2012汽车业的异想世界

辞旧迎新

    终于平平安安地熬过了2011年，这让各大汽车厂商颇感庆幸。在失业率居高不下且经济面临二次衰退的艰难局面下，据专业汽车杂志Wards Automotive报道，各大汽车厂商的轿车和卡车总销量只有大约1,250万台，比预计少了100万辆之多。

    对各大公司来说，马基奥尼的魔法（Marchionne magic）在克莱斯勒（Chrysler）确实奏效了，但菲亚特500（Fiat 500）的表现却不尽如人意。自然灾害和强劲的日元则让日本汽车厂商深受其苦。本田（Honda）想自欺欺人地告诉自己2011年压根就不存在，而萨博（Saab）则没法活着看到2012年了。

    未来一年的光景到底会如何呢？我们能告诉你的就是，底特律三巨头将会继续回归之旅，日本厂商将恢复元气，而当经济迎来复苏后，经销商手里的车将被一抢而空。不过这幅景象也够没劲的。也许我们圣诞假期时喝了太多蛋酒，也许是因为已到了年末最后一周，《财富》杂志（Fortune）的工作节奏有所放缓，但我们不妨假设一下，有一颗彗星将穿过太阳系，将时空扭曲成了另一种虚拟现实，从而在汽车界创造了如下一系列我们希望看到的预言：

日产掌门弃商从政

    雷诺-日产公司（Renault-Nissan）的首席执行官卡洛斯•高森再度调高了他对电动汽车的销量预测。随后他便辞了职，跑去掌管欧洲央行（the European Central Bank），并一手主持了意大利的破产。不过，他扔给日产公司的继任者一大难题——向大家解释一下，为什么由电池驱动的聆风（Leaf）在前大灯、音响系统、空调和雨刮同时打开时，就只能跑上300码了？

Good-bye and hello

    Automakers will be glad to escape 2011 mostly intact. With high unemployment and the threat of a double-dip recession hanging over the market, they sold only about 12.5 million cars and trucks, according to Wards Automotive -- as many as one million units less than forecast.

    For companies, the Marchionne magic worked wonders at Chrysler, but it wasn't enough to fill driveways with the Fiat 500. Japanese automakers were beset by natural disasters and a strong yen. Honda would like to pretend 2011 never happened, and Saab won't get to see 2012.

    What will the coming year look like? We could tell you that the Detroit Three will continue their comeback, Japan will get back on its feet, and dealer lots will empty out as the economy gets back on track. But that's pretty ho-hum. Maybe we had a little too much eggnog over the holidays, or maybe it's just a little slow at Fortune in this last week of the year, but let's pretend a comet will pass through the solar system, bending the space-time continuum into an alternate reality for the world's automakers, creating a list of predictions we'd like to see.

Executives

    Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn raises his forecast for electric vehicle sales once again. Then he quits to run the European Central Bank and preside over the bankruptcy of Italy, leaving to his successor the job of explaining why the range of the battery-powered Leaf drops to 300 yards when the headlights, audio system, air conditioner, and windshield wipers are all operating at once.