底特律恐龙：6大濒临灭绝的美国车
ALEX TAYLOR III | 2011-08-30 16:38
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[译文]
Survival of the fittest
For a century, the North American auto market was an island of dinosaurs surrounded by an ocean of pygmies. Open roads, cheap gasoline, and an affluent population led to the rise of automotive species seen nowhere else in the world.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the combination of special circumstances and geographical isolation produced chrome-bedecked, V-8 powered, behemoth passenger cars. In the 1980s and 1990s, they gave birth to pickup trucks and their offspring, body-on-frame sport utility vehicles. Detroit lost its engineering edge as manufacturers on other continents pioneered front-wheel-drive, multi-valve engines, and hybrid gas-electric powertrains.
In the future, the larger, faster-growing market of China, will drive design preferences, while stricter fuel-economy standards will dictate size, weight, and engine size. That could mean extinction for some models that are beloved by American car buyers but aren't adaptable to the new world order. Herewith, some candidates for the scrap heap.
Truckasaurus Rex
They were big moneymakers in their day, but full-size SUVs on pickup truck chassis can't compete on maneuverability or fuel economy. More flexible crossovers have rendered truck-based SUVs mostly obsolete, and expensive hybrid-powered versions have flopped in the marketplace. Both the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon are due for an update in a couple of years, but don't expect to see them remain in GM's lineup for long.Hot Rod Harrys
Muscle cars may be a quaint American tradition, but rear-drive layouts and gas-guzzling V-8s don't play well overseas -- and would seem to have little future in the U.S. either. Traditionalists will scream, but a downsizing and de-engining seem to be in order. Look for hot-shoe Mustang and Camaro drivers to follow the lead of "The Fast and the Furious" and move into smaller, higher-revving Asian models.
Long-in-the-tooth Lincolns
Today's Lincolns are little more than fancy Fords. That's not going to cut it with brand-conscious consumers in China and elsewhere. A new team has joined Ford Motors luxury division to raise Lincoln's game, and executives have promised to end badge-engineering, but they still have little to say about a unique platform that would make Lincoln something special.The Daimler hangovers When Daimler was stretching its capital budget at Chrysler, it produced some surpassingly mediocre vehicles such as the Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty. When Consumer Reports looked for the Nitro's "highs," it couldn't find any; "lows" included ride, handling, fuel economy, fit and finish, visibility, access, and reliability. Industry seers believe the Liberty will move to a Fiat platform for the 2014 model year.
Substandard sedans
Practically every automaker in the world sells a four-door, so Detroit can hardly afford to keep mediocre products that reinforce memories of the bad old days. Both the Chevrolet Impala and the Chrysler 200 have remained at dealers long past their sell-by date. None too soon, the 200 gets a Fiat makeover in 2013, and the Impala morphs into a stretched Malibu.
No-show hybrids
Detroit has been complaining that the Toyota Prius has been a money-losing stunt ever since it was introduced in 1999. Meanwhile Toyota sells more and more of them -- 74,427 so far this year -- and expands the Prius line with more models. Detroit's only dedicated hybrid, the Chevrolet Volt, was launched with great fanfare months ago, but GM bizarrely failed to build enough cars to capitalize on the enthusiasm. Sales to date: 2,870.
适者生存 一个世纪以来，美国汽车市场好比一个与世隔绝的恐龙岛，其他国家的汽车和美国车一比都成了侏儒。美国道路宽阔，油价便宜，人口富足，促成了汽车业的繁荣，其中不少车型为美国所独有。 在上世纪五六十年代，由于环境特珠，加上重洋阻隔，导致美国人造出了很多8汽缸的大块头轿车，它们通身点缀着大量电镀装饰。到了八九十年代，美国人又造出了皮卡，以及由皮卡演生出的大梁式车身的多功能运动车（即俗称的SUV）。而随着其他各大洲汽车厂商纷纷开始研发前轮驱动、搭载了多气门发动机甚至是油电混合动力系统的汽车，美国汽车厂商渐渐丧失了竞争优势。 放眼未来，汽车的设计风格必然要由规模更庞大、增长更快的中国市场来决定。而随着燃油经济性标准日趋严格，汽车的尺寸、重量和发动机的大小也必将受到限制。这意味着某些美国消费者钟情的车型或将难以适应新的世界秩序，因此终究难逃灭绝的宿命。以下谨列出几款行将就木的车型。 | Survival of the fittest For a century, the North American auto market was an island of dinosaurs surrounded by an ocean of pygmies. Open roads, cheap gasoline, and an affluent population led to the rise of automotive species seen nowhere else in the world. In the 1950s and 1960s, the combination of special circumstances and geographical isolation produced chrome-bedecked, V-8 powered, behemoth passenger cars. In the 1980s and 1990s, they gave birth to pickup trucks and their offspring, body-on-frame sport utility vehicles. Detroit lost its engineering edge as manufacturers on other continents pioneered front-wheel-drive, multi-valve engines, and hybrid gas-electric powertrains. In the future, the larger, faster-growing market of China, will drive design preferences, while stricter fuel-economy standards will dictate size, weight, and engine size. That could mean extinction for some models that are beloved by American car buyers but aren't adaptable to the new world order. Herewith, some candidates for the scrap heap. |
