丰田幼主吹响汽车霸主回归冲锋号

    丰田章男正在公司推行“永远追求更好的汽车”这一理念，而内山田武就是主力。很多年来，车迷们都在抱怨丰田汽车的设计感不足，只是把汽车当成运输工具，使得现代汽车（Hyundai）等公司占据了设计方面的优势。内山田武对这些批评意见表示认可。他告诉我：“丰田公司的成长可以说是建立在质量、稳定性、可靠性的基础之上。跟竞争者相比，我们在这三方面都很优秀。但自从受到2008年雷曼兄弟公司（Lehman）破产的打击，我们的大宗销售逐步下降。与以往的做法不同，我们需要让产品外观看起来更吸引人。目前我们已经逐步加大了在高品质内饰设计方面的力度。”

    外观固然重要，但内山田武也不会放弃丰田在绿色动力车型领域的优势。今年春天，丰田将推出价值32,000美元的插电式普锐斯车型。他认为，这将是将汽车从汽油动力制约中解放出来的最佳短期解决方案。这款插电式汽车与常规的混合动力车不同，电池可供汽车完全以电力行驶15英里，并可在家完成充电。“我认为，这款插电式汽车将成为未来最实用的技术，而且有潜力得到广泛的运用。它可以看成是一款永远不需要担心断电的电动车。如果电池耗尽，司机可像驾驶普通混合动力车一样继续行驶。因此汽车内置的电池容量可以最小化。”我请他对普锐斯和宣传攻势强大的雪佛兰伏特（Chevrolet Volt）进行比较。他的回答出人意料的坦率：“伏特在纯电力模式下驾驶时间更长，电池容量更大。然而电池耗尽后，如果通过汽油引擎驾驶，伏特的动力性能会逐步下降。因此我认为伏特的驾驶成本要比普锐斯插电式汽车更高。”

    结束内山田武的采访后，我随后就要开始采访丰田章男。会见地点是在丰田公司总部附近一处私人花园的会客厅，富有浓郁的日本特色。公司在这处私人花园内复建了丰田章男祖父丰田喜一郎的旧宅。丰田章男健步走进会客厅，活力充沛得仿佛电视娱乐节目主持人一般。两年半之前，在他刚担任总裁后不久，我就曾见过他。与当时相比，现在的他更为自信和放松。他坐在会议桌的对面，直接听取我用英语提出的问题，翻译将他的回答从日文翻译成英文时，他一直专注地看着我。

    与身着灰色正装、整天在办公桌前正襟危坐的公司前辈不同，55岁的丰田章男穿着诺梅克斯防火赛车服和防撞头盔的时候显得更自在一些。作为一位注册测试车手，他每年会对200辆丰田车以及竞争对手的车型进行测试。驾驶汽车是他最开心的时刻。去年四月，丰田章男在拉斯维加斯与美国经销商会谈后，在附近的赛道驾驶一辆850马力的NASCAR（美国全国汽车比赛协会）改装赛车，尽情释放自己。他说，激情能让他更迅速地适应总裁职位。他解释说：“当初我父亲（丰田公司名誉董事长丰田章一郎）对我说：‘我就把一切都托付给你了’，当时我很高兴。当然，在过去两年里我所处的环境发生了巨变，但有一点始终没有改变，那就是我对汽车的热爱，我觉得这份热爱能让帮我顺利度过困境。我总是告诉公司员工，我们要永远追求更好的汽车。每逢新车发布我都会亲自试驾。通过尝试尽可能多的汽车，我能够更好地比较丰田车与其他类似的汽车。通过亲自驾驶，我也能对公司的战略发展方向有更深的理解。”

    Akio is pushing Toyota to make "always better cars," and Uchiyamada is the point man. For years enthusiasts have complained that Toyota treats cars like transportation appliances and allows companies such as Hyundai to seize design leadership. Uchiyamada says the critics were right. He told me: "Basically, Toyota's growth had been underpinned by QDR [quality, dependability, reliability] that was very high compared with competitors'. However, since the Lehman shock [in 2008], large-scale sales of Toyota vehicles have decelerated. Compared with past practices, we need to make products that are even more attractive. We have stepped up our efforts emphasizing design, high quality of the interiors."

    Appearances count, but Uchiyamada has no intention of allowing Toyota to lose its green credentials either. This spring Toyota will launch the plug-in Prius, a $32,000 car that he believes is the best short-term solution to freeing the automobile from gasoline. Unlike conventional hybrids, the plug-in has a large battery that can power the car for up to 15 miles on electricity alone and be recharged at home. "I think the plug-in is the most practical technology of the future that will see great potential for mass dissemination. It can be recognized as an electric vehicle without having to worry about running out of battery. If the battery runs out, the car can be driven as a normal hybrid, so the amount of battery mounted in the vehicle can be minimized." I asked him how he compared the Prius to the much-publicized Chevrolet Volt, and he gave me a surprisingly candid answer. "The Volt has a longer driving range in EV mode, but for that they have greater battery volume. After the battery runs out, the Volt's power performance deteriorates when driven by a gasoline engine. So I believe the cost of the Volt will be higher than the Prius plug-in."

    When my interview with Uchimayada concluded, it was time for the meeting with Akio. It was to be held in a characteristically Japanese setting: a meeting hall in a private park near Toyota headquarters, where the company had reassembled the former residence of Kiichiro Toyoda, Akio's grandfather. Akio bounded into the interview room with the energy of a TV game show host, clearly more confident and relaxed than the man I had met 2½ years earlier, just after he had become president. Seated at a table across from me, he took questions in English and watched me intently while the interpreter translated his answers from Japanese.

    Unlike his gray-suited, office-bound predecessors, Akio, 55, is more comfortable in a fire-resistant Nomex suit and crash helmet than he is in a coat and tie. A certified test driver, he evaluates as many as 200 Toyotas and competitive vehicles annually, and appears happiest when he's behind the wheel. After speaking at a U.S. dealer meeting in Las Vegas last April, Akio unwound by driving an 850-horsepower NASCAR stock car at a nearby speedway. His passion, he says, has made it easy for him to settle into his job as president. He explained, "I was very glad to hear from my father [honorary chairman Soichiro Toyoda], 'I leave everything in your hands.' Of course, over the past two years the environment has seen dramatic change, but one thing I maintained, which I think protected me from these hardships, is that I love cars, and I kept saying to people constantly that we need to come up with always better cars. Whenever a new car is launched I have to drive it myself. So by trying out as many vehicles as possible, I think I can compare Toyota cars with comparable vehicles, and by driving directly I can understand the strategic direction of the company."