Jeep设计理念跑偏

    Jeep 2014款切诺基（Cherokee）的首发一点也不理想。2月份在博客Autoblog发布了新车型下线的模糊图片后，这家汽车制造商马上确认了这个设计的真实性，并立即发布了光彩照人的、适合于媒体发布的高清图片。但这款新车的前卫设计并没有像计划中一样，获得精心策划的汽车发布和媒体首发的待遇。

    坊间反响谈不上热烈。Autoblog泄露新车下线信息的帖子很快吸引了超过1000条评论，但很多评论都是负面的。Jeep迷们在Twitter上叹息新车型配不上切诺基的名号，前脸就像是“一张令人毛骨悚然的小丑脸”。（当然，这款车也获得了一些赞誉。）克莱斯勒（Chrysler）设计总监拉尔夫•吉利斯在接受汽车媒体Wards Auto采访时竭力维护这个颇受争的新车外形，说“这款新车必须要对一些东西做出回应。我个人认为，设计中有着过去大切诺基酷酷的DNA特质。”

    那么，新款Jeep切诺基难看吗？恩，它的确……有些不同。 它的新车鼻有点像以前的Jeep。消失的是标志性的圆形头灯。取而代之的是倾斜的狭长头灯。作为其身份代表的7竖孔格栅呢？它们不再是竖直的，而是在中间被提高，沿发动机盖上折过去，就像头大象坐在中型越野车车头。

    切诺基承载了很多东西。2002年，Jeep用车型较小的自由人（Liberty）对之前的切诺基车型进行更新换代。Ward杂志编辑的汽车数据总汇AutoInfoBank显示，2002年当年该公司售出了创纪录的171,212辆。十年之后，这个数字已经下降至仅75,482辆。与之形成鲜明对比的是，去年竞争车型本田（Honda）CR-V和自由人的销售之比达到了3:1。上周二发布的销售数据显示，3月份Jeep的销量环比增长了35%，但同比下降了13%，大部分原因是Jeep自由人车型停产。

    如今，这家公司正在努力满足不断提升的燃油经济标准——因此，也就产生更加符合空气动力学的设计风格。（目前的自由人车型在高速公路上每加仑汽油可以行驶22英里；新款切诺基在相似条件下每加仑应当可以行驶31英里。）更重要的是，克莱斯勒需要Jeep成为一个真真正正的国际品牌。新的设计部分目的就是为了吸引美国以外的、更广阔的市场。新款切诺基将在俄亥俄州托莱多生产，出口至中国和其他约150个国家。

    从很多方面看，Jeep面临的问题可能还是一些汽车厂商梦寐以求的问题。Jeep是一个标志性的品牌，深具众多汽车厂商渴望打造的品牌资产。即便是它产品线中评价差的车型，比如运气不太好的指南者（Compass），也不太能损害品牌。Jeep仍旧是Jeep。问题是，克莱斯勒应如何扩大Jeep的吸引力，同时又不疏远狂热的Jeep迷，也不会削弱自身优势？

    很少有公司能做到这一点。如今，通用汽车（General Motors）的别克（Buick）车型被很多人视为主要是高龄车主的选择，因为只有那些上年纪的客户可能还记得这个品牌的时尚时代，而那已经是上世纪50年代。福特（Ford）的林肯（Lincoln）车型也在努力重获新生，它也遇到了同样的问题。与此同时，英国豪车品牌美洲豹（Jaguar）也举步维艰，因为它坚持自己的标志性设计已经太久了。

    The debut of Jeep's 2014 Cherokee has been anything but ideal. Shortly, after a blog released blurry pictures of the new model rolling off the assembly line in February, the automaker rushed to confirm the design was real -- and put out crisp, press-friendly photos. But the polarizing new look didn't get the manicured auto show launch and media roll-out planned.

    The reception wasn't exactly warm. A post about the leak on Autoblog quickly generated over1,000 comments, many of them negative. Jeep aficionados on Twitter lamented that the new model wasn't worthy of the Cherokee name and compared its front facia to a "creepy anime clown face." (Of course, some praised the vehicle too.) In an interview with Wards Auto, Chrysler design chief Ralph Gilles defended the controversial shape, telling the publication, "There are certain things this new styling has to respond to. I personally see a very cool DNA strain going back to the Grand Cherokee."

    So is the new Jeep Cherokee ugly? Well, it's certainly … different. Its new nose looks a little like those found on Jeeps past. Gone are the iconic circular headlamps. In their place: sharply slanted slits. The signature seven-slot grille? Instead of standing upright, it is creased in the middle, folding over the top of the hood as if an elephant sat on the front of it mid-safari.

    A lot is riding on the Cherokee. Jeep replaced the previous version in 2002 with the smaller Liberty. According to Ward's AutoInfoBank, the company sold a record 171,212 units in the U.S. that year. A decade later, that figure had fallen to just 75,482. In contrast, Honda's (HMC) competing CR-V outsold the Liberty three to one last year. According to sales figures release Tuesday, overall Jeep sales were up 35% month over month in March, but year-over-year sales dropped 13% thanks in large part to the end of Jeep Liberty production.

    Now the company is trying to meet rising fuel economy standards -- thus the more aerodynamic styling. (The current Liberty achieves 22 miles per gallon on the highway; the new Cherokee should get 31 miles per gallon under similar conditions.) More importantly, Chrysler needs Jeep to become a truly global brand. The new design is, in part, an attempt to appeal more broadly to markets outside the U.S. The Cherokee will be built in Toledo, Ohio and exported to China and some 150 other countries.

    In many ways, Jeep's problem is a desirable one to have. It has an iconic brand -- brimming with the so-called brand equity automakers are so keen to create. Even poorly reviewed extensions of its lineup, such as the ill-fated Jeep Compass, haven't done much to ding that. A Jeep is still a Jeep. The question is, how can Chrysler broaden Jeep's appeal without alienating a rabidly loyal fan base or undermining its strengths?

    Few have managed that feat. General Motors' (GM) Buick is known as a ride of choice for the elderly mostly because only older consumers can remember the last time the brand was cool, the 1950s. Ford's (F) Lincoln division, which is attempting to revive itself, suffers from a similar problem. British luxury brand Jaguar, meanwhile, faltered badly because it held onto its iconic design language far too long.