按通常标准看，斯巴鲁（Subaru）在美国汽车市场上只不过是个让人不会在第一时间想到的品牌。它一共只有7款车型和酷越车，仅占美国汽车销售总额的2.3%。光是丰田凯美瑞（Toyota Camry）的销量就超过斯巴鲁全系车型。多年来，斯巴鲁只能算是个区域性品牌——在美国东北部和西北部卖得不错，在其他地方就默默无闻了。斯巴鲁从来没有品尝过一夜成名的滋味。44年前，斯巴鲁美国公司——富士重工（Fuji Heavy Industries）的美国子公司就开始卖车了，但迄今其销售规模在美国仍仅列第12位。而进入美国市场比它完了20年的现代（Hyundai）与起亚（Kia）却开发了更丰富的产品线，销量已经是斯巴鲁的好几倍。

    但是，在车辆品质与安全性方面，独立评论者对斯巴鲁的肯定高于任何其它厂商。《消费者报告》（Consumer Reports）的评测认为，在性能、舒适性、实用性和可靠性方面，斯巴鲁超过包括奔驰（Mercedes-Benz）、宝马（BMW）在内的任何车企，并称斯巴鲁的车是全美最棒的。二手车残值与价格专业测评机构ALG（前Automotive Lease Guide）认为，斯巴鲁的车是主流品牌中残值最高的。高速公路安全保险协会（Insurance Institute for Highway Safety）在经过碰撞试验后提出，斯巴鲁是所有被测车型中“安全首选车型”，这可是没有哪家车企能自我标榜的殊荣。

    今年以来，受到这三重佳绩的推动，经销商处的斯巴鲁几乎是有多少卖多少。尽管长期库存不足，斯巴鲁还是开始稳步打破月度销售记录，今年的销量比去年增长了26%——几乎是行业整体增长率（14%）的一倍。飓风“桑迪”正好袭击了斯巴鲁的核心客户群所在地，但10月该公司的销售额照样猛增30%，而全行业的增长率仅有7%。

    斯巴鲁使自己跻身一线车企的努力可以称之为“精工细作”——专心致志、注重个性，特别精于某些方面。凭借有限的资源，斯巴鲁精明地在全时四驱这类性能上大胆投入，开发了使之从竞争中脱颖而出的营销手段与广告，而且比任何对手都更了解自己的客户。通过在地域、生活方式，甚至有时候是性取向上吸引客户，斯巴鲁在业内建立了最深厚的忠诚度。这家公司非常有自知之明，因此多年来它的广告语总是那句自我指涉的表达：“这就是斯巴鲁。（It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.）”

    斯巴鲁这个品牌极具魅力，因此公司成功将其用于多个完全不同的车型。本年度最畅销的车型是紧凑型翼豹（Impreza）轿车和掀背车。凭借全新的设计，不足18,000美元的起价，众多年轻家庭和首次购车者排着队购买，都想充分领略它更好的燃油经济性，时尚的造型和宽敞的内部空间。销售额比去年翻番，经销商的库存不够卖两周的。在与功能性相对的另一端则是斯巴鲁另一款炙手可热的全新跑车——BRZ。作为对经典跑车的现代诠释，这款四座轿跑的造型不同寻常，操控充满赛道感，对中年男性来说魅力非凡。因此，许多人纷纷出手，把这辆起价为25,000美元的车开回了家，以至于9月初当天的新车供应量很快就只剩下11辆。斯巴鲁，

    By the usual measurements, Subaru should be no more than an afterthought in the U.S. car market. It sells just seven car and crossover models and accounts for a slim 2.3% of U.S. auto sales. By itself, the Toyota Camry outsells the entire Subaru lineup. For years Subaru has been essentially a regional brand -- strong in the Northeast and Northwest but unknown in the rest of the country. No overnight success, Subaru of America -- the U.S. arm of Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries -- began selling cars in the U.S. 44 years ago and still ranks only 12th in size. Hyundai and Kia, which arrived two decades later, have developed broader product lines and sell several times more vehicles.

    Yet Subaru has racked up more endorsements by independent arbiters of automotive quality and safety than just about any other manufacturer. Consumer Reports rates Subaru above Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and every other manufacturer in performance, comfort, utility, and reliability, and says the company makes the best cars in America. ALG (formerly Automotive Lease Guide), the industry's arbiter of residual value and used-car prices, named Subaru the leader in retained value among mainstream brands. And after crash tests, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety made Subaru a "top safety pick" across its entire product line, a distinction no other manufacturer can claim.

