马克:在广州和都灵之间架起一座桥
2023-10-11马克马里奥吉拉尔迪MarcoMarioGilardi覃梦亲
文/马克·马里奥·吉拉尔迪(Marco Mario Gilardi) 译/覃梦亲
意大利历史古城都灵是我的家乡,这是一座魔法之都,也是一座“Bogianen”之城。都灵是与里昂、布拉格组成的白魔法三角和与伦敦、旧金山组成的黑魔法三角的交叉点。“Bogianen”在都灵古代语言中的意思是“别动”:这是皮埃蒙特战士在1747年战争中获得的称号,他们虽然在人数上处于劣势,但仍然成功阻止了法国入侵。之后,这一我们都灵人本应引以为豪的称号的历史含义消失了,变成了保守不愿改变的误导性含义。
1970年的夏天,我父亲带我去看勒芒24小时耐力赛,我对赛车运动充满了激情,这一激动人心的经历激发了我想要成为一名汽车工程师的愿望。
想要做一些有意义的事
我在都灵理工大学的第一年过得安稳顺遂,但我想获得超越普通生活的体验,这一愿望变得越来越强烈。我们班上有一些军人,我们志同道合,都想要做一些有意义的、令人钦佩的事。于是我申请参军,并如愿以偿。
部队成为我的引路人,言辞简短但直击内心:“他人至上”“坦克指挥官最后吃饭”。
为了不落后于同学,我找到了高效利用时间的方法——简化,第一次就做对——在有限的时间内学习。这让我受益终身。
My hometown’s historical Turin is the city of the magic and the “Bogianen”.Turin is a vertex in the triangle of white magic with Lyon and Prague and the triangle of black magic with London and San Francisco.While “Bogianen” in Turin’s ancient language means “don’t move”,it is the nickname deserved by the Piedmont soldiers in 1747 when they stopped the invasion of the Frenches despite being numerically inferior.Then,the historical meaning of this nickname-we Turiners should be proud of-went lost and got the misleading definition of conservative status quo.
In the summer of 1970,my dad brought me to see the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race.I was passionate about motorsports,a thrilling experience stimulating the desire to become a car engineer.
To do something valuable and admirable
The first year at Turin Polytechnique passed smoothly,and the desire to live experiences beyond everyday life became more robust.In my class,there were some army men.We were friends with the same principles and ideals to do something valuable and admirable.I applied to join the army,and I had been joined up.
Army was a good coach,simple words going to the heart:“Others before you”,“Tank commander eats last”.
Not to slide behind my classmates,I found efficient ways to use my time-simplify,do right the first time -in the time to study.That helped me in life.
Other things became useful 30 years later: when I left the army,I received a military driving license record convertible to any civil driving license.Now that record is here,and its translation helped to be allowed to test on challenging off-road courses by saying I was trained to handle vehicles on those grounds.
In FIAT Group,my early boss was already my supervisor in the internship to prepare the dissertation.Before graduation,he asked HR for my employment in his unit.
