Chapter 10

### Chapter 10: Santana's Fatal Flaw

After settling down in the meeting room, Kindler was clearly very nervous, fidgeting uncomfortably. He looked around to make sure no one was nearby before nervously whispering to Chen Geng, "Chen, what do you want to tell me? Is it because your country doesn't allow you to go to Germany? Or have you been politically persecuted? If so, I will do my best to help you..."

What is this all about?

Chen Geng hadn't expected Kindler's imagination to be so vivid, to the point of thinking he had been politically persecuted. For a moment, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. I'm just a student; what kind of political persecution could I face?

But this was how foreigners viewed China at the time. To them, Red China was a terrifying place. Chen Geng had no intention of changing this perception. He waved his hand and said, "No, it's not that. I just discovered some very serious logical and calibration errors in the b2's electronic fuel injection system..."

"Chen, are you joking with me?" Upon hearing that Chen Geng was talking about cars, Kindler immediately relaxed. Before Chen Geng could finish, Kindler laughed, "The b2 that Wolfsburg gave you is a carburetor version..."

"I know, but the European and North American versions of the Santana are fuel-injected models. I'm talking about the North American and European versions of the b2."

Kindler almost jumped out of his seat, "That's impossible! And you haven't even touched the fuel-injected version of the b2..."

"Have you forgotten? There are three fuel-injected b2s at the Pu Sang base."

Kindler, who had been extremely agitated a moment ago, was now speechless.

Indeed, Wolfsburg had three European versions of the b2 in Shanghai, which were fuel-injected Passat b2s, known in China as Santanas. Chen Geng had indeed worked on these three European versions of the b2.

If anyone else had said this, Kindler would have turned and walked away without hesitation. But since it was Chen Geng speaking, he couldn't ignore it. From what Kindler knew of Chen Geng, he was not someone who spoke lightly. If Chen Geng said there was a problem with the b2's fuel injection system, he must have discovered something.

"Chen, are you sure?" Kindler's face turned pale; he was scared.

"Yes, I'm sure," Chen Geng nodded firmly.

Chen Geng's confident response made Kindler's face even paler. He swallowed hard and asked in a low voice, "So... is it very serious?"

Chen Geng nodded, "Very serious. In certain situations, when the driver releases the throttle, the system will automatically accelerate," he paused and added in a low voice, "This issue also exists in carburetor models."

Kindler's face turned deathly white!

When the driver releases the throttle, the car automatically accelerates. This is a fatal flaw that can lead to serious accidents!

If this defect were to be made public, it would be a devastating blow to Wolfsburg. For a company already struggling, it could even lead to bankruptcy!

Realizing the severity of the consequences, Kindler subconsciously clenched his fists: No! This must not happen! I must do everything in my power to prevent the worst-case scenario!

Some readers might ask, weren't all cars at that time carburetor models? Could there really be fuel-injected models at that time?

The answer is: Yes!

With the rapid development of the automotive industry, the number of cars worldwide increased dramatically in the 1960s. Due to the imprecise mixture regulation of traditional carburetors, the high levels of exhaust emissions from cars caused severe pollution and were a significant factor in global warming and the greenhouse effect. As a result, the United States introduced the Muskie Act in the 1960s, and Japan enacted regulations to limit car emissions in 1968, 1973, and 1976. Europe, which placed a high emphasis on environmental protection, was no exception.

With the continuous advancement of electronic and electrical technology, especially the rapid development of transistors and integrated circuits, the foundation was laid for the widespread application of electronic fuel injection technology in cars. By the 1970s, fuel injection technology was already widely used in cars in Europe and America.

The Santana (Passat b2) was not a successful model. Apart from performing well in the Brazilian market, it did poorly in North America and even in its home market of Europe.

Given this situation, Kindler's reaction might seem overly intense, but the problem was that the European and North American versions of the Passat b2 were equipped with the Bosch LH-Jetronic hot-wire electronic fuel injection system, which was released in 1981.

This was a serious issue!

