GM's first finalized product, which was very satisfying to almost everyone.

Needless to say, the people who created the car such as Benz and Daimler, even John, who traveled back in time, couldn't help but be amazed when he saw these three samples, because in terms of styling, performance and comfort, this car named "Aurora" by Maybach is good enough, and can even be comparable to the level of the early 20th century.

John's cutting-edge technology and ideas have accelerated the development of automobiles by at least 20 years!

Therefore, for today's competition between cars and horse-drawn carriages, John could not have been worried at all. The 20-horsepower engine is enough for the Aurora to reach a top speed of 50 kilometers per hour, and the mailbox of more than 20 liters allows it to travel more than 100 kilometers - without breaking down, of course. So no matter how you look at it, there is no doubt that Aurora will defeat the carriage, the only thing that makes John feel a little pity is that although Aurora is very good in terms of comfort and operability, it is still not good enough in noise control, and the movement is too big when driving!

Of course, for the world's first mass-produced car, this was not a problem at all.

Although he didn't have much interest in this kind of unsuspenseful game, because of Anna's high interest, John had to follow and take a look. After the French and two General Motors people discussed, there were three rounds of competition between the car and the horse-drawn carriage, the first round of speed competition to see who could finish the kilometer first; In the second round of endurance competition, the distance increased to ten kilometers in one go; In the third round, it was a competition on the practicality of driving on city roads - the venue was to cross the entire city of Paris......

……

"As I said earlier, it's a no-brainer."

After hearing the characteristic low roar of the car in the distance, John's face flushed with a faint smugness, and he said with a smile at Anna beside him.

Pouted. Anna waved her hand unceremoniously and said, "Of course I know who wins and who loses, and I just came here today to watch the excitement...... Don't you think staying in a hotel will be boring? ”

"Uh......"

Blinking, John was speechless.

The three races were indeed as he expected, and there was no suspense at all, although under the careful control of two GM employees, the Aurora only ran at 30 kilometers per hour. But the three carefully selected carriages were left out without a trace, especially during the race across the city of Paris, and the aurora showed amazing performance and speed - the flat, hard road surface of Paris allowed them to be fully exploited.

"Next, there must be more things for the two of them."

Seeing a car slowly stop at the door of the hotel from far and near, Anna's face suddenly glowed with a heart-warming brilliance.

When she first saw a car a few weeks ago, she was sensitive to the excellence of this new form of transportation, and the long journey made her even more convinced. And as the daughter of a successful businessman, Anna is well aware of John, who owns sixty percent of the shares of General Motors. I'm afraid another mega gold mine has been excavated.

Nodding, John smiled slightly: "It's okay, I have already sent a telegram to Mr. Benz two days ago, asking him to send someone to Paris to replace them, it should be there in two days, and it will not delay our trip......"

……

“…… Mr. Huntelaar, this is so exciting! ”

After knocking on John's door, two General Motors employees shouted with red faces. I don't know if it's because I'm excited about something, or because I've just drunk a lot of good wine.

"You drank a lot?"

Smell the pungent smell of wine. John asked, frowning.

One of them nodded and said excitedly, "Yes sir, we all drank some just now...... Ah, I'm sorry I didn't notice you were here too, Miss Brister. ”

Suddenly I saw Anna behind John. The two staff members hurriedly greeted each other.

Anna nodded at the two of them, and then asked curiously, "Gentlemen, what is it that makes you so excited?" ”

"Order, of course!"

Without hesitation, one of them said loudly.

Just after today's game. Several businessmen poured into John's hotel, and almost impatiently waved orders to two General Motors employees—orders for at least fifty cars, and as soon as they had finished dealing with the merchants, the excited two employees could not wait to report the good news to John. You know, according to the price of Aurora, the order of 50 cars is not a small number!

"How much? Fifty? So much? ”

This surging order made John a little surprised, and he couldn't help but ask.

