斯巴魯的另類生存?（節選）

????按通常標準看，斯巴魯（Subaru）在美國汽車市場上只不過是個讓人不會在第一時間想到的品牌。它一共只有7款車型和酷越車，僅占美國汽車銷售總額的2.3%。光是豐田凱美瑞（Toyota Camry）的銷量就超過斯巴魯全系車型。多年來，斯巴魯只能算是個區域性品牌——在美國東北部和西北部賣得不錯，在其他地方就默默無聞了。斯巴魯從來沒有品嘗過一夜成名的滋味。44年前，斯巴魯美國公司——富士重工（Fuji Heavy Industries）的美國子公司就開始賣車了，但迄今其銷售規模在美國仍僅列第12位。而進入美國市場比它完了20年的現代（Hyundai）與起亞（Kia）卻開發了更豐富的產品線，銷量已經是斯巴魯的好幾倍。

????但是，在車輛品質與安全性方面，獨立評論者對斯巴魯的肯定高于任何其它廠商。《消費者報告》（Consumer Reports）的評測認為，在性能、舒適性、實用性和可靠性方面，斯巴魯超過包括奔馳（Mercedes-Benz）、寶馬（BMW）在內的任何車企，并稱斯巴魯的車是全美最棒的。二手車殘值與價格專業測評機構ALG（前Automotive Lease Guide）認為，斯巴魯的車是主流品牌中殘值最高的。高速公路安全保險協會（Insurance Institute for Highway Safety）在經過碰撞試驗后提出，斯巴魯是所有被測車型中“安全首選車型”，這可是沒有哪家車企能自我標榜的殊榮。

????今年以來，受到這三重佳績的推動，經銷商處的斯巴魯幾乎是有多少賣多少。盡管長期庫存不足，斯巴魯還是開始穩步打破月度銷售記錄，今年的銷量比去年增長了26%——幾乎是行業整體增長率（14%）的一倍。颶風“桑迪”正好襲擊了斯巴魯的核心客戶群所在地，但10月該公司的銷售額照樣猛增30%，而全行業的增長率僅有7%。

????斯巴魯使自己躋身一線車企的努力可以稱之為“精工細作”——專心致志、注重個性，特別精于某些方面。憑借有限的資源，斯巴魯精明地在全時四驅這類性能上大膽投入，開發了使之從競爭中脫穎而出的營銷手段與廣告，而且比任何對手都更了解自己的客戶。通過在地域、生活方式，甚至有時候是性取向上吸引客戶，斯巴魯在業內建立了最深厚的忠誠度。這家公司非常有自知之明，因此多年來它的廣告語總是那句自我指涉的表達：“這就是斯巴魯。（It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.）”

????斯巴魯這個品牌極具魅力，因此公司成功將其用于多個完全不同的車型。本年度最暢銷的車型是緊湊型翼豹（Impreza）轎車和掀背車。憑借全新的設計，不足18,000美元的起價，眾多年輕家庭和首次購車者排著隊購買，都想充分領略它更好的燃油經濟性，時尚的造型和寬敞的內部空間。銷售額比去年翻番，經銷商的庫存不夠賣兩周的。在與功能性相對的另一端則是斯巴魯另一款炙手可熱的全新跑車——BRZ。作為對經典跑車的現代詮釋，這款四座轎跑的造型不同尋常，操控充滿賽道感，對中年男性來說魅力非凡。因此，許多人紛紛出手，把這輛起價為25,000美元的車開回了家，以至于9月初當天的新車供應量很快就只剩下11輛。斯巴魯，

????By the usual measurements, Subaru should be no more than an afterthought in the U.S. car market. It sells just seven car and crossover models and accounts for a slim 2.3% of U.S. auto sales. By itself, the Toyota Camry outsells the entire Subaru lineup. For years Subaru has been essentially a regional brand -- strong in the Northeast and Northwest but unknown in the rest of the country. No overnight success, Subaru of America -- the U.S. arm of Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries -- began selling cars in the U.S. 44 years ago and still ranks only 12th in size. Hyundai and Kia, which arrived two decades later, have developed broader product lines and sell several times more vehicles.

????Yet Subaru has racked up more endorsements by independent arbiters of automotive quality and safety than just about any other manufacturer.?Consumer Reports rates Subaru?above Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and every other manufacturer in performance, comfort, utility, and reliability, and says the company makes the best cars in America. ALG (formerly Automotive Lease Guide), the industry's arbiter of residual value and used-car prices, named Subaru the leader in retained value among mainstream brands. And after crash tests, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety made Subaru a "top safety pick" across its entire product line, a distinction no other manufacturer can claim.

????Fueled by this trifecta of achievements, just about everything Subaru sells is flying off dealers' lots this year. Despite a chronic shortage of inventory, the company has been breaking monthly sales records with regularity, and sales for the year are up 26% compared with last year's -- nearly double the 14% gain for the industry as a whole. Hurricane Sandy struck right in the heart of Subaru's customer base, yet the little car company saw sales jump 30% in October, vs. the industry's 7%.

????What Subaru has done is to make itself into the first automaker that could be described as "artisanal" -- focused, individualistic, and really good at a very few things. With only limited resources, Subaru has made smart bets on features like all-wheel drive, developed memorable marketing and advertising that set it apart from the competition, and learned more about its customers than any other automaker. In appealing to them by geography, lifestyle, and, at times, sexual orientation, it has built the deepest loyalty in the car business. The company understands itself so well that for years its advertising tag line was the self-referential "It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru."

????So resilient is the appeal of its brand name that Subaru has managed the feat of stretching it over wildly different models. One of this year's fastest-selling cars has been?Subaru's compact Impreza?sedan and hatchback. Newly redesigned and with a base price under $18,000, it has young families and first-time buyers queuing up to take advantage of its improved fuel economy, updated styling, and roomier interior. Sales have doubled from a year ago, and dealers have less than a two-week supply. At the opposite end of the functionality spectrum is another red-hot seller,?the Subaru BRZ. A modern interpretation of the classic sports car, the two-plus-two coupe features out-there styling and racetrack handling that appeal to men of a certain age. So many are going out the door at prices starting at $25,000 that the days' supply at the beginning of September had shrunk to 11.