本田營(yíng)銷(xiāo)亂象

????業(yè)界一直對(duì)本田汽車(chē)公司（Honda）對(duì)美國(guó)市場(chǎng)明顯缺乏理解頗有微詞。最近，這種不足被放大了，因?yàn)闄?quán)威消費(fèi)雜志《消費(fèi)者報(bào)告》（Consumer Reports）多年來(lái)首次沒(méi)有推薦市場(chǎng)熱銷(xiāo)的“思域”（Civic）車(chē)型。8月初，我本人也曾對(duì)本田汽車(chē)明顯對(duì)消費(fèi)者需求缺乏敏感發(fā)表過(guò)評(píng)論。

????現(xiàn)在，本田汽車(chē)公司已作出一個(gè)讓人驚訝但又在情理之中的決定：聘請(qǐng)一位前克萊斯勒汽車(chē)公司（Chrysler）高管出任市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)總裁。之所以說(shuō)它讓人驚訝，是因?yàn)楸咎锸亲顬榉忾]的公司之一，很少?gòu)耐獠科刚?qǐng)高管；而所謂可以理解，是因?yàn)檫€有誰(shuí)能比一位美國(guó)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)高管更能理解美國(guó)消費(fèi)者呢？

????在報(bào)道這一任命公告時(shí)，《汽車(chē)新聞》（Automotive News）雜志也對(duì)本田汽車(chē)公司的內(nèi)部管理混亂有所涉及。這家日本汽車(chē)制造商將產(chǎn)品研發(fā)、產(chǎn)品規(guī)劃和營(yíng)銷(xiāo)與汽車(chē)銷(xiāo)售隔絕了開(kāi)來(lái)。換言之，最接近消費(fèi)者的人居然在規(guī)劃桌前沒(méi)有一席之地。

V8引擎凋零

????最近，基于飛漲的油價(jià)和對(duì)人們氣候變化日益關(guān)注這兩點(diǎn)，我曾經(jīng)宣告大多數(shù)V-8引擎即將退出歷史舞臺(tái)。這一觀點(diǎn)本來(lái)是直指底特律汽車(chē)廠商的，但對(duì)V-8最新的訃告則來(lái)自豐田汽車(chē)公司。

????豐田宣布，它正考慮停止在其2013版的旗艦運(yùn)動(dòng)轎車(chē)?yán)卓怂_斯GS上采用V-8引擎。豐田聲稱搭載V-8的車(chē)僅占GS總銷(xiāo)量的10%。但留意一下就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，唯一用來(lái)替代標(biāo)準(zhǔn)V-6引擎的是一款V-6混合動(dòng)力引擎，可見(jiàn)汽車(chē)業(yè)的發(fā)展方向是：更高的燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性，更小的扭矩。

出租車(chē)業(yè)亂局

????日產(chǎn)汽車(chē)公司（Nissan）的改款面包車(chē)贏得競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，從2013年開(kāi)始將成為紐約市出租車(chē)的指定車(chē)型時(shí)，這家公司曾經(jīng)興奮不已。但是，正如我在今年5月所寫(xiě)，這類(lèi)備受矚目的公共交通項(xiàng)目的歷程往往曲折多變，因此日產(chǎn)有理由保持謹(jǐn)慎。

????果然，隨后不久傳來(lái)了消息，福特汽車(chē)公司（Ford）的交通連接面包車(chē)（Transit Connect van）也已獲準(zhǔn)在同一時(shí)間用作出租車(chē)。福特可謂出租車(chē)行業(yè)的巨無(wú)霸。其維多利亞皇冠（Crown Victoria）多年來(lái)一直是紐約黃色出租車(chē)隊(duì)的中流砥柱，而其交通連接面包車(chē)也獲準(zhǔn)在其他大城市如波士頓、費(fèi)城和芝加哥投入使用。基于其雄霸一方的規(guī)模經(jīng)濟(jì)優(yōu)勢(shì)，這款車(chē)可能會(huì)在紐約獲得足夠多的公眾支持，推翻日產(chǎn)的獨(dú)家經(jīng)營(yíng)方案。畢竟，不久前紐約在遠(yuǎn)為重要的：任期限制問(wèn)題上也曾改變主意。

薩博土崩瓦解

????薩博汽車(chē)公司（Saab）的新主人沒(méi)能順利加速“起飛”并不讓人意外，但這著實(shí)讓世界各地的車(chē)迷痛心不已，他們深?lèi)?ài)薩博的個(gè)性和鮮明外形。現(xiàn)在有傳言說(shuō)，部分薩博的經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商已經(jīng)打算洗手不干了。而首席執(zhí)行官維克多?穆勒還希望為公司注資，撐到10月中旬，期待屆時(shí)中國(guó)的一樁經(jīng)銷(xiāo)交易能夠雪中送炭，但在如今這種經(jīng)濟(jì)環(huán)境中，沒(méi)人會(huì)抱太大希望。

????譯者：清遠(yuǎn)

Honda's marketing mess

????The auto industry has been buzzing about Honda's apparent loss of understanding of the U.S. market, a failure dramatized by Consumer Reports' failure to recommend the best-selling Civic for the first time in years. Earlier in August, I commented on Honda's apparent insensitivity to customer needs.

????Now Honda has made the surprising but understandable decision to hire a former Chrysler executive as its marketing officer. It's surprising because Honda is one of the most insular companies and rarely goes outside to hire top executives; understandable because who better to understand the American customer than an American marketing executive?

????In reporting on the announcement, Automotive News shed some light on the disarray at Honda. The Japanese carmaker separates product development, product planning and marketing from auto sales. In other words, the people who are closest to the customer don't get a seat at the planning table.

V-8 engines: Decline and fall

????Recently I posted a death notice for most V-8 engines on the grounds of rising gasoline prices and growing concerns about climate change. The comment was directed at Detroit, but the latest obituary comes from Toyota.

????The company revealed that it is dropping the V-8 option from the 2013 version of its flagship sport sedan, the Lexus GS. The stated reason was that V-8s represented only 10% of all GS sales. But when you discover that the only alternative to the standard V-6 is a V-6 hybrid, you understand in which direction the industry is headed: better fuel economy and less torque.

Taxi turmoil

????Nissan was pumped when its modified van won a competition to be named New York City's official taxi beginning in 2013. But as I wrote in May, the checkered history of other high-visibility transit projects should give it cause for concern.

????Then came news that Ford's Transit Connect van has been certified for taxi use in the meantime. Ford (F, Fortune 500) is the 800-pound gorilla of the taxi business. Its Crown Victoria was a stalwart of the city's yellow cab fleets for years, and the Transit Connect is approved in other big cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. With scale economies on its side, Transit Connect might generate enough public support in New York to overturn Nissan's exclusive arrangement. After all, the city not long ago changed its mind on a far more important issue to its citizenry: term limits.

Saab's crack-up

????The failure of Saab's new owners to gain take-off speed isn't unexpected, but it pains car lovers everywhere who admired Saabs for their individuality and pluckiness. Now comes word that some of its dealers are ready to throw in the towel. CEO Victor Muller still hopes to finance the company until mid-October when a Chinese distribution deal kicks in, but in today's economic environment nobody is holding their breath.