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Christmas arrived on schedule for the U.S. auto industry as a spurt of sales put the wrapping on a surprisingly successful year. Analysts predicted that sales in December could hit a seasonally-adjusted rate of 17 million, which would be the first month at that rate in nearly six years. That would push 2013 sales up to a robust 15.7 million units.
2013年的圣诞节如期而至。对美国汽车工业来说，年底猛增的销量为格外成功的2013年画上了句号。分析师预计，12月销量的季节变动调整年率可能达到1700万辆，这也是近六年来首个达到这一销量的月份。同时，它将使2013年全年销量达到1570万辆的高位。
Welcome as they were, surging sales weren't the biggest news of the year. Detroit celebrated when General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) made Mary Barra the auto industry's first female CEO, then held its breath while Ford (F, Fortune 500) CEO Alan Mulally dithered over a move to Seattle and Microsoft. The old Big Three, complaining about straining available production capacity, made plans to expand and hire. Tesla(TSLA) fired up electric car sales and refused to play by industry's rules, while Google(GOOG, Fortune 500) pioneered a car that drives itself.
尽管销量大幅增长让人欢欣雀跃，但它并不是汽车业今年最重大的新闻。底特律先是因为通用汽车公司（General Motors）提拔玛丽•芭拉出任汽车业首位女性首席执行官而欢欣鼓舞；紧接着，福特汽车（Ford）首席执行官艾伦•穆拉利在重回波音公司还是加入微软公司（Microsoft）两者间犹豫不决之际，它又紧张得大气都不敢喘。传统的三巨头抱怨现有产能已挖掘到极限，开始制订扩张和聘用新人的计划。特斯拉公司（Tesla）让电动汽车的销量火了一把，而且不肯按行规出牌；而同时谷歌公司（Google）则在自动汽车研制上一马当先。
There were reversals too. Sales of electric vehicles suffered as gas prices leveled off and then fell. Suzuki wound down its presence in the U.S. market, and Volvo looked none too healthy. Sales in China -- now the world's largest auto market -- slowed, and Europe remained deep in a slump, its fundamental overcapacity problems unsolved.
当然，也有一些不那么乐观的消息。随着油价趋稳并随后下跌后，电动汽车的销量马上就开始受到拖累。铃木汽车（Suzuki）在美国市场上日渐式微，同时沃尔沃（Volvo）看起来也还是无力回天。中国——现在已是全球最大的汽车市场——的销售开始放缓，而欧洲依然在衰退中泥足深陷，汽车业产能过剩的根本性问题还是无法解决。
Here are some of the year's pinnacles and potholes:
下面就是今年汽车业所经历的高峰和低谷：
Busting through the glass ceiling
成功突破玻璃天花板
In being named CEO, Mary Barra broke through several historical barriers in moving from GM's third-most powerful executive position to its first. Her job was made both easier by the appointment of a non-executive chairman to handle the board of directors, and more difficult by the decision to give her old job to one of her rivals. As the first product engineer to head the company in two decades, she will be deluged with suggestions about everything from air conditioning vents in new pickups to the future of brands like Buick and Chevrolet.
玛丽•芭拉从通用汽车的第三把交椅升至第一把交椅，获得首席执行官提名，这一路上她突破了好几个历史性障碍。一方面，通过任命一位非执行主席掌管董事会，她能更容易打开工作局面；但另一方面，由于一位对手接手了她以前的职责，她现在的工作又变得更棘手了。她是二十年来首位掌管公司的产品工程师，各种建议势必将纷至沓来，令人应接不暇。这些建议小到新皮卡上的空调出风口，大到别克（Buick）和雪佛兰（Chevrolet）这些品牌的前景，无所不包。
Most popular vehicle
最畅销车型
Ford's F-series pickup, the reigning champion for the last quarter-century, held off a strong challenge from Chevrolet's redesigned Silverado to remain the nation's No. 1 selling vehicle. The race to become the best-selling car, an all-Japanese final, belonged again to the Toyota (TM) Camry, which beat out the Honda (HMC) Accord.
作为过去二十五年来的常胜将军、福特的F系列皮卡一直成功地抵挡住了雪佛兰重新设计的西尔维拉多（Silverado）的挑战，盘踞着美国最畅销皮卡的宝座。而全是日本品牌角逐的最畅销汽车决赛，丰田（Toyota）凯美瑞（Camry）再次成功击败本田（Honda）雅阁（Accord），摘得冠军头衔。
