丰田章男:驾驭丰田汽车的赛车手大纲

The video opens showing a bespectacled Akio Toyoda in a charcoal suit and tie, waving to the cameras. Then suddenly, he is in a red and black racing jump suit, helmet on, climbing behind the wheel of a psychedelic Camry sedan at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A cockpit-mounted camera displays the 56-year-old corporate chief shifting into high gear as the bass thunders on the car's sound system.

这是一段2011年秋季在美国播出的丰田汽车(Toyota Motor Corporation)电视广告。视频开头出现的是丰田公司总裁丰田章男(Akio Toyoda)，他戴着眼镜，身着深灰色西装和领带，向摄影机挥手。随后画面突然切换，丰田章男换上一身红黑相间的连体赛车服，戴上头盔，在拉斯维加斯赛车场(Las Vegas Motor Speedway)驾驶一辆迷幻色彩的凯美瑞(Camry)轿车奔驰。一台安装在驾驶仓内的摄像头拍摄到56岁的丰田章男不断换档提速，汽车音响系统爆发出震撼人心的重低音。

'How do you reinvent the best-selling car in America?' a voice intones in the TV aid aired in the U.S. last fall. 'From behind the wheel. Akio Toyoda: race car driver and president of Toyota Motor Corporation.'

“怎样重新打造美国最畅销的汽车？”此时片中响起一个画外音，“从手握方向盘开始。丰田章男：赛车手、丰田汽车总裁。”

It isn't just the Camry being reinvented, but Mr. Toyoda himself. As he tries to turn around the auto giant from years of what many call bland design, an embarrassing 2009 recall and the effects of the 2011 earthquake, he is grabbing the wheel and playing the role of personal pitchman.

正在脱胎换骨的不仅是凯美瑞，还有丰田章男本人。多年来，丰田汽车的设计一直被许多人视为平淡乏味，2009年尴尬的召回事件以及2011年的地震也给公司带来严重冲击。现在，丰田章男驾驶汽车，亲自扮演宣传员的角色，以期振兴这家汽车巨头。

Mr. Toyoda isn't the first auto executive to do so. Chrysler Chief Executive Lee Iacocca did it on a factory floor. Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford Jr. has done it from behind a desk. And 'Dr. Z' Dieter Zetsche did it for DaimlerChrysler in a Dodge Challenger.

丰田章男并非第一个亲自上阵的汽车公司高管。克莱斯勒公司(Chrysler)首席执行官李.艾科卡(Lee Iacocca)在工厂车间，福特汽车公司(Ford Motor Co.)董事长小比尔.福特(Bill Ford Jr.)在办公桌旁，戴姆勒-克莱斯勒公司(DaimlerChrysler)董事长迪特.蔡澈(Dieter Zetsche)在一辆道奇挑战者(Dodge Challenger)车内，都为公司做过宣传。

But none was shown climbing 31-degree banks at the Daytona International Speedway, let alone appearing at racing events flanked by a pair of leather-clad female chaperones holding parasols. (The Gazoo Ladies, named after Toyota's Gazoo Racing motor sports team, are part of Mr. Toyoda's racing entourage and draw a big following in Japan.)

但这其中没有任何一个人驾车攀爬过31度倾角的雷特娜国际赛道(Daytona International Speedway)陡坡，也没有在一对身穿皮衣、手拿遮阳伞的赛车女郎簇拥下出现在竞技赛场上。（这对美女被称为“Gazoo女郎”，得名于丰田的Gazoo Racing车队，是该车队的随行阵容，在日本吸引了大量粉丝。）

That rock star persona reflects the unusual way Mr. Toyoda has defined the job he took over in 2009. He has become both the company's de facto chief marketing officer and chief test driver. He has vowed to vet as many vehicles as possible, especially muscle cars like the $24,000 Scion FR-S coupe and $375,000 Lexus LFA super car.

