汽车界超级巨星断档，丰田掌门人有望接棒

    这位丰田的首席执行官已经将危机抛在了身后，目前他正打算亲自参与开发更具竞争力的新车型。丰田章男并不是个爱干涉管理的人，他不会去要求移除铬件或增加后备箱的空间以便存放一整袋高尔夫球杆。作为一名获得德国知名纽伯格林赛道的运营机构Nurburgring认证的试驾员，他经常开赛车，而且也经常当仁不让地提出一些有关驾驶和操控纯技术层面的建议。

    丰田章男对美国市场的兴趣颇有个人色彩。他一直戴的是美国牌子的领带，在波士顿百森商学院（Babson College）获得了工商管理硕士学位，英语讲得非常流利，但是在面对媒体时他仍会使用翻译。

    以下是他最近的一些星闻：

    • 去年春天在拉斯维加斯举行的丰田经销商大会上发表了充满激情和极富个人色彩的演讲，掌声久久不能平息。随后，本月，在庆祝丰田美国肯塔基州乔治亚城（Georgetown, Ky.）工厂成立25周年之际，他就2012年新款凯美瑞（Camry）的发布发表了热情洋溢的讲话。

    • 登上了工业圣经《汽车新闻》（Automotive News）的头版，该文赞扬了他在汽车制造和销售权贵圈中的社交能力。

    • 在机场偶遇福特的首席执行官穆拉利，随后双方宣布了一个具有深远影响的决定，即联手为后驱车型开发混合动力技术。这一偶遇很快成为了汽车工业的佳话。

    • 他亲力亲为，促成了丰田对电动汽车制造商特斯拉（Tesla, TSLA）的注资。此外，跑车制造商阿斯顿马丁破天荒地（Aston Martin）同意以丰田的IQ迷你车为蓝本推出豪华微型车小天鹅（Cygnet）。

    未来几个月，丰田将发布一系列新车型，誓要夺回世界最大汽车制造商的宝座。届时，丰田章男的身影也会频频映入我们的眼帘。如果他能继续这样的势头，他完全有希望满足汽车业的呼唤，成为这一行业未来10年的领军人物。

    With those crises behind him, Toyota's CEO is finding time to take a hands-on role in developing edgier new models. Keep in mind that Akio Toyoda is no meddler from management, ordering the movement of a piece of chrome or the enlargement of the trunk to accommodate a bag of golf clubs. He's a test driver certified for Germany's famed Nurburgring, he regularly drives competitive vehicles, and he isn't shy about making highly technical suggestions about ride and handling.

    Toyoda has also taken more of a personal interest in the U.S. market. He has long had American ties, having earned an MBA at Boston's Babson College and speaking excellent English, although he still prefers to use an interpreter for meetings with the press.

    Here are just a few of his recent star turns:

    • An emotional and highly personal speech at Toyota's dealer meeting in Las Vegas last spring to sustained applause, followed up this month with an enthusiastic sendoff for the 2012 Camry at the 25th anniversary celebration of Toyota's Georgetown, Ky. plant.

    • A front-page story in industry bible Automotive News, which is praising his knack of developing personal ties with autodom's movers and shakers.

    • In an incident quickly enshrined in industry lore, a chance airport encounter with Ford's Mulally leading to the announcement of a potentially important collaboration on hybrid technology for rear-drive vehicles.

    • His personal diplomacy leading to an investment in electric car maker Tesla (TSLA) and an unusual deal with Aston Martin to rebadge Toyota's iQ minicar as the sport car maker's Cygnet.

    Expect to see more of Akio Toyoda in coming months as Toyota launches a fleet of new models and bids to regain its title as the world's largest automaker. If he so chooses, he's ideally positioned to provide the industry with some needed leadership for the next ten years.