底特律車展諜影重重

????本周開幕的底特律車展上，梅賽德斯-奔馳（Mercedes-Benz）高管為他們的最新豪華車揭幕后，幾百名記者和博主紛紛拍照，記錄下高管的只言片語和一些細節。而十幾家同行也擁上前來，用心琢磨這款新車的造型和內涵。

????而戴姆勒公司（Daimler）首席執行官迪特爾?柴奇介紹全新的奔馳C級車時，人頭攢動的奔馳展臺邊上有些人只是靜靜地等候著。另一些人側著身子走到來自德國、日本和美國的電視記者和媒體旁邊。起亞汽車（Kia）的四個工程師則在C級車預展后輕快地直奔它而去，拍完照后就一起離開了。

????每年的某些日子，誰都可能是個間諜。這些兼職偵探主要是全球主要汽車廠商的設計師、工程師和高管們。他們收集競爭情報的手法跟很多人撿蘋果差不多——每年一次，輕手輕腳。

????寶馬汽車（BMW）一位不愿透露姓名的產品經理稱：“我們這么做既是為了業務，同時也覺得很有意思。如果不是因為這是公開場合，那就真成間諜行為了?！?/p>

????業界高管和設計師都會利用各種業界展會偷師學藝，比如底特律車展、拉斯維加斯的消費電子展（Consumer Electronics Show）、以及其他上百個各類展會。他們參展的主要目的就是摸清對手推出了什么引人關注的新產品。

????其中一些人會把自己的名牌偷偷塞進衣服，悄無聲息地來了就走。另一些人則在對手的地盤上大搖大擺地走來走去，甚至在對手還在回答媒體問題的時候溜進展臺一探究竟。

????汽車配件供應商采埃孚公司（ZF）的塔拉?庫尼說：“他們就想搞清楚對手到底在做什么，這樣才安心?！?/p>

????總部位于倫敦的研究和咨詢公司弗若斯特沙利文（Frost & Sullivan）的高級合伙人薩文特?辛格表示，在全球各地舉辦的車展上，打探對手的車型是習空見慣的事。他就有一次看見大眾汽車（Volkswagen）首席執行官馬丁?文德恩帶著幾個隨從在法蘭克福車展上打開對手新車的車門測量它的內部細節，隨后他還跟大眾的首席技術官交流自己的發現。

????大眾汽車公關部執行副總裁托尼?瑟沃尼表示，他對拿著千分尺和卷尺爬進對手的新車東量西量“態度很開通”?！八拖肓私庖惠v車帶給人的直觀感覺”，并會以此培訓自己的產品經理和其他員工。瑟沃尼稱，作為一種“競爭性分析”，這類探究往往很有效，能讓大眾汽車評估自己產品的市場定位，搞清楚“我們要怎樣才能擊敗對手呢？”

????而很多資深業內人士會仔細觀察那些細微之處，比如做工或儀表板設計。曾在通用汽車（General Motors）效力的瑟沃尼說：“正是那些不起眼的小地方才會讓人大吃一驚?！彼浀?，通用前副總裁羅伯特?魯茲多年前曾非常仔細地研究過一輛奧迪車，對它車身金屬件裝配的精度驚嘆不已。

????When Mercedes-Benz executives unveiled its newest luxury cars in Detroit this week, hundreds of journalists and bloggers snapped photos and recorded quotes and details. So did dozens of competitors keen on absorbing the style and substance of Mercedes' new models.

????Some waited quietly near the perimeter of the crowded Mercedes stand as Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche introduced the new C-Class cars. Others sidled up to television crews and media from Germany, Japan, and the U.S. A group of four Kia engineers waltzed right up to the C-class vehicles after the press preview, took photos, and left en masse.

????For a few days a year, anyone can be a spy. These part-time sleuths are designers, engineers, and executives at the world's leading automakers. They gather competitive intelligence the way many people pick apples -- once a year, and gingerly.

????"We do it for business and we do it for fun," said one BMW product manager who asked not to be named, adding "it would be spying if it weren't out in the open."

????Execs and designers use industry events like the Detroit Auto Show or the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as well as hundreds of other trade shows to find out what's new and notable from their rivals.

????Some discretely tuck their name badge inside their jackets and come and go quietly. Others strut in like they belong in rival territory, and even climb inside while competitors are still answering questions from the press.

????"They want to get a good feeling of what their competitors are doing," said Tara Kuhnen, who works for auto supplier ZF.

????Checking out competitors' models and prototypes is commonplace at auto shows across the world, agrees Sarwant Singh, senior partner with Frost & Sullivan, a research and consulting company based in London. He once saw Martin Winterkorn, the CEO of Volkswagen, with a small entourage at the Frankfurt Auto Show, opening doors and measuring details of his competition's models. He was telling his chief technology officer what he was finding, Singh recalled.

????"He's pretty open" about carrying his micrometer and measuring tape and climbing into a competitor's car, said Tony Cervone, executive vice president of communications for Volkswagen. "He wants to know the tactile feel of cars" and brings along production engineers and other staffers. The visits are useful as a "competitive review" so VW can evaluate its cars' position in the marketplace, Cervone said. "What do we need to do to beat out the competition?"

????Many of the senior people are looking at tiny details such as finish or interior dashboard designs. "It's the little pieces that surprise you," said Cervone, who previously worked for General Motors (GM). He recalls former GM vice chairman Robert Lutz combing through an Audi years ago and marveling at the precision of the body's metalwork.