这种摇滚明星般的形象反映出丰田章男2009年接管丰田汽车后对这项工作非同寻常的定位方式。他实际上已成为公司的首席营销官和首席试车员。他承诺要尽可能多地试驾汽车，尤其是马力强劲、高性能的“肌肉车”，如售价24,000美元的Scion FR-S 跑车和售价375,000美元的雷克萨斯(Lexus) LFA超级跑车等。

It is a remarkable evolution for a man who first stayed largely behind the scenes when he took over the company founded by his grandfather. Thrust into the spotlight during Toyota's acceleration-pedal recall in late 2009, his initial public comments seemed awkward. But he found his voice during U.S. congressional testimony in early 2010, telling lawmakers: 'My name is on every car.' (The corporate name was changed to Toyota in 1936 because it sounds snappier in Japanese.)

这对丰田章男来说是一个巨大的变化。刚刚接管祖父创办的这家公司时，丰田章男大部分时间都居于幕后。然而，在2009年底的丰田汽车“踏板门”召回事件中，丰田章男被推到聚光灯前。他的首次公开讲话略显笨拙，但终于在2010年初的美国国会听证会上找到了自己的声音。他告诉国会议员：“每一辆丰田车上都有我的名字。”（该公司在1936年将Toyoda更名为Toyota，因为这在日语里更上口。）

Company officials say that the campaign featuring Mr. Toyoda as a cockpit jockey helps the company turn the page on its recent mishaps and provides a sportier image for the brand. The current marketing effort was built around the launch of the latest-generation Camry, a humdrum people-mover that has been the best-selling car in the U.S. all but of the one of the past 15 years.

公司管理人士称，以赛车手丰田章男为形象的广告宣传有助于扭转公司近期的颓势，并为丰田品牌带来更多的运动气息。当前的营销活动是为了配合最新一代凯美瑞的上市。在过去十五年里，各方面表现中庸的凯美瑞一直是美国最畅销的乘用车，只有一年例外。

Mr. Toyoda says he honed his driving skills in the 1980s driving a used Porsche in Manhattan, where he was working as an investment banker. He bought it after someone stole his Toyota Celica. The Porsche is long gone, but Mr. Toyoda likes to show off his Porsche ballpoint pen clad in the steel mesh used to protect wiring under the hood. 'Look at this,' he told a reporter Thursday. 'It's just like an auto part.'

丰田章男说，他的驾驶技术是二十世纪八十年代在曼哈顿开一辆二手保时捷(Porsche)时培养起来的。当年他在曼哈顿一家投资银行工作，因为自己的一辆丰田Celica跑车被盗，于是买下了保时捷。那辆保时捷早已不在，但丰田章男喜欢秀他的保时捷圆珠笔，笔身包裹着一层用于保护汽车引擎盖下配线的钢网。他对记者说：“看这支笔，就像汽车零件一样。”

His daredevil activities are raising his profile in a way that few of his button-down predecessors sought. The company's last president, Katsuaki Watanabe, tried to keep out of the limelight during his stint, spending his leisure time singing in a men's choir.

这些锐意进取的大胆行为提升了丰田章男的知名度，而他那些保守的前任们很少有人走这条路。丰田公司上一任总裁渡边捷昭(Katsuaki Watanabe)在任期间努力远离公众视线，闲暇时在一个男声合唱团里唱歌。

Mr. Toyoda's approach carries risks, not least of which is the possibility of the type of high-speed accident that killed Toyota's chief test car driver in 2010. That was one year after Mr. Toyoda drove for the third year in a row in an annual 24-hour race on a Grand Prix track in Nurburg, Germany. The company says he hasn't been in a competitive race since then - a decision prompted in part by pressure from Toyota's board, according to a person familiar with the matter. But he hasn't quit his habit of racing solo at top speeds on closed courses.

但丰田章男的做法也伴有风险，高速驾驶中的意外事故就是其中之一。2010年，丰田汽车首席试车员在一起高速事故中身亡。事发前一年，丰田章男已连续第三次参加每年一度在德国尼尔堡(Nurburg)大奖赛(Grand Prix)赛道上举办的24小时耐力赛。丰田汽车称，丰田章男自此之后没有再参加竞技比赛。据知情人士透露，该决定在一定程度上是迫于丰田公司董事会的压力，但丰田章男并没有放弃在封闭赛道上独自驾车挑战极限速度的爱好。

At a news conference in March, Mr. Toyoda appeared alongside three Toyota test drivers and made the case for keeping the keys. 'Ten years ago, I was once chewed out by our chief test driver for not knowing how to put a car through its paces, something they risk their lives to do everyday,' he said. 'Now, I see myself as a bridge who can talk to both racing pros and average car owners.'

