????豐田汽車公司（Toyota Motor Co.）首席執(zhí)行官豐田章男眼下可謂炙手可熱。豐田汽車一直以牢固、可靠而著稱，卻始終無法令人感到興奮。而豐田章男一直致力于為這家汽車制造商注入更多活力。公司的新款花冠（Corolla）便是這一計劃最新的佐證。

????上周，豐田公司在洛杉磯發(fā)布了新款花冠汽車，并將于今年秋季在美國上市。發(fā)布會在圣塔莫尼卡機場的Barker Hangar展館舉行。發(fā)布會開始之前是眼花繚亂的雜耍表演，衣著性感的妙齡女郎在清澈的空中游泳池嬉戲雀躍。原《頂級廚師》（Top Chef）參賽者理查德?布萊斯也出席了發(fā)布會，為賓客調(diào)制了各種美食，如液氮雞尾酒。

????豐田章男達(dá)到了目的。他本人雖然并未出席活動，但他的精神在這場炫目的活動中體現(xiàn)得淋漓盡致。

????57歲的豐田章男于2009年開始擔(dān)任豐田公司首席執(zhí)行官，當(dāng)時的全球經(jīng)濟都已經(jīng)陷入衰退。公司汽車銷量下滑，而沸沸揚揚的豐田汽車意外加速事件更是讓公司雪上加霜。后來公司進行的大規(guī)模召回令公司顏面掃地。好在檢查結(jié)果證明，大部分汽車都沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)安全問題。同時，豐田章男在2010年初表現(xiàn)得非常謙恭，就汽車安全問題造成的混亂向美國國會進行了道歉。

????最近，豐田章男在公司內(nèi)經(jīng)常使用的一個日語詞匯是“waku-doki”，即“讓你心跳加速”的汽車。去年夏天，豐田章男身穿賽車服，出現(xiàn)在新凱美瑞（Camry）汽車的視頻廣告中。他是商學(xué)院的高材生，同時也是豐田公司創(chuàng)始人的孫子，曾親自幫助工程師在賽道上測試豐田新車型。上世紀(jì)80年代，還未開始在豐田工作之前，他經(jīng)常駕駛一輛保時捷（Porsche）汽車，練就了精湛的車技。

????目前，花冠依然是美國最暢銷的超小型汽車，而這個稱號之前屬于本田汽車公司（Honda）的思域（Civic）汽車。而且，在今年五月，凱美瑞汽車擊敗雅閣（Accord），成為美國最暢銷的小型汽車。如今，本田、通用汽車（General Motors）或福特汽車（Ford Motor）都不是豐田公司最擔(dān)心的競爭對手，能對豐田造成威脅的是大眾汽車（Volkwagen AG）。大眾汽車已經(jīng)宣布，到2018年將超越豐田和其他競爭對手，成為全球規(guī)模最大的車企。

????Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Co.'s chief executive officer is on a tear. The company's new Corolla is the latest example of his initiative to inject pizazz into a carmaker known mostly for solid, reliable -- but unexciting -- vehicles.

????Toyota (TM) debuted the Corolla, which will arrive in U.S. showrooms this fall, in Los Angeles last week. Prior to the presentation in Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica airport was an over-the-top spectacle of acrobats, scantily clad mermaids cavorting in an airborne, transparent swimming pool. Former Top Chef contestant Richard Blais was in attendance, dispensing fancy offerings such as nitrogen cocktails.

????Akio Toyoda made his point. He didn't attend, though his spirit was clearly expressed at the glitzy event.

????Toyoda, 57, took over as Toyota chief in 2009, amid a worldwide economic slump. The slowdown in sales was compounded by an uproar over accusations of unintended acceleration in some Toyota cars. A humiliating recall followed. The safety issues proved mostly unfounded. In the meantime, Toyoda humbled himself in early 2010, apologizing before Congress for the safety mess.

????The Japanese expression Toyoda has been using lately inside the company is waku-doki, as in, cars that "raise your pulse." Last summer, Toyoda appeared in video advertising for the new Camry, dressed in a racing suit. A business graduate and grandson of Toyota's founder, he hashelped engineers vet new Toyota models at racetracks. He earlier sharpened his driving skills behind the wheel of a Porsche in the 1980s, before he came to work at Toyota.

????For the moment, the Corolla remains the top-selling car in the subcompact segment in the U.S., a title it seized from Honda's (HMC) Civic. Likewise, through May, Camry is the top-selling U.S. compact car, beating Accord. Neither Honda, nor General Motors (GM), nor Ford Motor (F) are Toyota's main competitive worries -- that distinction belongs to Volkwagen AG. VW has announced its intention to grab the No. 1 spot from Toyota or whomever by 2018.