机械霸王龙 全尺寸SUV一度是美国汽车厂商的圈钱利器，不过这种在皮卡底盘上打造的全尺寸SUV在操控性和燃油经济上都不具有优势。随着更加灵活的跨界车的问世，全尺寸SUV几乎已经被挤到绝种的边缘。全尺寸SUV的油电混合动力版也由于价格过于昂贵，在市场上无人问津。雪佛兰太浩（Chevy Tahoe）和通用Yukon这两款SUV在一两年里就都要升级换代了，不过估计他们在通用产品线里的寿命不会太久了。 | Truckasaurus Rex They were big moneymakers in their day, but full-size SUVs on pickup truck chassis can't compete on maneuverability or fuel economy. More flexible crossovers have rendered truck-based SUVs mostly obsolete, and expensive hybrid-powered versions have flopped in the marketplace. Both the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon are due for an update in a couple of years, but don't expect to see them remain in GM's lineup for long. |
飞车少年 肌肉车是美国独有的传统车型，不过它的后驱设计和烧油的V8发动机注定了它在海外不会畅销，就连在美国本土也前景堪忧。这不免让喜欢肌肉车的老派车迷痛心疾首，但尺寸缩水和发动机降缸恐怕在所难免。连《速度与激情5》（The Fast and the Furious）都成了日本车的大荟萃，那些开福特野马（Mustang）和雪佛兰科迈罗（Camaro）的车主们只怕也会纷纷转向尺寸更小、发动机转速更高的亚洲车型。 | Hot Rod Harrys Muscle cars may be a quaint American tradition, but rear-drive layouts and gas-guzzling V-8s don't play well overseas -- and would seem to have little future in the U.S. either. Traditionalists will scream, but a downsizing and de-engining seem to be in order. Look for hot-shoe Mustang and Camaro drivers to follow the lead of "The Fast and the Furious" and move into smaller, higher-revving Asian models. |
老掉牙的林肯 如今的林肯轿车只不过是造得漂亮一些的福特轿车罢了。即便如此，在中国和其他一些国家，林肯品牌还是有一些粉丝的。现在已经有一支新的团队加盟了福特（Ford Motors）的豪车部门，以图重拾林肯的声誉。林肯的高管也表示将去掉华而不实的设计，不过林肯目前仍然没有一个能让它在某方面与众不同的平台。 | Long-in-the-tooth Lincolns Today's Lincolns are little more than fancy Fords. That's not going to cut it with brand-conscious consumers in China and elsewhere. A new team has joined Ford Motors luxury division to raise Lincoln's game, and executives have promised to end badge-engineering, but they still have little to say about a unique platform that would make Lincoln something special. |
戴姆勒的遗产 有一阵子戴姆勒（Daimler）增加了它在克莱斯勒的资本预算，道奇翼龙（Dodge Nitro）和吉普自由客（Jeep Liberty）等车型就是在此期间生产出来的。但是这些车型不是一般的车型——而是相当一般。《消费者报告》（Consumer Reports）杂志曾试图找出道奇翼龙的“亮点”，但一无所获，倒是找着了不少败笔，比如它的驾乘感、操控性、燃油经济性、坚固度与外观、视野、价格和可靠性都差强人意。业内观察人士认为，吉普自由客的2014款可能会转移到菲亚特（Fiat）的平台上。 | The Daimler hangovers When Daimler was stretching its capital budget at Chrysler, it produced some surpassingly mediocre vehicles such as the Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty. When Consumer Reports looked for the Nitro's "highs," it couldn't find any; "lows" included ride, handling, fuel economy, fit and finish, visibility, access, and reliability. Industry seers believe the Liberty will move to a Fiat platform for the 2014 model year. |
二流轿车 几乎世界上每家汽车厂商都卖四门轿车，其中不少二流底特律货的销量十分惨淡，厂商自然没必要再留着它们给自己添堵。拿雪佛兰英帕拉（Impala）和克莱斯勒200这两款车来说，很多现车都积压在了经销商手里。2013年，菲亚特将对克莱斯勒200进行一番大改，而英帕拉也将变形成一款加长版的迈里布（Malibu）。 | Substandard sedans Practically every automaker in the world sells a four-door, so Detroit can hardly afford to keep mediocre products that reinforce memories of the bad old days. Both the Chevrolet Impala and the Chrysler 200 have remained at dealers long past their sell-by date. None too soon, the 200 gets a Fiat makeover in 2013, and the Impala morphs into a stretched Malibu. |
雷声大雨点小的美版普锐斯 自从丰田1999年推出普锐斯（Prius）混合动力轿车以来，美国汽车厂商就一直在讥讽普锐斯是个赔钱的噱头。与此同时，普锐斯的销量却一路走高——今年仅到目前为止，丰田就已经卖出了74,427台普锐斯，而且丰田还在不断扩充普锐斯的产品线。而底特律三大厂商只有一款正儿八经的混合动力车，也就是雪佛兰伏特（Chevrolet Volt）。这款轿车9个月前刚问世时很是风光热闹了一阵，但奇怪的是，通用竟然没能造出足够数量的伏特混动车，利用这股热劲儿赚钱。到目前为止，通用只卖出了2,870台雪伏兰伏特。 译者：朴成奎 | No-show hybrids Detroit has been complaining that the Toyota Prius has been a money-losing stunt ever since it was introduced in 1999. Meanwhile Toyota sells more and more of them -- 74,427 so far this year -- and expands the Prius line with more models. Detroit's only dedicated hybrid, the Chevrolet Volt, was launched with great fanfare months ago, but GM bizarrely failed to build enough cars to capitalize on the enthusiasm. Sales to date: 2,870. |
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