This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
ANNOUNCER: "They'll know you've arrived, when you drive up in the nineteen fifty-eight Edsel -- the car that's truly new, from nameplate to taillight."
播音员：“当你驾驶着1958年版埃德塞尔车--这种真正从铭牌到尾灯都全新设计的小汽车，他们就会知道，你来了。”
The Ford Motor Company built several versions of the Edsel from nineteen fifty-eight to nineteen sixty. Ford ended production of the car after just three model years because of weak sales.
福特汽车公司从1958年到1960年生产了数款埃德塞尔车。由于销售疲软，在仅仅生产3代车型后，福特停止了这种车生产。
The Edsel has been described as both a "colossal failure" and "a car ahead of its time."
埃德塞尔已经成为了“彻底失败”和“超前汽车”的代名词。
John Heitmann is a history professor at the University of Dayton in Ohio and vice president of the Society for Automotive Historians.
John Heitmann是俄亥俄州代顿大学历史学教授，也是美国汽车历史学家协会副会长。
JOHN HEITMANN: "It was a car that was controversial in styling. Its horseshoe-shaped grill is still remembered today. The Edsel is kind of the example of the car that never caught on. It's known as the 'disaster from Dearborn.'"
JOHN HEITMANN：“这辆车在造型方面存在争议。其马蹄形散热护栅到今天仍被怀念。埃德塞尔某种意义上成为了不受欢迎汽车的典型。它被称为'来自迪尔伯恩的灾难'。”
Dearborn, Michigan is Ford's headquarters.
密歇根州迪尔伯恩市是福特汽车总部所在地。
Professor Heitmann says the biggest problem was that the Edsel arrived around the same time as a recession. He says Americans were beginning to question their values.
Heitmann教授表示，最大的问题是，埃德塞尔车几乎和美国经济衰退同期抵达。他说美国人当时正开始怀疑自己的价值观。
JOHN HEITMANN: "It's a really curious kind of economic episode. It was actually quite severe but also rather short. But it was at a time when many Americans were reacting to the dinosaur in the driveway. These very heavy, chrome-laden Buicks and other cars -- the fifty-eight Buick had fifty-eight pounds of chrome on it. The Edsel was also a very heavy, very fuel-inefficient vehicle."
JOHN HEITMANN：“这是一次非常古怪的经济衰退，它实际上相当严重，但又非常短暂。但当时许多美国人对马路怪兽非常反感，马路怪兽指的是车身庞大的镀铬别克车和其它车。58年版别克车车身镀了58磅铬。埃德塞尔车也是一种车身庞大，燃油效率低的汽车。”
Even so, some people say the Edsel's technology more than made up for what it lacked in looks and fuel efficiency.
即便如此，也有人表示，埃德塞尔车的科技含量远远弥补了其外观和燃油效率的缺陷。
"Shamrock" Shelly Cleaver is the public relations director for the Edsel Owners Club in the United States. Mr. Cleaver has been a member of the club since it formed in nineteen sixty-nine. He says the Edsel was the most modern car of its time.
Shelly Cleaver是美国埃德塞尔车主俱乐部的公关总监。自俱乐部1969年创立之日起Cleaver先生就是其会员。他表示，埃德塞尔车是当时最现代化的汽车。
SHELLY CLEAVER: "It was the first Ford product to have self-adjusting brakes on it. And then on the back rear bumper it had little bumper tips, had a guard with rubber mounted in them so when you could push your car on something, you wouldn't skin up your bumper. And it had power lubrication where you could lubricate your ball joints and everything inside the car where you mashed a button."
SHELLY CLEAVER：“这是首款拥有自调式刹车的福特产品。车身后保险杠安装了橡胶护板，这样当车碰上什么东西时不会磨花你的保险杠。它还拥有动力润滑系统，你按一下按钮，就能润滑汽车球形接头和其他零件。”
Mr. Cleaver liked one feature especially.
Cleaver先生尤其喜欢其中一个功能。
SHELLY CLEAVER: "The fifty-eight Edsel had five buttons in the center of the steering wheel to shift the gears, see. And that way you could shift the gears with your left hand and keep your arm around your girlfriend, or your wife, whatever and keep on driving. That was unique. It was Teletouch Drive."
SHELLY CLEAVER：“58版埃德塞尔车方向盘中间有5个换挡的按钮。这样你就可以用左手换挡，右手搂着女友老婆什么的继续开车。这是独一无二的电动触摸式驾驶。”
"Shamrock" Shelly Cleaver made good use of that feature when he got married in nineteen fifty-eight. He went on his honeymoon in an Edsel, with one arm on the wheel and the other around his new wife.
1958年Shelly Cleaver结婚时就用到了这一功能。他开着一辆埃德塞尔车开始了蜜月之旅，一手扶着方向盘，另一手搂着新婚妻子。
The Edsel was named for Edsel Ford, the only child of company founder Henry Ford. Edsel was president of Ford Motor Company until he died in nineteen forty-three.
埃德塞尔车是以福特创始人Henry Ford独子Edsel Ford的名字来命名的。Edsel任福特汽车公司总裁直到1943年去世。
Today the cars are considered collector's items. They can cost anywhere from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.
今天，这款车被当成收藏品，价值大约在数百美元到数万美元之间。
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