史上最不靠譜的年度汽車
|
事后諸葛亮???? ????“年度汽車獎”已經成了一種全球性現象，各種“年度汽車”層出不窮，有時頗讓人摸不著頭腦。有世界年度汽車獎、國際年度汽車獎、歐洲年度汽車獎，還有年度環保汽車獎等等，各種“年度”獎不一而足。 ????美國也有兩個最重要的年度汽車獎，其中第一個獎項由《汽車潮流》（Motor Trend）雜志的編輯們評選。第二個叫做“北美年度汽車獎”（NACOTY），由一個50名記者組成的評獎委員會評選。 ????評獎季又要到了，不過大家最好記住，即便是由這么多權威的專家做出的判斷，也未必就是無懈可擊的。（我本人就是第二個評獎委員會的一員） ????這些專家們所評選出來的汽車，有的確實是貨真價實的年度最佳汽車，不過有時專家們也會看走眼，評選出的汽車不光淪為年度最差汽車之列，甚至在史上最差汽車的排行榜上也是榜上有名。比如脫胎于斑馬牌（Pinto）轎車的野馬II（Mustang II）；折服了兩代評獎人的兩款雪佛蘭Caprice。還有些轎車一開始看起來很吸引人，后來才發現它們存在重大缺陷。還有些轎車之所以被評為年度轎車，完全是因為它們新奇的外觀，但它們的某些不合理的工藝問題卻被忽視了。 ????人們一般認為是《汽車潮流》雜志開啟了“年度汽車”的概念。1949年，也就是該雜志創刊那一年，它將凱迪拉克（Cadillac）的V8車型評選為年度最佳。據傳這個獎項早期經常玩貓膩，用得獎為餌，換取汽車廠商在雜志上投放付費廣告，或收取其它報酬，因此該獎一度聲名狼藉。不過此后，《汽車潮流》雜志付出了一番努力，使評選過程更加透明化。 ????過去11年里，《汽車潮流》挑選出的年度汽車有6次與北美年度汽車獎重疊。北美年度汽車獎是一個1993年成立的組織，它在自己的成長過程中也不免有一些陣痛和盲點。早年間，該獎的評委們特別喜歡那些外表光鮮漂亮的車型，而且對克萊斯勒（Chrysler）的產品情有獨鐘。不過近年來，這個獎項把眼光放得更深了，而且擺脫了地域偏見，這是件很不容易的事。最近10年，入圍該獎決賽圈的車型里有15款是美國車，還有15款是進口車。 ????半個世紀以來，這兩個獎項的評選團隊為很多垃圾車型創造了露臉的機會。以下謹為大家介紹其中幾款最垃圾的車型。 |
Oh, the benefit of hindsight ????Car of the year awards have become a global phenomenon, and their abundance can be confusing. There is a world car of the year award, an international car of the year award, a European car of the year, and a green car of the year award. ????In the U.S., the two most prominent awards are Motor Trend's, chosen by the magazine's editors, and the North American Car of the Year (NACOTY), selected by a panel of 50 journalists. ????As prize season approaches, it is good to remember that even the judgments of such august bodies of experts (and I am a member of the latter) are not impeccable. ????They have voted for cars that were not only not the best cars of their year but among the worst -- and not just of their award year but any year. Some of the poorer choices could have been foreseen. A Mustang II that was sired by the Pinto? A Chevy Caprice that dazzled voters in two separate incarnations? Other misfires are for cars that seemed initially appealing but turned out to be deeply flawed. And some others were chosen because of their novelty appeal while their inconsequential engineering was ignored. ????Motor Trend is thought to have originated the car of the year concept, selecting Cadillac's V-8 models in its first year of publication in 1949. Early on, the award acquired a louche reputation when it was rumored to be offered in exchange for advertising pages paid for by the manufacturer and other emoluments. Since then, Motor Trend has gone to great lengths to make its selection process more transparent. ????In six of the last 11 years, Motor Trendpicks have been identical to NACOTY's, the jounalist group organized in 1993, which hasn't dodged its own growing pains and blind spots. In the early years, its voters displayed a preference for glamour, glitz, and all things Chrysler. More recently, though, it has taken a deeper look and done a remarkable job of shrugging off hometown bias. Over a ten-year stretch, 15 car of the year finalists were domestic nameplates -- and 15 were imports. ????But half a century of car of the year selections by both teams has created lots of opportunities for clunkers and here are some of the biggest. |
????1960雪佛蘭科維爾/1971雪佛蘭Vega
|
1960雪佛蘭科維爾/1971雪佛蘭Vega ????福特一直想打造一款具有競爭力的小型車，而這兩款車型是福特最華麗的敗筆。拉爾夫?內德稱科維爾是“一輛車的車禍”，因為它的擺動軸懸掛容易向下方變形，導致司機失去控制。Vega轎車在研發過程中受到了非常嚴格的成本控制，后來證明Vega轎車存在過度銹蝕、汽缸變型以及發動機易起火等問題。 |
1960 Chevrolet Corvair/1971 Chevrolet Vega ????These are but two of General Motors' most spectacular failures to develop a competitive small car. Ralph Nader dubbed the Corvair "the one-car accident" because its swing axle suspension had a tendency to tuck under, causing the driver to lose control. Developed under the sharp eye of GM's accountants, the Vega suffered from excessive rust, warped cylinders, and a propensity for engine fires. |
