161: The "People's War" of the 1st National People's Congress

At 10:00 AM on January 8, an article titled "Is the Safety of a 50,000-Yuan Microcar Concerning? A Deep Dive into the Hidden Dangers of a Certain 'National God Car'" was simultaneously published on multiple automotive forums and social media platforms.

The article included a 47-second crash test video: a microcar with all brand logos removed showed significant bending of the A-pillar and the left front wheel intruding into the cockpit during a 25% offset crash test at a speed of 64 km/h.

The publisher, "Automotive Truth Observer," claimed to be a "third-party independent testing agency," but the wording in the article was highly inflammatory: "When car companies compress costs to the extreme, does safety become the first sacrifice?" "Is what you get for 50,000 yuan a commuter tool, or a mobile coffin?"

Within half an hour of the article's release, the view count exceeded one million. On the Chinese microblogging platform's trending list, the entry "#50,000 Yuan Microcar Safety#" quickly climbed to third place.

The comment section was a mix of everything; some people were questioning, some were angry, and others began to doubt: "Is the Red Flag E-MINI really safe? After all, it's only a little over 50,000..."

The public relations department of Hongqi Automobile detected the anomaly at 10:17 AM.

Public Relations Director Zhang Wei, 35, had handled numerous automotive corporate crises, but this time, her expression was grave.

In the office, six screens were simultaneously displaying public opinion data streams from different platforms, with red alerts flashing continuously.

"Director Zhang, although the car in the video had its logos removed, the wheel style is over 90% similar to the E-MINI's 'petal' design."

The technical analyst pulled up a comparison chart, "And the collision angle was clearly adjusted—normal testing is 25% offset, but the angle in the video is close to 30%, just enough to avoid the reinforced structure we designed."

"Check the publisher's background," Zhang Wei said in a calm voice.

"The registration information is for a newly established self-media company, with the legal representative named Wang Qiang, but this person..." The analyst pulled up the business registration information, "also has three other automotive consulting companies under his name, one of which has a major shareholder who is the general agent for a certain joint-venture brand in China."

Zhang Wei sneered, "This routine again."

She picked up the phone and dialed Zhou Qingyu directly: "General Manager Zhou, the 'Safety Gate' is here. Judging by the methods, this is professional black PR."

On the other end of the line, Zhou Qingyu's voice was calm: "As expected. The things we prepared can be brought out now."

"Respond now?"

"No, let the bullets fly for a while." Zhou Qingyu paused, "At 8:00 PM, release the first statement. Then tomorrow at 10:00 AM, at the National Automobile Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, we will live-stream the entire E-MINI crash test. Remember, the cars must be randomly selected from the production line, pick three, and have them notarized on-site."

"Three cars? The cost..."

"Money is not important; what's important is letting everyone see the truth." Zhou Qingyu hung up the phone.

At exactly 8:00 PM that night, the official account of Hongqi Automobile on the Chinese microblogging platform released a statement:

[Solemn Statement Regarding False Information About "A Certain Microcar's Safety Hazards"]

The vehicle in the online video resembles our products in appearance, but it is not a vehicle produced by our company, and the test conditions do not comply with national standards.

The Red Flag E-MINI is designed and manufactured in strict accordance with national standards and has passed the Compulsory Product Certification (3C Certification) of the country.

To respond to public concerns, tomorrow (January 9) at 10:00 AM, our company will conduct a public crash test on randomly selected mass-produced E-MINI vehicles at the National Automobile Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, which will be live-streamed in its entirety.

We reserve the right to pursue legal action against malicious smearing and commercial defamation.

The statement was accompanied by three certificates: the 3C Certification, the CATARC safety test report, and the supplier qualification for Spark Materials.

One stone stirred up a thousand waves.

On January 9 at 9:30 AM, outside the crash laboratory of the National Automobile Quality Supervision and Inspection Center.

More than twenty media outlets had already set up their equipment, and the CCTV News live broadcast vehicle was parked at the very front. The entrance to the live stream showed that over 2 million people were waiting online.

Inside the laboratory, three E-MINIs were parked side by side. They were not "specially provided cars" selected from a warehouse, but had just come off the production line at the Chengdu factory yesterday afternoon, were randomly selected by a notary office, and were flown in overnight.

The car bodies had seals attached, which the notary opened on-site, with the camera zooming in on: the Vehicle Identification Number, production date, and batch number.

"Dear viewers, I am CCTV reporter Wang Xiao." The host spoke into the camera, "What you are seeing now is the scene of the Red Flag E-MINI crash test. To ensure the fairness of the test, all three test vehicles were randomly selected from the mass production line. The test items include the three mandatory national standard tests: frontal collision, side collision, and roof strength, as well as an additional test—a high-speed rear-end collision."

At 9:55 AM, Zhou Qingyu arrived at the scene. He did not go on stage to speak, but stood behind the glass curtain wall of the laboratory observation area, watching quietly.

