世界500强CEO访谈 第14期:通用里克瓦格纳 如何逆转衰退(2)

 　　Reporter: March’s industry auto¹ sales in the US were dismal², and forecasters’ outlooks are bleak³. Why do you think sales will rebound⁴ later this year? What do you think the prospects⁵ of the industry will be?

　　记者：3月份美国的汽车销售并不理想，预言者都觉得未来会很不景气，为什么您认为在今年年末的时候，汽车的销售额会出现反弹呢？您认为汽车业前景如何？

　　Wagoner: Recent reports are somewhat of a concern, but we still expect the aggressive interest-rate cuts and other stimuli⁶ to start to have an impact this summer.

　　瓦格纳：最近的报道都表现出一些忧虑，但是我们期望利率的下降和其他的剌激物能够在今年夏天的时候起到一定的作用。

　　Reporter: Some of GM’s new cars have received critical acclaim⁷, but many consumers still equate⁸ GM with lower quality. To your enterprise, this is certainly a disadvantage. However, how do you change that?

　　记者：通用汽车很多新型车都受到了称赞，但是很多消费者仍然认为通用汽车的质量较差。对于你们的公司来说，这当然是劣势。然而您将如何改变消费者的想法呢？

　　Wagoner: We have to deliver on the promise of a car, be on quality and reliability⁹, and give the vehicle an appearance so exciting, people want to give it a try. We have significantly improved the number of people shopping in the midsize category for Malibus; we have to translate that into sales. I，d say so far so good, but it’s very early in the game. This is not a one car, two cars, three-year deal. We have to stay on this for a good long time and over time build brands and reputations that can carry us forward. One thing we pushed at is，how do we get a global leadership team. Some 55 percent of our business today is outside the US, so my top leadership team for the first time in our history is now up to half non-Americans. We pushed really hard to get there. It makes for a very different discussion when we get together for our quarterly or semester meetings. I think we’re a lot more challenging of each other.

　　瓦格纳：我们必须要履行对汽车的承诺，在质量和可靠性方面有一定的竞争力，并且使汽车的外形有吸引力，使人们有想要试一下的念头。我们已经大大提高了想要购买中型马里巴士的人的数量，我们必须要使这些转化成销售额。我想说，到现在为止，一切都还不错，但是我们现在还处于早期。这不仅仅是一辆车、两辆车的三年的交易，我们必须要花费很多的时间在这上面，树立新品牌和声誉，以推动我们可以不断向前进。有一件我们努力推动的事情就是，我们应该如何成立一个全球性的领导队伍。如今企业55%的业务都是在美国以外的国家进行，因此历史上第一次出现我们的领导团队有一半以上不是美国人的情况。这是我们非常努力之后才实现的，因此当我们在季度会议上碰面的时候，我们会有一个非常不同于往常的讨论会，我认为这对我们是一件更具挑战性的事情。

　　Reporter: While GM，s operations in emerging markets like Brazil have been doing well, Germany has been weak. How is that turnaround going?

　　记者：通用汽车在新兴市场，比如说巴西做得很好，但是在德国却不太好。那里的周转情况怎么样？

　　Wagoner: It’s not time to break out the Champagne¹⁰, but we’re moving in the right direction. If you look at the economy, it suggests demand over time should improve, so we hope it will get on a positive track, perhaps even this year. But no doubt it’s been tough. We have to work hard to drive our company to the right track.

　　瓦格纳：现在还不好说，但是我们正朝着正确的方向行进。如果你去了解一下经济，你会发现需求会有所增长，所以我们希望事情可以朝好的方向发展，也许就从今年开始。但是无疑，那将会是很困难的。我们必须努力让公司回到正轨。

　　Reporter: Boosting fuel economy and reducing emissions¹¹ are increasingly important for automakers. But the technology to do so isn’t cheap, and it’s not yet certain which method will win out. So how do you proceed when money is already tight?

　　记者：对于汽车制造商来说，推动燃料经济发展、减少排放量将会是越来越重要的事情。但是做到这几点所要采用的技术是很昂贵的，现在我们也不确定哪种方法会胜出。所以在资金紧缺的时候，您应该怎样发展呢？

　　Wagoner: It’s not easy, but we basically have said it’s critical to our future success and to achieve what I think could be strong growth for the industry. It’s very high on our priority list on how we allocate¹² our R&D, engineering and infrastructure¹³ spending, so we，re making whatever tradeoffs we need to. But the amount of cash and expenses are pretty high and going to get higher, so we have to structure the rest of our business to accommodate that.

　　瓦格纳：那不容易，但是那对我们未来的成功、实现产业实力的有力增长很重要。怎样拨付我们的研发工程和基础设施所需款项是我们首先要考虑的，所以我们权衡一切我们需要的因素。但是现金数量和花费很高，并且会越来越高，所以我们必须要组织余下的产业去接受它。

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 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

3 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

4 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

5 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

6 stimuli   

n.刺激（物）

参考例句：

• It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
• My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。

7 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

8 equate   

v.同等看待，使相等

参考例句：

• You can't equate passing examination and being intelligent.你不能把考试及格看成是聪明。
• You cannot equate his poems with his plays.你不可以把他的诗歌和他的剧本相提并论。

9 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

10 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

11 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

12 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。

13 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。