????當(dāng)然咯，高管們往往帶著隨從，因此，他們四處探訪(fǎng)對(duì)手的車(chē)會(huì)顯得比較扎眼。但設(shè)計(jì)師卻能獨(dú)來(lái)獨(dú)往，在對(duì)手不經(jīng)意間完成探究。

????這周的底特律車(chē)展上，這些兼職“間諜”們手里的iPhone大顯身手，成了拍攝新車(chē)型的利器。少數(shù)人會(huì)用成像效果更好的相機(jī)拍攝后備箱、儀表板、前格柵和全新的觸屏。還有一些人則在西裝外套下藏著小筆記本電腦。

????位于密歇根州安阿伯市的汽車(chē)研究中心（Center for Automotive Research）分析師格雷戈?施羅德說(shuō)：“其實(shí)我們沒(méi)把這種做法看成是間諜行為，它就是一種調(diào)查研究?！敝苋枪懒扛?jìng)爭(zhēng)形勢(shì)的大日子，因?yàn)楦骷覐S(chǎng)商都會(huì)在這天進(jìn)行預(yù)展。施羅德稱(chēng)，工程師們當(dāng)天“幾乎要鉆到車(chē)底下”去弄清各種新車(chē)到底做了哪些改進(jìn)。

????北美國(guó)際車(chē)展（North American International Auto Show）向車(chē)企員工、贊助商和特別嘉賓一共發(fā)放了3萬(wàn)張參觀券。這樣一來(lái)，在車(chē)展面向公眾開(kāi)放前的這段時(shí)間里，他們的人數(shù)可能會(huì)是媒體人士和博主的六倍。

????新車(chē)正式亮相前，廠(chǎng)商可能會(huì)用布把它們罩上，蓋住一些主要特征，從而避開(kāi)對(duì)手的耳目。《連線(xiàn)》雜志（Wired）報(bào)道稱(chēng)，福特汽車(chē)（Ford）這次就專(zhuān)門(mén)請(qǐng)了一位全職的偽裝專(zhuān)家來(lái)保護(hù)自己的新車(chē)。

????當(dāng)然，公司之間的這種間諜活動(dòng)有時(shí)候會(huì)踩過(guò)線(xiàn)。據(jù)稱(chēng)，有位工程顧問(wèn)從杜邦公司（DuPont Co.）竊取了商業(yè)秘密并以2900萬(wàn)美元的價(jià)格把它們賣(mài)給了一家中國(guó)公司，現(xiàn)在正面臨陰謀罪的指控。據(jù)聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局（FBI）稱(chēng)，非法間諜活動(dòng)及盜竊商業(yè)機(jī)密每年會(huì)給美國(guó)公司造成高達(dá)130億美元的損失。不過(guò)在行業(yè)展會(huì)上不太可能發(fā)生這種事，畢竟展會(huì)上的新產(chǎn)品都是公開(kāi)展覽的。

????在消費(fèi)電子展上，各家公司一般只會(huì)展示他們希望在未來(lái)六個(gè)月內(nèi)賣(mài)給消費(fèi)者的產(chǎn)品。高德納咨詢(xún)公司（Gartner）的研究總監(jiān)安吉拉?麥金泰爾表示，如果這些公司帶來(lái)了一些可穿戴技術(shù)的初級(jí)產(chǎn)品，它們也會(huì)把這些專(zhuān)利產(chǎn)品藏在展會(huì)附近的酒店套間里，只邀請(qǐng)?zhí)囟蛻?hù)參觀。

????不過(guò)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手公開(kāi)展示自己打前站的產(chǎn)品也確實(shí)能給同行帶來(lái)諸多好處。在本周一舉行的梅賽德斯奔馳新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上，大眾的兩個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)聽(tīng)得十分入神。會(huì)后，福特的兩個(gè)經(jīng)理從觀眾中一路擠到前面，想和廠(chǎng)方盡快接觸一下?，F(xiàn)場(chǎng)觀眾中不乏來(lái)自本田（Honda）、奧迪、保時(shí)捷（Porsche）、斯巴魯（Subaru）、豐田（Toyota）、沃爾沃（Volvo）和起亞的代表。

