PBS高端访谈:底特律车展大卡车顺利出展

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Some further thoughts about the state of the industry and what the auto¹ show reflects about that.

　　Dan Neil is the auto columnist² for The Wall Street Journal. He attended the show in Detroit earlier this week. And Karl Brauer is a senior director at Kelley Blue Book, a company widely known for its research and data about pricing and reviews.

　　So, Dan, let me start with you. What were your impressions from the floor?

　　DAN NEIL,The Wall Street Journal: Well, it would appear that Detroit is getting the band back together again.

　　The sort of the conditions of the mid-2000s bubble is there in force. There's a lot of focus on big trucks, big SUVs. The new Escalade was there, the new Cadillac Coupe. Cadillac has had a great year.

　　So, and a lot of the conditions are reoccurring. There is a lot of cheap money out there, a lot of incentives³. And there's moderate fuel price pressures. And, most of all, you have got these manufacturing with these very intense volume-driven business plans that is sort of kicking this all over.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: So, do you detect a sort of confidence in the industry right now? I mean, this is one of the first years that the U.S. government is really out of Chrysler and GM.

　　DAN NEIL:Yes, you could call it confidence. You could call it pernicious amnesia⁴.

　　You know, the -- it is a little eerie⁵ to walk through the show and see so much of the same film we saw six or seven years ago. And part of that is the nature of the automobile⁶ industry itself. It is based on growth. It's capital-intensive. You have to put, you know, factories in the ground.

　　So you're always a little bit out over your skies. And the other thing, it has to be said, the U.S. market is intensely competitive. It's one of the -- it's the most stable automobile market on the face of the planet. And so everybody wants to play.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: All right, Karl Brauer, I want to ask you, there was such a push a few years ago about these small vehicles, these more efficient vehicles. And here we are rolling out trucks. They might be lighter⁷, but they're still big trucks.

　　KARL BRAUER,Kelley Blue Book: Yes.

　　Well, what has happened is we have got technology now that is making trucks and SUVs get the kind of mileage⁸ that economy cars used to get. I think that is one of the things that you have to keep in mind when you look at the horsepower numbers and the performance numbers these cars are getting.

　　They are doing it in spite of or in addition to meeting the government standards that are rapidly increasing the fuel efficiency that these cars have to acquire. We have to go up by about 10 MPG in the next 10 years to meet those standards on average. Every car has got to be about one MPG -- or 10 MPG better. And we did that last year.

　　The average car sold in this country was -- I think 24.8 was the average MPG, and it was 23.8 one year ago. So, even though we saw a lot of performance cars, like Dan said there, a lot of them are niche⁹ cars or even concept cars. The volume vehicles out there, they are getting better and better mileage because of the technology that's under the hoods¹⁰ of all these new vehicles.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:Karl, staying with you for a second, what about the alternative fuel vehicles that we heard so much more about? Is the Chevy Volt¹¹ or the Tesla the exception and not the rule?

　　KARL BRAUER:You know, it still basically is.

　　You know, we did see some growth in the hybrid¹² market this year, largely because Ford¹³ put out models in the last 12 months that did quite well. But when you put all the alternative vehicles together, including the electric, the hybrid and the diesel¹⁴, you are still less than 4 percent of the total market.

　　And it really was interesting to walk through the show and look through the show this year and see almost nothing talking about, you know, alternative super-high-fuel-efficiency technologies. It was really more about performance and capability¹⁵.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Dan, I almost heard more about alternative fuels at the Consumer Electronics Show news than here.

　　What is it with all the sports cars that are being announced today, not just the Corvette, but Subaru, BMW? All these guys are putting out very high-performance vehicles now.

　　DAN NEIL:Yes, well, you know, people who buy sports cars are interested in bench-raising, which is comparing the numerical values in the owner's manual and bragging¹⁶ about them.

　　But let me offer a corrective here. The Ford F-150 is being built out of aluminum¹⁷. This is a radical¹⁸ and risky¹⁹ step forward for the company that makes the most popular vehicle in America for 32 years running. I mean, they sold three-quarters-of-a-million of these trucks last year. They are going to make it out of aluminum. And it's going to save, on average, they estimate three miles per gallon.

　　Doesn't sound like a lot, but when you lay the big multiplier in of three-quarters-of-a-million vehicles and the hundreds of thousands of miles driven, the Ford F-150 will save more real-world gas than, certainly, you know, Tesla or the Volt, as admirable vehicles as they are.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:All right, Dan, also, it seemed like there were more models announced this year. It seemed like there is an option at every price point.

　　DAN NEIL: Yes. Yes, absolutely. And that is another thing. I mean, it is a year of interlopers.

　　Take, for example, German premium²⁰ luxury manufacturers, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz. They're all going down-market, Mercedes C and CLA. BMW introduced the 2, which is a two-door, between the 1 and now the 4. So -- and you have this hyper-fractionizing of the segments.

　　Audi has the Q3, which is the cute SUV. Porsche is really bringing a very tiny SUV to market called the Porsche Macan. So the Germans are coming after the territory now occupied by Honda and Hyundai. And so that is a big change. And they're coloring in all the white space.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN:Karl, let's think a little bit about this on a kind of a macroeconomics picture.

　　With what Dan said, with money being cheap, with these long loans, are we getting into a possible trap here where people are maybe buying more than they can afford in terms of cars?

　　KARL BRAUER:Well, so far, the numbers are still looking pretty good in terms of, you know, the amount of loans that are out there, how high they are, how many are being defaulted on.

　　Right now, everything still looks fine in terms of the availability of credit. But what is really fabulous²¹ is that we're seeing an increase in transaction price across all these sales, all these new vehicle sales that are going on, and a decrease, relatively²² speaking, in incentives.

　　So when you have the manufacturers not cutting prices and also selling as many or more cars at higher prices, what you are left with is good profitability. And don't forget that when that restructuring occurred with the domestics a few years ago, the idea was to make them so they could be profitable, restructure their companies to be profitable at 10 million annual industry sales.

　　And we hit 15.6 last year. And we're going hit probably something like 16.3 this year. So, so far, at least, everything is really looking good in terms of profitability.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: All right, Karl Brauer from Kelley Blue Book and Dan Neil from The Wall Street Journal, thanks so much.

　　DAN NEIL:Thank you.

1 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。

2 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

3 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 amnesia   

n.健忘症，健忘

参考例句：

• People suffering from amnesia don't forget their general knowledge of objects.患健忘症的人不会忘记关于物体的一些基本知识。
• Chinese medicine experts developed a way to treat amnesia using marine materials.中国医学专家研制出用海洋物质治疗遗忘症的方法。

5 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

6 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

7 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

8 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？

9 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

10 hoods   

n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩

参考例句：

• Michael looked at the four hoods sitting in the kitchen. 迈克尔瞅了瞅坐在厨房里的四条汉子。 来自教父部分
• Eskimos wear hoods to keep their heads warm. 爱斯基摩人戴兜帽使头暖和。 来自辞典例句

11 volt   

n.伏特，伏

参考例句：

• You may use 100 and 110 volt appliances in your room.您可以在房间使用100及110伏特的电器。
• The common service voltage of electric power in our country is 220/380 volt.我国普通供电电压为220/380伏。

12 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

13 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。

14 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

15 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

16 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

17 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

18 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

19 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

20 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

21 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

22 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。