还有一些东西甚至在三十年后还发挥了作用:我离开部队时获得了一份军用驾照证明,可以转换成任何一种民用驾照。我也将这份证明带到了中国,其翻译版让我得以在艰难的越野试验场开展测试,这份文件证明了我接受过培训可以在这些场地驾驶汽车。
在菲亚特集团,我最开始的领导也是我实习期间指导我毕业论文的导师,在我毕业前向HR提出将我招进他的部门。
他曾经对我说:“我知道我不应该告诉你,但你不停地问问题——为什么要这样做?如果我们那样做会怎么样?——真是让人越来越有压力啊,因此我想和你说,关注怎么做就够了,你做得还不错,放松点。”
我只是回答:“好,我会的。”我当时不够成熟,无法用一句话说明我问这些问题的根本原因:如果我也知道“为什么”和“是什么”,我可以做得更好。
工作后,我一直在努力成为一个有价值的人。在完成一项又一项工作后,我对在越来越广的汽车领域工作感到自信。
1989年,丰田和日产旗下的全新豪华品牌发布了两款改变游戏规则的旗舰车型——英菲尼迪Q45和雷克萨斯LS400——两款车型均宣称其舒适性达到前所未有的水平。
20世纪80年代末,基于前车身防护结构概念,德国品牌在乘员保护方面表现出色。日本和德国汽车品牌很快获得认可,在舒适性和安全性方面占据领先地位:我们希望缩小差距。
我主攻座椅系统。汽车座椅在当时受到忽视,通过研究各种姿势、乘坐、碰撞时人体与座椅的相互作用,可以探索改善机会。其中的关键是要掌握相关人为因素,欧盟委员会要求汽车行业建立这方面的能力。
我与拉夫堡大学、南安普顿大学、柏林大学组成联合研究团队,共同向欧盟委员会申请:座椅评价与设计的先进技术项目。这个项目提案以A1的最高分获得批准。最终,该项目入选欧盟委员会1990—1994年的50个成功案例。
将欧盟资助项目与研究机构相结合,以筑牢科学原理,并实现研究成果的自主产业化,成为我的“新常态”工作方法。
Once,he told me,“I know I should not tell you your continuous questions-Why do we do this? What happens if we do that? -are becoming stressed,but I tell you the same,to make clear,it is enough you focus on how to do.You are doing not that bad,so take it easy.”
I reply,“OK,I will.” In a few words,I was immature enough to express my questions’ root cause: if I also know the “why” and the “what”,I can do a better job.
After employment,I have strived to become a person of value.Assignment after assignment,I felt confident working on larger and larger vehicle domains.
In 1989,Toyota and Nissan revealed game-changing flagships under their new luxury logo -the Infiniti Q45 and the Lexus LS400-claiming unprecedented levels of perceived comfort.
German brands in the late 1980s overperformed in occupant protection thanks to the concept of front body structure with straight,low side rails.Japanese and German brands quickly gained recognition as leaders in comfort and safety: we wanted to recover the gap.
I focused on the seating system.At that time,car seating was overlooked,offering space to improve by studying the human body’s interaction in posture,ride,and crash.The crucial matter was to master the involved human factors.The European Commission was asking the auto industry to create capabilities on that.
I diverted the study of posture,ride,and crash biomechanics to the University of Loughborough,Southampton,and Berlin,teaming them in a Europeanfunded project proposal I started to prepare: Advanced Technologies for Seat Evaluation and Design.The proposal had been approved with the highest score of A1.At the conclusion,the European Commission selected the project as one of the 50 success stories of the 1990-1994 program.
The synergy between funded research with institutions to set the scientific fundamentals right and in-house productization of the research results became my “new normal” working method.
In 1997,the European Commission invited me to Brussels as an expert tasked with the technical evaluation of public funding eligibility for research projects.
I am never satisfied with my work
New millennium,new work: Since 2001,I have been tasked in teams to cooperate with other car makers,some of them allied,some other competitors.It is an excellent opportunity for a curious like me to see the automotive culture in several corners of the world,the influence of the people on their domestic automakers,and why their mindset,logic,and methods do not fit with mine.
马克·马里奥·吉拉尔迪(Marco Mario Gilardi,意大利),广州汽车集团股份有限公司汽车工程研究院首席专业总师,2011年获得“羊城友谊奖”,2014年获得中国政府友谊奖。Marco Mario Gilardi (Italy),is the Chief engineer of GAC R&D Center.He was awarded Guangzhou Friendship Award in 2011 and Chinese Government Friendship Award in 2014.
自1997年以来,欧盟委员会开始邀请我作为专家负责公共资金扶持研究项目的技术评价工作。
我对自己的工作永不满足
自2001年起,我开始负责与其他汽车制造商的合作项目,一些是联盟伙伴,还有一些是竞争对手。对于像我这样充满好奇心的人来说,这是一个绝佳机会,可以体验世界各地的汽车文化,了解人们对当地汽车制造商的影响,探讨他们的思维方式、逻辑、方法为什么与我不一样。
Many missions have been completed,from GM Warren to Chery,Mahindra Mumbai to AutoVAZ Nizhny Novgorod.Some understanding distilling from those experiences that 20 years later is not outdated yet.
