新奇事件簿 日本汽车是世界最可靠汽车

Japanese cars are the most reliable in the world. That’s according to J.D. Power and Associates, an international market research company. J.D. Power’s asked thousands of car owners about problems they had with their cars in the first three years of ownership. The Lexus car topped the reliability¹ list, for the fourteenth year in a row. Lexus is Toyota’s luxury car brand. The survey found that Lexus cars were getting better and better. They had 120 problems per 100 vehicles, down from 145 problems in the 2007 study. "That's a pretty good track record," said Dave Sargent, a J.D. Power's executive. Lexus was first place in six categories, while other Toyota and Honda cars led four categories. Toyota's Prius hybrid² was the winning compact car.

日本汽车是世界最可靠汽车。据国际市场研究公司J.D. Power and Associates报告，就轿车使用问题，它对轿车购买三年内的车主进行了询问。连续十四年，雷克萨斯荣登最可靠汽车榜首。雷克萨斯是丰田旗下奢侈品牌。据研究发现，该品牌轿车可靠指数越来越高。该品牌每百辆车所报问题为120个，而2007年为145个。J.D. Power高管戴夫·萨金特认为，雷克萨斯的记录非常好。它在六种类别中排名第一，丰田和本田有四种排名第一，丰田的普锐斯混合动力获得紧凑级轿车冠军。

Mr Sargent said that reliability in cars is improving every year. In the past two years, the industry average has improved from 237 problems per 100 vehicles to 206. Land Rover, sold earlier this year to India's Tata Motors, was the worst-performing brand, with 344 problems. Sargent also said the “seriousness” of the problems was decreasing. The complaints being reported a few years ago were “hard” problems, such as serious technical defects. Sargent said these were becoming less common. He told reporters it is now more likely that car owners will complain about “soft” problems, like strange noises or wear and tear of the car’s interior. He added that: "Improved quality is good for everybody, especially for the consumers, who don't have the annoyance³ of problems and costs."

萨金特称汽车的可靠性正在逐年提升。在过去两年间，每百辆汽车的问题数量已从237个下降到206个。今年早间被塔塔收购的路虎为表现最差汽车，每百辆汽车报告问题数量为344个。萨金特称问题的“严重程度”也在逐渐减少。前几年遭提及的问题都是“严重”问题，例如致命的技术缺陷。他称这些问题已不再多见。他对记者表示，车主将有可能向“软问题”转化，例如奇怪噪音，或室内磨损问题等。他还指出：“特别对于顾客而言，提升质量造福大家，顾客也不会再抱怨开销或汽车问题了。”

1 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

2 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

3 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。