10大值得复活的经典车型

    老而弥珍

    对很多着眼于未来的车迷来说，汽车工程师和设计师显然太沉迷于过去了。不论这种情结源于向历史致敬、怀旧、复古、还是剽窃，他们从未放弃过让经典老车型在今天重新焕发生机的努力。

    过去几年中，我们已经看到了三大汽车厂商推出的成功翻新之作：大众（Volkswagen）的新甲壳虫（New Beetle）、宝马的Mini Cooper和菲亚特（Fiat）的500。底特律三巨头对沿用历史品牌和设计这种做法一直颇为低调，但福特野马（Ford Mustang）、雪佛兰科迈罗（Chevrolet Camaro）和道奇战马（Dodge Charger）确实借鉴了早期车型的外形和设计思路。不过，这种做法并不是万无一失的。不久前，福特就曾打算重新设计20世纪50年代的两座版雷鸟（Thunderbird），但随后就失去了热情，项目最终宣告搁浅。

    曾经量产过的车型数以千计，而一些经典好车因为创意十足，或因为没有机会为世人所知，或因为在情感上仍拥有一大批忠实粉丝，它们不应湮灭于历史尘埃之中。以下列举了一些值得再造的车型：

    Oldies but goodies

    For a bunch of forward-looking car guys, automotive engineers and designers sure love to live in the past. Call it homage, nostalgia, retro, or rip-off. They are constantly trying to recreate some favorite car by reimagining it for the present day.

    In the past several years, we've seen successful reinventions by three import manufacturers: Volkswagen's New Beetle, BMW's Mini Cooper, and Fiat's 500. The Detroit Three have been somewhat less blatant in their appropriation of historic badges and designs, but the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and Dodge Charger all borrow shapes and cues from earlier models. The formula isn't foolproof, however. Ford tried to revive the 50s-era two-seat Thunderbird a while back, but it left out the zest.

    There are thousands of automobile models that have been produced, and there are ample opportunities for more classics that, because of originality, obscurity, or emotional appeal deserve to be recreated. Here are a few suggestions:

    纳许大都市

    斯蒂夫•乔布斯，保罗•纽曼和“猫王”的共同点是什么？他们都拥有一辆纳许大都市。这是一款小巧的双人座汽车，1954年到1962年在美国市场销售。它是英国汽车公司奥斯汀（Austin）为纳许•哈德森公司（Nash-Hudson）生产的。它比大众甲壳虫更短更轻，是美国市场上销售过的最小车型之一。因为那个年代汽油价格便宜而且供应充足，所以这款车的销量几乎和它自己的大小一样微不足道。

    复活理由

    首先是为了重温对纳许这个品牌的美好记忆，同时还因为现在又开始流行小型车了。

    Nash Metropolitan

    What did Steve Jobs, Paul Newman, and Elvis Presley have in common? They were all owners of a Nash Metropolitan, a tiny, two-passenger car sold in the U.S. from 1954 to 1962. Produced by Austin in the U.K. for Nash-Hudson, it was shorter and lighter than the Volkswagen Beetle, making it one of the smallest cars ever sold on our shores. But since gasoline was still cheap and plentiful, sales were nearly as tiny as the car itself.

    Why it should be revived

    To restore the memory of the Nash name and because small cars are getting popular again.