Well there's a tendency to think of economics and business only as serious issues but business can also be fun.And to prove it our program this week highlights companies and people who provide entertainment make money playing games and make fun products.
BMW is best known for luxury 1)sedans and sports cars of course but there's one car in its stable that's in a class by itself. It's not the most expensive car on the road, nor the fastest, instead it may be one of the most loved. Here's the story of the rebirth of a driving legend.
The first Minis rolled off the assembly linethey were the accessory to have. Hip, cool and somewhat classless, a car for the rich and famous but also found in many suburban driveways. A unique front-wheel drive and a compact size for the streets of Europe and yet the car never made money for its manufacturer.
Financially it was a flop. Mini-producer Rover spent much of the last decade facing economic troubles. Germany's BMW group thought it could turn things around and last year abandoned the British carmaker selling it to the Phoenix 2)consortium. However, it kept what it saw as Rover's prize 3)asset, the Mini, and with good reason.
“I think that with Mini what they really wanted to do was go after a younger buyer. If you look at the average age of a BMW buyer it’s actually in the high, high 40s, just under 50 years old so what they wanted is a sort of younger brand to get a more youthful buyer.”
In early July, BMW introduced its version of this classic car but only after investing around $900 million in the design of a 21st century Mini and a new plant near the English city of Oxford.
“This car has all those qualities that you would expect from a car from the BMW group. But at the same time of course Mini is a separate brand. It is not a BMW Mini, it is a Mini Mini.”
A vehicle BMW has high hopes for. It expects to produce more than 100,000 Minis a year, retailing at about $14,000 each. Within three to four years the company expects the Mini to stop breaking even. Analysts expect the car will eventually turn a profit, although maybe not until the end of the decade. But initial signs are good. The new Mini has been well received by auto critics and the public in general. Even the skeptics reluctantly admit BMW’s offering is likely to find a market.
商海趣談
年輕人的品牌---mini車新車的傳奇
一般人都認為經濟和商業(yè)只是嚴的事情，但是生意也可以是饒有趣味的。為了證明這一點，本周我們的節(jié)目重點介紹一些提供娛樂的公司和人物，他們寓賺錢于娛樂中，出產有趣的產品。
寶馬以豪華轎車和跑車著稱，而旗下有一個車系卻獨樹一幟。它既不是最名貴、也不是最快的，然而它可能是人們最喜愛的一種車，以下是一個汽車重生的傳奇。
第一批Mini車于1959年在英國出廠，立刻大受歡迎。時髦、有型，各階層都喜歡，名人富豪喜歡它，近郊地區(qū)也有它的蹤影。它的前輪驅動，體積小巧，適合在歐洲的大街上行走，然而這種車卻從來沒有為廠商帶來過利潤。
在財務上，它徹底失敗，Mini的生產商羅弗在過去的十年里面臨著經濟困難。德國寶馬集團自信可以扭轉乾坤，在去年放棄了在英國的車廠，并把它賣給了鳳凰集團，但是保留羅弗的珍貴資產：Mini，理由很充分。
“我認為他們真正想做的是以Mini來吸引年輕的買家。如果你看看購買寶馬的人的平均年齡，實際上已經是四十多歲，不會到五十歲，所以他們想通過年輕的品牌來吸引年輕的買家。” 在七月初，寶馬推出這款經典車的新版本。設計二十一世紀的Mini并且在英國牛津附近開設新工廠，花了大約九億美元。
“這款車擁有寶馬車系的所有優(yōu)點，但是同時當然Mini是一個獨立的品牌，它不是寶馬的Mini，而是Mini的Mini。”
寶馬對Mini寄予厚望，期望每年生產超過十萬輛Mini車，每輛零售價大約一萬四千美元。該公司期望在三到四年內，Mini會達到收支平衡。分析家預測Mini最終會賺大錢，雖然那可能是十年后的事情了。但是這車推出后反應不俗，業(yè)內人士和大眾很接受這款新的Mini，抱懷疑態(tài)度的人也不得不承認這車有市場。
1) sedan n. 轎車
2) consortium n. 合作，聯(lián)合；國際財團
3) asset n. 財產，資產
BMW is best known for luxury 1)sedans and sports cars of course but there's one car in its stable that's in a class by itself. It's not the most expensive car on the road, nor the fastest, instead it may be one of the most loved. Here's the story of the rebirth of a driving legend.
