史上最不靠谱的年度汽车
ALEX TAYLOR III | 2011-10-08 12:05
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雪佛兰Citation、雷诺联盟、普利茅斯沃拉雷……这些车天生就是垃圾车，但是每一款却都是专家们评选出的年度车型。看来美国专家也是不靠谱的。他们的脑子在想什么呢？
事后诸葛亮 “年度汽车奖”已经成了一种全球性现象，各种“年度汽车”层出不穷，有时颇让人摸不着头脑。有世界年度汽车奖、国际年度汽车奖、欧洲年度汽车奖，还有年度环保汽车奖等等，各种“年度”奖不一而足。 美国也有两个最重要的年度汽车奖，其中第一个奖项由《汽车潮流》（Motor Trend）杂志的编辑们评选。第二个叫做“北美年度汽车奖”（NACOTY），由一个50名记者组成的评奖委员会评选。 评奖季又要到了，不过大家最好记住，即便是由这么多权威的专家做出的判断，也未必就是无懈可击的。（我本人就是第二个评奖委员会的一员） 这些专家们所评选出来的汽车，有的确实是货真价实的年度最佳汽车，不过有时专家们也会看走眼，评选出的汽车不光沦为年度最差汽车之列，甚至在史上最差汽车的排行榜上也是榜上有名。比如脱胎于斑马牌（Pinto）轿车的野马II（Mustang II）；折服了两代评奖人的两款雪佛兰Caprice。还有些轿车一开始看起来很吸引人，后来才发现它们存在重大缺陷。还有些轿车之所以被评为年度轿车，完全是因为它们新奇的外观，但它们的某些不合理的工艺问题却被忽视了。 人们一般认为是《汽车潮流》杂志开启了“年度汽车”的概念。1949年，也就是该杂志创刊那一年，它将凯迪拉克（Cadillac）的V8车型评选为年度最佳。据传这个奖项早期经常玩猫腻，用得奖为饵，换取汽车厂商在杂志上投放付费广告，或收取其它报酬，因此该奖一度声名狼藉。不过此后，《汽车潮流》杂志付出了一番努力，使评选过程更加透明化。 过去11年里，《汽车潮流》挑选出的年度汽车有6次与北美年度汽车奖重叠。北美年度汽车奖是一个1993年成立的组织，它在自己的成长过程中也不免有一些阵痛和盲点。早年间，该奖的评委们特别喜欢那些外表光鲜漂亮的车型，而且对克莱斯勒（Chrysler）的产品情有独钟。不过近年来，这个奖项把眼光放得更深了，而且摆脱了地域偏见，这是件很不容易的事。最近10年，入围该奖决赛圈的车型里有15款是美国车，还有15款是进口车。 半个世纪以来，这两个奖项的评选团队为很多垃圾车型创造了露脸的机会。以下谨为大家介绍其中几款最垃圾的车型。 | Oh, the benefit of hindsight Car of the year awards have become a global phenomenon, and their abundance can be confusing. There is a world car of the year award, an international car of the year award, a European car of the year, and a green car of the year award. In the U.S., the two most prominent awards are Motor Trend's, chosen by the magazine's editors, and the North American Car of the Year (NACOTY), selected by a panel of 50 journalists. As prize season approaches, it is good to remember that even the judgments of such august bodies of experts (and I am a member of the latter) are not impeccable. They have voted for cars that were not only not the best cars of their year but among the worst -- and not just of their award year but any year. Some of the poorer choices could have been foreseen. A Mustang II that was sired by the Pinto? A Chevy Caprice that dazzled voters in two separate incarnations? Other misfires are for cars that seemed initially appealing but turned out to be deeply flawed. And some others were chosen because of their novelty appeal while their inconsequential engineering was ignored. Motor Trend is thought to have originated the car of the year concept, selecting Cadillac's V-8 models in its first year of publication in 1949. Early on, the award acquired a louche reputation when it was rumored to be offered in exchange for advertising pages paid for by the manufacturer and other emoluments. Since then, Motor Trend has gone to great lengths to make its selection process more transparent. In six of the last 11 years, Motor Trendpicks have been identical to NACOTY's, the jounalist group organized in 1993, which hasn't dodged its own growing pains and blind spots. In the early years, its voters displayed a preference for glamour, glitz, and all things Chrysler. More recently, though, it has taken a deeper look and done a remarkable job of shrugging off hometown bias. Over a ten-year stretch, 15 car of the year finalists were domestic nameplates -- and 15 were imports. But half a century of car of the year selections by both teams has created lots of opportunities for clunkers and here are some of the biggest. |
