????汽車大亨羅杰?彭斯克上周放棄了Smart牌微型車在美國的獨家經銷權。過你不必太為彭斯克感到難過。事實上，彭斯克上周三的這個決定贏得了投資者的一致喝彩。彭斯克汽車集團（Penske Automotive Group）的財務業績也獲得好評，集團股價幾乎達到了三年以來的最高值。

????Smart ForTwo是戴姆勒集團（Daimler AG）生產的一款雙座微型轎車，這款車型一直沒能達到銷售預期。在三年的時間里，該車型共售出了45000輛，不過銷售量卻呈遞減趨勢。彭斯克汽車集團的總部位于密歇根州布隆菲爾德山，該集團高級副總裁托尼?波爾頓表示：“這款車型有個熱鬧的開始，但過去的兩年卻很困難。”

????2008年，該集團的董事長兼首席執行官彭斯克代表公司買下了Smart汽車在美國的經銷權，當時他堅信汽油價格將急劇上漲，而且經濟將持續向好，不過最終這兩個希望都沒有成真。

????相反，汽油價格徘徊不前，經濟舉步維艱。美國汽車市場上還出現了許多與Smart競爭的小型車，如本田飛度（Honda Fit）、日產騏達（Nissan Versa）、福特嘉年華（Ford Fiesta）、豐田雅力士（Toyota Yaris）和雪佛蘭樂騁（Chevrolet Aveo）等。這使問題變得更加復雜了。

????Smart轎車的起價還不到13000美元，而且它還提供了一款電池動力的版本，每次充電的續航里程為60至65英里。

????根據多次試駕的情況，筆者認為Smart是一款值得稱道的車型，它具有駕駛的樂趣性，而且易于操控。對于城市居民來說，這款小車可以擠進哪怕是最狹窄的停車位。而且顯然它非常節能（綜合油耗為每加侖36英里）。安全測試也表明Smart的安全性不低于其他任何小型車。不過也有人持保留意見——它看起來不夠大，在美國的公路上將顯得格格不入。

????我們可以改編一下羅納德?里根在一部低成本影片里的臺詞——“這臺車剩下的部分哪兒去了？”（里根年輕時曾拍攝許多低成本影片，他在1942年的電影《King’s Row》里飾演了一名被截肢的年輕人，影片中他有一句臺詞是：“我剩下的身體哪兒去了？”——譯注）Smart轎車看起來就像是被一把大斧砍掉了尾部。盡管美國的駕駛者愿意犧牲尺寸來換取經濟性，但是他們不愿意讓人看起來覺得可笑。

????彭斯克汽車集團在美國和英國經營大多數品牌的零售經銷業務。此前該公司已經計劃引入第二款Smart轎車，這是一款尺寸更大一些的掀背車，由日產汽車公司（Nissan）生產。由于彭斯克汽車集團決定將Smart拋回給戴姆勒，因此這起交易也隨之取消了。戴姆勒集團則表示將繼續在梅塞德斯-奔馳（Mercedes-Benz）的經銷商那里銷售Smart。

????2010年全年，彭斯克汽車集團的營收為107億美元，其中利潤為1.083億美元，比2009年上升了41%，它的美國Smart部門去年虧損了1600萬美元左右。這個結果超過了分析人士的預期，促使其他汽車零售商的股票也出現了回升。彭斯克集團自己的股票在2009年初一度跌破每股6美元，不過此后一直穩步上漲，至上周三收盤時已達到每股21美元。

????羅杰?彭斯克在接受路透社采訪時表示，今年在買入新的經銷權這個問題上，他將見機行事，并表示他正在與底特律的兩家汽車制造商進行接洽，商討購買美國品牌的汽車經銷權的事宜，不過他拒絕透露這兩家公司的名字。

????譯者：樸成奎

????Don't feel too sorry for automotive mogul Roger Penske, who this week threw in the towel on the exclusive U.S. distribution rights for the Smart line of small cars. Investors were cheering his decision Wednesday, along with the financial results of Penske Automotive Group (PAG, Fortune 500), bidding shares nearly to a three-year high.

????The Smart ForTwo, a diminutive two-seater built by Daimler AG, simply never met sales expectations, reaching about 45,000 cars sold over a three-year period, but at a declining rate. "It had a rip-roaring start," said Tony Pordon, senior vice president for the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan company. "The last two years have been difficult."

????Penske, chairman and chief executive officer, bought the U.S. rights to sell Smart cars on behalf of his company in 2008 on the belief that gasoline prices would rise sharply higher and the economy would remain buoyant. Neither of those things happened.

????Instead, gasoline prices stagnated, the economy tanked and, complicating matters, the U.S. vehicle market has seen the proliferation of small-car competitors, such as the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris and Chevrolet Aveo.

????Smart, which starts at just under $13,000 in price, offered a battery-powered version, which had a range of 60 to 65 miles on a charge.

????Smart -- in this writer's opinion and based on a few test drives -- is an estimable model, fun to drive and easy to handle. For city dwellers the car can squeeze into the tightest parking spaces; and obviously it is fuel efficient (combined 36 miles-per-gallon). Safety tests suggested it is no less safe than any other small car. But -- and this reservation is key -- it simply doesn't look big enough to belong on the American road.

????Or, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan the actor in one of his B-movie roles: What happened to the rest of the car? Smart looks as though its rear had been lopped off with a giant ax. American drivers are willing to sacrifice size for economy -- they're not willing to look ridiculous.

????Penske, which operates retail dealerships of most brands in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom, had planned to add a second Smart model, a larger hatchback, built by Nissan. That deal was canceled along with the automotive company's decision to hand Smart back to Daimler. Daimler said it will continue to sell Smart at Mercedes-Benz dealerships.

????For all of 2010, Penske earned $108.3 million, a 41 percent increase from 2009, on revenue of $10.7 billion. Its Smart USA unit lost about $16 million for the year. The results beat analysts' expectations and prompted a rally in the shares of other auto retailers. After dipping below $6 a share in early 2009, Penske's stock has been marching steadily upward, hitting $21 a share at the close of trading on Wednesday.

????Roger Penske, in an interview with Reuters, said he would be "opportunistic" about buying additional dealerships this year and was negotiating with two Detroit automakers, whom he declined to identify, on deals to buy U.S.-brand franchises.