坠落天使

    最新一期的《汽车新闻》（Automotive News）上，记者向福特（Ford）常务副总裁马克•菲尔茨提问道，林肯（Lincoln）是否需要一款“光环车”。菲尔茨巧妙地回避了这个问题：“我们希望确保林肯推出的每一款车型都是光环车。”

    许多汽车术语，比如折叠座椅、四档手动变速以及汽化剂等，都已经随着时代的发展被慢慢淘汰了。不过出于某些原因，“光环车”的概念却流传了下来。“光环车”指的是拥有时尚造型或某些不寻常的功能，旨在把消费者吸引进展厅的车型，不过它们自己并不靠“走量”取胜，也不能给品牌赚很多钱。

    尽管光环车在构思阶段总是显得不同凡响，但有时它们也会变成坠落的天使。有的时候，它们的设计无法抓住人们的好奇心，不仅不会提升品牌口碑，反而会产生截然相反的效果，对品牌形象造成损害。今天我们介绍的就是几个经典的例子。

    Paradise Lost

    In the current issue of Automotive News, Ford executive Mark Fields is asked whether Lincoln needs a "halo car." He smartly ducks the question: "We want to make sure every vehicle we bring out with Lincoln is a halo car."

    Many automotive terms have become anachronistic or simply defunct over the years -- rumble seat, four-on-the floor, carburetor -- but for some reason, the notion of the "halo car" survives. It's a car with a stylish design or unusual features meant to draw customers into a showroom but not generate a lot of sales -- nor make a lot of money.

    While halo cars may look heavenly when they are conceived, as often as not they end up as fallen angels. They are dismissed as automotive curiosities that failed to capture public imagination, while creating an effect exactly opposite to the one they were designed for: damaging brands rather than lifting them. Here are some classic examples of tarnished halos.

    斯图贝克Avanti 1962-1963

    上世纪60年代，濒于倒闭的斯图贝克汽车公司（Studebaker）急需推出一款力挽狂澜的产品。于是以玻璃纤维车身为最大卖点的Avanti轿车于1962年发布，并仓促上马，投入量产。这款车的设计在当时被认为十分大胆。斯图贝克公司计划头一年生产2万辆玻璃纤维车身的Avanti轿车，但由于新材料产能不足，这款车的产量被限制在1,200台。这个产量远远不够拯救斯图贝克公司，它在一年半后就停产了。

    Studebaker Avanti 1962-1963

    With Studebaker on the ropes, the fiberglass-bodied Avanti was introduced to the public in April, 1962 and rushed into production. Considered daring for its time, Studebaker planned to build 20,000 of the fiberglass-bodied Avantis in the first year, but production problems with the new material limited the output to 1,200. That wasn't nearly enough to save Studebaker, which ceased operations a year and a half later.

    凯迪拉克Allante 1987-1993

    凯迪拉克（Cadillac）的Allante轿跑车在意大利设计制造，然后用波音747飞机运回底特律进行总装，原本是为了重现凯迪拉克品牌的专属性和热辣魅力。但它的国际血统并不能弥补的它的某些先天劣势。体重超标、动力不足、价格过高都是它的缺点。这款车不仅操控性不好，而且有的在大雨天还有漏雨的现象。这款轿跑没有对凯迪拉克起到任何帮助，通用（General Motors）一共生产了21,430台该型轿跑，每台都亏损数万美元。

    Cadillac Allante 1987-1993

    Designed to restore some exclusivity and sex appeal to the Cadillac brand, the Allante was designed and built in Italy, then flown to Detroit for assembly in specially equipped 747s. But the international pedigree couldn't obscure some fundamental shortcomings. Overweight, underpowered, and overpriced, the Allante handled badly and was prone to leaking in heavy rainstorms. The car was no help to Cadillac, and General Motors lost thousands of dollars on each of the 21,430 it produced.

