汽车界“土肥圆”大盘点

丰满无罪

    别克（Buick）最新的重磅大作2013昂科拉（Encore）到达我家里的时候，我立刻从它身上辨认出了传统的别克元素：瀑布格栅、流光舷窗，以及三块盾牌的别克家族徽章。不过首先我却联想到了一些根系蔬菜。昂科拉的车顶很高，长度较短，与其说是辆传统的别克车型，不如说更像一颗土豆、一个萝卜或是一个地瓜。它没有把车做得更长、更低、更宽，而是做得更短、更高、更敦实。不是只有我一个人注意到了这一点。汽车网站Edmunds.com的分析师杰罗米•阿塞维多表示：“昂科拉的比例非常少见，与很多车型都不一样。”

    别克在宣传材料中称昂科拉是“如同雕刻出来的一般，优雅、敏捷、高效、奢华。”虽然材料里一次也没提到昂科拉那不同寻常的尺寸，不过它承认昂科拉是“独一无二”的，而且它会“很有回头率”。

    昂科拉之所以会有这样一个别出心裁的比例，是因为昂科拉是在雪佛兰科鲁兹（Chevy Cruze）这一紧凑车平台上研发的。通用公司既想让它能容纳四名成年人，又想给它配足应有的高端配置，以不负别克的家族徽章。虽然设计师极力隐藏高车顶与短车身之间的比例失衡，但是昂科拉给人带来的视觉冲击还是令人过目难忘。

    昂科拉有多么不同寻常？应《财富》杂志（Fortune）的要求，汽车网站Edmunds.com分析了如今市场有售的332款不同车型的车长与长高比例。昂科拉的车长约为车高的2.6倍，排在所有车型中的第313位。Edmunds.com的分析师阿塞维多指出：“从历史上看，这种比例并没有特别流行过，不过随着最近的趋势朝着微型车方向发展，而且随着汽车厂商青睐更独特和更实用的设计，这种比例也许会变得更流行。”

    究竟是不是这样还有待观望。一般来说，有钱人喜欢更加传统的比例，也就是更长、更低。车长与车高比值最大的五款车型包括宾利（Bentley）、梅塞德斯奔驰（Mercedes）、玛莎拉蒂（Maserati）和两款兰伯基尼（Lamborghini）。为了更好地了解这款别克小越野的销售前景，我们不妨先看看14款车身比例比昂科拉更极端的车型的市场表现。

Let's be blunt

    When the 2013 Encore, the latest entry in Buick's return to relevancy, arrived at my house, I immediately recognized all the traditional Buick styling cues: waterfall grille, portholes, and tri-shield emblem. But the first thing I thought of was root vegetable: With its uniquely high roof and diminutive length, the Encore looks more like a sweet potato, perhaps, or a turnip, maybe a yam, rather than a traditional Buick. Instead of longer, lower and wider, it is shorter, higher, and altogether chubbier. And I'm not the only one who noticed. Edmunds.com analyst Jeremy Acevedo says: "The proportions of the Encore are very rare, not matched by many vehicles at all."

    In promotional material, Buick calls the Encore "sculpted, elegant, nimble, efficient, and luxurious." While it never once mentions its unusual vertical amplitude, it does concede the Encore is "one of a kind," and it "will turn heads."

    The Encore comes by its unusual proportions because General Motors (GM, Fortune 500)has stacked a body large enough for four adults on the platform of a subcompact Chevy Cruze and added sufficient upscale heft to earn a Buick badge. Although designers have tried to disguise the unusual ratio between the tall roof and the short body, the visual impact is unmistakable.

    How unusual is the Encore? At Fortune's request, Edmunds.com analyzed the length to height ratios of all 332 different models available today. Encore, which is 2.6 times longer than it is tall, ranks 313th in terms of length to height ratio. "Historically these proportions haven't been particularly popular," says Acevedo, "but with the recent trend toward subcompact utilities it might be a trend that becomes more pervasive as automakers look for distinctive and functional design."

    We'll see. People with lots of money prefer more traditional proportions: longer and lower. The five cars at the top of the list with the greatest ratio of length to height include a Bentley, Mercedes, Maserati, and two Lamborghinis. To get a better idea about the prospects for the Baby Buick, we looked at the market performance for 14 cars and crossovers that feature even more extreme proportions than Encore: