Wheels (16 page)

Beside Adam, Ian Jameson, a slight, sandy
haired Scot from Engineering, sat
imperturbably. Jameson was undoubtedly thinking what Adam realized-that
there was no necessity for them to be going around the turns at all;
professional drivers had already put the Orion through grueling tests
there which it survived handily. The trio's real purpose at the proving
ground today was to review an NVH problem (the initials were engineerese
for Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) which prototype Orions had developed
at very high speed. But on their way to the fast track they had passed the
entry to Serpentine Alley, and Adam swung on to it first, hoping that
throwing the car around would release some of his own tension, which he
had continued to be aware of since his departure from the press session
an hour or two earlier.
The tension, which started early this morning, had occurred more
frequently of late. So a
few weeks ago Adam made an appointment with a physician who probed,
pressed, performed assorted tests, and finally told him there was nothing
wrong organically except, possibly, too much acid in his system. The
doctor then talked vaguely of 11 ulcer personality," the need to stop
worrying, and added a kindergarten bromide, "A hill is only as steep as
it looks to the man climbing it
.”

While Adam listened impatiently, wishing that medics would assume more
knowledge and intelligence on the part of patients, the doctor pointed
out that the human body had its own built
in warning devices and
suggested easing up for a while, which Adam already knew was impossible
this year. The doctor finally got down to what Adam had come for and
prescribed Librium. capsules with a recommended dosage. Adam promptly
exceeded the dosage, and continued to. He also failed to tell the doctor
that he was taking Valium, obtained elsewhere. Today, Adam had swallowed
several pills, including one just before leaving downtown, but without
discernible effect. Now, since the S-turns had done nothing to release
his tension either, he surreptitiously transferred another pill from a
pocket to his mouth.
The action reminded him that he still hadn't told Erica, either about
the visit to the doctor, or the pills, which he kept in his briefcase,
out of sight.
Near the end of Serpentine Alley, Adam swung the car sharply, letting
the speed drop only slightly before heading for the track which was used
for high-speed runs. Outside, the trees, meadows, and connecting roads
sped by. The speedometer returned to 60, then edged to 65.
With one hand, Adam rechecked the tightness of his own lap straps and
shoulder harness. Without turning his head, he told the others, "Okay,
let's shake this baby out
.”

They hurtled on the fast track, sweeping past another car, their speed
still climbing. It was 70 mph, and Adam caught a glimpse of a face as
the driver of the other car glanced sideways.
Ian Jameson craned left to watch the speedometer needle, now touching
75. The sandy-haired engineer had been a key figure in studying the
Orion's present NVH problem.
"We'll hear it any moment," Jameson said.
Speed was 78. The wind, largely of their own creating, roared as they
flew around the track. Adam had the accelerator floored. Now he touched
the automatic speed control, letting the computer take over, and removed
his foot. Speed crept up. It passed 80.
"Here she comes," Jameson said. As he spoke, the car shuddered
violently-an intense pulsation, shaking everything, including occupants.
Adam found his vision blurring slightly from the rapid movement.
Simultaneously a metallic hum rose and fell.
The engineer said, "Right on schedule
.”

He sounded complacent, Adam
thought, as if he would have been disappointed had the trouble not
appeared.
"At fair grounds Brett DeLosanto raised his voice to a shout to make
himself heard; his words came through unevenly because of the shaking.
"At fair grounds, people pay money for a ride like this
.”

"And if we left it in," Adam said, "most drivers would never know about
it. Not many take their cars up to eighty
.”

Ian Jameson said, "But some do
.”

Adam conceded gloomily: it was true. A handful of madcap drivers would
hit eighty, and among them one or two might be startled by the sudden
vibration, then lose control, killing or maiming themselves and others.
Even without
accident, the NVH effect could become known, and people like Emerson Vale
would make the most of it. It was a few freak accidents at high speed,
Adam recalled, with drivers who over
or understeered in emergencies,
which had killed the Corvair only a few years ago. And although by the
time Ralph Nader published his now-famous indictment of the Corvair, early
faults had been corrected, the car had still gone to a precipitate end
under the weight of publicity which Nader generated.
Adam, and others in the company who knew about the high-speed shake, had
no intention of allowing a similar episode to mar the Orion's record.
It was a reason why the company high command was being close-mouthed so
that rumors of the trouble did not leak outside. A vital question at
this moment was: How could the shake be eliminated and what would it
cost? Adam was here to find out and, because of the urgency, had
authority to make decisions.
He took back control from the car's computer and allowed the speed to
fall off to 20 mph. Then, twice more, at differing rates of acceleration
he took it up to 80. Each time, both the vibration and the point at
which it occurred were identical.
"There's a difference in sheet metal on this car
.”

