2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 272 Buy him!

Lu Gaoxuan is from Jiangxi Province. He graduated with a bachelor's degree and currently works at an architectural design institute in Hongdu. He just became a full-time employee this year and is planning where to travel during the May Day holiday to celebrate.

How do young people choose travel destinations? Of course, they search online and ask questions on forums!

However, just as he turned on his computer and was about to click on the target website, the large advertisement above hao123 that read "The first SUV for young people" caught his attention.

What kind of car? Such a boastful tone, and it's supposed to be a young person's first SUV?

Do you know how expensive SUVs are? How many people can afford one?

Out of curiosity, Lu Gaoxuan clicked on the advertisement. The commercial started, showing a small SUV driving through the city. Its red body and compact design made it look rather cute.

It doesn't look like an SUV because it's so small, but its shape is definitely that of an SUV.

“Zhongtai2008? Never heard of it. Let me search it up.” Lu Gaoxuan muttered to himself as he looked at the search results.

Yes, like Chery and Geely, it is also a domestic brand, headquartered in Yongkang, Zhejiang Province.

Lu Gaoxuan, who was initially drawn in, lost much interest halfway through the advertisement after learning it was a domestic brand.

Influenced by joint venture brands, although many domestic brands have emerged in recent years, in terms of acceptance, regardless of whether people have the desire to buy a car, the first impression they have is still that of joint venture brands.

In recent years, whether by choice or by force, domestic brands have left a bad impression on consumers. They have either been sued for plagiarism by joint venture brands or exposed for poor quality. Young people who like to go online have almost all ridiculed domestic car brands.

Lu Gaoxuan was no exception; he was just curious and had no plans to buy a car for the time being.

But since I've already clicked on it, I might as well keep reading. It'll only take a few minutes. I'll see how they advertise it and what the price is. If they dare to advertise it as "the first SUV for young people," they must have some confidence, right?
The official eight-minute promotional video is full of flashy introductions, which may be a bit redundant for people who don't know much about cars, but it's still somewhat interesting for ordinary young people who are knowledgeable about cars.

When it comes to buying a car, most young people may not be able to afford one, but when it comes to knowing about cars, many car owners may not know as much as they do. If you want to buy a car in a certain price range, you can't go wrong by asking them for recommendations.

"Isn't this just a Toyota Terios? It looks exactly the same. And they claim it's their own intellectual property rights? They're really exaggerating."

"Oh, it seems they didn't really exaggerate. They bought the production line, so I guess that counts. This company is alright, they didn't boast about independent design."

"A 1.3L or 1.5L engine is considered an SUV? Fine, fine, the Terios is a subcompact SUV, and a subcompact SUV is still an SUV. Speaking of subcompact SUVs, it seems like no domestic brands have ever produced one?"

"Primarily for leisure? That makes sense, after all, it would be pure bragging to say that something this small has a lot of horsepower."

"Holy crap! Starting at 4.38 yuan? And the first batch of buyers even get a 3000 yuan discount? Doesn't that mean you can buy one for 4 yuan? What's the lowest price for a Terios again? Let me check."

"Wow, starting at 98,800? That's a full 60,000 yuan cheaper! That's amazing!"

The eight-minute commercial quickly finished playing amidst Lu Gaoxuan's complaints. From initial disdain to shock upon seeing the price, Lu Gaoxuan sat in front of the computer, having already forgotten why he had turned it on in the first place.

"Damn, that's outrageous! You can buy a car for 4 yuan? And an SUV at that?" Lu Gaoxuan muttered to himself, stroking his chin.

Domestic cars have quite a few problems, but the price is hard not to be tempted. What if you got one for a road trip? That seems like a pretty good idea, doesn't it?
As a newly promoted designer working inland, Lu Gaoxuan naturally didn't have 40,000 yuan in savings. But that didn't mean he couldn't afford to buy a house. The real estate industry he worked in had been booming in recent years, and his job was very stable.

If he can't pay, he can pay in installments; it's not a burden for him at all.

"This price is freaking amazing! 40,000 yuan! You need 4000 yuan to buy an electric scooter. Ten electric scooters can buy you an SUV. Isn't that outrageous?"

A few days ago, when Lu Gaoxuan was surfing the internet, he saw a Fengchi Guanneng electric car. It was really beautiful, but it was not cheap either, with the highest price being 3999 yuan. This price is really unaffordable for most people.

Just be patient, take the bus or ride a bicycle, save up some money, and you can buy this Zhongtai car on installment.

To be honest, Lu Gaoxuan was a little tempted. The price was really too good to pass up. He worked in Hongzhou, but his hometown was Shangrao. Having a car would make it easier to go home, and it would also make commuting to and from get off work much more convenient.

"Go browse the car forum, post a thread to ask everyone's opinion, and gain some experience points along the way."

