????豐田具有深厚持久的吸引力，這一點從它與客戶那種難以言喻的密切關系中就能看出來。多數汽車廠商總有失手的時候【比如通用汽車2013款邁銳寶（Malibu），本田汽車（Honda）2012款思域（Civic）】，但豐田卻極少會踏空，而且它似乎總有一種第六感，能知道客戶到底需要什么。在底特律的博主彼得?德?洛倫佐眼里，豐田無足掛齒，就是“一碗熱騰騰的燕麥粥”而已。但他同時也承認：“豐田……胸有成竹，知道總有一群忠實買家，他們很在乎有機會擁有一臺裝著乏味配置的木疙瘩車” 。

????還有些批評人士也不以為然。隨著凱美瑞（Camry）繼續擔當最暢銷乘用車的領頭羊，不久前就有傳言稱，豐田是在通過提供大幅度優惠增加銷量來操縱市場。但這種銷量增長只是讓凱美瑞躋身和邁銳寶及日產天籟（Altima）這類中型車一樣的促銷陣營而已。而豐田也只是剛開始和其他廠商一樣祭出這個法寶。

????不過豐田不是光會賣車而已，它還做了些意義重大的事：二十年前豐田甘冒巨大的技術和財務風險，開發了油電混合動力系統，并搭載在劃時代的普銳斯（Prius）上，現在它開始收獲勝利果實了。這個舉措開始讓油電混動成為內燃機的最佳替代品。盡管這種做法一度被視為鋌而走險，但上周《紐約時報》（New York Times ）報道稱，美國人今年已經買了近30萬臺混動車。

????普銳斯在混動車的銷量中要占近半江山。今年年初，曾經主持普銳斯開發的首席工程師內山田武被提名出任豐田總裁，就是對他豐功偉績的獎勵。1993年，這個項目剛啟動時，他設定了兩大目標：開發全新的生產方法，同時讓傳統內燃機獲得更佳的燃油經濟性。他當時的目標是每加侖燃油能跑上47.5英里。而2013款普銳斯的綜合路況續航里程已經達到每加侖燃油50英里。

????1999年，第一輛普銳斯進入美國市場。當時，它面對的是一片質疑聲。2004年油價僅為每加侖1.5美元，因此時任通用汽車高管的鮑勃?魯茨曾把混合動力不屑地稱為“有意思的新鮮玩意兒”。不過后來，他為這番言論公開道歉，還領銜開發了雪佛蘭沃藍達（Volt）。這是一款插電式混動車，每充一次電能跑上35英里。但就算現在油價已經高達每加侖近4美元了，沃藍達還是沒能大賣——今年只售出了11,643臺——而通用還特意把售價調低了5,000美元。

????盡管日元走軟，但豐田不會降低普銳斯或日本本土制造的任何車型的價格。目前100日元兌1美元，日元比一年前要便宜了25%，也是近年來最優惠的比價。雖然日產汽車（Nissan）利用經濟疲軟帶來的優勢對七款暢銷車型降價處理，最高降價達4,400美元，但向來謹慎處事的豐田卻不要更大的市場份額，只想賺到更高的利潤。2013年4至6月的財季，它的利潤達到了55億美元——幾乎是通用和福特兩者相加的兩倍——現在它更是預期今年的利潤將高達近170億美元。

????所以，盡管我們確實應該支持美國本土車企，也該力挺底特律盡快明智地擺脫破產的陰影，但我們需要牢記它們真正面對的對手是何許人也。這些現代日本武士——10世紀日本武士的后裔們——真的卷土重來了。（財富中文網）

????譯者：清遠

????The depth and durability of Toyota's appeal speaks to its uncanny connection with its customers. Most auto companies have their share of flops (GM'S 2013 Malibu, Honda's 2012 Civic) but Toyota rarely misses the mark and seems to have a sixth sense for what consumers want. Detroit-based blogger Peter De Lorenzo, who dismisses Toyotas as "a white-hot bowl of oatmeal," concedes that " Toyota is ... proof positive there are legions of Toyota buyers out there who relish the opportunity to own a bland appliance that blends into the woodwork."

????Other critics remain unfazed. With the Camry extending its lead as the best-selling passenger car by any manufacturer, it wasn't long before suggestions appeared that Toyota had rigged the game by boosting incentives and ramping up fleet sales. But the increases only dragged it into the same incentive neighborhood as other mid-size competitors like the Malibu and Nissan Altima. Toyota merely started playing the same game as everyone else.

????More than just moving the metal, Toyota is also doing something far more significant: It is reaping the rewards of a huge technological and financial risk it took two decades ago -- the development of the gas-electric powertrain and its installation in the revolutionary Prius. The move began the adoption of the gas-electric hybrid as the preferred alternative to the internal combustion engine. Once considered marginal and fringe, the New York Times reported last week that Americans have bought nearly 300,000 hybrids so far this year.

????Accounting for nearly half those hybrid sales was the Prius. Chief engineer Takeshi Uchiyamada, who oversaw the Prius's development, was rewarded earlier this year by being named chairman of Toyota. When the project commenced in 1993, he set two goals: to develop new production methods and to wring better fuel economy from the traditional internal combustion engine. His target was 47.5 miles per gallon. The 2013 Prius has a combined city/highway mileage rating of 50 mpg.

????There were skeptics aplenty when the first Prius arrived in the U.S. in 1999. GM executive Bob Lutz dismissed hybrids as "an interesting curiosity" in 2004, when gas was selling for $1.50 a gallon. He later recanted and went on to lead development of the Chevrolet Volt, a hybrid with a plug-in feature that allows it to travel 35 miles on an electric charge. But even though gas now costs nearly $4 per gallon, the Volt has failed to catch on -- only 11,643 have been sold this year -- and GM has cut its price by $5,000.