几乎每部下线的汽车都至少有一个共同点：外壳都是喷了漆的钢板。但是通用电气公司却说用新型超耐磨彩色薄膜覆盖的塑料外壳将是发展的方向。从赛格威人员运输机公司的围墙外，你可以偷偷地一睹其真容。

词汇注释：

1.exterior n. 外部, 外面, 外观
2.scratch n. 抓痕，划痕
3.catch  n. 棘手的问题

A New Paint Job

Nearly every car that rolls off the assembly line has at least one thing in common: the exterior1 is painted steel, but General Electric says plastic covered with its new extra-durable colorized film is the way to go. You can sneak a peek at it on the fenders of the Segway Human Transporter. This polymer film called Lexion-XLS was invented in 1998 to make plastic more resistant to scratches2, chemicals, and UB rays. GE hopes the auto industry will drive the sale of Lexion. The company says the long lasting coated plastic can be used on any auto panel, making cars lighter and more fuel-efficient. But there is a catch3, the price of plastic is much higher than painted steel. And automakers like cost efficiency. But General Electric isn’t given up yet. Its scientists are working on combining this new film with plastic to form one substance. If successful, durable, paint-free vehicles may be just down the road.

汽车的新外衣

几乎每部下线的汽车都至少有一个共同点：外壳都是喷了漆的钢板。但是通用电气公司却说用新型超耐磨彩色薄膜覆盖的塑料外壳将是发展的方向。从赛格威人员运输机公司的围墙外，你可以偷偷地一睹其真容。这种被称为Lexion-XLS的高分子膜发明于1998年，它可使塑料更能经得起刮擦、化学药品侵蚀以及UB射线侵害。通用电气公司希望汽车工业能推动Lexion的销售。公司称，经涂层处理的耐用塑料可用于任何汽车面板，使汽车更加轻便且节省燃料。但是也有一个棘手的问题，就是塑料的价格要比喷漆钢板的价格高出很多，而汽车生产商希望降低成本。但通用电气公司并未泄气。他们的科学家正着手研究把这种新型膜与塑料结合起来，合成一种新的材料。一旦实验成功，经久耐用、无需喷漆的车辆将可能很快出现在马路上。