密歇根新闻广播 全球运输的未来之战已经敲响

You may have missed the biggest news of the week – at least here in the Motor City. For the first time ever, Apple’s CEO confirmed the tech giant is hot for self-driving cars.

Buckle¹ up, folks.

CEO Tim Cook says there’s “a major disruption looming” as self-driving technology, electric vehicles and ride-sharers like Uber and Lyft converge² into one big ball of change. He says autonomous⁴ systems are a “core technology” for Apple and “the mother” of all artificial intelligence projects.

The thud you just heard is Detroit’s three CEOs falling out of their chairs. Not because they didn’t know where Apple might be headed. But because the successor to guru Steve Jobs just told the world its priorities to get there.

Apple has the smarts and the money to do it – more than a cool $250 billion dollars.

What that means for Detroit’s automakers and their foreign rivals is nothing short of enormous.

Forget foreign competition from Japan and Germany, Toyota and Volkswagen and the rest. The most serious threat to Detroit and its hometown auto³ industry is the tech revolution in the global auto and transportation space they’ve long owned, but may not for long.

The biggest players are Apple, Alphabet’s Waymo and Intel, the proud new owner of autonomous vision pioneer Mobileye. They’re fast and rich. They’re part of an ecosystem⁵ where tiny startups coexist with giants. They’re innovative⁶ and less bureaucratic⁷.

And they’re far more beloved than Detroit by smart money investors⁸ looking for the next Amazon so they can score a fat payout.

The disruption Silicon⁹ Valley’s muscle envisions – to the extent they can see it clearly – would forever change the auto industry born in the shops of Henry Ford¹⁰ and Gottlieb Daimler. It would change product development and manufacturing, headcount and who gets hired – or doesn’t. It would mean fewer people would own their own cars, or insure them, or maintain them.

Don’t think it’ll happen? Did you think you’d be able to watch movies, catch sports scores and surf the web on a cell phone? Or that developments in artificial intelligence and visioning systems would enable a car to drive itself? Or that General Motors, of all companies, would be the first automaker to mass produce an autonomous car – and do it in suburban¹¹ Detroit?

The battle for the future of global transportation is on, even if you missed the first shots. Who bets right, and buys early, stands to reap big rewards not seen in the auto space since Ford became a household name.

The numbers are staggering – measured in trillions. We’re in the early days of a titanic¹² clash between the Old and New Economy. Between the industrial heartland and a tech sector¹³ developing technologies that presume to replace drivers altogether.

Yep, buckle up.

It’ll be a heckuva ride.

1 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。

2 converge   

vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近

参考例句：

• The results converge towards this truth.其结果趋近于这个真理。
• Parallel lines converge at infinity.平行线永不相交。

3 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

4 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

5 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

6 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

7 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

10 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

11 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

12 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。