    别克Reatta 1988-1991

    有些人格分裂的Reatta跑车搭载了一台自动变速箱，操作简便，因而对别克（Buick）的一些中老年顾客很有吸引力，但同时它还搭载了一个高科技的触摸控制面板，而这无疑会让中老年车主挠头。但话说来，这款跑车的整体概念就自相矛盾的。别克给它定下的年销量目标是2万台，但Reatta从没实现过这个目标，最高时只达8,515台。别克半个世纪以来的第一款双座轿跑不久就无疾而终了。

    Buick Reatta 1988-1991

    The split-personality Reatta came with an automatic transmission, whose simplicity appealed to Buick's older buyers, and a high-tech touch-screen control panel that was bound to befuddle them. But then the whole notion of a Buick roadster was oxymoronic. Sales never came close to the planned 20,000 a year, peaking at 8,515, and Buick's first two-seater in half a century was euthanized after a short run.

    克莱斯勒TC（由玛莎拉蒂组装）1989-1991

    曾先后担任福特和克莱斯勒（Chrysler）总裁的李•艾柯卡有过很多好点子，比如野马（Mustang）、吉普（Jeep）、MPV等，但这款TC跑车却不是其中之一。它是在克莱斯勒K-Car平台上设计的，在意大利的米兰完成组装。这款跑车在1986年首次发布，但由于研发问题，一直到三年后才投入量产。对于当时那个时代来说，TC的价格可谓非常昂贵（3.3万美元），它的孪生兄弟克莱斯勒雷巴戎（LeBaron）比它便宜好几千美元。TC跑车的年销量目标在5,000到10,000台之间，但它在整个量产期间总共只卖出了7,300台，于是克莱斯勒不得不忍痛停产。

    Chrysler TC by Maserati 1989-1991

    Lee Iacocca had a lot of good ideas -- Mustang, Jeep, the minivan -- but the TC wasn't one of them. Built on a Chrysler K-Car platform and assembled in Milan, Italy, the car was introduced in 1986 but was kept from production for three years by development problems. Expensive for its time ($33,000 at introduction) and separated at birth from the thousands-less Chrysler LeBaron, the TC was supposed to sell at a rate of 5,000 to 10,000 a year but was mercifully terminated after total sales of just 7,300.

    斯巴鲁SVX 1991-1996

    斯巴鲁（Subaru）给人的印象一向是稳健甚至略带刻板，比如它的傲虎（Outback）和森林人（Forester）。你能想象它也曾经推出一款造型前卫的双门GT轿跑吗？这就是斯巴鲁SVX的卖点。它最大的特点就是那个独一无二的电动车窗。它的售价比其它斯巴鲁车型中最贵的一款还贵了差不多1万美元，不由得令人见价生畏。这款造型难看的SVX在停产前的最后一年只卖出了640台。

    Subaru SVX 1991-1996

    A two-door GT car with avant-garde styling from the maker of sturdy and practical Outbacks and Foresters? That was the concept behind the SVX, immediately identifiable by its unusual two-piece power slide window. Representing a roughly $10,000 walkup from the next most-expensive Subaru, it gave new meaning to the term "sticker shock." The ungainly SVX found only 640 buyers during its last year on the market.

    林肯Blackwood 2002

    这款豪华皮卡貌似就是一个福特F系列皮卡挂了一个林肯的车标。在林肯领航员（Navigator）SUV大获成功之后，福特公司趁热打铁推出了这款豪华皮卡。它在1999年的底特律汽车展上一炮走红。它的车身和内饰都是黑色的，货厢部分有一个黑色的电动盖板，盖板的材质是复合塑料，以人工木纹作为装饰。可惜这款皮卡存在产量问题，而且豪华皮卡这种产品本身就缺乏销售吸引力。福特共生产了3,356台Blackwood皮卡，之后它便宣告停产，享年15个月。

    Lincoln Blackwood 2002

    A luxury pickup (or was it a Ford F-series with a Lincoln badge?), the Blackwood made a splash at the Detroit auto show in 1999 and figured to coast in the wake of the hugely successful Navigator. Only available in -- what else -- black over black, it featured a power-covered bed made of plastic composites and decorated with artificial burled blackwood. Alas, production problems with the bed and the lack of a compelling sales proposition (luxury pickup?) sent the Blackwood to the great garage in the sky after just 15 months of production that yielded 3,356 trucks.

