In the Yue Loong Engineering Center's conference room, there are two pictures hanging on the wall. The first is of the world's most famous cars. Above, the inscription reads, "These are theirs." The second one is blank and asks the question "Where's ours?" The center is determined to fill up the blank with a car of its own design.

The Engineering Center was established in August of 1981 and is the largest auto research organization. Its present goal is to complete the first Free China-designed car, called the "Plan 101." Approximately $50 million has been invested in the project, which is scheduled to put out its first car in 1986.

The center's 250-member research staff, though large scale by domestic standards, is a far cry from comparable foreign research organizations. For example, Japan's Nissan Motor Company employs around ten thousand people. The center places great emphasis on the training of qualified personnel, frequently sending staff overseas for special training. More importantly, the staff are trained and tested in an actual working environment. The atmosphere at the center is informal, but a very distinct line is drawn between "work" and "free" time. Those who can't keep up often of their own volition work overtime on weekends and holidays.

Another major aspect of the center's planning is purchasing the most technically advanced equipment. The newest innovation is the computer-aided design system. The system's most important feature is its ability to act as a complete information storehouse. Before the design blueprint is fed into the computer, each spare part's weight, cost, and specifications can be processed to determine which modification will be necessary to maximize utility and to insure that each of the spare parts is mutually related. If there are any changes in one part of the system, the other sections will be automatically adjusted, precluding the possibility of parts that don't match. The computer-aided design system also reduces the need for spare part experimentation.

The computer-aided system's initial stages have been completed. The director of the center, Dr. Chu-hsin, is very pleased with the results thus far. He feels that domestic companies will be better able to adapt to the shifts in computer systems than foreign companies. This he explains by saying that the foreign companies' original designs were done by hand, a technique learned by practical experience. When computer systems are suddenly installed, workers may display resistance to the new system. On the other hand, domestic companies never went through the initial stage; therefore, at present they are being trained on computers. The design process is now completely computerized.

Chu admits that research does not guarantee success, yet he maintains that on the basis of the present situation, he is very optimistic about the future.

(Craig Scott Galper)

[Picture Caption]

Left, some Yue Loong Engineering Center's newest equipment--computers to assist in the task of car designing. Right, The Engineering Center's director, Chu-hsin, introducing Center-designed miniature models.

Right, The Engineering Center's director, Chu-hsin, introducing Center-designed miniature models.