    Fueled by this trifecta of achievements, just about everything Subaru sells is flying off dealers' lots this year. Despite a chronic shortage of inventory, the company has been breaking monthly sales records with regularity, and sales for the year are up 26% compared with last year's -- nearly double the 14% gain for the industry as a whole. Hurricane Sandy struck right in the heart of Subaru's customer base, yet the little car company saw sales jump 30% in October, vs. the industry's 7%.

    What Subaru has done is to make itself into the first automaker that could be described as "artisanal" -- focused, individualistic, and really good at a very few things. With only limited resources, Subaru has made smart bets on features like all-wheel drive, developed memorable marketing and advertising that set it apart from the competition, and learned more about its customers than any other automaker. In appealing to them by geography, lifestyle, and, at times, sexual orientation, it has built the deepest loyalty in the car business. The company understands itself so well that for years its advertising tag line was the self-referential "It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru."

    So resilient is the appeal of its brand name that Subaru has managed the feat of stretching it over wildly different models. One of this year's fastest-selling cars has been Subaru's compact Impreza sedan and hatchback. Newly redesigned and with a base price under $18,000, it has young families and first-time buyers queuing up to take advantage of its improved fuel economy, updated styling, and roomier interior. Sales have doubled from a year ago, and dealers have less than a two-week supply. At the opposite end of the functionality spectrum is another red-hot seller, the Subaru BRZ. A modern interpretation of the classic sports car, the two-plus-two coupe features out-there styling and racetrack handling that appeal to men of a certain age. So many are going out the door at prices starting at $25,000 that the days' supply at the beginning of September had shrunk to 11.

    不管是哪家车企，同时拥有两款热销车型实在非比寻常，更何况是斯巴鲁这样的小公司。

    今天，斯巴鲁开辟了一个最适合自己的市场，获得了丰厚利润，因为它正像一位全美橄榄球联盟（NFL）的接球手，已学会如何在边线求胜。比如，在竞争激烈的中级车市场上，斯巴鲁绕开了凯美瑞、雅阁和天籁（Altima）这些重磅车型，给力狮（Legacy）搭载了全时四驱系统（AWD），这是其他车型通常不会提供的。它也不用准备昂贵的销售赠品，因为它的车总是货源紧俏，而买斯巴鲁的车主往往经济条件不错，对促销活动并不太在意。8月，斯巴鲁花在每辆车上的赠品仅为857美元；只有保时捷（Porsche）这方面花费更少。专业汽车网站Edmunds.com的资深分析师杰西卡·考德威尔称，斯巴鲁车主往往有能力买更贵的车，不会紧抠价格，而且即使经济不景气，他们也会继续购买。

    不过，就算是这样，斯巴鲁或其母公司富士重工的日子也并不好过。在以规模制胜的汽车业，它们实在微不足道。斯巴鲁的产品线里，没有像本田飞度（Fit）这样的微型车，也没有丰田“亚洲龙”（Avalon）这样的全尺寸大车。斯巴鲁所有车型和酷越车仅有两个生产平台【通用汽车（General Motors）有30个！】，所有车型的尺寸只从超小型延伸到中型车。现在，斯巴鲁需要与丰田合作，使BRZ具备经济性。斯巴鲁负责该车大部分工程，提供引擎，而丰田负责外形设计，并推出了一款几乎一模一样，名为赛恩FR-S（Scion FR-S）的跑车。

    斯巴鲁的美国高管汤姆·多尔驾驶着一辆森林人（Forester）。

    当造型笨拙的七座车“驰鹏”（Tribeca）这样的新车型没能在市场上取得成功时，小型车的销量会受到冲击。对小车厂商来说，要在新技术上保持优势也颇为困难。斯巴鲁标志性的四缸水平对置发动机（boxer）设计已有20年之久；而在丰田的普锐斯（Prius）已经上市15年后，斯巴鲁的首款混合动力车才计划于明年面世。2011年3月，日本大地震和海啸对斯巴鲁冲击极大，致使其在日本的工厂关闭了四周之久，同时还导致它运往在美唯一工厂的零部件物流中断。这所工厂位于印第安纳州的拉斐特市。当时经销商求车若渴。斯巴鲁平时的库存量维持在32,000辆，当时却下降到17,000辆，严重影响了销售业绩。