I didn’t know I was playing with the fire.
Turin,in December 2006,tasked to meet a team of GAC,I found the president of the R&D -at that time the just born Engineering Institute -was a friend I had not seen for 20 years.
从位于密歇根沃伦的通用技术中心到奇瑞汽车,从位于孟买的印度汽车制造商马恒达到位于诺夫哥罗德的俄罗斯汽车制造商AutoVAZ,我完成了许多任务,从这些经验中提炼的一些感悟即使在20年后也仍未过时。
2006年12月,在都灵,我负责接待广汽团队的来访,见到了广汽研究院的院长,当时广汽研究院才刚刚成立,他是我20年未见的老朋友。
当时广汽团队在向几家汽车制造商咨询开发2010年亚运会官方指定用车的合作意向。广汽与本田和丰田的合资公司产品雅阁和凯美瑞大卖,在中国汽车市场广汽销量排名第四,盈利排名首位。但广汽不想止步于此,他们想要建立自己的品牌,希望在2010年亚运会上发布自主品牌的首款车型。
但对于这项任务,他们基础薄弱,只有几十个人在华南理工大学办公。这些人都很坚定,当时的院长对我说:“我们必须做到,没有退路。”让我想起了“Bogianen”在1747年保卫都灵免遭法国入侵。广汽最终选择与菲亚特合作。
当我第一次来到广州,在华南理工大学与广汽团队一起工作时,我感觉置身于一片充满创业者的氛围中,这是一种必须亲身经历才能体会的东西。
我发现广州是一座充满活力的国际大都市,有很多美好的地方,广州人也很友好,对我充满了好奇,就像我对他们也充满好奇一样。
是时候迎接新挑战了!2009年11月,我开启了在广州的工作和生活之旅。
我们在开发亚运会车型的同时组建项目团队。我们的项目团队以院长、副院长、总师为核心,虽然我们拥有着来自不同车企的不同研发文化,但我们很快便学会了一起工作,多样性帮助我们建立相互尊重。
GAC team was enquiring several automakers to set a cooperation to develop the official car for the 2010 Asian Games.
In the China auto market,GAC ranked fourth in sales and first in profit in the joint venture with Honda and Toyota,whose Accord and Camry were selling extraordinarily well.But that golden status quo was not enough for them.They wanted their brand to reveal it with their early car at the 2010 Asian Games.
They had nothing for that task,just some dozen people hosted in the SCUT -South China University of Technology.
Those people were committed,the president told me: “We must do it,and we will not step back.” It reminded me of the “Bogianen” that 1747 defended my ancestors in Turin from the invasion of the Frenches.GAC chose to work with FIAT.
The first time I came to Guangzhou to work with the GAC team inside SCUT,my sentiment was to be in the land of love populated by startups,something that has to be experienced to be believed.
And I discovered Guangzhou is a lively,cosmopolitan city with plenty of beautiful places to see.Cantonese are so friendly and curious of me as I was of them.
Time for a new challenge.In November 2009,I landed in Guangzhou to live and work there.
We developed the project team and the Asian Game car at the same time.In the core team with the president,vice-president,and chief engineer,although we were a miscellaneous of people with different R&D cultures matured in other car makers,soon we learned to work together,and diversity helped us gain mutual esteem.
The true face of a person becomes visible in the darkness of the adversities.Troubles accumulation was more significant and more prominent,sincerity had been crucial to be aware of all,design conflicts among us were faced with unity and inclusivity,each of us felt confident to disclose our troubles and the own possibility to help others,we encountered together the problems,and we solved them without impositions and internal competition.Then the team started to gain momentum,the young engineers were learning fast,giving us more support,and the problem accumulation rate was becoming more diminutive than the solving rate.We are moving from the darkness to the light.And in the end,all that hard paid: the 500-unit fleet for the 2010 Asian Games was delivered on schedule.