When Lu Gaoxuan entered the car forum, the screen was already filled with discussion posts about Zhongtai in 2008. "Holy crap? Is it really that exaggerated? Is this car that popular?" Lu Gaoxuan was a little dumbfounded.

The term "internet water army" only gradually became known to netizens after CCTV's Focus Interview program aired in 2010. At the same time, people also became aware of this profession. In 2006, there was no such thing as an internet water army.

These days, celebrities still argue with each other on blogs, and Weibo didn't appear until 2009. Netizens are still relatively pure, so there aren't many paid trolls. But Tan Jincheng is very skilled at using this method.

From the very beginning of promoting the Flash series, when Gu Qingqing found some advertorial writers at school, Tan Jincheng had already started to cultivate manpower. Now, Flash Technology has a professional internet promotion team.

These personnel are not affiliated with Flashpoint Technology, but they serve Flashpoint Technology; this is what is commonly referred to as "raising an online army."

Although it's a bit unethical, it's an accepted fact that most large companies in later generations have their own online trolls. To control public opinion on the internet, companies like FlashTech certainly can't avoid this gray area.

Tan Jincheng is not a moral gentleman, and he wouldn't leave the tools he knows unused. All he can do is try his best not to use these information gaps to deliberately smear his competitors.

Of course, if the other party makes a move, Tan Jincheng will not hesitate to retaliate. After all, when it comes to playing the internet game, the tricks of the trade 10 years or so are much dirtier than they are now.

After seeing the recent unstoppable promotion of FlashTech, Ying Jianren sought advice from Tan Jincheng on how to promote Zhongtai. Tan Jincheng not only gave specific suggestions but also deployed the online trolls that FlashTech had cultivated.

Since it's the first SUV for young people, in addition to print and television media, the internet, where young people gather, should naturally be the platform for large-scale advertising, focusing on promoting the price and discounts of Zhongtai.

While generating buzz, FlashTech's online army began posting extensively in various discussions and automotive sections of major online communities, further fueling the already heated topic.

A team with extensive experience in replying to posts can achieve an efficiency that ordinary netizens simply cannot match.

When someone questions whether Zhongtai's advertising is too exaggerated and can't compare to joint venture cars, comments like "It's already 4 yuan, what more could you want?" appear below.

"Yeah, it's not like you can't drive it. Although domestic cars have some minor problems now, they are still our own brand. You have to give them the possibility of improvement. Besides, 4 yuan is almost 4 yuan cheaper than the same series from joint ventures. You can buy two of them!"

"Anyone who says the quality is bad is simply out of their mind. The price of one car in the same series can buy two. Let's say I drive a Toyota Terios for 10 years and I drive mine for 5 years, I'll save 60,000 yuan. When the time comes, can't I just buy a new one or a different brand?"

"Plagiarism? Dude, they bought his entire production line and claimed it's independent intellectual property rights. Do you know what independent intellectual property rights are? It means that even if it's exactly the same, it doesn't matter, they won't sue you. Besides, it's cheap."

"Anyway, I plan to buy a car this year so I can drive it when I go home for the Chinese New Year. I never want to get up at four or five in the morning to queue at the train ticket office during the Spring Festival travel rush again, and I still might not be able to buy a ticket!"

"Haha, I'm thinking the same thing. May Day is coming soon, and it would be nice to go on a short road trip. I just don't know if they'll still be available for sale during May Day."

"I also want to buy one. This car should be good for commuting to and from get off work, and parking is convenient."

"Are you all so rich? You just buy cars like that? Are you guys shills?"

"I can't pay in full, but I'm fine with installments. I just started working at a factory this year, and the salary is decent. I live and eat at the factory, and I don't have many expenses. If I'm careful, I can easily save 3 yuan a year. Installments are definitely an option."

"Where does the guy upstairs work? Can he save 3 a year? What factory has such good benefits?"

"In the Beicang area of ​​Ningbo, I won't mention which factories you'll get into, but it's really hard to get in. The turnover rate is extremely low. My cousin has been waiting for two months and still hasn't gotten a chance."

"Damn it, I don't even earn as much as someone who tightens screws. Aren't factories supposed to be all heartless? It makes me want to work in a factory myself."

Lu Gaoxuan browsed through various online communities and saw many similar comments. He also saw all sorts of advertisements for Zhongtai, including those on main city roads, highways, and even in rural muddy fields.

The most discussed topic was the price of Zhongtai, with a starting price of 4 yuan. Any young person with a little financial means would be very tempted, including Lu Gaoxuan.

Time passed by unnoticed. Lu Gaoxuan, who originally just wanted to ask where to travel during the May Day holiday, had been immersed in a debate with netizens about Zhongtai Auto for more than an hour.

In just over an hour, Lu Gaoxuan had come to accept Zhongtai's promotional slogans.

"A young person's first SUV, no doubt about it, buy it!"

(End of this chapter)