The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 83: Assembly Line Production and Car Testing (Please subscribe!)

Translator: 549690339

Arthur was dumbfounded, having forgotten that cars were currently handcrafted, resulting in high labor and time costs for production.

Common cars on the market typically cost hundreds of pounds, and more advanced cars like the Victor Dea were nearly 200 pounds.

However, the cost of a car was much more than this. Since each part of a handcrafted car varies in size and shape, maintenance costs and time increase significantly.

It was also due to handcrafting that the stability of the cars was not very good, and they were prone to frequent issues.

Consequently, the potential of cars far exceeded horse carriages, but these factors have prevented their global popularization.

“Mr. Benz, I know of a new car production method that might solve the problems of production cost and construction time,” Arthur said, looking at the downcast faces of the two men.

“Really? Your Highness, what is the method?” As expected, the dispirited duo perked up and eagerly asked Arthur for details.

“Right now, you have a team working together to build a car, correct?” Instead of directly answering, Arthur posed his own question.

“Of course, Your Highness. Only by having several workers who are familiar with each other work together in a team can the production time and error rate of the car be reduced,” Benz replied, nodding.

“Then why not try breaking down a complete car into parts?” Arthur suggested, smiling: “A complete car can be divided into modules like doors, wheels, body, engine, and many more. Each person is responsible for one part, assembling the car piece by piece from one end of the production line to the other. Wouldn’t that be better?”

Since the concept of assembly line production did not yet exist, Arthur had to describe it in concrete terms.

Nonetheless, the two men quickly grasped the idea of the assembly line and pondered its potential impact and advantages.

“Divide a complete car into multiple modules?” Benz pondered, his brow furrowed. After a moment, he looked excitedly at Diesel, who likewise expressed the same enthusiasm in his eyes.

“If one person only completes one module, not only will it increase the speed of car assembly, but also reduce the error rate of parts production and car assembly. My goodness, Your Highness, this is a brilliant idea. Thank you, this could save the car market and even be applied to other industries,” Benz said, shaking with excitement.

Indeed, Ford Company’s assembly line production technique was later applied to various industries.

This technology discovery greatly increased the production speed of the mechanical industry, promoted the popularization of cars and market expansion, and greatly contributed to other industries worldwide.

“If possible, I hope the car factory can be modified based on this theory. If the assembly line production method can speed up car production and reduce costs, our car factory will lead the world’s car market,” Arthur nodded and said with a smile.

Clearly, both Benz and Diesel were captivated by the assembly line theory proposed by Arthur.

If it weren’t for the fact that the testing of the new car hadn’t been completed yet, the two men might have already hurriedly begun the factory transformation.

However, the necessary experiments for the new car could not be missed.

This car represented the culmination of Benz and Diesel’s knowledge and was arguably the most advanced car in the world.

The two were quite confident in the testing of this new car.

Currently, car inspection technology was rudimentary, focusing mainly on speed, cruising stability, and fault rate on complex sections of the road.

In terms of speed, the new car’s top speed was very satisfactory, thanks to the powerful diesel engine, reaching a terrifying 80 to 90 kilometers per hour.

The steady cruising data was also appealing. The new car could maintain a 40 kilometers per hour speed until the fuel tank was depleted, which took over seven hours.

Although this number paled in comparison to cars of later generations, it was already beyond imagination for a period of emerging automobiles.

It is important to note that horse carriages were still the most widely used means of small-scale transport in Europe. Horse carriages had an average speed of about ten kilometers per hour, and any faster would cause severe jolts, even resulting in casualties and damages.

Currently, the average speed of cars was generally between 20 and 30 kilometers per hour. One reason was that most people were not familiar with this emerging technology, which indirectly reduced the speed of cars since a vast majority of people could not adapt to high speeds.

Secondly, frequent failures with existing cars also meant they couldn’t travel too fast.

Often, a car would break down before even half of the fuel in the tank had been used.

Given this backdrop, the car developed by Benz and Diesel, with a top speed of nearly 90 kilometers per hour and the ability to cruise steadily at 40 kilometers per hour for almost seven hours, was a remarkable achievement.

Setting aside production costs and construction time, this car’s performance was more than market-ready and could even rival the Model T.

Arthur, Benz, and Diesel were all satisfied with the first two speed tests.

As for the upcoming stability and fault rate tests, they required long-term testing on different sections of the road and had to be conducted another day.

However, based on the first two tests, the new car’s performance was more than adequate and met Arthur’s expectations for automobiles of this era.

Now it was up to Benz and Diesel to master the assembly line theory and transform their respective factories.

Once the transformation was complete, Arthur’s car could lead the world’s car market by a step ahead of the Model T, paving the way for the global automotive market.

With this in mind, Arthur looked at Diesel and Benz and said with a smile: “Mr. Diesel, Mr. Benz. I am very satisfied with this car, and I hope you can research specific assembly line production methods and modify your factories as soon as possible. Once you can successfully reduce the cost and construction time of car production, you will both be considered heroes of Australia.”

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