Adam remembered that
the Orion he was driving was an early prototype, handmade-as were all
prototypes so far-because assembly line manufacture had not yet started.
"Makes no difference to the effect," Ian Jameson declared flatly. "We've
had an exact Orion out here, another on the dynamometer. They all do it.
Same speed, same NVH
.”

"It feels like a woman having an orgasm," Brett said. "Sounds like it,
too
.”

He asked the engineer, "Does it do any harm
.”

"As f ar as we can tell, no
.”

"Then it seems a shame to take it out
.”

Adam snapped, "For Christ's sake, cut the stupidity
!
Of course we have to
take it out!
If it were an appearance problem, you wouldn't be so goddarn
smug
.”

'Well, well," Brett said. "Something else appears to be vibrating
.”

They had left the fast track. Abruptly, Adam braked the car, skidding so
that all three were thrown forward against their straps. He turned onto
a grass shoulder. As the car stopped,
he unbuckled, then got out and li
t
a cigarette. The others followed.
Outside the car, Adam shivered slightly. The air was briskly cool, fall
leaves were blowing in a gusty wind, and the sun, which had been out
earlier, had disappeared behind an overcast of gray nimbostratus. Through
trees, he could see a lake, its surface ruffled bleakly.
Adam pondered the decision he had to make. He was aware it was a tough one
for which he would be blamed-justly or unjustly-if it went wrong.
Ian Jameson broke the uncomfortable silence. 'We're satisfied that the
effect is induced by tire and road surfaces when one or the other becomes
in phase with body harmonics, so the vibration is natural body frequency
.”

In other words, Adam realized, there was no structural defect in the car.
He asked, "Can the vibration be overcome
.”

"Yes," Jameson said. 'We're sure of that, also that you can go one of two
ways. Either redesign the cowl side structure and underbody torque
boxes"-he filled in engineering detailsor add by-aces and reinforcement
.”

"Hey
.”

Brett was instantly alert. "That first one means exterior body
changes. Right
.”

"Right," the engineer acknowledged. "They'd
be needed at the lower body side near the front door cut and rocker panel
areas
.”

Brett looked gloomy, as well he might, Adam thought. It would require a
crash redesign and testing program at a time when everyone believed the
Orion design was fixed and final. He queried, "And the add-ons
.”

"We've experimented, and there'd be two pieces-a front floor reinforcement
and a brace under the instrument panel
.”

The engineer described the brace
which would be out of sight, extending from the cowl side structure on one
side, to the steering column, thence to the cowl on the opposite side.
Adam asked the critical question. "Cost
.”

"You won't like it
.”

The engineer hesitated, knowing the reaction his next
words would produce. "About five dollars
.”

Adam groaned. "God Almighty I"
He was faced with a frustrating choice. Whichever route they went would
be negative and costly. The engineer's first alternative-redesign -would
be less expensive, costing probably half a million to a million dollars
in retooling. But it would create delays, and the Orion's introduction
would be put off three to six months which, in itself, could be disastrous
for many reasons.
On the other hand, on a million cars, cost of the two add-ons-the floor
reinforcement and brace-would be five million dollars, and it was expected
that many more Orions than a million would be built and sold. Millions of
dollars to be added to production expense, to say nothing of lost profit,
and all for an item wholly negative
!
In auto construction, five dollars
was a major sum, and auto manufacturers thought normally in pennies,
shaving two cents here, a nickel there, necessary because of the immense
total numbers involved. Adam said in deep disgust, "Goddam
!
"
He glanced at Brett. The designer said, "I guess it isn't funny
.”

Adam's outburst in the car was not the first clash they had had since the
Orion project started. Sometimes it had been Brett who flared up. But
through everything so far they had managed to remain friends. It was as
well, because there was a new project ahead of them, at the moment
codenamed Farstar.
Ian Jameson announced, "If you want to drive over to the lab, we've a car
with the add-ons for you to see
.”

Adam nodded sourly. "Let's get on with it
.”

Brett DeLosanto looked upward incredulously. "You mean that hunk of scrap,
and the other, 'll cost five bucks I"
He was staring at a steel strip running across the underside of an Orion,
and secured by bolts.
Adam Trenton, Brett, and Ian Jameson were inspecting the proposed floor
reinforcement from an inspection area beneath a dynamometer, so that the
whole of the car's underside was open to their view. The dynamometer, an
affair of metal plates, rollers, and instrumentation, with a vague
resemblance to a monstrous service station hoist, allowed a car to be
operated as if on the road, while viewed from any angle.
They had already inspected, while above, the other cowl-to-steering
column-to-cowl brace.
Jameson conceded, "Possibly you could save a few cents from cost, but no
more, after allowing for material, machining, then bolt fittings and
installation labor
.”

The engineer's manner, a kind of pedantic detachment as if cost and
economics were really none of his concern, continued to irritate Adam, who
asked, "How much is Engineering protecting itself ? Do we really need all
that
.”