The two clerks nodded immediately, and one of them said seriously: "Yes sir, it's fifty cars so far, but I think it won't be long before more orders will come in." “

After being stunned for a moment, John asked in surprise, "Gentlemen, have you told them the possible price of the Aurora car?" “

"Of course!"

The two nodded as a matter of course.

This resolute attitude made John's heart shake suddenly, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes: "They didn't dispute the possible sale price of thousands of francs? This...... What a strange thing! ”

In what was supposed to be true history, Benz produced cars that were not so popular, and the price of more than three thousand marks scared off almost everyone, and it was not until he made another bargain of two thousand marks that more than a hundred were sold in a year. But now, ten years earlier, with a price of more than 3,000 marks, how could John not be surprised that there were so many orders in a single city of Paris?

"What's so strange about that?"

Facing the puzzled John, Anna blinked and said casually: "This is Paris, one of the richest cities in Europe!" Isn't it strange that the nobles and the great merchants sometimes had to spend tens of thousands of francs to customize a carriage, and to spend thousands of francs on a car that far surpassed the performance of a carriage? If there were cars for sale in Berlin, I think my father would have bought one without hesitation! ”

In Anna's opinion, four thousand francs was indeed expensive, but it was not worth mentioning at all for the city of Paris.

As one of the two most powerful countries in the world, the French are undeniably wealthy, especially among the officers, businessmen and entrepreneurs, who don't mind spending thousands of francs on such a stylish car......

"Uh......"

After listening to Anna's explanation, John immediately understood one thing: he was probably making the mistake of empiricism.

Historically, Bentz's invention of the car did get a cold shoulder, and he did get out of the situation when he made a bargain, but that doesn't mean John was right about the aurora. The reason is also very simple, that is, the performance of the Aurora is not comparable to those cars produced by Benz ten years later!

No matter how popular it was in later generations, at the end of the 19th century, cars could only be the toys of the wealthy.

The reason why Bentz's car could not be sold was probably not only a matter of price, but more importantly, because its performance was not an absolute advantage compared with horse-drawn carriages, and in terms of showing the demeanor of nobles or gentlemen, the simple cars were far from being comparable to the gorgeous cars, so it was natural that the rich were not willing to spend money on them.

But in this world, the aurora is not the humble car in history.

The ample power allowed Benz to design the car's overall structure with ease, even using John's sketches to bring the driver's seat and rear seats into a comfortable cabin. It can be said that with the support of huge funds and sufficient manpower, coupled with John's "genius" creativity and ready-made patented technology, Benz has compressed the road that the car will travel in the next ten years into one year!

How can such a car not be popular?

Compared to a full-fledged car, the price of a few thousand francs or a few thousand marks is not worth mentioning to the really rich aristocrats and wealthy merchants, which is why after today's race, so many merchants will come to the door waving orders. Because these people know that even if a car costs thousands of francs to buy back, the noble French gentlemen will never let them suffer......

"Mr. Huntelaar, what shall we do?"

Just as John figured out what was going on, the two staff members asked.

Although they are not pure technicians, the two of them are not the top management of General Motors, so it is naturally impossible to make any serious decisions. Especially when Aurora has not yet been officially put into production, and even the price has not been set, no one dares to rashly agree to others to take orders. But if the two of them let go of the fifty car orders at hand in vain, they would definitely not be reconciled.

Anyway, that's a six-figure sales revenue!

"Don't promise anything just yet."

After thinking for a while, John shook his head helplessly and said, "Gentlemen, I will do my best to communicate with Mr. Benz and Mr. Daimler, and then give you a decision ......."

……

In October 1886, this race between carriages and automobiles took place in Paris, and countless newspapers quickly spread throughout the continent. Anyone who pays even the slightest attention to current events knows that a great invention comparable to a train has appeared, and its inventor is General Motors in Karlsruhe, Germany.

For Europe at the end of the 19th century, this was definitely the best way to advertise.

As more and more newspapers published news of the car, and as Johan's convoy of three Auroras left Paris and returned to Germany, the whole of Germany became a sensation...... (To be continued......)