汽车技术正在迅速发展。

For most of the 20th century General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler were the biggest companies in one of the world’s most important industries.  But as car trends have vastly changed from SUVs and gas guzzlers to economy sized cars and green machines, “Detroit’s Big Three” have seen their sales fall dramatically.  

美国西班牙裔汽车市场

Another interesting trend in the automotive industry has been increased market segmentation by companies like Buick, who have created a niche in the Hispanic Market – through which they have increased sales by 83% in the past year.  Several popular car brands: Buick, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Mazda, KIA, Cadillac, and Infiniti, are showing signs of continued growth within the Hispanic market.  Detroit’s Big Three are falling behind in niche categories as they have generally tended to market to a broader audience.  European brands have not been much better in increasing their sales to Hispanic consumers, but Volkswagen, MINI, and BMW are leading the leading the way into these growing niche markets by stepping up their marketing efforts.  On the other hand, Audi has increased their sales to Hispanics over the past year by 23.4%.

亚洲汽车

亚洲品牌也从细分汽车类别的销售中获益，因为它们现在占据了西班牙裔市场的 60% 以上。具体来说，亚洲品牌丰田、本田和日产在美国西班牙裔的新车偏好中占据主导地位。2010 年，美国西班牙裔汽车市场增长超过 6.0%，超过了美国汽车市场的全国平均水平，后者在 2010 年前 9 个月仅增长了 4%。西班牙裔汽车购买量现在占美国汽车市场总量的 8.7%。

汽车技术与车型

BMW and Mini are leading the way in the automotive sector for more innovative technology to become standard in luxury vehicles. Technology that is being introduced by these companies with their 2011 models is focused on their consumer’s preferences in parking, safety, and satisfaction. The 2011 Mini Countryman features the Central Rail System, replacing the usual console; it offers specifically designed holders for your cups, mobile devices, audio devices, and other common items.  Mini’s typical small frame has been elongated and now offers generous leg room for all different drivers as well as a larger trunk space (12.2″“15.4 cubic feet and 41.0 cubic feet with the back seats folded down).

The BMW X3 is now in its second generation (first generation (2004-2010) and has gone high tech by offering such entertainment features as USB Interface, Bluetooth Audio Streaming, and their Navigation and Entertainment Server.  BMW has also gone to great lengths to improve the driver’s control when parking or at crowded intersections.  The rear view camera shows the driver what’s behind the car on the iDrive screen (displayed on the central console – to be used when backing up and maneuvering into tight spots), while beeping to alert the driver of a safe parking distance.  The “Top View” camera uses side and rear view camera to give the driver a bird’s eye view of the X3 and its surroundings.

BMW 6 系列敞篷车配备“防爆轮胎”。这些自持轮胎带有集成加固装置，可使轮胎在气压损失后仍保持其形状并充分发挥驾驶性能。事实上，驾驶员可以在低速下使用防爆轮胎行驶长达 150 英里，这使得驾驶员在更换轮胎或等待路边救援时更加方便。在部分车型上，BMW 还提供“夜视”功能，它集成了 BMW 令人惊叹的系统视觉支持系统，可以在黑暗中看到汽车前方 300 码内的行人或动物！通过激活 BMW 前部内置的红外摄像头，驾驶员将能够看到导航系统监视器上显示的潜在道路危险，并在肉眼可见之前避开它们。