VOA慢速英语--汽车订阅服务也越来越受欢迎

Like Netflix, Car Subscription¹ Services Now Growing in Popularity

Video and music services have become increasingly popular for people seeking to pay a set price for unlimited² use of their favorite content. Such subscription services include Netflix, Hulu, Apple Music and Spotify.

Now, a growing number of companies are offering similar subscriptions³ for something most people are used to owning: cars.

Most of the companies charge a monthly rate that covers the use of the vehicle, as well as insurance coverage⁴ and all other costs.

Subscription car plans are mainly aimed at drivers who do not want to have long-term agreements for one single car. Many people using the services say they like being able to use a number of different kinds of vehicles depending on their needs.

Steve Barnes uses a subscription car service in Atlanta, Georgia. It is offered through Clutch Technologies. He told the Associated Press that every time he orders a new car “it feels like Christmas morning.”

Barnes signed up for the service in 2016 to be able to use many kinds of vehicles for different purposes. He says for some activities with his children, he chooses a large sport utility vehicle, or SUV. But when he wants to have fun or go out at night, he chooses a Tesla or some other kind of sports car.

But the ease of such services can come at a high cost. Barnes pays $1,400 a month for his subscription. This is much higher than the $900 a month he used to pay to lease an SUV with insurance.

Still, he has no desire to own or lease a car again. He says his subscription has permitted him to drive many different vehicles he estimates would have cost more than $1 million to own.

“I am definitely a ‘tech head’ who had always fantasized about being able to get whatever car you want,” Barnes said.

Some of the world’s biggest automakers are currently offering subscription plans for vehicles. One of them is Ford⁵. The company signed a deal last year with San Francisco-based subscription service Canvas.

Canvas offers several models, including used vehicles. Monthly subscriptions start at $379 for small cars and go up to $1,125 for large SUVs. But these plans limit drivers to 800 kilometers per month. For another $100, users can get unlimited travel.

Canvas currently has subscribers in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas. In its first 16 months in California, thousands of subscribers have joined the service, the company said.

“People are generally changing the way they are working, they are changing the way they are living, and they are generally changing the way they are consuming things,” Canvas chief Ned Ryan told the AP. “Subscriptions are going to be a very large and growing share of how people consume automobiles⁶.”

Adela Spulber works at the U.S.-based Center for Automotive Research in Michigan. She told Investor’s Business Daily that the reach and effects of vehicle subscription services remain unknown.

"These services have popped up in the last two to three years, and we're still in the dark as to how many people are actually using them," she said. "There is still so much we don't know about the viability⁷ of these things."

But Spulber also told the newspaper she believes car subscriptions could become widespread if other transportation methods experience problems. As an example, she said some cities have moved to limit bicycle and scooter sharing services. And the ease of being able to order different cars that are brought to users could have "great appeal" to many people, she added.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

subscription – n. an agreement made between a person and a company to get a regularly service usually paid for in advance

insurance – n. an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money equal to the value of something if it is damaged, lost, or stolen?

sport utility vehicle – n. a larger vehicle designed to transport cargo⁸ and people and sometimes built to travel over rough roads

lease – v. when one party signs a contract with another permitting use of land, property, services, etc., for a specified⁹ time, usually in return for periodic payments

fantasize – v. imagine something one wants to happen

consume – v. use up

pop up – v. appear or occur suddenly and unexpectedly

viability – n. capable of working, functioning, or developing adequately

scooter – n. small vehicle with two wheels, sometimes powered by a motor, used to transport people

1 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

2 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

3 subscriptions   

n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助

参考例句：

• Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 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。

6 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》

7 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

8 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

9 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。