????2013年的圣誕節如期而至。對美國汽車工業來說，年底猛增的銷量為格外成功的2013年畫上了句號。分析師預計，12月銷量的季節變動調整年率可能達到1700萬輛，這也是近六年來首個達到這一銷量的月份。同時，它將使2013年全年銷量達到1570萬輛的高位。

????盡管銷量大幅增長讓人歡欣雀躍，但它并不是汽車業今年最重大的新聞。底特律先是因為通用汽車公司（General Motors）提拔瑪麗?芭拉出任汽車業首位女性首席執行官而歡欣鼓舞；緊接著，福特汽車（Ford）首席執行官艾倫?穆拉利在重回波音公司還是加入微軟公司（Microsoft）兩者間猶豫不決之際，它又緊張得大氣都不敢喘。傳統的三巨頭抱怨現有產能已挖掘到極限，開始制訂擴張和聘用新人的計劃。特斯拉公司（Tesla）讓電動汽車的銷量火了一把，而且不肯按行規出牌；而同時谷歌公司（Google）則在自動汽車研制上一馬當先。

????當然，也有一些不那么樂觀的消息。隨著油價趨穩并隨后下跌后，電動汽車的銷量馬上就開始受到拖累。鈴木汽車（Suzuki）在美國市場上日漸式微，同時沃爾沃（Volvo）看起來也還是無力回天。中國——現在已是全球最大的汽車市場——的銷售開始放緩，而歐洲依然在衰退中泥足深陷，汽車業產能過剩的根本性問題還是無法解決。

????下面就是今年汽車業所經歷的高峰和低谷：???

????Christmas arrived on schedule for the U.S. auto industry as a spurt of sales put the wrapping on a surprisingly successful year. Analysts predicted that sales in December could hit a seasonally-adjusted rate of 17 million, which would be the first month at that rate in nearly six years. That would push 2013 sales up to a robust 15.7 million units.

????Welcome as they were, surging sales weren't the biggest news of the year. Detroit celebrated when General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) made Mary Barra the auto industry's first female CEO, then held its breath while Ford (F, Fortune 500) CEO Alan Mulally dithered over a move to Seattle and Microsoft. The old Big Three, complaining about straining available production capacity, made plans to expand and hire. Tesla(TSLA) fired up electric car sales and refused to play by industry's rules, while Google(GOOG, Fortune 500) pioneered a car that drives itself.

????There were reversals too. Sales of electric vehicles suffered as gas prices leveled off and then fell. Suzuki wound down its presence in the U.S. market, and Volvo looked none too healthy. Sales in China -- now the world's largest auto market -- slowed, and Europe remained deep in a slump, its fundamental overcapacity problems unsolved.

????Here are some of the year's pinnacles and potholes:????