豐田章男:駕馭豐田汽車的賽車手
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.
這是一段2011年秋季在美國播出的豐田汽車(Toyota Motor Corporation)電視廣告。視頻開頭出現的是豐田公司總裁豐田章男(Akio Toyoda)，他戴着眼鏡，身着深灰色西裝和領帶，向攝影機揮手。隨後畫面突然切換，豐田章男換上一身紅黑相間的連體賽車服，戴上頭盔，在拉斯維加斯賽車場(Las Vegas Motor Speedway)駕駛一輛迷幻色彩的凱美瑞(Camry)轎車奔馳。一臺安裝在駕駛倉內的攝像頭拍攝到56歲的豐田章男不斷換檔提速，汽車音響系統爆發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.'
“怎樣重新打造美國最暢銷的汽車？”此時片中響起一個畫外音，“從手握方向盤開始。豐田章男：賽車手、豐田汽車總裁。”
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.
正在脫胎換骨的不僅是凱美瑞，還有豐田章男本人。多年來，豐田汽車的設計一直被許多人視爲平淡乏味，2009年尷尬的召回事件以及2011年的地震也給公司帶來嚴重衝擊。現在，豐田章男駕駛汽車，親自扮演宣傳員的角色，以期振興這家汽車巨頭。
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.
豐田章男並非第一個親自上陣的汽車公司高管。克萊斯勒公司(Chrysler)首席執行官李.艾科卡(Lee Iacocca)在工廠車間，福特汽車公司(Ford Motor Co.)董事長小比爾.福特(Bill Ford Jr.)在辦公桌旁，戴姆勒-克萊斯勒公司(DaimlerChrysler)董事長迪特.蔡澈(Dieter Zetsche)在一輛道奇挑戰者(Dodge Challenger)車內，都爲公司做過宣傳。
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.)
但這其中沒有任何一個人駕車攀爬過31度傾角的雷特娜國際賽道(Daytona International Speedway)陡坡，也沒有在一對身穿皮衣、手拿遮陽傘的賽車女郎簇擁下出現在競技賽場上。（這對美女被稱爲“Gazoo女郎”，得名於豐田的Gazoo Racing車隊，是該車隊的隨行陣容，在日本吸引了大量粉絲。）
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.
這種搖滾明星般的形象反映出豐田章男2009年接管豐田汽車後對這項工作非同尋常的定位方式。他實際上已成爲公司的首席營銷官和首席試車員。他承諾要儘可能多地試駕汽車，尤其是馬力強勁、高性能的“肌肉車”，如售價24,000美元的Scion FR-S 跑車和售價375,000美元的雷克薩斯(Lexus) LFA超級跑車等。
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.)
這對豐田章男來說是一個巨大的變化。剛剛接管祖父創辦的這家公司時，豐田章男大部分時間都居於幕後。然而，在2009年底的豐田汽車“踏板門”召回事件中，豐田章男被推到聚光燈前。他的首次公開講話略顯笨拙，但終於在2010年初的美國國會聽證會上找到了自己的聲音。他告訴國會議員：“每一輛豐田車上都有我的名字。”（該公司在1936年將Toyoda更名爲Toyota，因爲這在日語裏更上口。）
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.
公司管理人士稱，以賽車手豐田章男爲形象的廣告宣傳有助於扭轉公司近期的頹勢，併爲豐田品牌帶來更多的運動氣息。當前的營銷活動是爲了配合最新一代凱美瑞的上市。在過去十五年裏，各方面表現中庸的凱美瑞一直是美國最暢銷的乘用車，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.'
豐田章男說，他的駕駛技術是二十世紀八十年代在曼哈頓開一輛二手保時捷(Porsche)時培養起來的。當年他在曼哈頓一家投資銀行工作，因爲自己的一輛豐田Celica跑車被盜，於是買下了保時捷。那輛保時捷早已不在，但豐田章男喜歡秀他的保時捷圓珠筆，筆身包裹着一層用於保護汽車引擎蓋下配線的鋼網。他對記者說：“看這支筆，就像汽車零件一樣。”
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.
這些銳意進取的大膽行爲提升了豐田章男的知名度，而他那些保守的前任們很少有人走這條路。豐田公司上一任總裁渡邊捷昭(Katsuaki Watanabe)在任期間努力遠離公衆視線，閒暇時在一個男聲合唱團裏唱歌。
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.
但豐田章男的做法也伴有風險，高速駕駛中的意外事故就是其中之一。2010年，豐田汽車首席試車員在一起高速事故中身亡。事發前一年，豐田章男已連續第三次參加每年一度在德國尼爾堡(Nurburg)大獎賽(Grand Prix)賽道上舉辦的24小時耐力賽。豐田汽車稱，豐田章男自此之後沒有再參加競技比賽。據知情人士透露，該決定在一定程度上是迫於豐田公司董事會的壓力，但豐田章男並沒有放棄在封閉賽道上獨自駕車挑戰極限速度的愛好。
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月的一次新聞發佈會上，豐田章男與三名豐田試車員一同露面，並闡述了自己繼續試駕豐田汽車的理由。他說：“十年前，我們的首席試車員有一次曾訓斥我不懂如何全面檢測車輛性能，而這是他們每天都要冒着生命危險去做的事情。現在，我視自己爲一座橋樑，能同時與專業車手和普通車主進行溝通。”
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.
豐田章男縮短了打高爾夫球等其他娛樂活動的時間，把更多時間花在試車場上。他表示，這一轉變得益於此前受到的來自一名記者的斥責。這名記者說，豐田汽車大多數高管對於“操作”一詞的理解僅限於在高爾夫球杆上。
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.
豐田章男經常現身各種賽事，身着紅白相間的Nomex定製防火賽車服──肩章上印着他的愛犬Morizo的卡通像。許多公司高管給人遞的是名片，但豐田章男遞得最多的是一堆貼畫，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月在拉斯維加斯舉行的公司大會上，爲了給與會約1,100名情緒不高的豐田汽車經銷商和僱員打氣，豐田章男身穿賽車服躍上舞臺。
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.'
豐田章男在演講中給大家加油鼓勁，領着人們反覆地喊“WAKU-DOKI, WAKU-DOKI, WAKU-DOKI”，這個詞翻譯過來的意思大致是“血脈賁張”。
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.
豐田章男常常用這個詞來說明豐田汽車的設計所需體現的激情。他在4月份告訴媒體，豐田汽車的設計過程“過於民主”，導致產品平淡無奇。
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.
豐田章男對產品開發有着濃厚的興趣。豐田汽車從2008年起開始研發FR-S運動汽車，在此期間，豐田章男每個月至少都要試駕一次原型車，有時候會很不客氣地提出反饋意見，涉及從減震裝置到外部車標設計的方方面面。
'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.'
“豐田章男提的意見有時候相當尖銳。有一回我們正處於產品開發的十字路口，而豐田章男說那款車根本不能同他交談，意思就是說車的設計沒有任何特色。”FR-S車型首席工程師多田哲哉(Tetsuya Tada)回憶道，“在我的印象中，以往的總裁從來沒有這樣做過。”
