????你還記得1967年電影《畢業生》（The Graduate）中的這段對白嗎？

????麥克尼先生：我只想對你說一個詞，就一個詞。

????本杰明?布拉多克：好的，先生。

????麥克尼先生：你在聽我說嗎？

????本杰明：我聽著呢。

????麥克尼先生：塑料。

????時至今日，如果本杰明還能得到麥克尼的建議，答案很可能就是“碳纖維” —— 一個足以讓他賭上后半生的全新領域。

????碳纖維的重量只有鋼鐵的2/3，而強度卻是鋼鐵的5倍。這種神奇的材料在汽車制造業中正扮演著越來越重要的角色。如果采用碳纖維大批量生產汽車成為可能，燃油經濟性將會得到顯著改善，而無須依賴新型燃料和新引擎技術的開發。因為用碳纖維代替鋼鐵制造汽車將大大減輕車身的整體重量。

????汽車制造商們對這一設想的可行性深信不疑，并且躍躍欲試。寶馬汽車公司（BMW）就是個典型的例子。上周，寶馬汽車董事局主席諾伯特?雷瑟夫從慕尼黑飛往紐約，參加一個退休晚宴。之后，他又一路向西，長途飛行6,000英里，直奔華盛頓，出席一家碳纖維制造廠的開業典禮。這家工廠由寶馬和另外一家公司聯合創辦。對于一項未經驗證的新技術來說，雷瑟夫的此次飛行之旅的確可以稱得上是大動干戈。

????首先將細密的碳纖維絲紡成紗線，并將紗線織成布料。然后，將織成的布料放入模具，加入樹脂使其硬化，于是便制造出這種具有非凡特質的新型材料——碳纖維。

????碳纖維不僅用于制造釣魚竿和網球拍，還大量應用于飛機制造業，如夢幻波音噴射客機787（Boeing 787 Dreamliner）以及一級方程式賽車車體制造。多款高性能汽車，如寶馬M6和雪佛蘭科爾維特（Chevrolet Corvette），車體外板均采用碳纖維材料。不僅如此，它還取代了車內裝飾用的薄木板和鋁制材料，成為新的裝飾材料。

????美中不足的是，碳纖維的大規模應用目前還無法實現。首要的原因就在于這種材料的造價太高。據估計，一磅碳纖維價值10美元。雖然較之十年前的一磅150美元已經便宜了很多，但與一磅鋼鐵的價格相比，仍舊貴了10至20倍。

????另一方面的原因是，碳纖維的制造過程費時費力，很難實現大規模生產；而且，其固化時間也需要數小時。此外，碳纖維無法降解，因此無法循環再利用。

????這些不利因素并未阻止寶馬進軍碳纖維制造領域的步伐。在美國華盛頓州，西雅圖以東180英里處，寶馬正投資1億美元，建設一家碳纖維制造廠。該廠由寶馬和德國西格里碳素集團(SGL Carbon SE)聯合創辦并經營，計劃于本月開始生產碳纖維絲。碳纖維絲隨后將運往位于德國的另一家合資企業，加工成輕型纖維織物。

????Remember this exchange from 1967's The Graduate?

????Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.

????Benjamin Braddock: Yes, sir.

????Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

????Benjamin: Yes, I am.

????Mr. McGuire: Plastics.

????These days, if Ben were to get advice from Mr. McGuire about a new field to stake his future on, the answer could be "carbon fiber."

????The miracle material, two-thirds the weight of steel yet five times stronger, is increasingly finding its way into automobiles. If a means can be found to use it in mass-production vehicles, it would result in dramatically improved fuel economy without resorting to exotic new fuels and engine technologies. Replacing the steel in a car with carbon fiber would shave hundreds of pounds off its weight.

????Automakers are betting they can make it work, BMW in particular. After jetting into New York from Munich last week for a retirement dinner, BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer kept heading west to Washington State, tacking another 6,000 miles onto his trip to open a new factory there co-owned by BMW that manufactures carbon fibers. That's a lot of frequent flyer miles for an unproven technology.

????Carbon fiber consists of thin strands of carbon woven into a yarn that in turn can be made into cloth. The cloth in turn is then laid over a mold and stiffened with resin to produce a sheet of material with remarkable properties.

????Carbon fiber has found its way into fishing rods and tennis rackets, and in larger quantities into airplanes like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the bodies of Formula One racecars. A couple of high-end performance cars like the BMW M6 and Chevrolet Corvette have carbon fiber body panels, and the material is used for interior trim in the place of wood veneers or aluminum.

????But high-volume applications have eluded carbon fibers. For one thing, the material is expensive. According to published estimates, carbon fiber costs about $10 a pound. That's a lot cheaper than the $150 a pound it cost a decade ago but still ten to 20 times more than a pound of steel.

????For another, the construction process is laborious and can't easily be scaled up. Curing time can take hours. Moreover, carbon fibers can't be recycled because carbon composites don't corrode.

????That hasn't deterred BMW, which is investing $100 million to build a carbon fiber factory in Washington State, 180 miles east of Seattle. The factory is co-owned and operated by a German company, SGL Carbon SE. Production of carbon fiber thread is starting this month. The fibers will be processed into lightweight fabrics at a second joint venture site in Germany.