賣有趣的汽車：豐田如何重回巔峰

????有些人將他視為豐田汽車（Toyota Motor）的啦啦隊長，在過去幾年間負責代表這家深陷困境的企業拋頭露面，對公眾笑臉相迎。持有這種觀點的批評家人數正在減少。在他們眼里，豐田仍處于灰色官僚的控制之下。這些企業官僚認為汽車就像人們生活中一個低調的伙伴，只要不出毛病就好。而豐田章男就像青樓里的樂師——替人助興，但對企業而言并非不可或缺。

????不過如今，越來越多的觀察家認為，豐田章男引導了這家世界上最大汽車制造商的文化變革。這家企業如今專注于制造顧客想要擁有的汽車，而不是應當擁有的汽車。某種意義上說，他給這家競爭力十足卻缺乏激情的企業傾注了他自己對于汽車的一腔熱情，用這種方式推動了一場設計與工程的革命，同時引領著死氣沉沉的雷克薩斯（Lexus）生產線的復興。

????可以肯定的是：所有的跡象都表明豐田章男樂在其中。他不用再為豐田汽車突然加速而向美國國會道歉，如今他給人的感覺是：經營公司就像在沙灘上散步。最近，他身穿卷起褲腿的卡其褲，騎著兩輪電動車前往明治大學（Meiji University）給學生演講，成為一大新聞。Jalopnik上的一篇博客寫道：“他出現了……看起來像是剛剛搶購了Bonobos的男裝在試穿一樣，希望借此讓年輕人重燃對汽車的激情?！?/p>

????豐田章男只是希望能夠玩得開心。就像他最近對《汽車新聞》雜志（Automotive News）所說的：“我一直在強調兩件事：請制造更好的汽車。如果汽車不能帶來樂趣，它就不是一輛汽車?！?/p>

????即使對日語原文的翻譯也許不一定精確，提供“樂趣”也是這家大型汽車制造商總裁即將規定的一項不同尋常的標準。不過豐田章男做的這一切似乎都起到了作用。豐田在解決過去幾年所遭遇的產品召回、法律訴訟、自然災害等問題上，給出了一切證據，證明他們能夠征服挑戰：

????? 豐田在2013年的前三個季度保持了世界最大汽車制造商的地位，名列通用汽車（General Motors）和大眾（Volkswagen）之前，盡管它的領先優勢正在減弱。9月，豐田的全球月銷量上升6.3%，達到83.2萬輛。今年，公司將售出將近1,000萬輛汽車和卡車——這對所有汽車制造商而言都是空前的。

????? 預計在截止到明年3月31日的2014財年中，豐田將獲得260億美元的利潤——這是另一項空前的紀錄——這個收益要部分歸功于日元的低價（1美元=97日元）和豐田對美國相對高的出口量。

????? 盡管面對來自福特和大眾日益激烈的競爭，豐田依舊保持了14.4%的美國市場占有率。在過去兩年中，豐田對北美投資超過21億美元，生產能力達到之前的9倍。

????? 豐田在混合式燃料汽車上依舊保持全球領先。公司預計到2015年將推出15款新式或改進版氣電混合動力車。在同一年，豐田還將推出第一款燃料電池汽車。

????豐田章男正在精挑細選，將他的所有時間都投入能夠帶來最大影響的領域。他個人對雷克薩斯很有興趣，任用了一位美國領導來主管全球擴張，并對每款車型的設計和表現提出自己的意見。豐田章男把這稱之為“與我的右腦對話?！薄镀囆侣劇返囊晃毁Y深編輯把他對豐田的貢獻比作史蒂夫?喬布斯對蘋果（Apple）的貢獻?！八拖褚粋€了解汽車驅動動力學和操控的司機，為雷克薩斯贏得了來之不易的名聲，同時他還帶來了自己對時尚的理解?！?/p>

????One school sees him as the leading cheerleader for Toyota Motor (TM), a laughing and smiling front man for a company that has been struggling more than usual the past few years. By the accounts of these critics, whose numbers have been shrinking, Toyota Motor is still under control of the usual gray bureaucrats who think cars should look like inoffensive lumps of clay as long as they never break. Akio is like the piano player in the brothel: entertaining, but hardly essential to the enterprise.

????But a growing number of observers now see president Toyoda as the leader of a culture change at the world's largest automaker, dedicated to making cars you want to own, rather than ought to own. In a sense, he is transfusing the highly competent if uninspiring organization with his own passion for automobiles. By doing so, he has spurred a design and engineering revolution and is leading a revival of the somnolent Lexus line.

????One thing for certain: Toyoda gives every indication of enjoying himself. No longer faced with tasks like appearing before Congress to apologize about unintended acceleration, he gives the impression that running a car company is just a walk on the beach. He made news recently when he arrived at a speech for Meiji University students in Japan wearing khaki pants rolled up above his shoe tops (see photo above) and riding a two-wheeled, stand-up electric bike. Wrote one Jalopnik blogger: "He shows up ... dressed like he just raided the Bonobos catalog to try and get young people excited about cars again."

????Akio just wants to have fun. As he told Automotive News recently: "I have always said two things: Please make ever-better cars. And if it doesn't offer fun, then it is not a car."

????Even allowing for an imprecise translation from the original Japanese, offering "fun" is an unusual standard to be set by the president of a major automaker. But whatever Akio is doing seems to be working. Toyota gives every evidence of putting its problems of the last few years -- recalls, lawsuits, natural disasters -- behind it as it bulldozes the competition:

????? Toyota has maintained its perch as the world's largest automaker for the first three quarters of 2013, outpacing General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Volkswagen, although its lead is shrinking. In September, Toyota's monthly group-wide global vehicle sales rose 6.3% to 832,000 vehicles. This year, it will sell nearly 10 million cars and trucks -- an all-time record for any automaker.

????? Toyota is expected to post an operating profit of $26 billion in fiscal 2014 that ends on March 31 -- another all-time record -- thanks, in part, to the cheap yen (97 to the dollar) and Toyota's relatively high number of exports to the U.S.

????? Despite stronger competition from Ford (F, Fortune 500) and Volkswagen, Toyota is hanging on to its 14.4% share of the U.S. market. It has invested more $2.1 billion in North America over the past two years and expanded production capacity nine times.

????? Toyota remains the world leader in hybrids and plans to introduce 15 new or improved gas-electric models by 2015. That same year, it will introduce its first fuel-cell vehicle.

????Akio is picking his spots, devoting his time to areas where he can make the biggest impact. He's taken a personal interest in Lexus, appointing an American to lead its global expansion and making his own suggestions about the design and performance of individual models. Akio describes it as talking "with the right side of my brain." A veteran editor atAutomotive News compared his contributions to the role Steve Jobs played at Apple. "What he brings to Lexus is a hard-earned reputation as a driver, a man who understands a car's driving dynamics and handling, and his sense of style."