    最终斯巴鲁恢复了生机，但现在又面临新的挑战。它必须迎头赶上竞争对手，为全系车型开发更省油的动力系统，在日本以外开设更多工厂，分散汇率风险，同时在美国扩大销售渠道。而且，它还得注意防范新的不利因素。一年前，上升势头正猛的大众汽车（Volkswagen）挖走了斯巴鲁的营销高管。另据业内报告称，大众正在考虑开发一款全新酷越车，它的离地间距、保险杠和轮罩拱镀层完全就冲着斯巴鲁最畅销的车型而去。

    因此，斯巴鲁必须找到差异化的新路子，同时步子还不能迈得太大。自诞生以来，它就一直特立独行。它的总部在新泽西郊区，与其位于南加州的日本对手们相距千里。多数进口车车企的高层都由销售经理和营销专家担任。但斯巴鲁的美国掌门人却是会计出身，早年在公司担任助理财务总监。而且斯巴鲁的产品开发史上充斥着各类古怪车型，比如BRAT，这是一款小型皮卡，它在后货厢上安装了面朝后方的折叠式座椅，以逃避所谓的“鸡肉关税”（chicken tax，美国对进口皮卡征收的25%的关税——译注）。又如Justy，英国顶级汽车节目Top Gear称其“和自己的名字一样无趣”；还有Baja，这是一款旅行车，它用敞开式货舱代替了后舱，有人把它比喻成一只鸭嘴兽。

    译者：清远

    It's unusual for any car company, let alone one as tiny as Subaru, to have two hit models at once.

    Today Subaru finds itself in a market sweet spot that produces outsize profits because, like an NFL receiver, it has learned how to work the seams. In the overcrowded midsize segment, for instance, Subaru sidesteps heavyweights like Camry, Accord, and Altima by equipping the Legacy with all-wheel drive (AWD), which the others don't offer. It can dodge expensive incentives because its cars are in short supply and its relatively affluent buyers are less sensitive to promotions. In August, Subaru spent just $857 per car on incentives; only Porsche spent less. Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell says Subaru customers are generally capable of affording a more expensive vehicle, don't buy strictly on price, and continue shopping even when the economy takes a dive.

    Even so, life isn't easy for Subaru or its corporate parent, Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries. They are minnows in an industry where size counts. Don't look in Subaru's lineup for any minicars the size of the Honda Fit or for full-size ones like the Toyota Avalon either. All Subaru cars and crossovers are based on just two platforms (General Motors (GM) has 30!), and the vehicles range in size only from subcompact to midsize. Subaru needed to form a partnership with Toyota (TM) to make the BRZ economical. Subaru did most of the engineering and provided the engine, but Toyota created the design and markets an almost identical version called the Scion FR-S.

    Tom Doll, Subaru's top U.S. executive, in a Forester

    Small size hurts when a new model like the awkward seven-passenger Tribeca fails to gain a foothold. It's also hard for a small car maker to keep on top of new technology. Subaru's signature four-cylinder "boxer" design is two decades old, and the company's first hybrid car won't come out until next year, 15 years after Toyota's Prius went on sale. Subaru suffered a near catastrophe when the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 closed factories in Japan for four weeks and interrupted the flow of parts to its sole U.S. plant, in Lafayette, Ind. Dealers were starved for cars. Used to operating with 32,000 cars on the ground, Subaru saw its inventories drop to 17,000, pummeling sales.

    Subaru recovered but now faces fresh challenges. It needs to catch up with competitors by developing fuel-efficient powertrains across its lineup, opening more factories outside Japan to spread its currency risk, and expanding its U.S. sales footprint. And it has to keep looking over its shoulder. Fast-rising Volkswagen poached Subaru's top marketing executive a year ago, and according to industry reports, VW is considering a new crossover with ride height, bumpers, and wheel-arch cladding that takes dead aim at Subaru's most popular models.

    So Subaru will have to find new ways to differentiate itself, which shouldn't be much of a stretch. Since its founding, it has always gone its own way. Its headquarters are in a New Jersey suburb, several thousand miles away from its Japanese competitors in Southern California. While former sales managers and marketing experts sit atop most import car companies, Subaru's highest American executive is an accountant who started at the company as an assistant treasurer. And Subaru's product history is studded with oddities like the BRAT, a mini-pickup with rear-facing jump seats bolted to the rear bed to circumvent a tariff known as the chicken tax; the Justy, whichTop Gear said "manages the impressive feat of being as boring as its name promises"; and the Baja, a station wagon, built with an open cargo bed in place of a rear compartment, which one reviewer compared to a platypus.