密歇根新闻广播 感谢SUV汽车发展

With apologies to Mark Twain, reports heralding¹ the death of auto² production in Detroit are exaggerated.

General Motors shocked Michigan, Ohio and Maryland last week with plans to idle four assembly plants next year and eliminate 8,000 salaried jobs. GM CEO Mary Barra spent two days on Capitol Hill this week fielding pleas from lawmakers to reconsider pleas she appears to have politely refused.

Enter Fiat³ Chrysler. Its late CEO, the legendary⁴ Sergio Marchionne, was the first in Detroit to acknowledge the death of the American car and to actually do something about it. Fiat Chrysler dropped car production in the United States long before its hometown rivals dared do the same. Nearly three years later, it's poised⁵ to reap a reward, and so is Detroit the home of the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The Detroit News reported this week that Fiat Chrysler is prepared to announce as early as next week that it plans to revive its Mack No. 2 engine plant and convert it into a second assembly plant for the iconic Grand Cherokee. Up to 400 new jobs are expected to be created as the automaker and the United Auto Workers move staffing around to meet demand and retooling⁶.

A renovated⁷ Mack facility would be Detroit's first new assembly plant in 27 years. It would cushion the blow that's expected when GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant is scheduled to cease production in June, just weeks before national contract talks with the UAW begin.

The timing⁸ for all this plant gamesmanship is no accident. Under terms of the UAW's contracts, the automakers can't close, sell or officially idle their plants without the approval of the union. By publicly detailing plans now....or not discouraging some outlets⁹ from reporting them.....automakers are shaping expectations for a critical round of negotiations¹⁰.

They won't be easy. It's fashionable now in media and investor¹¹ circles to dismiss the concerns of industrial unions like the UAW to downplay concerns until they morph into confrontation¹² that threatens production, the bottom line or both.

Got news for you, folks. This stuff still matters. For local and state economies, which reap the rewards in good times and feel the sting in bad. For members of Congress, even President Donald Trump¹³ whose fury over GM's restructuring plans will only grow as the automaker says no to reconsideration.

And for the average working folks in places like Detroit, Lordstown, Ohio, and Oshawa, Ontario. It's not their fault that gas is cheap, cars are passe and next-generation technology consumes enormous amounts of cash that must come from somewhere. One of those somewheres is under-used auto plants that are under-used because too few people want what they make.

SUVs are a different story, and that's why Detroit stands to be one of the winners in a tale that looked a lot more grim last week than it does today. These pressures will not abate¹⁴ not when times are good, like now, and not any time soon.

1 heralding   

v.预示( herald的现在分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• It is the heralding of a new age of responsibilities. 那预示着一个充满责任的新时期的开始。 来自互联网
• Streaks of faint light were rising, heralding a new day. 几道淡淡的晨曦正在升起，预示新的一天的来临。 来自互联网

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

4 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

5 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

6 retooling   

v.（给…）更换工具， （给…）更换机械设备( retool的现在分词 )；改组，革新

参考例句：

• The factory is retooling to start making the new line of cars. 工厂正在重新装备以便开始制造新系列车型。 来自辞典例句
• Among her suggestions: retooling factories to focus on rebuilding America's transportation system. 她的建议包括围绕重新建设美国交通系统这个重心来重组汽车工业。 来自互联网

7 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

12 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

13 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

14 abate   

vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退

参考例句：

• We must abate the noise pollution in our city.我们必须消除我们城里的噪音污染。
• The doctor gave him some medicine to abate the powerful pain.医生给了他一些药，以减弱那剧烈的疼痛。