????全新林肯領(lǐng)航員（LincolnNavigator）是福特汽車公司（Ford Motor Co.）產(chǎn)品陣容中一位精心改款的新成員。更重要的是，這輛霸氣的大型SUV表明福特并沒(méi)有放棄重新把林肯打造成豪華品牌的決心。

????單獨(dú)來(lái)看，這輛將于今年年末投產(chǎn)的2015款領(lǐng)航員多少表明，福特在把林肯打造成豪華品牌的道路上已經(jīng)“打破常規(guī)”。原因是，這輛車上看不出明顯的家族符號(hào)，也沒(méi)什么一眼能認(rèn)出的設(shè)計(jì)模式。打造一個(gè)豪華品牌是一條艱難曲折、代價(jià)高昂的漫漫征途。問(wèn)問(wèn)日產(chǎn)汽車（Nissan）就知道了，它為了打造英菲尼迪（Infiniti）已奮斗了將近30年。也可以問(wèn)問(wèn)通用汽車公司（General Motors），它為了讓凱迪拉克（Cadillac）重振雄風(fēng)已經(jīng)投入了不計(jì)其數(shù)的資金。

????全新領(lǐng)航員最重要的兩處改款在于經(jīng)過(guò)重新設(shè)計(jì)的外觀和內(nèi)部，外觀是極富個(gè)性的“雙翼格柵”，內(nèi)部則是用渦輪增壓、馬力更為強(qiáng)勁的V6引擎取代了V8引擎。

????任何一款車型，不管它是多么讓人過(guò)目難忘，都不可能一夜之間打造出寶馬（BMW）、奔馳（Mercedes）或雷克薩斯（Lexus）這樣的豪華品牌。它需要無(wú)數(shù)工程師、營(yíng)銷人員和設(shè)計(jì)師投入10到20年的心血，還得砸上上百億美元。而這些汽車廠商之所以舍得如此投入的原因也很簡(jiǎn)單：沒(méi)有一個(gè)豪華品牌就意味著和巨額利潤(rùn)絕緣。英菲尼迪的全球總裁約翰?德?尼琛是這樣描述這個(gè)定理的：“豪華品牌的銷量?jī)H占全球汽車銷量的11%，但卻賺走了50%的利潤(rùn)?！?/p>

????也許兩輛車的外形和性能都相去無(wú)幾。但如果在其中一輛上貼上寶馬標(biāo)志，客戶立刻就會(huì)準(zhǔn)備多掏上萬(wàn)美元。

????日產(chǎn)汽車和豐田汽車（Toyota）都是在20世紀(jì)80年代末創(chuàng)立了自己的豪華品牌。但當(dāng)豐田的雷克薩斯已經(jīng)變成一棵巨大的搖錢樹(shù)時(shí)，日產(chǎn)的英菲尼迪卻始終不溫不火。因此，日產(chǎn)的首席執(zhí)行官卡洛斯?戈恩去年才把德?尼琛從奧迪公司（Audi）挖來(lái)，讓他開(kāi)始承擔(dān)把英菲尼迪打造成世界豪華品牌這個(gè)漫長(zhǎng)艱苦且花費(fèi)巨大的重任。

????福特汽車首席執(zhí)行官艾倫?穆拉利和首席營(yíng)銷官吉姆?法雷兩人共同負(fù)責(zé)指導(dǎo)林肯的復(fù)興使命。這輛改款領(lǐng)航員不會(huì)讓很多路虎攬勝（Range Rover）車主移情別戀。但它會(huì)給美國(guó)的林肯經(jīng)銷商們提供一款重磅武器，與凱迪拉克凱雷德、路虎攬勝及梅賽德斯奔馳的GL一爭(zhēng)高低。讓經(jīng)銷商這個(gè)群體保持財(cái)務(wù)狀況良好并充滿激情對(duì)重塑一個(gè)品牌來(lái)說(shuō)至關(guān)重要。

????ALG公司是一家專門評(píng)估新車被租用不同時(shí)間后所剩殘值的企業(yè)。公司總裁拉里?多米尼克稱：“對(duì)福特的管理層來(lái)說(shuō)，耐心非常關(guān)鍵?！逼噺S商必須做好對(duì)新車型和品牌推廣進(jìn)行長(zhǎng)期投入的準(zhǔn)備，哪怕因此帶來(lái)的利潤(rùn)增長(zhǎng)和品牌影響力提高微乎其微。

????將現(xiàn)在的領(lǐng)航員與一些名氣更大的對(duì)手做個(gè)對(duì)比就能看出利潤(rùn)的差別。根據(jù)汽車網(wǎng)站Edmunds.com的數(shù)據(jù)，2014款領(lǐng)航員的起價(jià)是54,400美元。而2014款凱迪拉克凱雷德起價(jià)為61,800美元，2014款路虎攬勝的起價(jià)更是高達(dá)85,700美元。盡管這三款車并不完全一樣，但其實(shí)它們?cè)诔叽?、?dòng)力和性能上相差無(wú)幾——但是它們給自己東家?guī)?lái)的收入就差別很大了。這種差異也反映出了客戶對(duì)幾個(gè)品牌的看法。

