Karakush
The middle-aged dreamer’s aura can already be seen in the rolling ads before the launch event.
The protagonist is Coco Lee.
Whether Coco Lee’s songs were in your childhood Walkman or not is a measure of whether you are a middle-aged person. In the hierarchy of popular music from the late 90s to early 2000s, liking Coco Lee places your taste above ordinary stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan, showing that your aesthetic is rooted in the local culture while also being internationally recognized.
Don’t ask why, it’s because you’re too young.
In 1998, before the era of fan culture, Disney chose Coco Lee to sing the Chinese theme song for “Mulan”, providing the best evidence of her appeal: she is Chinese enough, but also has world-class recognition.
She is the Gu Ailing of a generation, the dream of a generation.
Recently, young people may have heard of Coco Lee due to the TV show “Sing If You Can”, produced by Mango TV and TVB, which featured singers like George Lam, Faye Wong, Hacken Lee, and Joey Yung, all of whom have performed the dreams of our middle-aged generation (George Lam’s “Yelaixiang” is still my standard for choosing a partner). They are still singing loudly today.
And this program, which aims to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 1997, has designated the Voyah Dreamer as its official car. To put it simply, using the Voyah Dreamer to carry the grand cultural revival of middle-aged people could not be more appropriate.
Because the Dream in the Voyah Dreamer must be the dream of middle-aged people.
It comes with the price tag of a middle-aged person. The official price ranges from ¥369,900 to ¥4,399,000, which is a little lower than its presale price just a month ago, as described by Voyah CEO and CTO, Lu Fang, as “conservative and slightly low.”
Young people might think “confident and daring,” but even if this is how middle-aged people feel, they will still say “It’s alright, let me think about it.” The hardships we’ve endured don’t allow us to be intimidated by a mere ¥400,000. More economically affluent middle-aged people will evaluate the Voyah Dreamer and say, “It’s elegant and cheaper than the Maserati.”
It also has the spirit of a middle-aged person. Voyah keeps saying, “We are the new species of this era, the creators of the next era.” The Voyah Dreamer wants to “bid farewell to the old era and classical MPVs” and “redefine the standard of luxury MPVs.”There are typically two moments in a person’s life when they are most easily impassioned without shame: one is during their teenage years, and the other is during middle age. Either feeling too old to keep up or feeling inadequate, life won’t let you stay in the middle, and you have to either climb up the slope or slide down with the sand and wind.
Meanwhile, it retains the composure of a middle-aged person. It says the harshest words but does the most realistic things.
First of all, it is electric, filling a blank space in the mainstream MPV market as there is no electric products available yet. With the characteristics of dual power from the LanTu L2, the Dreamer provides both pure electric and extended range options at the same price.
The pure electric version has dual motors front and back, with a maximum power output of 160kW/160kW and peak torque of 620N·m, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds. The battery supports quick charging with a maximum power output of 230 kW, and it takes about 20 minutes to charge from 20% to 80% battery life. The standard single-charge driving range of the CLTC model is 475 km, while the long-range model’s driving range is 605 km.
The extended-range version is equipped with Dongfeng’s self-developed 1.5T GDI engine, with a thermal efficiency of 41.07%. It matches dual motors front and back with a maximum power output of 130 kW/160 kW and a peak torque of 610N·m. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds and has a WLTC range of 750 km. It supports intelligent power switching, so users can switch between gasoline and electric power sources. In specific scenarios, the engine can also drive directly. The comprehensive fuel consumption rate by MIIT is 1.99 L/100km, and the fuel consumption rate in urban areas is less than 5 L/100km. The fuel economy is easy to maintain and is very satisfying for middle-aged people’s tastes.
Secondly, the new direction of disrupting the old and creating the new is to meet the market’s existing shortcomings and to tell a great Chinese self-made story in the mainstream joint venture market.In the MPV industry, safety is a topic that is often ignored or avoided, but not in the case of the Dream Jet. It was developed based on the super five-star safety standard and uses a 2000MPa integrally formed hot-stamped laser-welded door ring and a 2000MPa aluminum silicon-coated door anti-collision beam. For reference, the strength of the steel used in the landing gear of an airplane is only around 1800MPa.
