史上最不靠谱的年度汽车
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事后诸葛亮 “年度汽车奖”已经成了一种全球性现象，各种“年度汽车”层出不穷，有时颇让人摸不着头脑。有世界年度汽车奖、国际年度汽车奖、欧洲年度汽车奖，还有年度环保汽车奖等等，各种“年度”奖不一而足。 美国也有两个最重要的年度汽车奖，其中第一个奖项由《汽车潮流》（Motor Trend）杂志的编辑们评选。第二个叫做“北美年度汽车奖”（NACOTY），由一个50名记者组成的评奖委员会评选。 评奖季又要到了，不过大家最好记住，即便是由这么多权威的专家做出的判断，也未必就是无懈可击的。（我本人就是第二个评奖委员会的一员） 这些专家们所评选出来的汽车，有的确实是货真价实的年度最佳汽车，不过有时专家们也会看走眼，评选出的汽车不光沦为年度最差汽车之列，甚至在史上最差汽车的排行榜上也是榜上有名。比如脱胎于斑马牌（Pinto）轿车的野马II（Mustang II）；折服了两代评奖人的两款雪佛兰Caprice。还有些轿车一开始看起来很吸引人，后来才发现它们存在重大缺陷。还有些轿车之所以被评为年度轿车，完全是因为它们新奇的外观，但它们的某些不合理的工艺问题却被忽视了。 人们一般认为是《汽车潮流》杂志开启了“年度汽车”的概念。1949年，也就是该杂志创刊那一年，它将凯迪拉克（Cadillac）的V8车型评选为年度最佳。据传这个奖项早期经常玩猫腻，用得奖为饵，换取汽车厂商在杂志上投放付费广告，或收取其它报酬，因此该奖一度声名狼藉。不过此后，《汽车潮流》杂志付出了一番努力，使评选过程更加透明化。 过去11年里，《汽车潮流》挑选出的年度汽车有6次与北美年度汽车奖重叠。北美年度汽车奖是一个1993年成立的组织，它在自己的成长过程中也不免有一些阵痛和盲点。早年间，该奖的评委们特别喜欢那些外表光鲜漂亮的车型，而且对克莱斯勒（Chrysler）的产品情有独钟。不过近年来，这个奖项把眼光放得更深了，而且摆脱了地域偏见，这是件很不容易的事。最近10年，入围该奖决赛圈的车型里有15款是美国车，还有15款是进口车。 半个世纪以来，这两个奖项的评选团队为很多垃圾车型创造了露脸的机会。以下谨为大家介绍其中几款最垃圾的车型。 |
Oh, the benefit of hindsight Car of the year awards have become a global phenomenon, and their abundance can be confusing. There is a world car of the year award, an international car of the year award, a European car of the year, and a green car of the year award. In the U.S., the two most prominent awards are Motor Trend's, chosen by the magazine's editors, and the North American Car of the Year (NACOTY), selected by a panel of 50 journalists. As prize season approaches, it is good to remember that even the judgments of such august bodies of experts (and I am a member of the latter) are not impeccable. They have voted for cars that were not only not the best cars of their year but among the worst -- and not just of their award year but any year. Some of the poorer choices could have been foreseen. A Mustang II that was sired by the Pinto? A Chevy Caprice that dazzled voters in two separate incarnations? Other misfires are for cars that seemed initially appealing but turned out to be deeply flawed. And some others were chosen because of their novelty appeal while their inconsequential engineering was ignored. Motor Trend is thought to have originated the car of the year concept, selecting Cadillac's V-8 models in its first year of publication in 1949. Early on, the award acquired a louche reputation when it was rumored to be offered in exchange for advertising pages paid for by the manufacturer and other emoluments. Since then, Motor Trend has gone to great lengths to make its selection process more transparent. In six of the last 11 years, Motor Trendpicks have been identical to NACOTY's, the jounalist group organized in 1993, which hasn't dodged its own growing pains and blind spots. In the early years, its voters displayed a preference for glamour, glitz, and all things Chrysler. More recently, though, it has taken a deeper look and done a remarkable job of shrugging off hometown bias. Over a ten-year stretch, 15 car of the year finalists were domestic nameplates -- and 15 were imports. But half a century of car of the year selections by both teams has created lots of opportunities for clunkers and here are some of the biggest. |
1960雪佛兰科维尔/1971雪佛兰Vega
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1960雪佛兰科维尔/1971雪佛兰Vega 福特一直想打造一款具有竞争力的小型车，而这两款车型是福特最华丽的败笔。拉尔夫•内德称科维尔是“一辆车的车祸”，因为它的摆动轴悬挂容易向下方变形，导致司机失去控制。Vega轿车在研发过程中受到了非常严格的成本控制，后来证明Vega轿车存在过度锈蚀、汽缸变型以及发动机易起火等问题。 |
1960 Chevrolet Corvair/1971 Chevrolet Vega These are but two of General Motors' most spectacular failures to develop a competitive small car. Ralph Nader dubbed the Corvair "the one-car accident" because its swing axle suspension had a tendency to tuck under, causing the driver to lose control. Developed under the sharp eye of GM's accountants, the Vega suffered from excessive rust, warped cylinders, and a propensity for engine fires. |
