????王者已死。王者萬歲。

????在今年最受贊賞的汽車廠商排行榜上，德國大眾汽車（Volkswagen）一路狂飆，成功登頂，取代了長期雄踞榜首的寶馬（BMW）。投票者們顯然注意到了大眾集團開拓美國市場的興趣，尤其是大眾在田納西州查特怒加市新建的裝配工廠已于近日開工，而且大眾的子品牌奧迪（Audi）作為一個誠意十足的競爭者，也已經開始在超高端市場上嶄露頭角。

????戴姆勒-梅賽德斯奔馳（Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz）位列本榜季軍，該品牌已是連續三年躋身三甲，同時也進一步加速了日本廠商排名的滑衰。豐田（Toyota）的排名從去年的第七位回升到今年的第四位，但本田（Honda）仍然令人費解地繼續呈下滑之勢，從去年的第五名跌至第八名。日產（Nissan）作為日本汽車三巨頭的老三，今年繼續排名墊底。

????在美國廠商中，福特（Ford）的排名從第六小幅上升至第五，進一步鞏固了它的全球競爭力。通用（General Motors）仍在努力擺脫2009年破產風暴的余波，它的排名上升了兩位來到第七名。值得注意的是這張榜單上沒有出現克萊斯勒（Chrysler）的影子。克萊斯勒2011年的銷量表現非常搶眼，很可能使它成為下這份榜單明年的強力競爭者。

1．大眾

????The king is dead. Long live the king.

????Volkswagen motored its way to the top of this year's list of the most admired automobile manufacturers, nosing out longtime winner BMW. Voters apparently took note of VW's new-found interest in the U.S. market, highlighted by the opening of an assembly plant in Chattanooga, TN, and the emergence of VW's Audi brand as a bonafide contender in the super-premium market.

????With Daimler's Mercedes-Benz holding on to its third place ranking in the survey, German manufacturers scored a trifecta -- and added more grease to the slide of Japanese automakers. Toyota regained its footing by moving up in the ranking from seventh to fourth, but Honda continued its inexplicable decline by plunging to eighth place from fifth. Nissan, the third member of the Japanese Big Three, remained anchored to the bottom of the list.

????Among American manufacturers, Ford strengthened its claim on global competitiveness by moving up one notch to fifth. And General Motors continued to shake off the lingering effects of its 2009 bankruptcy by climbing two spots to seventh. Notably absent from this year's list is Chrysler, whose sparkling sales performance in 2011 is likely to make it a strong contender in 2012.

1. Volkswagen

????大眾集團去年宣稱決心重新在美國市場上攫取一席之地，此言一出，各方矚目。許多車迷嘲笑大眾汽車造型死板，價格低廉，認為美國消費者不會買賬。但事實上消費者并不這樣想，捷達（Jetta）和帕薩特（Passat）的銷量也節節攀升。大眾在美國以70,000美元左右的售價發布了造型典雅的奧迪A7四門轎車后，奧迪這個品牌立刻俘獲了1%最富人群的心，成為時尚潮流的引領者。

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????VW got everybody's attention last year with its loudly-proclaimed determination to return to a position of influence in the U.S. market. Enthusiasts scoffed at its efforts to pander to American buyers with blander designs at lower prices, but customers didn't, and Jettas and Passats flew out of showrooms. Audi arrived as a style leader for one-percenters when it unveiled its elegant A7 four-door coupe that sells for around $70,000.

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