????今年，日本汽車產(chǎn)業(yè)接連遭到了自然和非自然災害的重創(chuàng)。慘痛的地震和強勢的日元使得本田（Honda）和豐田（Toyota）這樣的大型公司損失慘重。但是也有例外，這就是日產(chǎn)（Nissan）。一直屈居老三的日產(chǎn)公司韌勁十足，抓住死敵失利的機會，逐步搶占了美國市場份額，并博得了市場的青睞。

????到目前為止，日產(chǎn)（NSANY）美國銷售額較去年同期增長12.8%，然而本田（HMC）和豐田（TM）的銷售業(yè)績卻紛紛下跌。日產(chǎn)創(chuàng)新的聆風（Leaf）電動車帶來了良好的口碑，眼下，這家總部位于日本橫濱的公司可謂春風得意。7月，這臺前衛(wèi)小車的銷售量達到了4,806輛。這款車的稅前售價為34,570美元，充電一次能行駛約100英里。此外，日產(chǎn)Altima這款可能稍遜風騷，但卻是日產(chǎn)銷售收入的生力軍。這款中型轎車在銷量上甚至擊敗了本田雅閣（Accord）、雪佛蘭（Chevrolet, GM）邁瑞寶（Malibu）和福特（F）的Fusion。

????去年，當對手元氣大傷之時，日產(chǎn)這家在日本前三甲中長期殿后的汽車制造商開始頻頻發(fā)力，奮起直追。自3月11日地震和海嘯以來，對手的供應大受影響，而日產(chǎn)卻設法保證了車輛的穩(wěn)定供應。馬薩諸塞州萊克星頓市咨詢公司HIS旗下環(huán)球通視（Global Insight）的分析師瑞博卡?林德蘭德說日產(chǎn)“在供應商的調(diào)動和生產(chǎn)恢復方面的步伐更快”。他說，“本田為謹慎起見，將一級供應商增至多家，但卻收效甚微，因為雙方都因原材料和組件短缺而苦不堪言”

????日產(chǎn)納什維爾市美國總部主管通信事務的副總裁大衛(wèi)?魯特說，為了確保汽車的市場供應量，日產(chǎn)費煞費苦心。例如，由于地震造成了電腦芯片的短缺，日產(chǎn)毅然決定減少部分車型的高科技功能，例如取消導航系統(tǒng)，擴大汽車的生產(chǎn)數(shù)量，保證整車的供應量。因震后電力供應不足，日本易威奇工廠部分鍋爐無法達到預定的生產(chǎn)溫度，生產(chǎn)受阻，日產(chǎn)于是將美國坎頓和密西西比工廠生產(chǎn)的引擎零部件出口至易威奇工廠。

????魯特還說，“日產(chǎn)的優(yōu)勢在于monozukuri（生產(chǎn)一詞的日語——譯注）”。他認為，最近幾年韓國汽車制造商現(xiàn)代（Hyundai）這一亞洲品牌的迅速崛起吸引了對手的大部分注意力，這也使得日產(chǎn)有時間養(yǎng)精蓄銳。

????但是除了技術方面的問題，市場營銷也一直是日產(chǎn)的軟肋。盡管日產(chǎn)車質(zhì)量優(yōu)良，深受評論界贊譽，但市場銷量一直平平。10年前，為拯救日產(chǎn)，雷諾汽車公司（Renault AG）購買了日產(chǎn)的大量股份，之后，卡洛斯?戈恩接手日產(chǎn)，出任首席執(zhí)行官。自卡洛斯上任之后，人們對日產(chǎn)的認識逐步改觀。上世紀90年代末，日產(chǎn)一度瀕臨破產(chǎn)，然而公司卻置之死地而后生，日產(chǎn)汽車的銷售也因為其頗有創(chuàng)意的廣告而受益。

????本田和豐田的衰退給了日產(chǎn)崛起的機會。最近，權威雜志《消費報道》（Consumer Reports）將本田思域（Civic）請出了該雜志的推薦名單。此前，思域一直是這個榜單的?？汀ＸS田還沒有完全從突然加速事故和質(zhì)量調(diào)查的陰影中走出來。該公司高層對此事的處理失當，必將成為管理學的反面教材（盡管目前有關豐田在技術方面存在嚴重問題的指控并沒有得到證實，但其負面影響已讓公司苦不堪言）。