The first Minis rolled off the assembly linethey were the accessory to have. Hip, cool and somewhat classless, a car for the rich and famous but also found in many suburban driveways. A unique front-wheel drive and a compact size for the streets of Europe and yet the car never made money for its manufacturer.
Financially it was a flop. Mini-producer Rover spent much of the last decade facing economic troubles. Germany's BMW group thought it could turn things around and last year abandoned the British carmaker selling it to the Phoenix 2)consortium. However, it kept what it saw as Rover's prize 3)asset, the Mini, and with good reason.
“I think that with Mini what they really wanted to do was go after a younger buyer. If you look at the average age of a BMW buyer it’s actually in the high, high 40s, just under 50 years old so what they wanted is a sort of younger brand to get a more youthful buyer.”
In early July, BMW introduced its version of this classic car but only after investing around $900 million in the design of a 21st century Mini and a new plant near the English city of Oxford.
“This car has all those qualities that you would expect from a car from the BMW group. But at the same time of course Mini is a separate brand. It is not a BMW Mini, it is a Mini Mini.”
A vehicle BMW has high hopes for. It expects to produce more than 100,000 Minis a year, retailing at about $14,000 each. Within three to four years the company expects the Mini to stop breaking even. Analysts expect the car will eventually turn a profit, although maybe not until the end of the decade. But initial signs are good. The new Mini has been well received by auto critics and the public in general. Even the skeptics reluctantly admit BMW’s offering is likely to find a market.
商海趣談
年輕人的品牌---mini車新車的傳奇
一般人都認為經濟和商業(yè)只是嚴的事情，但是生意也可以是饒有趣味的。為了證明這一點，本周我們的節(jié)目重點介紹一些提供娛樂的公司和人物，他們寓賺錢于娛樂中，出產有趣的產品。
寶馬以豪華轎車和跑車著稱，而旗下有一個車系卻獨樹一幟。它既不是最名貴、也不是最快的，然而它可能是人們最喜愛的一種車，以下是一個汽車重生的傳奇。
第一批Mini車于1959年在英國出廠，立刻大受歡迎。時髦、有型，各階層都喜歡，名人富豪喜歡它，近郊地區(qū)也有它的蹤影。它的前輪驅動，體積小巧，適合在歐洲的大街上行走，然而這種車卻從來沒有為廠商帶來過利潤。
在財務上，它徹底失敗，Mini的生產商羅弗在過去的十年里面臨著經濟困難。德國寶馬集團自信可以扭轉乾坤，在去年放棄了在英國的車廠，并把它賣給了鳳凰集團，但是保留羅弗的珍貴資產：Mini，理由很充分。
“我認為他們真正想做的是以Mini來吸引年輕的買家。如果你看看購買寶馬的人的平均年齡，實際上已經是四十多歲，不會到五十歲，所以他們想通過年輕的品牌來吸引年輕的買家。” 在七月初，寶馬推出這款經典車的新版本。設計二十一世紀的Mini并且在英國牛津附近開設新工廠，花了大約九億美元。
“這款車擁有寶馬車系的所有優(yōu)點，但是同時當然Mini是一個獨立的品牌，它不是寶馬的Mini，而是Mini的Mini。”
寶馬對Mini寄予厚望，期望每年生產超過十萬輛Mini車，每輛零售價大約一萬四千美元。該公司期望在三到四年內，Mini會達到收支平衡。分析家預測Mini最終會賺大錢，雖然那可能是十年后的事情了。但是這車推出后反應不俗，業(yè)內人士和大眾很接受這款新的Mini，抱懷疑態(tài)度的人也不得不承認這車有市場。
1) sedan n. 轎車
2) consortium n. 合作，聯(lián)合；國際財團
3) asset n. 財產，資產