????想要進(jìn)一步深入研究對(duì)手汽車(chē)的人可以聯(lián)系Midway集團(tuán)（Midway Group），它專(zhuān)為其他汽車(chē)廠(chǎng)商提供法拉利和奔馳這樣的高端車(chē)輛，供他們數(shù)天或數(shù)月研究之用。有些廠(chǎng)商會(huì)直接買(mǎi)下對(duì)手的車(chē)，還有些則采用租的方式。Midway集團(tuán)在底特律車(chē)展上負(fù)責(zé)拜訪(fǎng)汽車(chē)廠(chǎng)商的副總裁戴維?小史密斯說(shuō)：“我們會(huì)把這些車(chē)給他們運(yùn)去，直接運(yùn)到技術(shù)中心。”

????通用汽車(chē)有一支競(jìng)爭(zhēng)標(biāo)桿分析團(tuán)隊(duì)，它會(huì)用3D掃描技術(shù)找出對(duì)手汽車(chē)的優(yōu)劣所在。實(shí)際上他們會(huì)把一輛車(chē)大卸八塊，找出其他廠(chǎng)商召回的原因，或是了解各種配件的生產(chǎn)方式和改進(jìn)之道。

????這種高級(jí)偵探就需要全職工作了，不是在車(chē)展上晃蕩幾天就能搞定的。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：清遠(yuǎn)

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????Top executives, of course, travel with an entourage, so it's noticeable when they visit a competitor's cars. Designers can swoop in solo.

????At the Detroit auto show this week, these part-time spies made good use of their iPhones to photograph new models. A few had higher-quality cameras to document trunks, dashboards, front grills, and new touchscreen displays. Some slipped tiny notebooks into their suit jackets.

????"We don't really look at it as spying. It's research," said Greg Schroeder, an analyst with the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. The biggest day to size up the competition is Wednesday, the industry's day to preview vehicles. Engineers are "almost crawling under the cars" to see what has improved, Schroeder said.

????The North American International Auto Show gives out 30,000 credentials to auto staffers, sponsors, and special guests, so they may outnumber media and bloggers six to one in the days before the event opens to the public.

????Before the new models debut, automakers may wrap them in fabric and mask features to keep them from competitor's eyes. Wired reported that Ford (F) employs a full-time camouflage specialist to protect its new vehicles.

????To be sure, corporate espionage can cross the line. An engineering consultant faces conspiracy charges for allegedly stealing trade secrets from DuPont Co. (DD) and selling them to a Chinese company for $29 million. Illegal spying and theft of trade secrets costs U.S. companies $13 billion a year, according to the FBI. But that's not likely to take place at trade shows, where new products are on open display.

????At the Consumer Electronics Show, companies typically only show products they expect to sell to consumers within six months. If they bring early-stage models of some wearable technology, they will stash those proprietary items in private hotel suites nearby and invite only select customers, said Angela McIntyre, a research director at Gartner.

????The public display of competitors' advances certainly offers business benefits. At the Mercedes-Benz press briefing on Monday, two groups of Volkswagen staffers listened intently. After the event, two Ford managers elbowed their way through the crowd to get a quick close up. Representatives of Honda (HMC), Audi, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota (TM), Volvo, and and Kia also were spotted in the crowd.

????Those who want a more thorough look at competitors' vehicles can call on Midway Group, which supplies high-end vehicles like Ferraris and Mercedes to other automakers to study for a few days or months. Some buy competitors' cars outright, and some lease them. "We deliver it to them, their technical centers," said David Smith Jr., a Midway vice president who was visiting automakers at the Detroit show.

????General Motors has a competitive benchmarking team that uses 3-D scanning to search for the good and bad in competitors' cars. They literally tear apart a vehicle to see what led to another automaker's recall or how components were manufactured and improved.

????That kind of advanced sleuthing requires full-time work, not a few days' wandering around an auto show.