光环蒙尘的10大旗舰车

    坠落天使

    最新一期的《汽车新闻》（Automotive News）上，记者向福特（Ford）常务副总裁马克•菲尔茨提问道，林肯（Lincoln）是否需要一款“光环车”。菲尔茨巧妙地回避了这个问题：“我们希望确保林肯推出的每一款车型都是光环车。”

    许多汽车术语，比如折叠座椅、四档手动变速以及汽化剂等，都已经随着时代的发展被慢慢淘汰了。不过出于某些原因，“光环车”的概念却流传了下来。“光环车”指的是拥有时尚造型或某些不寻常的功能，旨在把消费者吸引进展厅的车型，不过它们自己并不靠“走量”取胜，也不能给品牌赚很多钱。

    尽管光环车在构思阶段总是显得不同凡响，但有时它们也会变成坠落的天使。有的时候，它们的设计无法抓住人们的好奇心，不仅不会提升品牌口碑，反而会产生截然相反的效果，对品牌形象造成损害。今天我们介绍的就是几个经典的例子。

    Paradise Lost

    In the current issue of Automotive News, Ford executive Mark Fields is asked whether Lincoln needs a "halo car." He smartly ducks the question: "We want to make sure every vehicle we bring out with Lincoln is a halo car."

    Many automotive terms have become anachronistic or simply defunct over the years -- rumble seat, four-on-the floor, carburetor -- but for some reason, the notion of the "halo car" survives. It's a car with a stylish design or unusual features meant to draw customers into a showroom but not generate a lot of sales -- nor make a lot of money.

    While halo cars may look heavenly when they are conceived, as often as not they end up as fallen angels. They are dismissed as automotive curiosities that failed to capture public imagination, while creating an effect exactly opposite to the one they were designed for: damaging brands rather than lifting them. Here are some classic examples of tarnished halos.