    福特雷鸟 2002-2007

    原型的雷鸟（Thunderbird）轿车在1997年暂时停产，它的尺寸在当时算是一款超大型轿跑。五年后福特重启了雷鸟生产线，并且保持了原来的双人轿跑造型。不过这股怀旧和复古风并没能吸引中年顾客的关注，粗糙的工艺也令热心车迷敬而远之。在短短五年后，福特再度关闭了雷鸟的生产线，雷鸟再次折翼。

    Ford Thunderbird 2002-2007

    After suspending production of the by-then supersized original Thunderbird in 1997, Ford revived the T-Bird in its old roadster body style five years later. But the attempt to trade on half a century's worth of nostalgia never caught the attention of middle-aged customers, and enthusiasts were turned off by the sloppy engineering. Ford let the T-bird fly the coop after a truncated five-year run.

    雪佛兰SSR 2003-2006

    电动硬顶敞篷皮卡这个概念实在够酷！这款SSR停在路边绝对能吸引人们的眼球。可惜它的执行不如概念那么漂亮。SSR的设计基于通用的中型SUV，重量只有1吨。虽然它曾在印地500赛车大赛上担任过引导车，但这也无法掩饰它的动力缺陷。42,000美元的定价不可谓不贵，但它却运载不了太多货物，尤其是在敞篷状态。雪佛兰（Chevy）将其停产之前，它一共只卖出了24,150台。

    Chevrolet SSR 2003-2006

    Cool! A retractable hardtop convertible pickup truck! The SSR sure had curb appeal. Too bad the execution wasn't as neat as the concept. Based on GM's midsize SUVs, the SSR weighed a ton, and even an outing as pace car for the Indy 500 couldn't camouflage its dynamic shortcomings. Pricey at $42,000, the SSR couldn't carry much either, especially when the roof was retracted. Total production before Chevy shut the lid: 24,150.

    克莱斯勒Crossfire 2003-2007

    Crossfire是戴姆勒-奔驰（Daimler-Benz）与克莱斯勒（Chrysler）不幸联姻的产物，80%的零部件来自梅塞德斯-奔驰（Mercedes-Benz），车辆总装也是在德国完成的。不过就像克莱斯勒对戴姆勒的控股反应冷淡一样，消费者对Crossfire的反应也很冷淡，导致出现了大量库存积压。这款轿跑的年销量最高曾达到35,700台，最后竟萎缩到只有2,000台。后来克莱斯勒在破产前的一次重组中将其停产。

    Chrysler Crossfire 2003-2007

    Conceived as a tribute to the ill-fated merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler, 80% of the Crossfire's parts came from Mercedes, and the car itself was assembled in Germany. But just as Chrysler itself never warmed to the Daimler takeover, customers never warmed to the Crossfire's mixed parentage, leaving huge inventories of unsold cars. After peaking at 35,700, annual sales dribbled down to 2,000 before Chrysler, in a pre-bankruptcy restructuring, ceased production.

    庞蒂克solstice/土星Sky 2005-2009

    这两款轿跑被通用汽车寄予厚望，希望它们能给日益衰退的庞蒂克（Pontiac）和土星（Saturn）这两个品牌打一剂强心针。而且当时潦倒不堪的通用为了给这两款车造势可谓不遗余力。虽然它们获得了设计大师鲍伯•卢茨的认可，但也不能阻止汽车评论员们的如潮恶评。他们认为这款车在动力上不如经典的马自达（Mazda）Miata轿跑，而且载物能力几乎为零。它们在刚推出时被吹捧为经典之作，但现在人们提起它时却只有好奇——它们只不过是历经60年仍历久弥新的雪佛兰Corvette轿跑的穷亲戚罢了。

    译者：朴成奎

    Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky 2005-2009

    These two roadsters were supposed to inject some much-needed Viagra into the flagging Pontiac and Saturn brands, and GM launched them with all the thunder that a failing automaker could muster. Yet even the imprimatur of design guru Bob Lutz couldn't fend off harsh comments from car reviewers who found them dynamically inferior to the long-established Mazda Miata and incapable carrying any baggage than could fit in a number 10 envelope. Touted as instant classics, they are now little more than curiosities -- poor relatives to the 60-year-old-and-still-going-strong Chevy Corvette.