大眾甲殼蟲的前世今生
年富力強:1967—1974年 ????1970年美國人一共買了50多萬輛甲殼蟲,這也是它銷量的巔峰。美國的史密森尼博物館(Smithsonian)珍而重之地收藏了第1,500萬輛下線的甲殼蟲,標志著這款車型正式取得了經典地位。它的發動機馬力也在1967年增加到54匹,到1970年增加到57匹,不過性能上并沒有明顯的提高。《人車志》(Car and Driver)雜志測試了一輛1970版甲殼車,發現它的速度實際上還要比1968版稍慢一些。但這次評測絲毫沒有減弱消費者的熱情。 ????隨后又出現了一款長鼻子的甲殼蟲,它有個新的名字,叫做“超級甲殼蟲”(Super Beetle)。位于車前端的載貨廂倒是不辜負“超級”兩個字,因為它的尺寸是老款的兩倍。此后大眾公司一直持續對甲殼蟲進行改進。1972年,它第n次擴大了后車窗,引擎蓋也多了兩排通風孔,倒車的時候尾燈還會亮起來。1973年,風擋變成了弧形。1974年,甲殼蟲安裝了能防每小時5英里低速碰撞的吸能減震保險杠。 |
Mature Beetles: 1967-1974 ????Americans bought more than 500,000 Beetles in 1970 -- the high-water mark for sales. The Beetle officially attained icon status when the Smithsonian collected the 15-millionth car. Horsepower grew to 54 in 1967 and 57 in 1970, though without appreciably improving performance. Car and Driver tested a 1970 model and discovered that it was slightly slower than the 1968 version. The review does nothing to dampen customer enthusiasm. ????A new stretched-nose design appeared, with a new name: Super Beetle. The front compartment's cargo compartment was certainly super -- it was twice as large as it used to be. Improvements continued. In 1972, the rear window was enlarged for the nth time, two more rows of vents popped up on the engine deck lid, and the taillights now lit up when the car was put in reverse. 1973 brought a curved windshield, and in 1974 the Beetle got energy-absorbing five-mile-per-hour bumpers. |