen Automobile.
This was also the purpose of arranging for people to build a starry sky sports car.
Otherwise, simply looking at the money-making effect, it would be more practical to build one more SUV.
"Then I'll wait and see!"
"After March next year, I will probably take a job in the city."
"If you have anything to do then, you can always call me."
Although Liu Tianwu would be promoted sooner or later, Cao Yang had already guessed this.
However, I still felt a little surprised when I suddenly learned the news at this moment today.
"Congratulations to the leader!"
"Our Nanshan Group is rooted in Yangcheng, and we will continue to trouble you with many things in the future."
It doesn't matter if it's strange or unexpected.
At this time, I definitely have to bury it in my heart.
Congratulations are the most important thing.
To a certain extent, the outstanding performance of Xingkong W16 can be regarded as a perfect stage achievement for Liu Tianwu.
(End of chapter)
