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In naming Mary Barra as its next chief executive, General Motors will become the first U.S. auto maker to be headed by a woman. But it is her background, as opposed to her gender, that sends a stronger message to investors.
通用汽車(General Motors)任命瑪麗•巴拉(Mary Barra)為該公司首席執(zhí)行長，成為第一家由女性領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的美國汽車生產(chǎn)商。但對于投資者來說，更具意義的是巴拉的職業(yè)背景而不是她的性別。
GM is much leaner than it was when it sought bankruptcy protection in 2009. But investors have been nagged by concerns that vestiges of the hidebound culture that sent the company over the edge remain. GM's continuing problems in Europe, and its inability so far to match Ford Motor's success in streamlining vehicle platforms, hasn't helped.
與2009年申請破產(chǎn)保護時相比，現(xiàn)在通用汽車已進行了大幅度的瘦身。但投資者擔(dān)心，曾經(jīng)導(dǎo)致該公司陷入破產(chǎn)邊緣的僵化的企業(yè)文化還沒有被完全消除。通用汽車在歐洲市場仍面臨困境，另外迄今為止該公司在精簡汽車平臺方面的成果仍無法和福特汽車(Ford Motor)相媲美，這些都對通用汽車不利。
Regardless of who leads GM, Europe, where the industry is struggling with structural excess capacity, will be a problem for some time. The good news, such as it is, is that Europe has stabilized lately, with industrywide sales up 2.5% in the three months ended in October from a year earlier.
無論誰領(lǐng)導(dǎo)通用汽車，正在結(jié)構(gòu)性產(chǎn)能過剩中掙扎的歐洲汽車市場未來一段時間內(nèi)仍將是一個棘手的問題。但好消息是歐洲市場最近已經(jīng)企穩(wěn)，截至10月份的三個月中，歐洲汽車行業(yè)的總銷量同比增長2.5%。
The effort to reduce platforms, or basic sets of vehicle architecture, which over the long haul should bring down development costs, improve quality and improve flexibility as drivers' tastes shift, is an area where Ms. Barra may be able to make a difference. Currently head of product development, with stints managing a plant and running engineering divisions, her appointment represents a break from GM's reputation of favoring career bean counters for its top spot.
巴拉在減少汽車平臺（即基本車型）方面可能會有所作為。長期而言，減少平臺應(yīng)當(dāng)會降低研發(fā)成本，改善質(zhì)量，并可以根據(jù)買家喜好的變化而增加靈活性。巴拉目前擔(dān)任產(chǎn)品研發(fā)主管，她擁有管理工廠和工程部門的經(jīng)驗。她獲任首席執(zhí)行長對于通用汽車來說是一個突破，此前該公司一直喜歡聘請精打細算的職業(yè)經(jīng)理人擔(dān)任首席執(zhí)行長。
'That she's been put in that position is a significant change for the company and the culture,' says IHS Automotive analyst Tom Libby.
IHS Automotive分析師利比(Tom Libby)表示，巴拉被任命為通用汽車首席執(zhí)行長是該公司及其企業(yè)文化的一個重大改變。
It is, to be sure, one thing to put an emphasis on streamlining and refreshing GM's vehicle lineup and quite another to succeed at it. But the shift in focus from merely surviving to making better cars more efficiently may convince more investors to lean into GM's stock.
雖然通用汽車加強精簡和更新汽車車型方面的工作并不等于就能夠在方面取得成功，但該公司的業(yè)務(wù)重點將從勉強生存下去轉(zhuǎn)向以更高效率生產(chǎn)更好的汽車，這可能會吸引更多投資者購買通用汽車的股票。