人的真实面目在逆境中会变得清晰。随着问题的积累,我们用团结和包容应对设计冲突,我们每个人都不避讳暴露自己的问题,极尽所能帮助他人,我们共同面对困难,主动解决问题,没有内部竞争。团队开始集聚发展之势,年轻工程师快速成长,给予我们更多支持,问题积累的速度变得比问题解决的速度要慢,从黑暗走向光明。最终,所有努力均获得回报:2010年亚运会500台车按时交付。
成功的关键是什么?胸怀宽广?坚持不懈?员工敬业?我认为都是,再加上一点激情。
从2010年10月亚运会车型上市,到新冠疫情暴发,这九年时间显然很简单。简单是因为我们在这期间发布了几个车型,重复着亚运会车型的成功故事,持续关注如何保持在性价比方面相对其他品牌的一点额外优势。这九年期间没有灾难发生,没有政策调整,没有出现颠覆性的竞争对手。
我的主要任务是将传祺的车辆动力学性能提升至最高水平,这其中最重要的是操稳性能。
我对自己的工作永不满足,当时也是如此,在车型快要量产时,我发现新一代轮胎比已选轮胎更适合我们车型的车辆动力学。
虽然每次车型投产时,我都认为我们的操稳性还可以更好,但市场反馈还不错,没有抱怨,获得一些好评。
为什么“显然很简单”呢?因为自2015年左右开始,已经有迹象表明,特斯拉和滴滴正在改变电动汽车和共享出行。
但这些信号被更大的噪声掩盖,例如SAE L3级自动驾驶的海市蜃楼,这是遥不可及的预测。
2020—2021年,为了提升车辆动力学性能,我辗转于几个试验场开展工作,经常被隔离在酒店房间,这样也给了我时间思考电动汽车、移动出行,这两个行业都在改变汽车行业。
当然,奥迪、宝马、福特等公司有在电动汽车方面比马斯克经验更丰富的高管,是什么让特斯拉成为各家公司的标杆?是其在能源发电和储能行业发展成熟的能力吗?不管是什么,都是诞生于传统汽车以外的,都是我没有预测到的事情,因为这是以前从未发生过的事,超出了我的经验范围,我没有想象到会发生,想象力变得比经验更重要。
What had been crucial to succeed? Generosity?Perseverance? People engagement? I believe all of them together with a dose of passion.
The nine years between the commercial launch of the Asian Games in December 2010 and the pandemic’s arrival were simple.Simple because we repeated on several models the success story of the Asian Games car,caring to maintain an extra bit of advantage in value for money concerning the other brands.No calamity,no policy change,no disrupting competitors.
My fundamental task was to bring Trumpchi vehicle dynamics to the top,handling above all.
I was never satisfied with my work at that time,as when close to SOP,I found a new generation tire that was mating the dynamics of the model better than our tire.
Although at any launch I thought our handling was not that good,according to the market it was also not bad: no complaints,some rewards.
Why “apparently simple”? Because since 2015,there were already signals that Tesla and Didi were transforming EVs,ride-hailing,and sharing.Those signals were still covered by louder noises,like the mirage of SAE level 3 just around the corner:farfetched forecast.
During 2020 and 2021,I was often quarantined in a hotel room while doing my nomadic work in several proving ground to improve vehicle dynamics,so I had time to think about the EV and mobility industries that were transforming automotive industry.
Surely,Audi,BMW,Ford,and others have executives even more experienced in EVs than Mr.Musk.What made Tesla the benchmark for all of us? The capability matured in the energy generation&storage industry? Whatever it was,it was born outside the traditional automotive,and it was something I didn’t forecast because it had never happened before,so it was outside my experience.I didn’t imagine it could happen: Imagination is beginning to count more than experience.
昊铂SSR项目团队合照
对广汽来说,首席未来学家是不是会比像我这样的总工程师更有用呢?
过去的一些经验、一些传承可能会有所帮助,但我不能让我的过去过多地影响我对未来的建议。
我过去的一个理念在现在仍然实用:仅有“技能知识(know-how)”还不够,我们还需要“事实知识(know-what)”和“原理知识(know-why)”,这个双重组合拉动我们超越汽车本身,关注顾客。
奔赴新常态之旅
对于汽车行业来说,直到10年前,技术、车辆、市场的变化速度还是呈线性的。现在技术和市场的变化速度呈指数性,而传统汽车行业的趋势发展仍然过于线性。
Is not that a chief futurist is more beneficial to GAC than a chief engineer like me?
