Everyone knows that the first model produced by the First Automobile Factory was called the “Dongfeng” brand car, and later produced the Hongqi brand car, so there is a saying that “ride the Dongfeng and show the red flag”. In 1958, FAW sent its self-made Dongfeng car to Beijing as a gift, and decorated it with a “Chinese dragon” in the middle of the front. Not to be outdone, Shanghai, as an economic center, produced its own small car, named it “Phoenix” with a more beautiful name, and decorated it with “Phoenix” in the middle of the front.
Phoenix car
As the first car produced in Shanghai, we can’t help asking, what kind of car is this? The Phoenix brand car has absorbed some features of overseas models, referring to the Polish Warsaw car chassis, and the body shape adopts the design of the American Shunfeng car, so the appearance looks a bit like the American car in the 1950s, and the tail fin is particularly obvious , would seem exaggerated today.
Warsaw M20
On February 15, 1959, the Shanghai Automobile Factory sent the prototype car to Zhongnanhai, less than a year after FAW produced Dongfeng brand cars, which shows the high efficiency of Shanghai Automobile people. Premier Zhou was very happy after seeing the Phoenix brand car, and encouraged them to continue to improve the level of cars and strive to present a gift to the 10th anniversary of the National Day.
After being affirmed by the central leadership, the Phoenix brand car was preparing to expand its production, but encountered a three-year natural disaster. By the end of 1960, a total of 18 cars had been produced.
The famous car brand “Mercedes” was originally the name given to his daughter by the Austrian car dealer Emil Jelinek, which means luck in Spanish. Later, the girl died of an unfortunate marriage, and this The beautiful name remains as the world’s top car brand. The people of Shanghai produced the Phoenix brand car, but the reputation of “Phoenix” as a divine bird failed to be preserved as a car brand. In 1963, the Shanghai automobile industry was restarted. In 1964, “Phoenix” was officially renamed as Shanghai SH760. It has been 48 years since Phoenix was discontinued in 1964. Phoenix cars have been forgotten, but Phoenix bicycles are well-known to every household. The history is such a wonderful one. The Shanghai brand took over the baton of car manufacturing and continued until 1991. It became the largest-selling car in China at that time, meeting the domestic car demand, and Phoenix completed a “nirvana”.
Shanghai brand car logo
Shanghai brand SH760
Although Hongqi cars are well-known and have many models, they are mainly used by central government agencies, and ordinary cadres will not be equipped with Hongqi cars. At that time, the relatively low-positioned Shanghai brand sedan had a wider market, and mass production began after 1975. As of 1991, the cumulative sales volume was 79,525 vehicles. Less than 80,000 cars have been produced in 30 years, with an average annual sales volume of about 2,600. This is incomparable with the current auto market. In 2011, Shanghai GM, Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen all had annual sales of more than 1 million vehicles, and some models even had annual sales of more than 200,000 and monthly sales of more than 2,600. Vehicle models also abound. However, at that time, the Shanghai brand was the domestically produced car with the largest sales volume in China. In 1991, the annual sales volume of Shanghai brand cars was the largest, reaching 8,000.
The Shanghai brand car became an “unwanted child” and was forced to stop production
As the most popular model in China at that time, why did it stop production, and even the brand disappeared? In the early 1980s, with the deepening of reform and opening up, China began to explore joint ventures in the production of automobiles. In 1985, German Volkswagen and Shanghai Car Factory started joint operations and began to produce Santana cars. Most of the original Shanghai Automobile Works employees went to the newly built joint venture factory, and the remaining 1,300 people continued to produce Shanghai brand cars. Since the country shifted the car production to a joint venture, the competent government departments at that time stopped “blood transfusion” for Shanghai brand cars. Shanghai brand models gradually became obsolete, and at the same time there was no financial and technical support. In 1991, the last Shanghai brand car rolled off the production line, and Shanghai brand cars officially withdrew from the stage of history.
The family took a photo with the last Shanghai brand car rolled off the production line with their children in their arms
The picture above is the ceremony for the last car of the Shanghai brand to roll off the production line. At that time, many Shanghainese were very sad about the suspension of production of the Shanghai brand. In the middle, a child took a group photo with this 30-year-old car accompanied by his relatives.
Shanghai brand SH760A
Some people use “a strong man breaks his wrist” to describe the suspension of production of Shanghai brand cars. In 1991, when production was discontinued, the sales volume of Shanghai brand cars was the best year since the brand was born. Although the models are relatively old, the market performance is still good. If you have funds and Tech support should go a long way. In order to make way for the joint venture and to engage in joint venture car projects wholeheartedly, the Shanghai brand was “gloriously” retired.
When it comes to domestically produced cars in the last century, Hongqi naturally comes to mind, but in the 1970s and 1980s, how many people could drive Hongqi? It was not just a matter of money. At that time, supplies were in short supply, and ordinary people had no indicators for car purchases. , Even if you have money, you can’t buy a car, just like the “number lottery” in Beijing today, and there were fewer and more rare “numbers” at that time, and they were generally obtained by government agencies.
Compared with Hongqi’s “high and high”, some people say that the Shanghai brand car was the car that was closest to the common people in early China. In fact, not everyone could ride a Shanghai brand car at that time, only cadres at the county and regiment level and above could ride. At that time, there were very few car companies that produced cars in China. Basically, you could only choose a few brands such as Shanghai and Hongqi to buy a car across the country, and you had to go to the factory to pick up the car.
