底特律恐龍：6大瀕臨滅絕的美國車
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適者生存?? ??? 一個世紀以來，美國汽車市場好比一個與世隔絕的恐龍島，其他國家的汽車和美國車一比都成了侏儒。美國道路寬闊，油價便宜，人口富足，促成了汽車業(yè)的繁榮，其中不少車型為美國所獨有。 ??? 在上世紀五六十年代，由于環(huán)境特珠，加上重洋阻隔，導致美國人造出了很多8汽缸的大塊頭轎車，它們通身點綴著大量電鍍裝飾。到了八九十年代，美國人又造出了皮卡，以及由皮卡演生出的大梁式車身的多功能運動車（即俗稱的SUV）。而隨著其他各大洲汽車廠商紛紛開始研發(fā)前輪驅動、搭載了多氣門發(fā)動機甚至是油電混合動力系統(tǒng)的汽車，美國汽車廠商漸漸喪失了競爭優(yōu)勢。 ??? 放眼未來，汽車的設計風格必然要由規(guī)模更龐大、增長更快的中國市場來決定。而隨著燃油經濟性標準日趨嚴格，汽車的尺寸、重量和發(fā)動機的大小也必將受到限制。這意味著某些美國消費者鐘情的車型或將難以適應新的世界秩序，因此終究難逃滅絕的宿命。以下謹列出幾款行將就木的車型。 |
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. |
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機械霸王龍 ????全尺寸SUV一度是美國汽車廠商的圈錢利器，不過這種在皮卡底盤上打造的全尺寸SUV在操控性和燃油經濟上都不具有優(yōu)勢。隨著更加靈活的跨界車的問世，全尺寸SUV幾乎已經被擠到絕種的邊緣。全尺寸SUV的油電混合動力版也由于價格過于昂貴，在市場上無人問津。雪佛蘭太浩（Chevy Tahoe）和通用Yukon這兩款SUV在一兩年里就都要升級換代了，不過估計他們在通用產品線里的壽命不會太久了。 |
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. |
