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  3. The cash-for-clunkers program turned out to be a boon for Asian automakers and the small cars they specialize in. While American

The cash-for-clunkers program turned out to be a boon for Asian automakers and the small cars they specialize in. While American

admin2012-12-01  80
问题     The cash-for-clunkers program turned out to be a boon for Asian automakers and the small cars they specialize in. While American government officials hailed the monthlong program, which ended this week, as an overall stimulus to the economy, the biggest winner was Toyota, which accounted for 19 percent of all sales and had two of the top three best-selling models.
    Detroit’s three automakers — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — accounted for 38.6 percent of the vehicles sold. That figure is substantially less than the 45 percent combined market share that the Detroit companies posted in the first seven months of the year, while Japan’s largest automakers — Toyota, Honda and Nissan — sold 41 percent of the new vehicles in the program, compared with the 34 percent combined share they had through July of this year. The Toyota Corolla was the top seller, followed by the Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra.
    The success of Toyota and the other Asian automakers was driven by the type of cars in their showrooms. Participants in the clunkers program clearly were interested in downsizing to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. About 84 percent of the clunkers traded in were trucks, and 59 percent of the vehicles purchased were cars.
    The interest in small cars, however, could be a hopeful sign for the American auto companies as well. Ford is betting that consumer tastes will continue to shift away from big vehicles, and is bringing out new versions of the Focus and Fiesta subcompact G.M. and Chrysler have indicated that their postbankruptcy dealer showrooms will feature more small cars — and fewer trucks.
    Over all, the clunker program will have an impact on lowering fuel consumption, albeit a small one given the number of vehicles involved. The average fuel economy of the vehicles turned in was just under 16 miles per gallon, compared with an average of almost 25 miles per gallon for vehicles bought in the program.
    A preliminary analysis of the program by the Obama administration said that third-quarter economic growth has been 0.4 percent higher because of auto sales in July and August. In addition, G.M., Ford and Honda all announced that they would increase production at some United States plants because of the increased demand generated by cash for clunkers.
    Virtually every automaker reported increased showroom traffic because of the program. Just getting prospective buyers back into dealerships brought some measure of relief to an industry stuck in its worst sales slump in 25 years.
    Industry analysts said the surge in interest would be followed by a letdown now that the program was over. "Cash for clunkers distorted the market in a way that benefited the industry for four weeks," said Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of the auto-research Web site Edmunds.com. "Now the payback begins." Mr. Anwyl predicted that consumers might face higher prices on some models that were depleted by clunker sales. Also, manufacturers have little incentive to provide their own sales incentives because inventories are low.
What can we know about car consumption in America?
选项 A、People have more trust in Japanese automakers.
B、People prefer cars for they are more convenient than trucks.
C、People have less money to buy luxury cars.
D、People displace their bigger cars to save petrol.
答案D
解析 推理判断题。根据第三段第二、三句，参与以旧换新活动的消费者都倾向于购买小型节能汽车，换掉的旧车中84％是卡车，而购入的新车中59％为轿车，可以判定[D]“人们置换小型车的目的是节能”为答案：而不是因为大车不方便，排除[B]。根据第三段第一句，丰田和其他亚洲汽车制造商的成功缘于展厅中的小型汽车，因此人们购买日本车不是因为信任日本车商，排除[A]。[C]没有提到。
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