汽车界超级巨星断档，丰田掌门人有望接棒

    如今，资深首席执行官们似乎都不愿意在公众面前抛头露面，要找到像克莱斯勒公司（Chrysler）李•艾科卡那样的代言人或像通用汽车（GM, 财富500强）鲍勃•鲁兹那样深谙汽车市场的好手比登天还难。

    福特公司（Ford, F, 财富500强）首席执行官艾伦•穆拉利以及菲亚特-克莱斯勒公司（Fiat-Chrysler）首席执行官塞吉欧•马尔乔内大都日理万机，无暇利用其号召力来讲学布道。他们似乎无意成为公众人物，成为公司市场营销的一部分或是行业的代言人。一切与汽车行业相关的大小事务中都难觅他们的踪影，不管是提高债务上限也好，还是提高燃油税也好。

    在欧洲，德国豪华车制造商在安享丰收岁月的同时也正在经历一场史无前例的变革，变革的原因在于节能条例的约束和人们对气候变化的担忧。然而在电视广告中再也看不到梅赛德斯-奔驰（Mercedes）蔡澈博士那标志性的“Z博士”的身影，当初他还在克莱斯勒就任时，这种事可不少。而宝马（BMW）首席执行官诺伯特•雷瑟夫，这位遵从宝马首席执行官传统从公司制造基层一步步走上神坛的人物，则决心低调到底。

    只有卡洛斯•戈恩，作为横跨两个大洲的汽车联盟雷诺-日产（Renault-Nissan）的掌门人，拥有成为国际名人的气场和毅力。但最近几个月，雷诺的不景气让他忧心忡忡。目前，他把宝押在了纯电动汽车聆风身上，只有这场豪赌获得大胜，他才能保住起死回生的圣手美誉。

    就在这个真空期期间，一位意想不到的人选进入了人们的视野，而其就任的公司也让人始料未及：他就是来自于丰田（Toyoda）的首席执行官丰田章男。

    之所以出人意料是因为，丰田公司的首席执行官的形象多年来都一成不变，他们身着灰色西服，在公众面前永远摆出一副精算师的面孔，完全就是丰田集体统一管理模式的化身。丰田章男，55岁，似乎更多地是靠着先人的荫庇才坐上了目前这个位置，他是丰田创始人喜一郎先生的孙子。在2009年11月接任该职之前，他在公司中可谓无声无息。

    看来季前预测与现实相差有十万八千里之多。

    然而，报道称，丰田章男上任不到两年就为公司注入了一股新的活力，并带领公司渡过了一系列难关，包括2010年的多次召回事件和地震海啸所带来的毁灭性打击。

    None of today's veteran CEOs seem interested in grabbing the public spotlight. If you are looking for a highly visible pitchman like Chrysler's Lee Iacocca or a quotable car guy like GM's (GM, Fortune 500) Bob Lutz, they are all but impossible to find.

    Ford's (F, Fortune 500) Alan Mulally and Fiat-Chrysler's Sergio Marchionne are either too busy or too preoccupied to use their positions as bully pulpits. They seemingly have no interest in becoming a public face for advertising purposes or as industry spokespersons. You'd be hard-pressed to identify their positions on any relevant issue -- whether it is raising the debt ceiling or just the gasoline tax.

    In Europe, German luxury carmakers are enjoying blowout years at the same time that they undergo historic transformations in response to fuel economy regulations and concerns about climate change. Yet you won't find Mercedes' Dieter Zetsche in any TV commercials featuring "Dr. Z" the way you did in his Chrysler days. And BMW's Norbert Reithofer, who worked his way up through manufacturing in the tradition of BMW CEOs, is determinedly low-profile.

    Only Carlos Ghosn, he of the two-continent Renault-Nissan alliance, has the wattage and the willpower for global star power. But he's suffered setbacks at Renault in recent months, and his status as a turnaround magician is on hold until his gamble on the all-electric Leaf pays off.

    Into this vacuum steps an unlikely candidate from an unlikely company: Akio Toyoda from Toyota (TM).

    Unlikely because Toyota CEOs are traditionally gray-suited men who affect the public personalities of actuaries and personify the faceless anonymity of consensus management. Akio Toyoda, 55, also seemed to ascend to his post more on the basis of ancestry -- he's the grandson of founder Kiichiro -- than ability. Before his elevation in November 2009, he had caused few ripples at the company.

    It turns out that the preseason predictions were wildly wide of the mark.

    Despite having taken office less than two years ago, Toyoda has already infused his car company with a new spirit, according to reports, rallying it from the travails of its multiple recalls early in 2010 and the devastation wrought by the earthquake and tsunami.