原文出处：The Economist, Business, New York, Apr. 20th 2017.
Recreational Vehicles:On the road
房车：在路上
An all-American product finds new takers.
美国产品找到新买家。
Early spring is the main selling season for recreational vehicles (RVs) and the phone on Tom Troiano's desk has been ringing incessantly. The owner of Continental RV, a dealership in Farmingdale, a village on Long Island, Mr Troiano is on track to sell more RVs this year than in any other since the early 2000s. Buoyed by cheap financing, rising wages and inexpensive gas, travellers are once again splurging on big-ticket camper vans.
早春是房车销售的黄金季，Tom Troiano桌上的电话一直响个不停。Tom Troiano是长岛法明代尔村房车经销店大陆房车(Continental RV)的老板，该店销售状况很好，预计今年销售额将达到2000年初以来的最高水平。贷款利率低，工资上涨，油价低廉，驴友们再次疯狂了，不惜撒上大把钞票购买房车。
RVs are a quintessentially American invention: more than two-thirds are made in the United States. Nationally, sales surged to 430,000 units last year, a 40-year high. At the inexpensive end they sell for as little as $5,000 for a caravan; deluxe versions cost up to $1m and are typically equipped with a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom that are bigger than in many European flats. The share prices of Thor Industries, the biggest RV-manufacturer in America, and Winnebago, the third-largest, have risen by 43% and 17%, respectively, in the past year.
房车是典型的美国发明：世界上三分之二以上的房车都产在美国。去年全美销量飙升至43万辆，达到40年来最高水平。低端产品如旅行拖车，售价只在5000美元；豪华车型价格高达100万，一般有一个卧室、一个厨房、一个卫生间，比欧洲许多公寓房还大。去年，美国最大房车生产商霍尔工业和第三大生产商温内巴戈股价分别上涨43%和17%。
That is a big change.During the 2008-09 recession, notes Mr Troiano, RV dealerships everywhere closed down, leaving his shop among the very few left serving the New York metropolitan area. The current rebound is mostly owing to the economy's recovery, but it also springs from the fact that new types of customer are embracing the lifestyle.
真是形势剧变。Troiano指出，08-09年经济衰退，各处房车经销商纷纷倒闭，像他这样仍坚持在纽约大都市区经营的经销商没有几家。眼下销售回暖主要是经济复苏的结果，同时，有新的客户群开始崇尚这种生活方式，也是销售反弹的一个原因。
A decade ago the average age of an RV-owner was 49, and over 90% were white, says Kevin Broom of the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), an industry body. That didn't bode well for the future. But stereotypes are being dented. Anecdotal reports suggest that ethnic minorities now make up around asixth of all new customers, says Mr Broom. The fastest-growing customer demographic is 35- to 44-year-olds. Another boost comes from affluent immigrants, who are keen to experience long, self-planned road trips in America. Mr Troiano's most recent big sale was to a rich Asian family.
房车行业协会（RVIA）的Kevin Broom表示：十年前，房车车主平均年龄在49岁，白人占90%以上。这样的结构对于未来而言不是好事，不过人们眼中过去的情况正在逐渐发生改观。Broom先生说，一些非正式报告显示：少数族裔已经占到新客户总数的六分之一左右。增长最快的客户群体是35-44岁之间的人士。另一个迅速增长的群体是经济状况良好的移民，这些人非常渴望亲身体验美国的长途自由行。Troiano先生最近的一大单就来自于一个富裕的亚裔家庭。
The industry hopes that its poor record with foreign sales—last year less than 1% of RVs produced domestically were shipped to foreign markets (excluding Canada)—may improve, too.China's government, for example, has pledged to build 2,000 campgrounds by 2020, up from an estimated 300 today, in a bid to promote domestic tourism, particularly to remote rural regions. Chinese firms such as Yutong Bus make RVs, but not of the quality that many Chinese want. The country imported 1,000 vehicles last year, over half of them American.
去年，国产房车出口海外市场（不包括加拿大）的比例还不到1%，面对海外销售的惨淡经营，业内希望今年出口销量也能有所增加。例如，中国政府承诺到2020年将建成2000个露营地，而目前这一数字估计只有300左右。此举旨在促进国内旅游业的发展，尤其是偏远农村地区的发展。宇通客车等中国企业也生产房车，但质量达不到许多中国人的要求。去年中国进口房车1000辆，一半以上为美国制造。
RV manufacturers are also marketing the notion that their motor homes can be commercial as well as leisure vehicles.They can allow travelling salesmen, businessmen and university-admissions officers to save onfood and hotel costs, for example, when they hit the road trying to recruit prospective new clients and students. The office, as well as home, can be wherever you park it.
房车制造商同时也在推销一种理念，即房车既可用于商业用途，也可用作休闲车辆。比如说，销售人员和商务人士出差寻找潜在客户，大学招生负责人外出招生，这时使用房车就能省下食宿费用。只消停下车来，处处办公处处家。
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