In parts of Detroit， Michigan you can buy houses for $1. The crumbling city， once a major American metropolis， now seems doomed to ruin as the automobile industry on which she once depended disappears from the American landscape. As jobs disappear， so does the population， leaving behind entire abandoned neighbourhoods， the ruined legacy of a prosperous past.Unemployment and despair creates crime， and the murder rate in the city is the highest in the United States.

在密歇根底特律的一些地方，用1美元你便可以買(mǎi)到房子。這個(gè)日趨衰落的城市曾經(jīng)是美國(guó)重要的大都市，現(xiàn)在，隨著它曾經(jīng)依賴的汽車業(yè)在美國(guó)風(fēng)光漸失，這座城市看起來(lái)注定要破產(chǎn)。因?yàn)楣ぷ鞯臏p少，人口銳減，留下的是整個(gè)被遺棄的居民區(qū)以及曾經(jīng)繁榮的遺跡。失業(yè)與絕望導(dǎo)致犯罪，這個(gè)城市成為美國(guó)謀殺率最高的城市。

Three car making firms， General Motors， Chrysler， and Ford， previously dominated Michigan， supplying big， gas-guzzling American cars to an eager domestic and international market.Detroit was known as \"Motor City\". As cheaper， more efficient vehicles from overseas， particularly Japan， began to appear in the late 1970s， American car manufacturers struggled to compete. The last eight years alone have seen over 300 000 manufacturing jobs lost in Michigan.Environmental concerns and rising gas prices have made large vehicles， especially SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles， massive four-wheel-drive cars)， which were previously doing well in the US market， less attractive to consumers. General Motors has already announced plans to close one SUV factory.

通用汽車、克萊斯勒、福特這三大汽車制造公司曾經(jīng)在密歇根占主導(dǎo)地位，為國(guó)內(nèi)外市場(chǎng)提供大型、耗油的美國(guó)汽車。底特律曾經(jīng)被稱為“汽車之城”。自從20世紀(jì)70年代末開(kāi)始從海外尤其是日本引進(jìn)便宜而且更加節(jié)能的汽車以來(lái)，美國(guó)汽車制造商開(kāi)始在競(jìng)爭(zhēng)中苦苦掙扎。僅在過(guò)去的8年內(nèi)密歇根汽車制造業(yè)中就減少了30萬(wàn)個(gè)以上工作崗位。環(huán)境問(wèn)題及汽油價(jià)格的上升使曾經(jīng)在美國(guó)市暢銷的大型汽車，尤其是運(yùn)動(dòng)型多功能汽車，即大型四輪驅(qū)動(dòng)車不再那么受消費(fèi)者青睞。通用汽車公司已經(jīng)宣布將關(guān)閉其一個(gè)SUV制造廠。

All three automobile firms have also been hit hard by the recent financial crisis. Share values have plummeted and losses last year reached tens of billions of dollars. As a result， General Motors and Chrysler， which between them employ 200 000 Americans and produce 12 million cars a year， are in merger talks. Such a merger would create one of the largest companies in the United States， but local union representatives said they were afraid that more job losses would come about from a joining of the two companies.

三家汽車公司同樣受到最近的金融危機(jī)的重創(chuàng)。其股票價(jià)格暴跌，去年損失達(dá)到上百億美元。結(jié)果通用汽車公司和克萊斯勒開(kāi)始進(jìn)行有關(guān)合并的商談。兩家公司共擁有工人20萬(wàn)，年產(chǎn)汽車量達(dá)1200萬(wàn)輛。他們的合并將形成美國(guó)又一規(guī)模龐大的公司。但是地方工會(huì)曾擔(dān)心合并會(huì)造成更多的裁員。

Prospects for a revival look slim. Even with oil prices falling in the wake of the credit crunch， America's turn away from domestic vehicles to cheaper foreign brands seems inevitable. Indian and Chinese manufacturers are already competing to take a share of the North American market， hoping to appeal to cash-conscious consumers. American cars， once famous worldwide， may be on their way out for good.

復(fù)興的希望看上去渺茫。即便信貸危機(jī)造成油價(jià)下跌，美國(guó)從本土汽車品牌轉(zhuǎn)向國(guó)外更廉價(jià)的汽車品牌的趨勢(shì)看上去不可逆轉(zhuǎn)。印度和中國(guó)汽車制造商已經(jīng)在北美競(jìng)相爭(zhēng)奪市場(chǎng)，希望吸引消費(fèi)謹(jǐn)慎的消費(fèi)者。曾經(jīng)享譽(yù)全球的美國(guó)汽車業(yè)可能走上了一條永遠(yuǎn)的下坡路。