????當然咯，高管們往往帶著隨從，因此，他們四處探訪對手的車會顯得比較扎眼。但設計師卻能獨來獨往，在對手不經意間完成探究。

????這周的底特律車展上，這些兼職“間諜”們手里的iPhone大顯身手，成了拍攝新車型的利器。少數人會用成像效果更好的相機拍攝后備箱、儀表板、前格柵和全新的觸屏。還有一些人則在西裝外套下藏著小筆記本電腦。

????位于密歇根州安阿伯市的汽車研究中心（Center for Automotive Research）分析師格雷戈?施羅德說：“其實我們沒把這種做法看成是間諜行為，它就是一種調查研究。”周三是估量競爭形勢的大日子，因為各家廠商都會在這天進行預展。施羅德稱，工程師們當天“幾乎要鉆到車底下”去弄清各種新車到底做了哪些改進。

????北美國際車展（North American International Auto Show）向車企員工、贊助商和特別嘉賓一共發放了3萬張參觀券。這樣一來，在車展面向公眾開放前的這段時間里，他們的人數可能會是媒體人士和博主的六倍。

????新車正式亮相前，廠商可能會用布把它們罩上，蓋住一些主要特征，從而避開對手的耳目。《連線》雜志（Wired）報道稱，福特汽車（Ford）這次就專門請了一位全職的偽裝專家來保護自己的新車。

????當然，公司之間的這種間諜活動有時候會踩過線。據稱，有位工程顧問從杜邦公司（DuPont Co.）竊取了商業秘密并以2900萬美元的價格把它們賣給了一家中國公司，現在正面臨陰謀罪的指控。據聯邦調查局（FBI）稱，非法間諜活動及盜竊商業機密每年會給美國公司造成高達130億美元的損失。不過在行業展會上不太可能發生這種事，畢竟展會上的新產品都是公開展覽的。

????在消費電子展上，各家公司一般只會展示他們希望在未來六個月內賣給消費者的產品。高德納咨詢公司（Gartner）的研究總監安吉拉?麥金泰爾表示，如果這些公司帶來了一些可穿戴技術的初級產品，它們也會把這些專利產品藏在展會附近的酒店套間里，只邀請特定客戶參觀。

????不過競爭對手公開展示自己打前站的產品也確實能給同行帶來諸多好處。在本周一舉行的梅賽德斯奔馳新聞發布會上，大眾的兩個團隊聽得十分入神。會后，福特的兩個經理從觀眾中一路擠到前面，想和廠方盡快接觸一下。現場觀眾中不乏來自本田（Honda）、奧迪、保時捷（Porsche）、斯巴魯（Subaru）、豐田（Toyota）、沃爾沃（Volvo）和起亞的代表。

????想要進一步深入研究對手汽車的人可以聯系Midway集團（Midway Group），它專為其他汽車廠商提供法拉利和奔馳這樣的高端車輛，供他們數天或數月研究之用。有些廠商會直接買下對手的車，還有些則采用租的方式。Midway集團在底特律車展上負責拜訪汽車廠商的副總裁戴維?小史密斯說：“我們會把這些車給他們運去，直接運到技術中心。”

????通用汽車有一支競爭標桿分析團隊，它會用3D掃描技術找出對手汽車的優劣所在。實際上他們會把一輛車大卸八塊，找出其他廠商召回的原因，或是了解各種配件的生產方式和改進之道。

????這種高級偵探就需要全職工作了，不是在車展上晃蕩幾天就能搞定的。（財富中文網）

????譯者：清遠

????

????Top executives, of course, travel with an entourage, so it's noticeable when they visit a competitor's cars. Designers can swoop in solo.

????At the Detroit auto show this week, these part-time spies made good use of their iPhones to photograph new models. A few had higher-quality cameras to document trunks, dashboards, front grills, and new touchscreen displays. Some slipped tiny notebooks into their suit jackets.

????"We don't really look at it as spying. It's research," said Greg Schroeder, an analyst with the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. The biggest day to size up the competition is Wednesday, the industry's day to preview vehicles. Engineers are "almost crawling under the cars" to see what has improved, Schroeder said.

????The North American International Auto Show gives out 30,000 credentials to auto staffers, sponsors, and special guests, so they may outnumber media and bloggers six to one in the days before the event opens to the public.

????Before the new models debut, automakers may wrap them in fabric and mask features to keep them from competitor's eyes. Wired reported that Ford (F) employs a full-time camouflage specialist to protect its new vehicles.

????To be sure, corporate espionage can cross the line. An engineering consultant faces conspiracy charges for allegedly stealing trade secrets from DuPont Co. (DD) and selling them to a Chinese company for $29 million. Illegal spying and theft of trade secrets costs U.S. companies $13 billion a year, according to the FBI. But that's not likely to take place at trade shows, where new products are on open display.

????At the Consumer Electronics Show, companies typically only show products they expect to sell to consumers within six months. If they bring early-stage models of some wearable technology, they will stash those proprietary items in private hotel suites nearby and invite only select customers, said Angela McIntyre, a research director at Gartner.

????The public display of competitors' advances certainly offers business benefits. At the Mercedes-Benz press briefing on Monday, two groups of Volkswagen staffers listened intently. After the event, two Ford managers elbowed their way through the crowd to get a quick close up. Representatives of Honda (HMC), Audi, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota (TM), Volvo, and and Kia also were spotted in the crowd.

????Those who want a more thorough look at competitors' vehicles can call on Midway Group, which supplies high-end vehicles like Ferraris and Mercedes to other automakers to study for a few days or months. Some buy competitors' cars outright, and some lease them. "We deliver it to them, their technical centers," said David Smith Jr., a Midway vice president who was visiting automakers at the Detroit show.

????General Motors has a competitive benchmarking team that uses 3-D scanning to search for the good and bad in competitors' cars. They literally tear apart a vehicle to see what led to another automaker's recall or how components were manufactured and improved.

????That kind of advanced sleuthing requires full-time work, not a few days' wandering around an auto show.