The 2010 North American International Auto Show does not officially open until January 16, but the media got a sneak peek at the latest offerings from U.S. and international automakers this week. Members of the U.S. Congress, led by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also got an inside look at new and concept cars fueled by green technology. The visit by lawmakers emphasizes the fact that the U.S. government is now a major investor in the American automobile industry.
2010年北美国际汽车展1月16日才正式开幕，不过各路媒体却抢先一睹美国和国际汽车厂商将于这个星期推出的最新车型。美国国会议员在众议院议长南希·佩洛西的率领下也先期来到展厅参观了由绿色技术提供燃料的新型概念车。美国议员参观车展凸显了这样一个事实，那就是，美国政府现在是美国汽车工业的重要投资者。
Cobo Center is home to the 2010 North American Auto Show in downtown Detroit. For the event, the Center has been transformed into an expanse of flashy displays and trendy marketing displays, featuring the latest in automotive engineering.
2010年北美国际汽车展在位于底特律商业中心区的科博会展中心举行。为了举办这次车展，科博会展中心被改造成了布置有各种艳丽展品和流行会展营销品的宽敞大厅，这些展品的显著特点是，它们代表了汽车工业的最新趋势。
Known as the Detroit Auto Show, the annual event is one of the industry's biggest. It helps generate publicity for some models, like the newly-redesigned Ford Focus, and it helps promote new technology, like the electric battery in the Chevrolet Volt.
底特律车展是汽车业最大的年度活动之一。这个车展有助于像福特车厂最近重新设计的“福克斯”(Focus)等车型提高曝光度，还有助于推广新技术，例如雪佛兰“沃尔特”(Volt)的电池技术。
But in the wake of one of the worst years for U.S. automobile sales, this year's show has a different feel.
不过，在美国汽车销售经历了最糟糕的一年后，今年车展给人以不同感受。
General Motors and Chrysler - two of the Detroit "Big Three" automakers, which also includes Ford - went bankrupt last year and received billions of dollars in federal aid. Although some of that money has been paid back, the U.S. government is still a major shareholder in both companies.
通用、克莱斯勒和福特被称为底特律三巨头。通用公司和克莱斯勒公司去年申请破产保护后，得到联邦政府数十亿美元的救助。尽管这两家公司已经偿还了一部分救助资金，美国政府仍然是这两家车厂的主要股东。
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not call the assistance a bailout, but a loan she says was critical to the overall health of the U.S. economy.
众议院议长南希·佩洛西没有把这笔援助款称为救助，而是称为贷款。她认为这笔贷款对美国经济总体健康至关重要。
"It wasn't about lending to automakers; it was about the survival of an industry," Pelosi said. "The survival of the auto industry is essential to a strong industrial, technological and manufacturing base in our country. And that industrial base is essential to our national security."
佩洛西说：“这不仅关乎贷款给汽车厂商，而且关系到一个行业生死存亡的问题。汽车工业的生存对在我们国家建立起一个稳固的工业、科技和制造业基地是非常必要的。而且这个工业基地对于维护国家安全也至关重要。”
Pelosi, along with about a dozen other U.S. lawmakers, toured the Auto Show during the first day of the media preview.
佩洛西等大约十几位美国议员在向媒体开放的预展第一天参观了本届汽车展。
"This is an important visit for us," she noted.
她说：“这次参观对我们来说非常重要。”
One of the priorities of their visit was to see how taxpayer money is being spent to develop new, environmentally-friendly technologies that will power cars of the future.
议员们这次参观车展的主要目的之一，是要考察美国汽车公司如何用纳税人的钱研发为未来汽车提供动力的新型环保技术。
The Chevrolet Volt is leading the field in electric battery powered cars. Pelosi inspected the four-seat vehicle that touts a 64-kilometer range without using its gasoline engine.
雪佛兰“沃尔特”在电动汽车领域居领先地位。佩洛西查看了一款4座汽车。它可以靠车载电池的电力驱动行驶64公里，无需启动汽油驱动的发动机。
Officials at Chevrolet say the Volt should be in U.S. showrooms by the end of the year, and that it is only one of a number of similar vehicles under development by most major automobile companies.
通用雪佛兰高层说，“沃尔特”应该在今年年底之前进入美国车商展厅；此外，大多数主要汽车公司都在研发类似车型，而“沃尔特”只是其中之一。
House Speaker Pelosi seemed impressed.
佩洛西议长看起来颇有感触。
"We consider it a major threshold. We made the investments; we see the consequences of it; we report back to our colleagues and we look forward to seeing these cars in showrooms before the year is over," Pelosi said.
她说：“我们把这视为重要的开端。我们投入了资金，看到了投资的结果；我们要跟同事们汇报，同时期待着今年年底之前在市场看到这些车。”
But protesters outside Cobo Center see government assistance to the U.S. auto industry differently.
不过科博会展中心外面的抗议者对政府救助美国汽车工业有截然不同的看法。
"No amount of government stimulation is ever going get us back on our feet," said Jeff McQueen, one of a handful of people loosely affiliated with the Tea Party political movement who braved the cold weather to send a message to visiting lawmakers.
杰夫·麦克奎恩说：“政府的刺激资金无法让我们重新崛起。”麦克奎恩等为数不多的几个松散的从属于政治运动茶叶党(Tea Party)的成员，不惧严寒，就是为了向参观车展的议员们传达一个信息。
"The reason we're in the shape that we're in is because of government involvement," he noted. "The government is trying to sit there and demand that we have more fuel-efficient vehicles - government involvement in international trade legislation and North American trade legislation that has really been to the determent of U.S. and Canadian workers."
麦克奎恩说：“我们现在之所以成为这样，就是因为政府的介入。政府企图坐在那儿发号施令说，我们应该生产更多的节能车。政府插手国际贸易立法、北美贸易立法，这些确实都损害到美国和加拿大工人的利益。”
Members of the media and the auto industry have access to the Auto Show this week. The general public will get a chance to see the latest in green technology and automobile design when the event opens on January 16.
媒体成员和汽车业人士这个星期可以进入车展。1月16日车展正式开幕之后，普通民众将有机会一睹最新的绿色技术和汽车设计。 |