The Bosch LH-Jetronic hot-wire electronic fuel injection system was a core technology that Wolfsburg heavily promoted. It was similar to how, a few years later, some models would proudly advertise their ABS systems. The main feature of the LH-Jetronic system was its hot-wire air flow meter, where "H" stands for "hot" in English. The hot-wire air flow meter directly measures the mass of the air entering the engine, allowing for more precise control of the air-fuel ratio, significantly improving engine performance and fuel efficiency, and markedly reducing exhaust emissions.

Given the many advantages of the LH-Jetronic system, it was natural for Wolfsburg to continue using it in the next generation of models. The new mid-size car, the Passat b3, which Wolfsburg was developing and which held all its hopes for the mid-size car market, was also equipped with this system!

But now, Chen Geng was telling him that this system had serious safety issues. If true, this would not only spell the death of the Passat b3 but also the death of Wolfsburg in the mid-size car market, and possibly even the death of Wolfsburg itself. How could Kindler not be afraid?

He was terrified!

He almost wanted to kneel down and beg Chen Geng to tell him about the calibration and logical errors in the system.

"Of course, I will tell you, but do you think this is the right place to talk?" Chen Geng said helplessly.

Indeed, this was the National Defense Department of the People's Republic of China, not a place for such discussions. Kindler immediately realized this and pulled Chen Geng out, "Let's go to Shanghai right away."

This guy was terrified.

Chen Geng said helplessly, "Doesn't Wolfsburg have a liaison office in the capital? We can call Shanghai from there."

"Right, right, let's go to the liaison office, right now."

...

Chen Geng had expected that he and Kindler would face some obstacles when leaving, given that Kindler was a foreigner and the notion that "imperialists still have designs on us" was still prevalent. However, Li Jianguo's reaction surprised Chen Geng. When Chen Geng told Li Jianguo that he needed to take a half-day off to help Mr. Kindler with some issues, Li Jianguo readily agreed without even asking what the issues were.

At the Wolfsburg liaison office in the capital, Kindler, like a madman, had a meeting room arranged for him and ordered that no one was to approach the room until he came out. He then anxiously asked Chen Geng about the problems with the b2's fuel injection system.

Chen Geng didn't hide anything and said straightforwardly, "When the engine runs at high RPM for a long time and the steering system is under continuous high-intensity operation, there is a high probability that the engine will automatically accelerate when you release the throttle. This is a common issue with the b2, whether it's a carburetor model or a fuel-injected model."

In general, people believe that in both fuel-injected and carbureted cars, we control the amount of fuel entering the engine's combustion chamber by controlling the throttle. This is a misconception. In carbureted cars, this is indeed the case, but in fuel-injected cars, the throttle only controls the opening of the throttle valve. The amount of fuel entering the combustion chamber is always controlled by the ECU, which automatically adjusts the fuel injection based on the air flow it detects. Therefore, more accurately, our foot controls the "air valve" rather than the throttle.

Under normal circumstances, a cable-operated throttle would not cause the engine to accelerate when you release the throttle, because the cable has elasticity. However, this is easy to understand. The entire throttle cable mechanism is made up of mechanical parts. If some mechanical parts are covered with too much dust or if the mechanical performance of key components, such as the spring in the cable system, deteriorates due to high temperatures in the engine compartment, it can cause individual parts to stick. When you release the throttle, the throttle may not reduce as expected, and in extreme cases, it might even accelerate when you release the throttle.

This is a classic fault of the Santana b2. The reason is that the throttle control system was not designed with sufficient consideration. However, after several serious accidents due to this fault, Wolfsburg modified the throttle system design in 1986. From the first batch of CKD-assembled Santanas in 1983 to 1986, only 10,000 Santanas were assembled in total, so this low-probability event did not occur, or if it did, it was not recognized as a car issue. However, Chen Geng, who had worked at Wolfsburg for many years, was aware of this typical fault in the b2.

Kindler, an automotive engineer, knew that this situation was possible.

He grabbed his hair in agony and asked hoarsely, "What is the probability?"

"If you follow the test method I specified, it's about 30%."

30%? Kindler's vision went black!