在2012年3月的一次新闻发布会上，丰田章男与三名丰田试车员一同露面，并阐述了自己继续试驾丰田汽车的理由。他说：“十年前，我们的首席试车员有一次曾训斥我不懂如何全面检测车辆性能，而这是他们每天都要冒着生命危险去做的事情。现在，我视自己为一座桥梁，能同时与专业车手和普通车主进行沟通。”

Mr. Toyoda has cut back on other pastimes such as golf to spend more hours at the test track. That shift from the back nine to starting line came, he says, after a journalist chided him by saying that most Toyota executives' appreciation of 'handling' is limited to golf clubs.

丰田章男缩短了打高尔夫球等其他娱乐活动的时间，把更多时间花在试车场上。他表示，这一转变得益于此前受到的来自一名记者的斥责。这名记者说，丰田汽车大多数高管对于“操作”一词的理解仅限于在高尔夫球杆上。

He regularly shows up at events wearing a tailor-made Nomex fireproof red and white racing suit - featuring a shoulder patch with a cartoon of his dog, Morizo. While many CEOs hand out business cards, Mr. Toyoda's chief calling cards are stacks of stickers with that dog patch design.

丰田章男经常现身各种赛事，身着红白相间的Nomex定制防火赛车服──肩章上印着他的爱犬Morizo的卡通像。许多公司高管给人递的是名片，但丰田章男递得最多的是一堆贴画，上面印着肩章上的卡通狗形象。

In an effort to energize some 1,100 dispirited Toyota dealers and employees attending a company conference in Las Vegas last November, he bounded to the stage in his racing suit.

2011年11月在拉斯维加斯举行的公司大会上，为了给与会约1,100名情绪不高的丰田汽车经销商和雇员打气，丰田章男身穿赛车服跃上舞台。

In the midst of a pep talk, he led the crowd in chanting 'WAKU-DOKI, WAKU-DOKI, WAKU-DOKI,' a term loosely translated as 'heart-pounding excitement.'

丰田章男在演讲中给大家加油鼓劲，领着人们反复地喊“WAKU-DOKI, WAKU-DOKI, WAKU-DOKI”，这个词翻译过来的意思大致是“血脉贲张”。

Mr. Toyoda often uses that phrase to illustrate the passion needed in his company's vehicles, the design of which he told reporters in April was 'too Democratic' to inspire.

丰田章男常常用这个词来说明丰田汽车的设计所需体现的激情。他在4月份告诉媒体，丰田汽车的设计过程“过于民主”，导致产品平淡无奇。

Mr. Toyoda has taken a deep interest in product development. During the development of the FR-S sports car, which began in 2008, he drove prototypes at least once a month and offered sometimes blistering feedback on everything from the suspension to the design of the exterior badge.

丰田章男对产品开发有着浓厚的兴趣。丰田汽车从2008年起开始研发FR-S运动汽车，在此期间，丰田章男每个月至少都要试驾一次原型车，有时候会很不客气地提出反馈意见，涉及从减震装置到外部车标设计的方方面面。

'Mr. Toyoda's comments can be quite harsh. At one point, we were at a crossroads in development and he said the car wasn't talking to him at all, which was his way of letting us know it wasn't anything special,' recalled Tetsuya Tada, the FR-S's chief engineer. 'I don't remember that ever happening with past presidents.'

“丰田章男提的意见有时候相当尖锐。有一回我们正处于产品开发的十字路口，而丰田章男说那款车根本不能同他交谈，意思就是说车的设计没有任何特色。”FR-S车型首席工程师多田哲哉(Tetsuya Tada)回忆道，“在我的印象中，以往的总裁从来没有这样做过。”