????長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)，奧迪一直在追求著成為豪華品牌這個(gè)夢(mèng)想。20世紀(jì)80年代末，它因?yàn)檐囕v突然加速問(wèn)題而受到指控。盡管這個(gè)問(wèn)題從未獲得證實(shí)，但也因此掀起了軒然大波。這之后，它花了20年的時(shí)間和無(wú)數(shù)的金錢才得以成功躋身豪華品牌之列。

????福特、通用、日產(chǎn)、豐田和其他廠商的高管們最終目標(biāo)就是要讓自己的豪華品牌能與寶馬、奔馳和奧迪比肩，正是這三個(gè)德國(guó)巨頭在全球汽車市場(chǎng)上牢牢占據(jù)著最高價(jià)的席位。

????福特的林肯可能最終能躋身全球最受推崇、同時(shí)價(jià)格也最高的豪車之列，但這一天絕不可能很快到來(lái)。不過(guò)福特下一代的高管們可能有機(jī)會(huì)首先品嘗到這一代高管艱苦奮斗培育出來(lái)的碩果。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：清遠(yuǎn)

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????The new Lincoln Navigator signifies a spruced-up addition to Ford Motor Co.'s vehicle lineup. More importantly, the big and fancy SUV proves that Ford hasn't lost its determination to recreate the Lincoln luxury brand.

????Taken alone, the 2015 Navigator, which will go into production later this year, gives few hints that Ford (F) has "broken the code" on making Lincoln mean luxury. That's because there is no code, no instant formula. Creating a luxury brand is a long, hard, expensive slog. Ask Nissan, which has struggled for nearly 30 years with Infiniti. Or General Motors (GM), which has spent prodigiously in the quest to fix Cadillac.

????The new Navigator's two most important improvements are a restyled exterior and interior, featuring the characteristic "twin-wing grille," as well as a turbocharged V6 engine that's more powerful than the V8 it replaces.

????No single model, no matter how impressive, can overnight create a luxury brand like BMW or Mercedes or Lexus. It takes 10 to 20 years of determined work by engineers, marketers, and designers, juiced with multiple billions of dollars. The answer as to why any automaker would undertake such a mission is simple: Lacking a luxury brand means forgoing huge profits. The global head of Infiniti, Johan de Nysschen described the propostion this way: "Premium luxury cars account for only 11% of global sales, but 50% of profit."

????Two vehicles may look and perform similarly. Slap a BMW badge on one of them, suddenly customers are prepared to pay tens of thousands of dollars more.

????Nissan and Toyota (TM) created their luxury brands in the late 1980s. While Toyota's Lexus turned into a big moneymaker, Nissan's Infiniti languished. Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's chief executive officer, lured de Nysschen from Audi last year to begin the long, arduous, and costly job of revitalizing Infiniti into a global luxury brand.

????Ford Motor chief executive officer Alan Mulally and chief marketing officer Jim Farley are overseeing Lincoln's renovation. The refreshed Navigator won't tempt many Range Rover owners to switch. But the new model will sustain U.S. Lincoln dealers with a vehicle they can sell against Cadillac Escalade, Range Rover, and the Mercedes-Benz GL. Keeping the dealer body financially healthy and enthusiastic is an important element to repairing the brand.

????"Patience is critical for Ford management," said Larry Dominique, president of ALG, a service that estimates the value of new vehicles after they have been leased for varying amounts of time. Automakers must be prepared to invest in new models and brand promotion for long periods, even if the increase in profit and prestige is slow.

????A comparison of the current Navigator against more prestigious competitors illustrates the point about profit. The 2014 Navigator starts at about $54,400, according to Edmunds.com. The 2014 Cadillac Escalade starts at $61,800, and the 2014 Range Rover starts at $85,700. While not identical, the three vehicles are similar in size, power, capability -- while generating remarkably different amounts of revenue for their makers. The difference reflects how customers regard the brands.

????Audi, which has long aspired to be considered a luxury brand, spent 20 years and untold billions climbing toward the premium pinnacle following a controversy in the late 1980s over accusations -- never proven -- that its cars accelerated unintentionally.

????Ultimately, the goal of automotive top managements at Ford, GM, Nissan, Toyota, and others is for their luxury brands to be considered on a par with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi, the German triumvirate that commands top prices in all global vehicle markets.

????Ford Motor's Lincoln brand eventually may count itself among the world's most esteemed and pricey, though not anytime soon. A future generation of Ford management might be the first to enjoy the fruits of this one's labors.

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