美国车企祖传8宗罪

    当有人说汽车业是个“周期性行业”时，并不只是说这个行业会随着经济周期而出现正常的销售起伏。它实际上是指这个行业很容易一再故技重施。一方面是由于每四年车型就会来一次重新设计；另一方面是因为，对那些一再出现的问题总是采用老办法应付，比如销售不畅时就降价促销。但令人惊讶的是，这很大程度上是由于总是祭出老一套法宝，却希望得到不同的结果——这是典型的神经错乱的表现。

    When autos are described as a "cyclical business," it means more than the normal waves of rising and falling sales that follow the rhythms of the economy. The industry tends to repeat itself. Some of this comes from the predictable pattern of every-four-year redesigns. Another part comes from proven solutions to recurring problems, such as cutting prices during slow sales. But a surprisingly sizeable slice comes from doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result -- the classic definition of insanity.

1.热门车爱涨价

加价销售那些供不应求、炙手可热的车型以牟取暴利的做法在汽车销售业由来已久，可能厂商指导价刚刚新鲜出炉，经销商就开始抬价了。毕竟汽车业有些地方和时尚业、而不是交通运输业更有渊源——比如那些肌肉车、跑车和敞篷车——所以一旦看到有车热销，经销商哪里能忍得住不下快刀狠宰一把。《汽车新闻》（Automotive News）报道称，一帮雪佛兰经销商正在密谋，售价高达52,000美元的雪佛兰科尔维特今年秋季上市后，他们要加价20,000美元。这个消息会再度引发一场热烈的争论，即经销商是否在用市场经济规律定量配给稀缺产品，还是乱涨价疏远长期客户。

1. Marking up hot cars

Tacking an additional dealer markup onto models in short supply and hot demand is a long-established retail practice that probably started seconds after the window price sticker with the suggested MSRP was adopted. Parts of the auto business are more about fashion than transportation -- think muscle cars, sports cars, and convertibles -- and dealers can't resist trying to make a quick killing while they are in demand. Automotive News reports that a handful of Chevy dealers are planning on add on up to $20,000 to the sticker price of the 2014 Corvette when the $52,000 car goes on sale in the fall. The news will ignite another fierce debate about whether the dealers are merely using market economics to ration a scarce product -- or alienating long-term customers by gouging.