Chapter 814: Compromise in Helplessness

Compared with family cars, in fact, trucks and tractors are more likely to be favored by consumers in the market.

The former is a luxury, which can only consume wealth; the latter is a means of production, which can create more wealth.

Rich people are not fools, they are clear about which is more important. When doing multiple-choice questions, of course, it depends on your own needs.

Generally speaking, capitalists in cities prefer cars. Because the car can show their noble status and bring them convenience in the business field.

Well, it's just a mental illusion. Unless you go out to be a liar and deliberately show off your wealth and fool people, it will probably work a little bit.

In the normal business field, it is still how to talk about it. In the face of interests, no one will give in easily.

The real role of the car is probably to fool the employees. Operate in an invisible way of showing off your wealth and tell everyone: the boss has money, so don't worry.

Buyers of trucks and tractors, in addition to transportation companies, most of their customers are rural farmers and some nobles.

Farmers have real needs. Unlike expensive cars, tractors have been defined as cheap cars since their birth.

This has nothing to do with Franz. In a big agricultural country like Austria, after discovering the artifact of the tractor, it would be a problem if the Vienna government did not intervene.

Since 1883, the Vienna government has promulgated a decree to exempt tractor manufacturers and encourage them to sell to farmers at low prices.

Up to now, a number of state-owned enterprises have been involved in the tractor production industry, directly driving down the sales price.

Compared with the high profit of the car, the tractor is really the price of cabbage.

The market price of a tractor for pulling goods and plowing is only 200 to 300 Aegis, and 150 Aegis for a single purpose can be bought.

Of course, it's worth every penny. The practical value is not low, and the comfort is not expected.

In order to reduce production costs, some manufacturers don't even bother to equip them with seats, and even require consumers to install them by themselves after buying them home.

The pungent smoke, and the harsh "sudden, sudden, sudden..." sound when running, if there is a sense of user experience, it is estimated that many people will give zero points.

In contrast, a truck can be seen as a modified version of a small car. It is nothing more than adding a carriage to the rear, and adding a few cylinders below to act as power.

The comfort is much stronger than that of a tractor, and it is not as good as a car. The price is somewhere in between.

After all, it is a big man, the technical difficulty of production is much lower, and the cost is slightly lower.

If it is not limited by traffic, it is estimated that the promotion speed of trucks is much faster than that of cars that only operate in inner cities or in surrounding areas.

Anyway, as soon as it was launched on the market, it was favored by the nobles. Whether it is pulling grain from home, selling vegetables into the city, or going out hunting with belongings, trucks are more worry-free than horse-drawn carts.

Showing your status is what the upstarts only need. Since the economic revolution of 1848, the Austrian aristocracy has kept a low profile.

Emerging capitalists have taken their place of hatred, as can be seen in the daily newspapers.

Most of the news that exposes social reality, the villain protagonists are mostly upstart capitalists, or the second generation.

In contrast, the proportion of playboys among nobles was much lower. Of course, this may be the social environment that limits their space to play.

There are many classes for the children of nobles. After reaching adulthood, one of them counts as one, and they will enter the army to polish them for a few years.

When they were discharged from the army and returned home, they were not too young anymore. They were no longer middle school teens, and they knew how to use their brains when doing things.

In fact, there are a lot of bad things in the nobility, and all kinds of wonderful pregnancies are emerging one after another.

It's just that these people have to be concerned about the family's reputation. Except for a few idiots, most of them know to hide things and not expose them to the spotlight.

Compared with the old nobles, the newly rising military nobles have no experience in dealing with this aspect.

After taking power, many people are addicted to power and unable to extricate themselves, causing more troubles.

For Franz, these are small issues.

If the matter is not exposed, it is naturally hello, me, and everyone. Anyway, the emperor will not know.

If things are exposed, then one will be counted as one, and it will be dealt with in accordance with Austrian law.

After watching chicken after chicken get killed, it still worked. I don't know if the monkeys were frightened, but the rest of the chickens were frightened anyway.

With the vigorous development of the automobile industry, many surrounding industries have also benefited from this new industrial chain.

A series of industries such as iron and steel, machinery manufacturing, petrochemical industry, etc., have significantly increased their development speed in recent years.

Taking the steel industry as an example, it seems that the current automobile production capacity is not high, and it does not consume much steel every year.

But what the auto industry needs now is stainless steel, or special steel that is widely used in the military, rather than a pile of scrap iron that needs to be rebuilt.

The customer is God, and the market will have service when there is demand. As long as the money is in place, everything is negotiable.

There is no law in Austria stating that military special steel cannot be used for civilian use. Before that, no one used that because the price was too high.

It's different now. Low-end cars can't afford these high-tech, but luxury versions must be arranged.

take advantage of this

Influenced by good news, in the first half of 1885, Austria's production of special steel directly exceeded 50,000 tons, while the production capacity of special steel in the whole year of 1880 was only a pitiful 30,000 tons.

...

Economic development was not all smooth sailing either. Time flew by, and by the end of 1885 trouble came.

Franz asked in surprise: "There is a problem with the traffic, what is the problem?"

Not to brag, this year, Austria's local traffic is known as the second in the world, and no one really dares to call it the first.

