VOA慢速英语2018--日本老司机更爱迷你车

Minicars Popular among Japan’s Aging Drivers

In Japan, very small automobiles¹ traditionally were meant for families seeking a low-cost form of transportation. But these minicars, also known as kei-cars, have instead become popular with another group of drivers: older adults.

Honda’s N-Box model car, for example, is very small. The car is equipped with technology designed to make it safe and easy to drive.

The N-Box has been marketed mainly to young families. But Honda has found that about half of its owners are 50 years of age or older.

Carmakers have hoped that by adding high-technology equipment, young people could be persuaded to buy minicars. Yet the number of Japanese drivers under age 30 has fallen by nearly 40 percent since 2001.

Minicars are not costly⁴. Prices start at about $7,500, and ownership taxes are low. For those reasons, the cars have gained a loyal following among Japan’s growing number of elderly. Many of them very often earn about the same amount of money from one year to the next.

One out of every three passenger cars sold in Japan is a minicar.

Tortoise, an auto² dealership⁵ south of Tokyo, specializes in minicars. Seventy percent of its buyers are older adults.

“After their children are grown and leave home, more people are looking to downsize from larger family cars to more compact ones,” noted⁶ Kiminori Murano, a managing director at Tortoise.

All of Japan’s major carmakers sell low cost, fuel-efficient cars. These vehicles are produced mainly for Japanese buyers. With very small engines, they are considered too small for foreign markets.

Carmakers deal with Japan’s aging population

Some industry experts are predicting that automated⁷ cars, taxis and buses will keep older people active later in life. But until those high-tech³ products become a reality, kei-cars are likely to continue to be popular in Japan, a country with an aging population.

The Reuters news agency recently spoke⁸ with Hideaki Takaishi, a safety engineer at Honda. He said that one safety device uses sensors⁹ to observe a vehicle’s surroundings and identify whether the driver has pressed the wrong pedal. Carmakers also are trying to develop artificial intelligence systems that can advise drivers.

Such advice could include warnings about safety risks, such as if the vehicle is moving toward the side of the road.

Takaishi said systems like this will help older drivers.

“They really want to maintain their independence while they’re driving, and it’s a skill they’ve honed over many years,” he said.

In Japan, the number of people aged¹⁰ 60 and older with a driver’s permit is growing faster than in other developed countries.

In many rural areas, some people are driving into their 80s and 90s. This has led to increased traffic accidents for older drivers, although the total number of accidents is decreasing.

Last year, the elderly were involved in 55 percent of Japan’s traffic accidents.

To deal with the problem, Japan’s Ministry¹¹ of Economy, Trade and Industry launched a program to support safety technologies. The program provides a logo that manufacturers can use to identify cars with the new safety aids. People buying such cars can save on accident insurance.

The safety technology may only increase the popularity of Japan’s Kei-cars.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

elderly – n. older adults

compact – adj. smaller than other things of the same kind

managing – adj. administrative¹² or supervisory

automated – adj. robotic; self-operating

pedal – n. a flat piece of metal that is pushed with the foot to make a machine move or work

artificial intelligence – n. ability of a machine to use and analyze¹³ data in an attempt to reproduce human behavior

hone – v. to make something better

logo – n. a symbol that is used to identify a company or organization and that appears on its products

1 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

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 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

10 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

11 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

12 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

13 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。