Almost any gas station employee involved in the maintenance of new Chinese cars will confirm to you that from a technical point of view, cars from the Middle Kingdom are in no way inferior to their famous European or Japanese competitors. That is, the Chinese auto industry is now approximately on the same level as the global industry – no matter what the convinced haters of our eastern partner’s vehicle grumble about this.
Overall everything is great. Even the shortcomings in driving behavior or sound insulation among the “Chinese” are not a matter of technological lagging behind someone else, but only a consequence of the specific approach of Asians to the consumer characteristics of vehicles. With all this, the generally accepted perfection of the driving characteristics of today’s passenger cars, if you look at it, is not so great compared to similar parameters of ancestral models.
In fact, the most impressive evolution in automotive design in recent decades has not occurred in the chassis or steering system. And the braking mechanism has not changed during this time, not only fundamentally, but also from the point of view of the materials used. In the latter case, most innovations are associated only with the forced (under pressure of ‘green’) introduction of more environmentally friendly materials. This means that the hardware, on which driving pleasure and safety directly depend, has not fundamentally changed. Is it possible that instead of steel levers in the suspension, aluminum was used en masse to save weight.
The lion’s share of the quantum leap in vehicle efficiency and safety that has occurred over the past two to three decades is due to advances in the creation and implementation of various electronic assistance systems. Most of these are chips and software and not well-designed mechanical devices.
This means that modern vehicles have received a significant part of their performance and ability to deliver driving pleasure almost artificially. Smart transmissions that transfer torque between the wheels, electronic stabilization systems that give the driver the ability to drive with different “aggressiveness” levels, video cameras that monitor the markings – this is all great.
But in fact, it turns out that the thrill of control depends not on engineers and test drivers, but on a bunch of programmers. Who click on keyboards and adapt the character of new models to the figures that marketers collect through focus groups. As a result, now almost any “box” with a primitive suspension and steering can be equipped with electronic assistants and will drive no worse than others.
But if I personally am faced with the choice: getting behind the wheel of a modern (albeit Chinese) car with the “electric assistants” turned off or remembering my childhood as a driver behind the wheel of a VAZ-2109, then I will choose it last. Yes, this car does not have airbags. And in general, the passive safety of the chisel is not very good. But at least it steered honestly and I didn’t have the feeling that it was just an appendage of electronics, with a fancy multifunction steering wheel in its legs…
Almost any gas station employee involved in the maintenance of new Chinese cars will confirm to you that from a technical point of view, cars from the Middle Kingdom are in no way inferior to their famous European or Japanese competitors. That is, the Chinese auto industry is now approximately on the same level as the global industry – no matter what the convinced haters of our eastern partner’s vehicle grumble about this.
Overall everything is great. Even the shortcomings in driving behavior or sound insulation among the “Chinese” are not a matter of technological lagging behind someone else, but only a consequence of the specific approach of Asians to the consumer characteristics of vehicles. With all this, the generally accepted perfection of the driving characteristics of today’s passenger cars, if you look at it, is not so great compared to similar parameters of ancestral models.
In fact, the most impressive evolution in automotive design in recent decades has not occurred in the chassis or steering system. And the braking mechanism has not changed during this time, not only fundamentally, but also from the point of view of the materials used. In the latter case, most innovations are associated only with the forced (under pressure of ‘green’) introduction of more environmentally friendly materials. This means that the hardware, on which driving pleasure and safety directly depend, has not fundamentally changed. Is it possible that instead of steel levers in the suspension, aluminum was used en masse to save weight.
The lion’s share of the quantum leap in vehicle efficiency and safety that has occurred over the past two to three decades is due to advances in the creation and implementation of various electronic assistance systems. Most of these are chips and software and not well-designed mechanical devices.
This means that modern vehicles have received a significant part of their performance and ability to deliver driving pleasure almost artificially. Smart transmissions that transfer torque between the wheels, electronic stabilization systems that give the driver the ability to drive with different “aggressiveness” levels, video cameras that monitor the markings – this is all great.
But in fact, it turns out that the thrill of control depends not on engineers and test drivers, but on a bunch of programmers. Who click on keyboards and adapt the character of new models to the figures that marketers collect through focus groups. As a result, now almost any “box” with a primitive suspension and steering can be equipped with electronic assistants and will drive no worse than others.
But if I personally am faced with the choice: getting behind the wheel of a modern (albeit Chinese) car with the “electric assistants” turned off or remembering my childhood as a driver behind the wheel of a VAZ-2109, then I will choose it last. Yes, this car does not have airbags. And in general, the passive safety of the chisel is not very good. But at least it steered honestly and I didn’t have the feeling that it was just an appendage of electronics, with a fancy multifunction steering wheel in its legs…
Source: Avto Vzglyad
Donald Salinas is an experienced automobile journalist and writer for Div Bracket. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of automobiles, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the latest trends and innovations in the automotive industry.