Chapter 159: Test Drive
"Oh! My God! This is amazing—I've never seen a car run so smoothly, and the speed is just incredible!" exclaimed one of several well-dressed young men sitting in the back seat of a Benz One as it drove down an open road beside the plaza.
They were all potential buyers who had qualified for a test drive after their financial backgrounds had been verified.
At first, they had suspected the Benz One's advertised price and performance might be exaggerated. But after experiencing it firsthand, they realized the numbers didn't lie.
From comfort and stability to its average speed, the Benz One stood out as a rare high-quality vehicle on the American market.
And considering its performance, the price was especially appealing—far more affordable than other high-end cars. This only deepened the curiosity and interest of these wealthy young men.
"Sir, is the price for this car really just $750? No hidden fees at all?" one of them couldn't help asking eagerly.
"Yes, absolutely. And this isn't just the U.S. price. Globally, at any of our official outlets, the Benz One will never cost more than $750," the official presenter, seated in the driver's seat, replied with a smile.
Hearing that, the passengers exchanged glances. As if reaching a silent agreement, one of them bit his lip and said, "Sir, we'd like to place an order—one for each of us!"
Judging from their clothing alone, it was clear they came from wealthy families and were certainly not part of America's working class.
That was exactly why the presenter personally chauffeured them—so these affluent youths could experience the Benz One for themselves and, in doing so, influence others to buy.
People follow trends blindly—no matter the field. The launch event had attracted over a thousand spectators, and among them were surely many intrigued by the Benz One, perhaps even eager to buy.
What they lacked was just a little push. Without someone to lead the way, hesitation and doubt often prevailed.
But if someone made a purchase in front of them, and they could see the car's quality with their own eyes, their concerns would quickly vanish—and buying a car would soon become a serious consideration.
"Of course, no problem at all. I'll register your order right away," the presenter beamed, delighted that the plan was working.
Thanks to these early buyers, the number of people applying for test drives soared. The road beside the plaza was no longer sufficient, so the car company's staff contacted New York City officials and obtained permission to clear another road for additional test drives.
Getting the city's cooperation wasn't cheap. The company paid $6,000 in compensation and promised to provide the city with at least five Benz One cars free of charge.
But this was ultimately good for business. If even the New York City government used these cars, it spoke volumes about their reliability and performance.
What were consumers most worried about? Aside from possible hidden costs, they also feared that the Benz One might not live up to the hype.
So if the city became a walking endorsement—and the company could clearly demonstrate there were no additional costs—then those two major concerns would be addressed.
"Sir, you have repair shops in New York, right? What if something goes wrong with the car in the future? Surely there has to be somewhere to get it fixed?" asked one customer, just moments away from signing the purchase agreement, as he suddenly remembered a crucial detail.
Beyond high prices and low production volume, another major problem with cars at the time was the difficulty of maintenance.
This wasn't just about high repair costs—because cars were hand-built, the process was slow and complicated.
In some cases, repairs took months. And sometimes, it was impossible to repair the vehicle at all.
If the Benz One had those same issues, many interested buyers would likely back out.
"Please don't worry. We have a fully equipped automotive production plant in the suburbs of New York. It's a joint venture between Australia and the United States, and it's capable of both manufacturing and servicing vehicles. Every car you see today came from that factory, which also holds all the necessary technology for repairs. For maintenance, you can either drive to our factory or to a sales point. We'll arrange the repair immediately and notify you once it's completed. We promise that no repair will ever take more than two months. All repair costs are transparently listed," the presenter explained with a reassuring smile.
Thanks to Benz's adoption of assembly line production, most parts were now standardized. While there were still slight differences between identical components, the improvement over handcrafted parts was dramatic.
Replacement parts could now be swapped without issue—something that marked a major breakthrough in automobile maintenance.
In the past, repairs often required custom fabrication of components due to small variations between them, making the process extremely difficult.
Now, most repairs simply required part replacement, significantly reducing both time and cost.
This addressed another core issue of car ownership: the massive expense of maintenance.
The reason cars had long been the exclusive domain of nobles and capitalists wasn't just their high purchase price. Fuel costs, wear and tear on parts, and unexpected repair bills all added up—sometimes rivaling the original price of the vehicle over time.
For members of the middle class, even if they scraped together enough money to buy a car, they could easily be ruined by the cost of keeping it running.
That's why, until now, cars were luxury goods reserved for the elite. No one else could afford the crushing burden of upkeep—not to mention the massive purchase price, which had already deterred the vast majority of low- and middle-income people worldwide.
(End of Chapter)
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