PBS高端访谈:汽车制造商和汽车购买者是如何回应油价下跌的?

 　　GWEN IFILL: One year ago, when automakers held their big show in Detroit, a gallon of gas went for an average of $3.31. Now, as the auto¹ show gets under way again, it's dropped by a third, all the way down to $2.13 a gallon.

　　And that presents some intriguing² challenges this year. On one hand, manufacturers like GM are creating more fuel-efficient cars, like the Volt³, a new electric-powered concept car which is designed to get 200 miles from a single charge.

　　But on the other end of the spectrum⁴, big new SUVs and sedans are rolling off production lines for buyers now less worried about gas prices.

　　John Stoll is the global auto editor for The Wall Street Journal, and he joins me from Detroit.

　　After all the bright, shiny things at the auto show, John, what are the trends you're seeing?

　　JOHN STOLL, The Wall Street Journal: Well, the trend is definitely back toward big trucks and SUVs, in terms of the conversation right now that we're having about the immediate⁵ environment.

　　The economy is doing well. Gas prices, as you mentioned, are down to $2 a gallon or less, and there is a lot of what a lot of automakers think is a natural progression toward the SUV and truck body style in most of America. So they're catering⁶ to that right now.

　　At the same time, you have this tension. While dealers⁸ want more and more trucks and SUVs, regulators want more vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt or the Nissan Leaf, or the Tesla Model S, vehicles that can run on electricity or batteries and — or can get significantly better fuel economy.

　　So that is really — sort of that tension is defining this auto show more than anything else at this point.

　　GWEN IFILL: So, when you walk the floor of the auto show, are the things that are most exciting the great, big luxury SUVs or are these new little cars that you can plug in, or is it a little bit of both?

　　JOHN STOLL: Yes, I think it's somewhere in between.

　　I think most exciting project that you see on the show floor — or I should say products — you have some super cars. It's back to — these are the first cars that are sort of taken out of the product lineup when things get bad. These super cars are back.

　　I will give you an example. Ford⁹ has the G.T. or they're calling it the Phoenix¹⁰ is back, and this is a super car made from carbon fiber¹¹. What is important about this car is, it has a 3.5-liter turbo engine. It's built for good gas mileage¹², which is a whole new conversation in that sort of vehicle. But it kind of shows exactly where the automakers are going.

　　Even in the high-end, super luxury, super performance, they know that fuel economy is important. The regulators are going to start asking them in two years and then another decade down the road, where are you at on a lot of the mandates¹³ that we put into place? And even super cars and pickup¹⁴ trucks have to get more fuel-efficient.

　　GWEN IFILL: So those mandates will stay in place even if it turns out — with the understanding that gas prices could bounce back?

　　JOHN STOLL: Yes, I think the midterm review that the government is going to have with the auto industry up here in 2017 is going to be very — it's becoming more and more important.

　　Obviously, with $2 a gallon, it's very hard to get customers to buy into the proposition that hybrids¹⁵ and electric vehicles make, which is you pay more up front. You pay for the battery. You pay for the capability¹⁶. You pay for the engineering. You pay a little bit more weight in the car.

　　But the payoff is at $4 a gallon, you start getting that money back. At $2, it takes a lot longer to get that money back. And consumers understand that and want capability and want to buy the vehicles that, you know, aren't as expensive to fill up in an era like this.

　　So a lot of this depends on how long the gas prices last. Somebody like Mike Jackson, the head of the AutoNation, the largest dealer⁷ in the U.S., says this could last a sustained period of time, more than a year. And a lot of the automakers are being much more cautious and saying, hey, we could see a bounce-back very quickly, that they're prepared for something nearer-term.

　　But, regardless, regulators and automakers are going to have to have a discussion about what they want for the long term. Do they want a more predictable higher gas price or do they want an economy that is rolling with a lower gas price?

　　GWEN IFILL: Well, that's the dilemma¹⁷. How does a company or who does an auto buyer plan for the long term? What kind of strategy do you employ in trying to decide what kind of choices to make?

　　JOHN STOLL: I think it puts both in a bind¹⁸.

　　I think the auto — the buyer right now is saying, hey, is it time to for me to buy an SUV? And you're filling up a vehicle that maybe right now is $40 to fill up, let's just say, if it's a 20-gallon tank. Two years from now, if it goes up to $4 per gallon, that doubles. Right?

　　It's hard to make that decision. And right now, the buyer is speaking and saying, about a year ago, we had about 45 percent of the mix were trucks and SUVs. Now it's about 55 percent. You're seeing what they're saying.

　　The automakers have to spend far more than they ever did before. Ten years ago, they were designing cars with a guess on where gas prices were going. They would say, well, maybe it will be $2, maybe it will be $4 down the road. Most of them were projecting that prices were going up.

　　Now regulation is the rule of the day. The regulators are the ones that are determining where the automakers are innovating¹⁹ toward. That's why you see vehicles like the Chevy Volt. Yes, it's innovative²⁰. Yes, it takes on Tesla. And most people agree that this is what the auto industry should be doing. But the near-term reality is, it doesn't make sense in a $2-a-gallon gasoline environment.

　　GWEN IFILL: Well, it's going to be interesting to watch everybody decide what choices to make.

　　JOHN STOLL: Right.

　　GWEN IFILL: John Stoll, the global auto editor of The Wall Street Journal, thank you.

　　JOHN STOLL: Thanks, Gwen.

1 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。

2 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 volt   

n.伏特，伏

参考例句：

• You may use 100 and 110 volt appliances in your room.您可以在房间使用100及110伏特的电器。
• The common service voltage of electric power in our country is 220/380 volt.我国普通供电电压为220/380伏。

4 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

7 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

8 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

9 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

10 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

11 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

12 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？

13 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

14 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

15 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句

16 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

17 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

18 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

19 innovating   

v.改革，创新( innovate的现在分词 )；引入（新事物、思想或方法），

参考例句：

• In this new century, the company keeps innovating and developing new products. 新世纪伊始，公司全面实施形象工程及整合营销，不断改革创新，开发高新产品。 来自互联网
• Beijing is backward most prime cause is innovating at system lack. 北京落后的最根本原因在于制度缺乏创新。 来自互联网

20 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。