????當然，本田和豐田不會就此一蹶不振，這一點日產(chǎn)心知肚明。這兩家公司的財力雄厚，工程技術人才儲備充裕。豐田即將發(fā)布新款凱美瑞（Camry），該車的老款并未給評論家留下深刻印象，毫無疑問，為保證其主導地位，新款必將有所改進。汽車雜志《人車志》（Car and Driver）主編埃迪?阿爾特門說，“豐田一度勢不可擋，而日產(chǎn)的崛起則在于它愿意不斷嘗試。”話說黑馬好當，始終一馬當先就不是件容易的事了。

????Japan's auto industry has been battered by disasters natural and unnatural unlike this year. A tragic earthquake and a steroidal yen have wreaked havoc on the bottom lines of major firms Honda and Toyota. The exception? Nissan. The perennial third place finisher has proven resilient, gaining market share and garnering acclaim in the U.S. at the expense of its two most celebrated rivals.

????So far this year, Nissan's (NSANY) U.S. sales have jumped 12.8% percent ahead of last year, while Honda (HMC) and Toyota (TM) both declined. The Yokohama, Japan-based company has been basking in the spotlight of good publicity thanks to its innovative Leaf electric car. Through July, it has sold just 4,806 units of the avant-garde little model, which goes for about 100 miles on a charge and sells for $34,570 before tax credits. Less well-known -- and much more vital for Nissan's earnings -- is that its Altima mid-size sedan has been outselling Honda's Accord, Chevrolet's (GM) Malibu and Ford's (F) Fusion.

????Nissan, perennially bringing up the rear among Japan's top three, has made a series of deft moves over the last year that has propelled it forward as rivals stalled. Since the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami, the company has managed to maintain its supply of vehicles -- unlike competitors. Nissan "got its assembly plants and suppliers up and running sooner," says Rebecca Lindland, an analyst for IHS/Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. "Honda had taken the precaution of using more than one first-tier supplier. But that didn't work out because often both sources were hit by the same shortage of materials or sub-assemblies."

????David Reuter, vice president of communications at Nissan's U.S. operations in Nashville, says that the automaker was forced to scramble to make sure its dealers had enough vehicles to sell. Computer chips, for example, were in short supply due to the quake. Nissan therefore decided to build more units with fewer high-tech features, such as navigation, in order to ensure that as many cars as possible were completed. The automaker also exported engine components from its U.S. plant in Canton, Mississippi to its Iwaki plant in Japan when power shortages prevented some ovens from reaching critical heat, thereby disrupting production.

????"Nissan's advantage is monozukuri," Reuter said, a Japanese word that means manufacturing. He speculates that Nissan may have flown under the radar of its main competitors when they concentrated on the threat posed by South Korean producer Hyundai, the hottest ascendant Asian brand of the past few years.

????But Nissan's problems haven't all been technical. Marketing has been a longtime weakness. The automaker's vehicles, given their high reliability and top reviews by critics, have undersold in the market. Perceptions have changed steadily during the tenure of Carlos Ghosn, who took over as chief executive officer more than a decade ago when Renault AG bought a major stake in the automaker as part of a rescue effort. Nissan, which had been close to bankruptcy in the late 1990s, gained buzz as a turnaround story, its vehicles benefitting from more creative advertising.

????Nissan's relative strength has come at the expense of Honda and Toyota. Recently, the influential magazine Consumer Reports removed Honda's Civic from its recommended list, where it had long been a mainstay. And Toyota has yet to recover from investigations into a sudden-acceleration and quality scandal, which was so mishandled by executives it is destined to become fodder for management text books. (Allegations of serious technical flaws have not proven credible, but the fallout has nevertheless hobbled the company.)

????Of course, Nissan can't count on Honda and Toyota floundering forever. Both are financially strong with deep reserves of engineering talent. Toyota is about to release a new Camry, which has underwhelmed early reviewers and no doubt will undergo revision to maintain dominance. "Toyota was running on momentum," says Eddie Alterman, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver. "Nissan is gaining because it's been willing to take some chances." In other words, being the underdog was easy. Maintaining the lead -- that's the hard part.