1960雪佛兰科维尔/1971雪佛兰Vega
1960雪佛兰科维尔/1971雪佛兰Vega 福特一直想打造一款具有竞争力的小型车，而这两款车型是福特最华丽的败笔。拉尔夫•内德称科维尔是“一辆车的车祸”，因为它的摆动轴悬挂容易向下方变形，导致司机失去控制。Vega轿车在研发过程中受到了非常严格的成本控制，后来证明Vega轿车存在过度锈蚀、汽缸变型以及发动机易起火等问题。 | 1960 Chevrolet Corvair/1971 Chevrolet Vega These are but two of General Motors' most spectacular failures to develop a competitive small car. Ralph Nader dubbed the Corvair "the one-car accident" because its swing axle suspension had a tendency to tuck under, causing the driver to lose control. Developed under the sharp eye of GM's accountants, the Vega suffered from excessive rust, warped cylinders, and a propensity for engine fires. |
1974福特野马II 这款油耗颇低的野马II基于老式的斑马轿车的底盘，它的性能不敢恭维，操控性也马马虎虎。它的设计是为了与达特桑（Datsun） 240Z等进口车进行竞争，不过《消费者报告》（Consumer Reports）杂志认为它更应该和AMC Gremlin轿车划到同一个档次。第一次能源危机结束后，野马II的销量也大幅下跌。 | 1974 Ford Mustang II Based on an old Pinto chassis, the gas-sipping Mustang II combined poor performance with mediocre handling. It was designed to compete with imports like the Datsun 240Z, but Consumer Reports equated it more closely with the AMC Gremlin. Sales fell off sharply with the conclusion of the first energy crisis. |
1976道奇阿斯彭/普利茅斯沃拉雷 这两款车型仓促上马，因此都出现了前挡泥板过早生锈的问题，导致克莱斯勒对所有售出车辆进行了召回。另外它们的化油器也存在问题，会导致发动机停转，但这个缺陷就连克莱斯勒自己也修不好。好在克莱斯勒还算有良心，这两款轿车1980年就停产了。 | 1976 Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare Rushed into production too quickly, the Aspen and Volare suffered premature rusting of the front fenders, forcing Chrysler to recall every single one made. The cars also had carburetor problems, causing them to stall, a defect Chrysler couldn't fix. Production mercifully ceased in 1980. |
1977雪佛兰Caprice/1991雪佛兰Caprice Classic 这样一款车型居然两次获奖，简直令人匪夷所思。40岁以下的人应该还记得Caprice Classic轿车臃肿的车身，人们常常把它比作一头搁浅的鲸鱼。1977年版的Caprice轿车曾一度被奉为“史上最好的雪佛兰轿车”，而1991年版Caprice的框架式车身和后驱的V8发动机刚一推出就已经过时了。但它却在执法部门里赢得了一些粉丝，因为它当警用巡逻车来用还是不错的。 | 1977 Chevrolet Caprice/1991 Caprice Classic A bizarre two-time winner, the Caprice is best remembered by those under 40 for the bloated Classic, whose looks were frequently compared to a beached whale. While the downsized 1977 model was lionized as "the best Chevy ever," the 1991 model, with its body-on-frame construction and rear-drive V-8 powertrain was obsolete upon introduction. It later found law enforcement fans as a police cruiser. |
1980雪佛兰Citation 这是第一台所谓的“X轿车”，也是通用汽车（GM）第一次尝试生产前驱小轿车。不过由于存在制动和方向盘问题，它也招来了美国高速公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）的调查。另外这款车型也是无数次召回的对象。《人车志》杂志（Car & Driver）评价道：“（Citation轿车）整整毁掉了一代通用人的声誉。” | 1980 Chevrolet Citation First of the so-called "X-cars," GM's initial try at a front-wheel-drive small car, the Citation became the target of a NHTSA investigation because of braking and steering problems and was the subject of numerous recalls. "[The Citations] slaughtered GM's reputation for a whole generation," observed Car & Driver. |
