凯迪拉克车载通讯系统偷师iPhone

    它听起来很像一款下一代的iPhone——它支持语音识别、多点触控和滑动界面。但它并不是一款手机，而是通用汽车公司（General Motor）即将上市的新一代车内通讯系统，它也被称为“凯迪拉克用户体验”（Cadillac User Experience， CUE）。这套系统将出现在凯迪拉克XTS车型上，作为通用的旗舰车型于明年春天上市。它也是凯迪拉克这一豪车品牌在竞争激烈的全尺寸高端轿车市场上推出的最新力作。

    这几年来，各大汽车都承诺要将智能手机上的一些常见技术搬到汽车的仪表盘上。但直到最近，效果还是毁誉参半。如今，消费者在不同车型之间进行选择的时候，汽车的一些高科技功能对购车决策的影响正在变得越来越大。通用汽车也正是看准了这一点。

    凯迪拉克XTS的竞争对手设定为宝马（BMW）、雷克萨斯（Lexus）和梅赛德斯奔驰（Mercedes-Benz.）这一级别的豪车。通用把制胜法宝押在了高科技上，认为高科技将成为XTS脱颖而出的关键因素。汽车消费网站TrueCar的高级编辑布兰迪•斯卡菲尔斯指出：“凯迪拉克希望让它的品牌能够吸引更多的年轻消费者，他们拥有iPad，对高科技产品了如指掌。但凯迪拉克也不想疏远那些对高科技感到恐惧的人。”当然它也不想疏远公司多年的忠实客户，他们上了年纪，对科技心怀恐惧。

    当然，高科技策略也并非是全无风险的。一旦消费者觉得这个系统太难用，愤怒、焦头烂额的车主就会对XTS轿车的整体质量给予差评，凯迪拉克立刻就会遭受打击，对品牌和销量造成损害。福特（.Ford Motor）以及之前的宝马公司都领教过高科技带来的反噬。比如今年早些时候，在JD Power & Associates市场资讯公司发布的初始质量调查中，福特公司的排名从第5名暴跌至第23名，给公司造成了沉重的打击。问题就在于许多福特用户对福特大肆热炒的Sync界面感到不满。福特Sync界面集成了免提电话、娱乐和语音识别功能。但有些福特车主反应，他们的智能手机无法连接汽车的免提系统，这个系统按理说应该能够对通话、联系人和电话号码进行管理。

    凯迪拉克希望凭借CUE系统，向用户提供尽可能多的复杂功能，让科技达人满意——同时又尽量对这些功能进行简化，让 “单纯用户”也能接受。融简单与复杂为一炉，这可是个艰巨的挑战。

    CUE系统的核心是一块8英寸的LCD触屏，作为系统的主屏幕。用户手指靠近屏幕，系统就会自动检测出来，然后自动在屏幕上显示出操作图标。所谓的“触感回馈”功能可以发出一次小小的震动，告诉用户该图标已被激活，这样一来用户就不必一直盯着屏幕，以确保已经选中了某个图标。它的触控和翻动操作的感觉也很不错，很像苹果（Apple）的iPhone或iPad。据通用公司表示，这些都是汽车史上的头一遭。

    CUE的配对模式允许用户最多连接10个蓝牙设备。其它汽车品牌的车型可能有多达20个按钮，但XTS轿车只有四个按钮。为了使操纵变得简单，很多功能都是可以关掉的。为了防止有些车主喜欢老式的按键式多功能方向盘，这个设计仍然会得到保留。

    CUE系统的设计经理斯图尔特•诺里斯表示，凯迪拉克的工程人员们研究了宝马、奥迪和奔驰等豪车品牌的系统，这些品牌都高度依赖中控台的控制。他说：“为了吸引用iPod的一代人，触屏界面大行其道。另外还有一些顾客告诉我们，他们不想为了用车而再去学一些新技术，我们在这些顾客身上也花了很多时间。”他表示CUE将提供“自然”的语音识别功能，这样一来就不需要用户去适应这个系统了。

    不过由于CUE的功能如此丰富（从集成的Pandora网络收音机到老式的OnStar免提语言通讯系统应有尽有），即便是最熟悉科技的用户可能也需要接受一些培训。这会不会使更他们更钟爱通用这款高调登场的新型凯迪拉克？这个问题或将在XTS推出后的几个月里决定这款汽车的命运。

    译者：朴成奎

    It sounds like a next-generation iPhone -- voice recognition, multitouch, a slick interface. But it's not. Instead, this is General Motor's upcoming in-vehicle communication system, dubbed CUE for "Cadillac User Experience," due next spring in the company's flagship car, the Cadillac XTS. And it's the American luxury manufacturer's latest bid to make its mark in the hard-fought and lucrative full-size, high-end sedan market.

    For years, auto companies have promised the technologies that have become commonplace in people's smartphones would make their way into car dashboards. Until recently, the results have been mixed. Now, high-tech features are increasingly influencing shoppers to choose one model over another. And GM wants in.

    The company is betting that it can make technology a key differentiator for the XTS, which is likely to compete with some of the most expensive vehicles from the likes of BMW, Toyota's (TM) Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. "Cadillac wants to bring young buyers to its brand, buyers who already own iPads and know how to use high-tech gadgets," notes Brandy Schaffels, senior editor for TrueCar, an automotive consumer website. "But Cadillac also doesn't want to alienate technophobes" among older, longtime owners of the brand.

    Indeed, the strategy isn't without risks. If customers find the system too hard to use, Cadillac could instantly suffer as irate or perplexed drivers rate the car's overall quality as subpar, hurting the brand and sales. Ford Motor (F) -- and BMW before it -- found out the hard way about the risks of cutting-edge gadgetry. Earlier this year the J.D. Power & Associates initial-quality survey dropped Ford to 23rd place from fifth, a bad blow. The problem? Many Ford customers were dissatisfied with its vaunted Sync interface that integrates hand-free telephony, entertainment and voice-recognition. In particular, some Ford customers reported that their smartphones didn't connect well with their car's hands-free system, which should be able to manage calls as well as contact lists and telephone numbers.

    With CUE, Cadillac aims to offer as much complexity and sophistication as the driver who is tech-savvy can handle -- and as little as a "simple user" wants. But packaging simple and complex in one can be a challenge.

    The heart of the CUE system is an 8-inch LCD touch screen that displays a home screen. As the user's finger gets closer to the screen, the system detects it and makes icons appear automatically. So-called haptic feedback allows the user to sense, by way of a small vibration, that an icon has been activated -- avoiding the distraction of looking away to make sure a selection has been made. Swiping and pinching, much like on an Apple (AAPL) iPhone or iPad, are present as well. All firsts in a car, according to GM.

    Cue's pairing format allows the user to connect it to as many as 10 Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices. Buttons are reduced to four from as many as 20 on systems from other car brands. To make things simple, many of the features can be turned off. And just in case the driver prefers good old button and wheel controls on the steering wheel, they'll be there as well.

    Stuart Norris, the system's design manager, said Cadillac engineers studied systems on BMW, Audi and Mercedes luxury brands, which rely heavily on console-mounted controls. "We've been seeing a proliferation of touch interfaces for the iPod generation," he said. "We've spent time with customers who tell us they don't want to relearn technology for use in the car." CUE, he said, will offer "natural" speech recognition that doesn't require the user to acclimate the system.

    Still, even the most technologically savvy users will likely need some training with so many features — from the integrated Pandora web radio to that old stand-by, OnStar. Whether that endears them to their new Cadillac could help determine the fate of the company's most high-profile launch of the next few months.