Additionally, the Dream Jet is made of over 70% high-strength steel, creating a super-high strength cage-type cockpit framework that is “far higher than the industry standard.” Considering that MPVs have a smaller ground clearance, the Dream Jet also uses 1500MPa hot-formed high-strength steel for the battery pack bottom guard plate, which is a high-cost investment.
There are also some designs that may seem perplexing. Some people have criticized the Dream Jet’s slightly long and ugly front cabin, but it is designed to provide enough energy absorption buffering capacity. The unevenness of the third row is due to the car’s structure for high-speed rear-end collisions. Conventional MPVs have a third row close to the tailgate with insufficient structure to protect the passengers in the event of a rear-end collision, but the Dream Jet meets the most stringent rear-end collision standards. In addition to warming cups, critical illness insurance, and no mortgage properties, the Dream Jet provides middle-aged people with an additional sense of security.
Furthermore, it is the first MPV to feature air suspension with a magic carpet function and CDC. Through sensors that monitor and analyze the road conditions ahead, real-time feedback enables it to conduct adaptive buffering and shock absorption, automatically lowering the body height at high speeds to lower wind resistance and energy consumption. Its interior design also makes it easier for middle-aged people with knee injuries to get in and out of the car.
The Dream Jet also features a comprehensive package of aluminum alloy chassis, Snapdragon 8155 chipset, and L2 + intelligent driving assistance, among other features. According to Lu Fang, “There has never been a true luxury MPV before the Dream Jet.”
Lastly, the ultimate mission of MPVs is for middle-aged people to have a comfortable nap inside, and that is where the Dream Jet takes things to the next level. For example, Zhang Chaoyang, the founder of Sohu.com, had a “nice nap” in the Dream Jet a few days ago.“`
Dream Maker offers a sophisticated sleep environment with a zero-gravity independent seat. The backrest can recline up to 155° and comes with a sleeping pillow for added comfort, a 3-speed heating and ventilation massage, a 70° electric leg rest, and infant-grade skin-friendly fabric to protect delicate skin barriers for middle-aged individuals. Additionally, the vehicle features a three-zone air conditioning system, air management, a Denon sound system, and “deep-sea” NVH technology, making even an average bedroom feel inferior.
After waking up, Zhang Chaoyang said, “One must have dreams.” The power of these types of individuals is limitless.
At the end of last year, he focused heavily on “Zhang Chaoyang’s Physics Course.”
To young people, a 60s generation graduate of Tsinghua University’s physics department in 1986 and a doctorate holder from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993 are not individuals to be questioned but rather an ancient creature that needs to be worshipped. Even retiring comrades should personally attend to illustrate the difficult position and pressures of the video industry.
Indeed, it is not the case.
The choice to leave is no longer a viable option for middle-aged and even elderly individuals.
A few years ago, a famous middle-aged individual remarked, “What does being forty mean?” It doesn’t mean you understand everything when you turn forty; it means you don’t want to understand anything you don’t already know. When you are young, you want to understand everything, every person, and every detail, but when you reach middle age, you discover that you don’t understand everything. We can all resonate with this.
In recent years, there have been few middle-aged individuals who can comfortably confuse themselves in a daze. Many professionals have been pulled into the vortex of transformation.
Considering the good, as Zhang Chaoyang stated, “Life is long, and we believe there is still much to do, and there are still significant opportunities.” It’s like the Dream Maker he saw for the first time at the Guangzhou Auto Show last year, a custom four-seater starting at CNY 639,900. With a massive lifting screen, Zhang Chaoyang thought the window was intended for live broadcasts. This is a time of live streaming, and everyone should do it.
Alternatively, what else can be done? Middle-aged individuals are lonely. They wake up every day surrounded by people who rely on them, but there is no one for them to rely on. Middle-aged individuals must participate in the times and continue to fight.
Lu Fang said Dream Maker is specifically designed for those who continue to dream or who cannot surrender to life. There are so many cars made for young people, but middle-aged individuals also require some extraordinary tenderness.
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This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.