大众汽车的秘密武器

    大众汽车的MQB系统固定了发动机模块的位置，前轮中心与控制踏板之间的距离也是固定不变的。大众汽车所选择的踏板与前轴距离使得前悬非常短，这有利于运动性能的发挥。“使用这些比例作为基础，我们可以调整其他参数，比如车身宽度。”大众汽车美国分公司产品营销与战略副总裁雷纳•米歇尔说，“由于汽车的大部分都是相同的，因此我们能够将世界各地的生产过程标准化，以便宜得多的价格购买工具，并减少对工厂的投资。”

    米歇尔表示，新架构的应用范围将扩大到目前正在开发的大众小型车，包括大众Polo和斯柯达法比亚。上世纪八九十年代，大众汽车先后收购了西班牙汽车厂商西雅特和捷克汽车厂商斯柯达。大众汽车还拥有宾利、兰博基尼和布加迪。米歇尔说，MQB平台的另一个优势是能够适应多种新的可替代能源引擎，比如插电式油电混合动力引擎和电池驱动引擎，此外还有许多的汽油和柴油引擎。

    这种灵活性为汽车厂商在未来多年里必须应付的各种不确定因素提供了预防措施。“对燃油经济性、碰撞标准、车身坚硬度和性能的要求越来越高，这导致成本飙升。”米歇尔说，“我们无法通过定价来弥补这些成本，因此我们必须找到节省开支的方法。没有模块化（架构）的话，我们就无法盈利。”

    译者：牵牛絮

    VW's MQB system establishes fixed points for where the engine is mounted and a fixed distance from the center of the front wheels to the control pedals. The distance VW chose from pedals to front axle allows a very short front overhang, which facilitates sporty styling. "Using these proportions as the base, we can adjust other variables, such as the width of the car," said Rainer Michel, VW's vice president of product marketing and strategy in the U.S. "And since so much of the car is the same we can standardize manufacturing processes around the world, buy tools much cheaper and lower our investment in plants."

    Michel said the new architecture will be extended on smaller VW models now in development, including the VW Polo and Skoda Fabia. VW, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, acquired Seat, a Spanish automaker, and Skoda, a Czech automaker. It also owns Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti. Another MQB advantage, he said, will be its ability to accommodate a number of new alternative engine options, such as plug-in gas-electric hybrids and battery-powered electrics, in addition to a range of gas and diesel engines.

    This kind of flexibility is insurance of sorts for unpredictable factors auto makers must contend with over the span of years. "The increasing requirements of better fuel economy, tougher crash standards, body rigidity and over performance create a hell of cost," said Michel. "And we can't recover those costs through pricing so we have to find ways to economize. Without modular [architecture] we couldn't be profitable."