VOA新闻杂志2023--In Iran, Auto Repair Brings Back Cadillac Sevilles

In Iran, Auto¹ Repair Brings Back Cadillac Sevilles

In his automobile² repair shop near Iran's capital, Tehran, Khosro Dahaghin works carefully on a special car, a Cadillac Seville. The car is over 40 years old and needs fixing.

In the 1970's, the American automaker General Motors (GM) partnered with an Iranian company to build the cars in Iran. The Sevilles cost more than twice as much in Iran as they did in the United States.

"The most luxurious³ and the most special car that was assembled in Iran was Cadillac Iran," Dahaghin told The Associated Press. He said no other car was as good as the Seville during that time.

The Seville had a powerful engine, large and soft seats, and power windows and door locks. It sold for $12,479 in the United States in 1975 when it entered the market. If the price is changed to account for the effects of inflation, that would be over $70,000 in today's money.

Back then, Iran had the only Cadillac production factory outside of the United States. GM created General Motors Iran Ltd., which produced the Seville and other vehicles using American designs and materials.

The Sevilles sold for about $35,000 in Iran at the time.

Michael Albano, a Cadillac spokesman in the U.S., said he believed about 2,500 Sevilles were built in Iran.

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Americans and GM left the country. Iran continued building Sevilles for several more years. It nationalized the GM Iran factory, creating the manufacturer Pars⁴ Khodro that stills exists today.

Saeed Shobeiri is the editor-in-chief of Machine Magazine in Tehran. He thinks there are about 60 Sevilles that are in good driving condition today. And he thinks there are more than 100 that are unable to be driven. These cars need fixing.

Dahaghin, the car repair expert, and his coworkers hope to fix them. Dahaghin once watched an American television show that showed how old cars are made to look new. He has worked on Sevilles since 2013.

He said, "Now we restore these cars after years and when they are back on [the] streets they are both very beautiful and very special compared to other cars."

But it is not easy to fix the old cars. Each one can take up to a year and a half to finish. It is hard to find parts and many of the old cars have damage. Some replacement⁵ parts are being hand-carried back into Iran by those traveling from other countries.

"I will not sell this piece of art to anyone who makes an offer," Dahaghin said. "The buyer must appreciate the value of this artwork."

A restored Seville can sell for as much as $40,000 in Iran now, said Mohammad Khorshidizadeh, a classic car specialist. That is very costly⁶ because the exchange value of Iranian money is low.

Albano, the Cadillac spokesman, said that more young people around the world are interested in the cars.

For fans of the classics and the Iranian automotive history, like 29-year-old Arsalan Asgharzadeh who recently bought a Seville from Dahaghin, nothing compares to a Cadillac.

"If you experience driving a Cadillac, you will always want to drive a Cadillac," Asgharzadeh said.

Words in This Story

luxurious –adj. very comfortable, costly and appealing the senses

assemble –v. to put together in an orderly and correct way

restore –v. to bring back to working or like-new condition

appreciate –v. to value something; to consider something valuable that others might not

classic –adj. the best example of a product or work; something with a design that is appealing over a long period of time

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

3 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

4 pars   

n.部，部分；平均( par的名词复数 )；平价；同等；（高尔夫球中的）标准杆数

参考例句：

• In humans, the pars intermedia is a rudimentary region. 人的脑垂体中间部是不发达的。 来自辞典例句
• James Gregory gave in in his "Geometriae Pars Universalis" a method of rectifying curves. James Gregory在他的《几何的通用部分》中给出了计算曲线长度的方法。 来自辞典例句

5 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。