Some roots in the past,some heritage,may help,but I cannot allow my history to influence what I advise for the future too much.
One concept of my past is still actual: our “know-how” is insufficient.We also need the “know-what” and the “know-why.” This duo pulls us to go beyond the car to the customer.
Undertake the journey to the new normal
In automotive,until one decade ago,the rate of change in technology,vehicle,and market was linear.Now,the rate of technology change and the market is exponential,while the trend in the traditional auto industry is too linear.
The impact of electrification,ADAS autonomous driving,metaverse,and IoT generates opportunities in technical solutions and business models.
Driving lovers will have vehicle dynamics with a strong personality that changes as a chameleon to fit best who,how,and where it is going.
The software allows an infinite number of tonalities,becoming for the calibration engineer what the palette is for the painter: no frontier between engineer and artist.
受到电气化、ADAS与自动驾驶技术、元宇宙及物联网技术发展的影响,技术方案和业务模式产生了无限机会。
驾驶爱好者将享受具有强烈个性的车辆动力学性能,可以像变色龙一样随意切换,针对驾驶员、驾驶方式和驾驶地点实现最匹配的车辆动力学性能。
软件支持无限调性可能,软件之于标定工程师就像调色盘之于画家,工程师与艺术家之间没有边界。
滴滴用户将乘坐为共享出行设计的汽车,搭载SAE L4级自动驾驶,车内配备元宇宙影院,可以常用常新维持长达十年租期,由于自动驾驶和电气化硬件成本高昂,通过软件更新和内饰翻新可以维持较长时间,类似于飞机。
维持较长时间意味着销量减少,要维持营收我们必须通过售后服务提升顾客终身价值,这就需要在研发、营销、销售和售后市场之间建立可行的关联性。
这一切需要快速反应,因为顾客没有那么耐心,消费电子行业让他们习惯了可以立即拥有一切。
车辆动力学性能的软件标定工程师要验证预期效果,需要再进行下一步调整。
常规的实车测试验证耗时太长,也不够精细,我们需要将软件标定工作推向车辆动力学开发流程的上游,采用虚实混合样件在环动态模拟器上验证。
模拟器所有相关技术及整车技术集成的整体方法均已具备,但要充分利用这一机会,我们需要更多地从整车层面开展工作,而不是分散地工作于车辆的各个部分,要从对于影响研发的更广业务领域获得全局观。
虽然整车开发计划以SOP时间为主导,但软件开发应在整个车型生命周期持续开展,设定SOP软件释放节点及OTA更新节点,使CLV(Customer Lifetime Value,顾客终身价值)最大化。满足OTA更新节点甚至比SOP节点更重要,晚了会影响品牌形象。项目管理需要满足新需求。
Didi folks will ride on cars designed for ridesharing ride-hailing,with SAE L4,with a metaverse theater inside,designed to last as new for a long time to fit with decade-long-leasing because autonomous driving and electrification hardware is expensive and can stay a long time with software updating and interiors rejuvenation,as for the airliners.
To last for a long time means to sell less,and to maintain revenues,we must raise the Customer Lifetime Value with aftermarket offers,which requires viable interlinks among R&D Marketing Sales Aftermarket.
Being quick in offering all that,customers are not that patient.The consumer electronic industry has gotten used to having everything immediately.
The calibration engineers that paint the vehicle dynamics with infinite tonalities must verify if they get the desired effect and adjust in the next step.
The standard method to do that by testing on an actual vehicle would be either too long or too unrefined.Hence,we need to relocate the software calibration upstream in the vehicle dynamics development process by using mixed real and virtual prototypes to run on the driver-in-the-loop dynamic simulator in virtual reality.
All technologies for this simulation,the whole method to integrate them at the vehicle level,are available.To fully exploit this opportunity,we need to work more at the global vehicle level and less fragmented on bites of the vehicle,gaining a holistic view of the enlarged business domain influencing the R&D.