At 10:00 AM sharp, the first test began.

Frontal collision: 64 km/h, rigid barrier, 25% offset.

The test vehicle was accelerated by the traction system, with the speedometer needle steady at 64 km/h. At the moment of impact, a loud noise was transmitted to the ears of every viewer through the microphone.

Slow-motion replay: the front of the car collapsed, the energy-absorbing boxes folded as designed, and the A-pillar—did not move a bit. The frontal airbags and side curtain airbags deployed almost simultaneously, and the dummy was firmly secured in the seat.

Technicians quickly stepped forward to measure. The data was displayed in real-time on the big screen:

A-pillar deformation: 3.2 mm (national standard requirement ≤ 127mm)

Steering column rearward displacement: 8 mm (national standard requirement ≤ 127mm)

Door opening status: Opened normally

Fuel system integrity: No leakage

The laboratory director and senior engineer at the National Automobile Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, Liu Xinjian, walked in front of the camera, his voice slightly excited: "I have been engaged in automotive safety testing for thirty-eight years and have tested thousands of car models. This data for the E-MINI... it is no exaggeration to say that it has reached the level of luxury cars costing over 300,000 yuan."

Second test: side collision, a moving barrier hitting the side of the vehicle at 50 km/h.

The impact point landed precisely in the B-pillar area. In traditional microcars, under this type of impact, the B-pillar often deforms severely, and the doors cannot be opened.

But the E-MINI's B-pillar only showed a slight indentation, and the side curtain airbags deployed in time to protect the dummy's head. After the impact, both side doors were able to open normally.

B-pillar intrusion: 12 cm (national standard requirement ≤ 30cm)

Head Injury Criterion (HIC): 287 (national standard requirement ≤ 650)

Third test: roof strength.

The press slowly pressed down, and the tonnage number kept climbing. When the pressure reached 2.5 times the vehicle weight, it had already met the national standard. But the test did not stop.

2.6 times, 2.8 times, 3.0 times...

The audience at the scene held their breath.

3.5 times, 4.0 times, 4.2 times!

When the press stopped, the roof deformation was only 9.7 centimeters. This data means that even if the vehicle rolls over, the occupant cabin can remain intact.

Engineer Liu Xinjian's voice was trembling: "The national standard requires the roof to withstand 2.5 times the vehicle's weight in pressure, and the E-MINI reached 4.2 times. This result... in my career, I have only seen it on a few top-tier models from the US IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)."

But the most shocking part had not yet arrived.

Fourth test: high-speed rear-end collision, simulating being rear-ended by an SUV at 80 km/h.

This was not a project required by national standards; it was an "extreme test" that Red Flag voluntarily added.

A 2.2-ton simulated SUV crashed into the rear of the E-MINI at a speed of 80 km/h. The tremendous impact force sent the E-MINI rushing forward for more than twenty meters.

Everyone thought this small car was going to fall apart.

But when the vehicle came to a stop and technicians went up to inspect it, a miracle appeared: the car frame was intact, the battery pack was undamaged (monitoring data showed no short circuits or leaks occurred), the rear door was deformed but could open, and most importantly—the fuel tank area (although electric cars don't have fuel tanks, the corresponding position) was not compressed.

"This is impossible..." a reporter from Germany media muttered to himself, "In such a small car, under this kind of impact, the battery should..."

Engineer Liu Xinjian dismantled the vehicle on the spot. The camera focused on the rear crash beam—it was not an ordinary steel beam, but a silver-gray composite structure, with the cross-section showing a unique honeycomb shape.

"This is the 'multi-stage energy-absorbing structure' developed by Spark Materials." Liu Xinjian pointed to the cross-section, "Look, the honeycomb structure collapses layer by layer during impact, absorbing energy. More importantly, the material itself has 'shape memory' properties and can partially return to its original state at a specific temperature—this means that after minor collisions, repair costs will be greatly reduced."

By the time the live stream reached this point, the number of online viewers had already exceeded 5 million. The bullet comments were completely crazy:

"Buying million-level safety for 50,000 yuan! Red Flag is awesome!"

"Do the haters' faces hurt?"

"I'm crying, really, turns out Red Flag puts so much effort into making products."

"Already placed an order, not canceling it!"

The test ended, and Zhou Qingyu finally walked in front of the camera. He did not say any sentimental words, but calmly announced:

"From today on, all Red Flag E-MINI models will enjoy a 'lifetime warranty'—including the three-electric system, vehicle body structure, and core safety components. If an accident is caused by vehicle safety issues, Red Flag will bear full responsibility."

"In addition, we will make the complete safety design white paper for the E-MINI public, including material parameters, structural blueprints, and testing standards. We welcome supervision from all car companies, research institutions, and consumers."

The applause was like thunder.

That so-called "Automotive Truth Observer" deleted all articles and videos half an hour after the live stream ended, and the account was deactivated.

But the shockwave brought about by this live stream had only just begun.