The railways that extend in all directions connect Austrian cities large and small. On the map, it looks like a dense spider web.

Austria's rapid economic growth, this "railway spider web" is also a great contribution. It can be said that without convenient transportation, there would be no Austrian Empire today.

Transport Secretary Terrence explained: "In the Empire as a whole, our transport situation is still world-leading, but there have been serious congestion in some areas.

Mainly the major industrial cities of the empire, with the continuous influx of population in recent years, the traffic pressure is also increasing day by day.

Especially after the birth of the automobile, the original urban planning has been unable to keep up with the development of the times.

At present, the problems are mainly concentrated in: Prague, Pilsen, Brno, Ostrava, Munich, Stuttgart, Kaisnitz, Linz, Milan and other old industrial cities.

Because of the large population, congestion often occurs during rush hours, and many people waste half an hour on the bus.

By contrast, the newly industrial cities of Belgrade, Sarajevo, Zagreb, and Bucharest in the southern part of the empire fared much better.

In addition to the city, the width of our previous road construction was not enough, and many road sections were too narrow, and it was difficult for two large trucks to meet each other. "

These problems are inevitable consequences. Even if the old industrial city has been upgraded, it is still carried out on the basis of the original, and there is no major war on urban buildings.

Thirty years ago, the changes at that time were enough to meet the needs. The designers did not have the ability to predict, and they never imagined that the development of Austria would be so fast.

Franz is not a professional urban designer, and he has no way of getting involved. In addition, the Vienna government was already in debt, and the shriveled wallet directly dispelled Franz's idea of ​​​​demolition and construction.

Thirty years later, the problem is exposed, and the government needs to find a way to solve it.

The industrial cities in the south were only established in the later period. When these areas were developed, the finances of the Vienna government had gradually improved.

In addition, the foundation is weak, and there are not so many historical burdens, so it is not a pity to dismantle it directly. So the southern cities are more modern and have much higher traffic carrying capacity.

"Congestion" is also relative. Compared with other congested cities in later generations, it is not a big deal to squeeze a bus for half an hour.

It's better than walking a few hundred meters forward at the bus stop for more than half an hour on the way to work and not walking fast.

Urban traffic needs to be improved, and traffic outside the city is even more of a problem. Before the advent of the car, the Austrian road was also at the top level in Europe.

However, roads and highways are two completely different concepts. The former is a horse-racing, and at most, consider the passage of carriages.

Thirty years ago, the cars were all big steam cars, and they were fine in the mines. They didn't even consider the issue of car traffic.

The service life of dirt roads is very long. After so many years of repairs and repairs, the roads of the year are still running normally.

There is no problem of building roads in advance here, because roads also have a service life. It is estimated that the roads will be retired before the cars appear.

To solve these problems, a round of major infrastructure construction is indispensable.

Prime Minister Carr objected: "In the short term, it is not suitable for us to launch a new round of major infrastructure. At least until the first phase of the Near East Development Plan is completed, the government should not be distracted.

The problem of urban traffic congestion can allow the traffic department to strengthen management, or increase the number of buses to release greater transportation capacity as much as possible.

Although it cannot fundamentally solve the problem, it is still feasible to delay the problem for a period of time.

The roads outside the city are not prepared for cars, and it is inevitable that they cannot meet the demand. Theoretically speaking, only by upgrading all the roads in the whole country can this demand be met.

But we all know that this is impossible. If a highway was built to cover the whole country, the construction cost is estimated to be a lot cheaper than our railway network.

This has exceeded the financial capacity of the government, and we cannot issue bond financing without limit.

These things are not urgent, you can make plans first, and it does not matter if the specific implementation is delayed. "

The problem arose, and Franz knew that Austria was still poor. The cost of re-planning and upgrading of old industrial cities is not much lower than rebuilding a new city.

More than a dozen seats were launched in one go. The Near East Development Plan is already being implemented. The Vienna government really has no financial resources to start another wave at the same time.

There is no ready-made example of road network construction, but a reference to Austria's railway network will basically explain the problem.

If it hadn't fooled a large group of international enthusiasts to know the friendship and sponsorship, just relying on the construction of the Vienna government's own strength, it is estimated that it is still unknown whether it will be open to traffic now.

"learn from mistakes."

After being cheated once, international capital has also learned a lesson. If you want to fool people with painting flat cakes, it is difficult to find so many "enthusiastic people" for friendly sponsorship.

Roads are different from railways. The investment prospects of railways are bright. As long as the long investment cycle is carried out, the financial resources will continue to flow.

What is the profit of the highway, it is completely a mess, and there is no precedent to follow.

There are only a few cars these days. Even in the most economically developed areas, the money received by the establishment of toll stations may not be enough to pay the toll collectors.

It is too difficult for a business that cannot see the prospect of profit, and it is too difficult to fool the big head into filling the pit.

Not to mention investors, even Franz, a traverser, is not optimistic about the profitability of highway projects.

There is no way, it will take time for the car to become popular. Only after the market develops to a certain level, can it be possible to rely on fees to recover the investment cost and obtain a return on investment.

However, the capitalists can't wait. Even "value investment" will not work, because before the road project recovers the investment cost, I am afraid that the road built in front will have been scrapped.

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