While SOP rules the vehicle development plan,software development should be a no-stop on the whole vehicle model life cycle to maximize the CLV,with docking points to release SOP software and OTA updates.Punctuality in OTA update deadlines is even more critical than SOP: late compromises brand image.Project management will have to fulfill new requirements.
This journey to the new normal is bumpy.We need to give our people the evidence it is worthy to undertake,with facts from the battlefield,not explanations in the lecture room.
Thinking that I would not have the chance to join the creation of a supercar before the aging stopped me,the opportunity arrived.Aion launched the development of our first supercar.
这段通往新常态的旅程充满挑战,我们需要用来自“战场”的事实证明,而不是用会议室的培训来证明,这段新常态之旅值得奔赴。
本来想着在我年纪尚还允许前,应该再没有机会参与超级跑车(超跑)的创造了,机会就来了——埃安启动了我们首款超跑的开发。
一些豪华汽车或超跑的买家非常年轻,他们赚钱快,愿意投资买一辆名贵汽车彰显自己在工作或社会生活中的地位,证明自己属于精英一族。他们自己驾驶,也想要一点多功能性。有人想要高端轿车的舒适性,也有人更喜欢跑车的刺激。
现在,精英一族多了一个选择:昊铂SSR,一款个性鲜明的跑车,无论在公共道路上还是在赛道上都能轻松驾驶。这是一个集魅力与惊人性能于一身的超跑。
在我心中,昊铂SSR就是“广州创造的Berlinetta”,在广州与我的家乡都灵之间架起一座桥梁。
超跑是艺术与工匠的瑰宝,我认为没有比广州更适合孕育艺术品杰作的地方了。在古代,广州发展了自己的珠宝、瓷器、刺绣等流派,成为广州艺术品走向世界的大使。
现在这种艺术传承融汇在昊铂SSR的现代感中,昊铂SSR是我们广州艺术品的新生大使。
都灵是“Carrozzieri(车身制造设计)”之家,“Gran Turismo”和“Berlinetta”的概念让意大利设计闻名世界,例如Pininfarina——法拉利最喜欢的车身制造商,Marcello Gandini——兰博基尼Miura的设计师,Gandini和Bertone车速制造商——蓝旗亚Stratos(史上最伟大的拉力赛车)的创造者。
七个世纪以前,马可·波罗(Marco Polo)在中国和意大利之间架起了一座桥梁,七个世纪之后的今天,我们又建立了另一座桥梁:昊铂SSR。
虽然我是都灵人,但我在职场中一直以来都是探索者,而不是“bogianen”。展望未来,大有可为,是时候书写新篇章了。
Several buyers of luxury cars or supercars are incredibly young.They make money soon and invest in a prestige car as recognition—in their work or social life—they belong to an elite.This purchase is their only car;they drive personally,and they also want a dose of versatility.Some of them prefer the plushness of sedans.Some others like the thrill of supercars.
Soon,that elite will have one more option:our Hyper SSR,a supercar with a strong personality,is easy on the road and track—a beauty combining glamour with breathtaking performance.
In my heart,Hyper SSR is the “Berlinetta created in Canton,” bridging Canton with my hometown,Turin.
A supercar is a jewel of fine arts and craftsmanship.I believe there is no better place than Canton to give birth to a masterpiece of fine arts.In ancient times,Canton nurtured its schools of jewelry,porcelain,embroidery,and many others.They became ambassadors of Cantonese fine arts in the world.
A heritage that now lives in the modernity of Hyper SSR,our new ambassador of Cantonese fine arts.
Turin is the home of the “Carrozzieri”,coachbuilders and design houses that made the Italian design in the world with their concepts of “Gran Turismo” and “Berlinetta” like Pininfarina-the favorite coachbuilder of Ferrari,Marcello Gandini-designer of the Lamborghini Miura,again Gandini with Bertone coachbuilder-creators of the Lancia Stratos,the most significant rally racer ever.
Seven centuries after Marco Polo settled the early bridge between China and Italy,we decided on one more bridge: Hyper SSR.
Although Turiner,I have been more explorer than “bogianen” in my working life.Let’s look ahead.There are several things worthy to be done-time to write a new chapter.