1983雷诺联盟 雷诺希望把法国的汽车工艺卖给美国客户，只可惜雷诺联盟（Alliance）也是一款命运多舛的轿车。低劣的组装工艺使它被人们戏称为“纸巾轿车”——意思是说它就像纸巾一样，用一次就可以扔掉了。另外在美国司机看来，64匹马力发动机和欧式的空调也不够给力。这款轿车的失败更坚定了雷诺在1987年退出美国市场的决心。 | 1983 Renault Alliance An ill-fated attempt to sell French engineering to American customers, the shoddy assembly quality of the Alliance caused it to be derided as the "Kleenex car" -- instantly disposable. The base 64-hp engine and Euro-style air conditioning were too feeble for American drivers. The Alliance's failure helped convince Renault to exit the U.S. market in 1987. |
1995克莱斯勒Cirrus/道奇Stratus Cirrus意为“卷云”，Stratus意为“层云”。《汽车潮流》杂志和北美年度汽车奖曾经进行过四次合作评奖，而克莱斯勒的这两款“云轿车”就是二者第一次合作评奖时选出的年度车型。不过在本田雅阁和丰田凯美瑞等外国竞争车面前，这两款轿车登时变得平淡无奇。Cirrus在2001年淡出历史舞台，Stratus也在2006年停产了。 | 1995 Chrysler Cirrus/Dodge Stratus Chrysler's "cloud cars," the first of four Motor Trend/NACOTY joint selections, were heralded at launch, only to disappear into mediocrity when put against foreign competitors like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The Cirrus vanished in 2001, and the Stratus was gone by 2006. |
1999大众新甲壳虫 甲壳虫一直是婴儿潮一代最喜爱的车型之一，因此甲壳虫的回归也让许多人满心欢喜。不过后来却爆出了新款甲壳虫自动变速箱的问题和保养难的问题。评论人士也抱怨新甲壳虫的性能疲软，称它是中看不中用的样子货。2012款甲壳虫将进行全面改版。 | 1999 Volkswagen New Beetle The crowd-pleasing revival of an all-time Baby Boomer favorite, the New Beetle won honors from both sets of judges. Only later did problems surface with the automatic transmission and hard-to-service maintenance items. Reviewers complained about its pokey performance and called it a car that was better to be seen in than to drive. It is getting a major redesign for 2012. |
2011普利茅斯PT漫步者 这是另一款外型深得人心的车型，这款“外型太酷，难以归类”的车型由于独特的复古式设计而倾倒了评委们，让他们甚至忽略了另外两款首次采用油电混合动力的车型，要知道油电混合动力可是一个世纪以来汽车业最重要的技术发明之一。其中一款混动车就是大名鼎鼎的丰田普锐斯（Toyota Prius），它现在早已成了一款畅销车型，而且它的产品线又衍生出了几款相关车型，但是普利茅斯的PT漫步者却已经停产。 | 2001 Plymouth PT Cruiser Another crowd-pleaser, the car that was "too cool to categorize" wowed voters with its clever retro styling, causing them to overlook two other cars that pioneered the gas-electric hybrid, the most significant technological development in a century. One of those cars, the Toyota Prius, has gone on to be a best seller and spawn its own line of associated models while the Cruiser has been discontinued. |
2002福特雷鸟 雷鸟（Thunderbird）停产五年后，福特决定再次激活雷鸟这个品牌，主打低端市场。但是很多农村家庭已经喜欢上了别的品牌，而且就连一向喜欢雷鸟的人也因为它橡胶似的车身结构和粗糙的内饰而对其敬而远之。这款轿车的销量极差，人们对它的兴趣很快就消失殆尽，福特也在三年后决定停产这款轿车。 | 2002 Ford Thunderbird After an interval of five years, Ford decided to revive the T-bird on the cheap, but the country club set had moved on, and enthusiasts were turned off by the rubbery body structure and cheesy interior. The revived car sold so badly after initial interest wore off that Ford decided to stop production after three years. |
2007土星光环 在通用的宣传机器的大肆推广下，土星光环（Saturn Aura）获得了大量言不由衷的溢美之辞，被称作是“史上最好的土星汽车”。不过这并不足以挽救土星这个品牌，甚至这款车型自己都是泥菩萨过江。最终随着通用汽车在2009年破产，土星和它的光环一起告别了历史舞台。 译者：朴成奎 | 2007 Saturn Aura With a push from GM's publicity machine, the Aura received a lot of backhanded praise for being "the best Saturn yet." That wasn't enough to save the brand or the car, both of which vanished in GM's 2009 bankruptcy. |
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