Shanghai brand SH760 imitated Mercedes-Benz 220S in the 1950s
Nowadays, if you want to buy a car, you can choose a 4S store in a surrounding city. The store will provide one-stop services such as registration, insurance, and car inspection. After paying the deposit, you can pick up the car when the time comes. In the era of Shanghai brand cars, not only ordinary people do not know what a 4S store is, but even manufacturers do not understand the concept of a 4S store, and there are no dealers across the country. The unit that bought the car had to travel a long distance to pick up the car from the factory, and had to drive the car back by itself. Once, the Lanzhou Office Affairs Administration came to pick up four cars. It was at the end of November. After passing Xi’an, we had to pass Gaolan Mountain, but the mountain was blocked by heavy snow, and we couldn’t get down for half a month. This is very important to us today It’s unbelievable.
Shanghai brand SH760
Type 680 engine equipped with Shanghai brand SH760
The charm of Shanghai brand cars lies in the fact that three models have been selling well for 30 years. These three models are SH760, SH760A and SH760B. SH760 imitates the design and manufacture of Mercedes-Benz 220S. It is equipped with a model 680 engine with a displacement of 2.23 liters (the current mid-level car level). It is an inline 6-cylinder with a maximum power of 66 kW (90 horsepower) at 4800 rpm. It adopts rear-wheel drive and four-wheel independent suspension. It turns out that the in-line six-cylinder is not exclusive to BMW, and it is nothing special. The Shanghai brand has already been used! However, limited by the technology at the time, the maximum power of the 2.2-liter engine was only 66 kilowatts, which was not as good as the current Honda Fit’s 1.3-liter engine output of 73 kilowatts. The gearbox is a four-speed manual. In today’s models, the manual gearbox has at least 5 gears, and 6-speed manuals and 7-speed manuals have appeared.
Shanghai SH760 produced in 1965
Shanghai SH761 produced in 1975
Ten years after SH760 went on the market, Shanghai Automobile Works made partial changes to the head and tail of the body. Change the front end of the engine cover and the arch of the trunk cover to a flat cover shape, and change the “crown”-shaped surface decoration to a horizontal strip radiator grille. The chrome-plated parts in front of the grille are canceled, and only the chrome-plated parts of the bumper are retained. pieces. The field of view of the front windshield is increased, the front and rear direction lights are changed to a combined type, and the round headlights are changed to square lights. The rear has also changed a lot. The original body lines that were full of changes have become straighter and more concise, and it looks tougher. The remodeled Shanghai brand sedan is SH760A, and the engine remains unchanged. Later, in 1986, it was renamed SH760B, and the model basically remained unchanged.
Shanghai convertible inspection car
Nowadays, it is not uncommon for married people to drive BMWs and Mercedes-Benz to welcome their brides. However, in 1976, when a Shanghai guy got married, he found a Shanghai brand car to pick up his bride. Citizens may not take a taxi once a year. Shanghai brand cars not only have status in the hearts of the common people, but also play an important role in receiving foreign guests.
Shanghai convertible inspection car
In 1972, when US President Nixon visited China, he traveled from Beijing to Hangzhou, and then to Shanghai. At that time, the reception group used 100 Shanghai brand SH760s to meet Nixon’s ice-breaking trip at the airport. However, after Nixon got off the plane, he took the red flag, and his entourage took the Shanghai card. Shanghai brand cars witnessed the significant establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
Shanghai limousine
SH771, an open-top inspection car produced by Shanghai brand, adopts the chassis of SH760 sedan, which has been strengthened and its appearance and interior have been improved. Artificial leather leather seats, chrome-plated luxury interior and exterior trim, as well as Polaris brand alarm clock, transistor radio and other configurations. The whole is graceful and luxurious, elegant and solemn. The power system comes from the 680Q six-cylinder in-line engine used on the SH760. The weight of the body has increased to 2 tons, so the top speed has dropped to 90 kilometers per hour, and the fuel consumption per 100 kilometers has increased to 16 liters, which is equivalent to the fuel consumption of 2.5L emission models today. At present, there is one in the collection of Dalian Vintage Automobile Museum, the frame number is 71-001, which is the first model of this model after it was finalized. It was originally customized by a foreign affairs tourism company in China for the reception of foreign affairs. It has received King Sihanouk of Cambodia successively. , Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea Kim Il Sung and other heads of state.
The rearview mirror of SH760 is very small, and the triangular window can be opened
The rear wing of SH760 is particularly exaggerated and individual
Shanghai brand SH760
Bulletproof vehicles are rare as special-purpose vehicles. At that time, domestic bulletproof vehicles were mainly Hongqi bulletproof vehicles produced by FAW. However, the Shanghai Automobile Works also produced a small number of bulletproof vehicles. In June 1970, the Shanghai brand SH770 bulletproof vehicle was successfully trial-produced. The bulletproof glass on this model is 45mm thick, and the body steel is also of a high standard. At that time, the method of testing whether the bulletproof steel plate met the standard was very simple. Pull a piece of steel plate into an open space and shoot it with a real gun. The indicators of this bulletproof car are very high, but like the inspection car, there are only a few produced, and there are only a few places where it is actually used.
Shanghai 760A Convertible
Shanghai pickup, the front half of the body is similar to SH760A
Shanghai pickup truck, the warehouse at the back is basically the same as today’s pickup truck
In addition to the models mentioned above, Shanghai brand has also produced SH762, SH763 and SH760B pickups. Due to the small number of production, basically none of them have been retained. In the mid-to-late 1970s, Shanghai Automobile people still wanted to develop more new models, but the decision-makers at that time had already had the idea of a joint venture, and they did not support their efforts to develop new cars. By the 1980s, they were basically busy negotiating joint ventures. Later, Shanghai Volkswagen was born, and the glory of the Shanghai brand gradually faded.
Source of pictures and texts: Public Account: Collection on Wheels.
