德国车统治世界的十大原因

8.炫富利器

    有的时候，人们购买某件东西，看重的不是它的实用性，为这个东西花多少钱才是重点——比如有人花350万美元只为与股神巴菲特吃一顿饭。德国车还没有到那个地步，但是也快了。比如2013款四驱涡轮增压的保时捷 911跑车售价高达137,500美元，要想把保时捷车标镶到中控台还要另加330美元。买德国车的人经常爱报怨这种事，好让别人知道他是多么有钱。

8. The price is very nearly the object

    Sometimes, how much you pay for something -- as opposed to its function -- is the point of the exercise, like paying $3.5 million for dinner with Warren Buffett. German cars haven't gotten to that level yet, but they are getting close. Such as charging $137,500 for a 2013 Turbo 911 Porsche with all-wheel-drive -- and then asking for another $330 to apply the Porsche crest to the lid of the central console. Buyers of German cars love to complain about this stuff so you'll understand how deep their pockets are.

9.独有，再独有

    史托克俱乐部（Stork Club）发明了一个“俱乐部中的俱乐部”的点子。这个俱乐部会给明星大腕专门开一个房间，好让他们躲开粉丝的围追堵截。如果你觉得一辆4.7万美元的宝马5系不够显示身价？花90,695美元来一台特殊配置的5系如何？奔驰的“黑色系列”（Black Series）把这种手法上升到了一个新的高度。它在奔驰AMG的基础上对性能进行了升级，外观、内饰和座椅均采用特殊设计，整车重量更轻了，但同时这样一款C级轿跑的价格也飙升到了12.5万美元左右。

9. Exclusive and super-exclusive

    The old Stork Club invented the idea of a club-within-a-club when it opened the Cub Room for celebrities to hide out from the hoi polloi. A regular $47,000 5-series BMW not good enough for you? How about a specially equipped M5 for $90,695? Mercedes has made this an art form with its Black Series -- special seats and trim, less weight -- layered on top of its AMG performance upgrades that hike the price of a C-class coupe to around $125,000.

10.对手不争气

    的确，还有谁能与这四家德国厂商争锋呢？雷克萨斯（Lexus）的质量和服务也许更胜一筹，但它缺乏霸气，也缺乏历史传统，因此只能居于二流地位。凯迪拉克（Cadillac）凭借高性能的V系列车型几乎已经达到了高端车的国际标准，但是它必须在这个水平上再保持几十年，人们才会真正拿它当回事。至于法拉利（Ferrari），尽管名头甚大，但它只是保时捷的一个小竞争者，因为保时捷的销量是它的20倍以上。

    译者：朴成奎

10. Everybody else is in second place

    Really, who can go up against this quartet of winners? Lexus may deliver higher quality and better service, but its tentative presentation and lack of heritage consign it to second-tier status. Cadillac has labored mightily to raise its game to international standards -- and nearly gets there with its high-performance V-series -- but will need to execute at this level for another couple of decades before being taken seriously. And for all its panache, Ferrari is a boutique competitor to Porsche, which sells more than 20 times more cars.