MINI-MANIA COMES TO ASIA AS BMW LAUNCH NEW MINI COOPER

BMW新的迷你库博车（MINI COOPER）投放亚洲市场 掀起迷你（MINI）车热潮

[Autombile Sample Translation - Part 3]:

THE NEW MINI
新的迷你车（MINI）

Now BMW is giving the Mini tradition and style a new beginning. The car created a stir when it was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show late last year. It launched in Britain in July this year and will be available in Asia from 2002.

现在，BMW为迷你（Mini）车注入了新的生命力。去年晚些时候，这款车在巴黎车展上亮相时引起了轰动。今年它将在英国投放市场，2002年后在亚洲也可买到。

There will be three models available globally – the standard Mini, the Mini Cooper and the top-of-the-line Mini Cooper S. BMW are expecting to sell 30,000 units in 2001 and 100,000 per year after that.

全球市场上现有3种迷你（Mini）车型 – 标准迷你车、迷你库博车（Mini Cooper）和最高级的迷你库博S车（Mini Cooper S）。BMW预期在2001年内使销售量达到30,000辆，此后每年销售100,000辆。

The model available in Asia will be the Mini Cooper - with styling modern but strongly reminiscent of the traditional Mini. However, the car is bigger and has a more powerful engine – a 1600cc power plant giving it a 0-100km time of just over 9 seconds and a top speed of 200km/hr or 125mph. It has a major emphasis on technology. The Mini Cooper has been engineered to the same crash safety levels as all BMWs and it now sports a rigid body 2-3 times as stiff as any of its rivals for extra safety. Options include satellite navigation, a rain sensor and a tyre pressure warning system.

亚洲市场上销售的车型将是迷你库博车（Mini Cooper） - 兼具现代品位和对传统迷你（Mini）车的怀旧风格。不同的是，现在这种车的空间更大，引擎更加强有力 – 这个1600毫升的动力中心可以在9秒内使汽车从静止提速到100公里/小时，其最高时速可达200公里/小时或125英里/小时。这款车极为重视科技。迷你库博车（Mini Cooper）秉承了所有BMW轿车的撞击安全工程设计，而且其主体部分十分结实稳固，比其它同类车型要坚固2至3倍，保证了更大的安全性。

It is still a compact car – only 6 feet wide – and has the renowned Mini-style handling abilities and “fun” feel plus much-enhanced safety features, including six airbags (incorporating airbags designed to protect the head).

该车车型紧凑 – 仅有6英尺宽 – 它装有著名的迷你风格（Mini styling）操作系统，感觉一流，还有特别加强的安全特性，包括六个安全气囊（安装了专门保护头部的气囊）。

But, more than anything else, the new Mini will bring new life to what is arguably the most famous small car in motoring. It will return to the roads the same kind of style and pizzazz that helped define a generation, launch a famous era in fashion – and which even showed how to beat an international political problem.

不过，真正重要的是，新的迷你（Mini）车为这种世界最著名的小型车又注入了新的生命。城市与乡村的道路上又可以见到这种车带来的潇洒不羁的风格。正是这种风格，曾定义了一个时代，曾开创了一种时尚 – 甚至曾让我们明白如何对付一个国际政治问题。

MARKET DYNAMICS
市场动态

Many auto makers are interested in stimulating sales with families of small cars which share components – to make manufacturing simpler and maximise profits in a traditionally low-margin segment (Source: Wall Street Journal). Along with the three Mini models released at first, BMW is also considering many other versions. The company won’t reveal its plans but it is possible that there will be an open-top convertible, a diesel and other versions of the Mini.

许多汽车生产商都希望能够刺激具有相同部件的小型车系列的销售 – 这样可以简化生产过程，并在这个传统的低利润率市场上获得最大化的利润（来源于：Wall Street Journal）。随着三种迷你（Mini）车的投放市场，BMW也在考虑生产本系列的更多其它车型。虽然公司不会公布其具体计划，但估计可能会生产顶部可开启的敞篷车、柴油动力车以及其它一些类型的迷你（Mini）车。

The move towards attracting small car buyers and establishing a strong “brand” bond with drivers means some auto makers are partnering with Japanese companies (like DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi; Ford and Mazda; Peugeot and Toyota) to produce new small cars. However, such joint ventures are mostly aimed at the lower-end of the small car market. Many experts consider the Mini will take on the Beetle, the Smart car and the Mercedes A Class and is likely to come out on top of the higher-end segment because of its styling and performance.

为了吸引更多的小型车购买者，并且建立起驾驶者认同的知名“品牌”，一些汽车生产商正在与日本公司合作（比如：DaimlerChrysler与Mitsubishi合作; Ford与Mazda合作; Peugeot与Toyota合作）生产新的小型车。不过，这些合资企业基本上都致力于占领小型车的低端市场。许多专家认为，迷你（Mini）车将取代Beetle， Smart car和Mercedes A Class等品牌，以其独特的风格和优异的性能占据小型车高端市场的领先位置。