What was the first car in New China? Many people may say that it is a red flag car, but it is actually not right. The first car in New China was Dongfeng, of course, this Dongfeng is not the current Dongfeng Motor Group, nor is it the Dongfeng Car under the Dongfeng Group. It is a Dongfeng car produced by FAW, but dongfeng car is not mass-produced. The car produced in New China was Hongqi, and the first car built was indeed a Dongfeng brand car.
Speaking of cars, everyone is certainly not unfamiliar now. Now cities with many cars are restricted, but when New China was founded, where are the cars? Basically, they are foreign cars, and they are rare, and only a certain level is eligible to take a car. New China was just founded, poor and white, and the automobile industry started from scratch. The First Automobile Factory was built with the assistance of Big Brother of the Soviet Union. At that time, FAW could only produce trucks, not cars.
On February 13, 1958, the great man went to FAW to inspect and saw workers building liberation trucks in full swing. The great man was deeply pleased and said to Rao Bin, the director of the FAW factory at the time: "I am very happy to see that the working class can also build cars." However, he turned to Rao Bin and said, "What can we get into a car we made ourselves?" ”。 It seems to be a simple sentence, but it pins on the hopes of great people for the automobile industry.
In order to achieve the leader's wishes, FAW technicians began to work overtime to develop domestic cars. But at that time, FAW's production line was a truck production line. Therefore, FAW workers can only manually tap the shape of the car. In the absence of technology, information, tooling, and equipment, FAW workers built a car in just three months. On May 21, 1958, a Dongfeng sedan drove to the back garden of Huairentang, and the leader sat on it and sighed: "Okay, we got into our own car."
Dongfeng sedan
Dongfeng sedan palace lamp shape taillights
The symbol of the golden dragon taking off
Origin of the name Dongfeng
After the car was built, what was the name? This makes FAW people difficult. It just so happened that in view of the international situation at that time, the great man put forward the famous thesis that "the east wind overwhelms the west wind". Therefore, FAW people combined with the judgment of great people to name the first car in New China "Dongfeng". It means that Chinese cars are no worse than Western cars.
Body structure
The shape of the car is also rich in Chinese characteristics, with a soaring dragon inlaid in the middle of the body head, and the surface is plated with 24K pure gold. Why inlay dragons? Because we are the descendants of the dragon. The side of the body is inlaid with the "China's First Automobile Manufacturing Plant" written by the great man. In addition, the tail lights of the body are made of red gauze lights used in ancient Chinese courts, that is, palace lights. It is not only rich in Chinese characteristics, but also has the majesty and style of the court.
The engine refers to the engine of mercedes-Benz 190, the gearbox is a three-speed manual transmission independently designed and manufactured by China, and the body chassis refers to the French Simka sedan. The maximum speed of the vehicle can reach 128 kilometers per hour.
French Simca sedan
After the successful trial production of the "Dongfeng" sedan, a total of 30 units were produced in small batches, and then the production was discontinued. Why? It turned out that after everyone took the car, some leaders felt that the body of the "Dongfeng" car was a bit small, which was not suitable for the country's administrative car and did not conform to the temperament of a big country. So FAW stopped the production of the "Dongfeng" car and began to develop a large-scale Hongqi car.
The overall shape of the "Dongfeng" sedan
The "Dongfeng" car ended the history of New China's inability to build cars, and began a new chapter in the design and manufacture of cars Chinese. Although the "Dongfeng" car failed to continue production, the spirit of Chinese dared to think and dare to do continued, creating one glory after another, and the passion and enthusiasm at that time were unforgettable.