Toyota’s upscale Lexus brand is set for (为…而安排)shake-up(重组)as it battles to revive(使复苏) stodgy(沉闷的)sales and a slipping image among young car buyers.丰田(Toyota)旗下高档品牌雷克萨斯(Lexus)正计划进行一次设计上的变革，以竭力提振停滞的销售量，挽救该品牌在年轻购车者群体中逐渐下滑的形象。

　　An edgier(尖利的)look will be on display this week, when Lexus lifts the wraps(围巾)on a “concept”saloon [sə'lu:n](展览场), known as the LF-Gh, at the New York auto show.在本周的纽约车展上，雷克萨斯将亮相LF-Gh豪华“概念车”，该车具有一种更有棱角的外观。

　　Concept vehicles on display at car shows are often in the realm [relm](领域)of fantasy, bearing little resemblance [riˈzembləns](相似)to later production models. But Mark Templin, Lexus’s US chief, described the LF-Gh – short for Lexus Future Grand(宏伟的)Touring hybrid ['haibrid](混合物)– as “a new face on Lexus”.车展上展出的概念车往往停留在幻想阶段，与投入后期生产的车型几乎毫无相似之处。但雷克萨斯美国分公司负责人马克•泰普林(Mark Templin)将LF-Gh车形容为“雷克萨斯的新面孔”——LF-Gh代表Lexus Future Grand Touring hybrid(雷克萨斯未来混动版大旅行车)。

　　He said that “a lot of the design concepts in that vehicle['vi:ikl] will translate into a lot of the cars that we’ll be launching in the next couple of years”.他表示：“这一车型的许多设计概念，都将在我们未来两年推出的众多车型中得以体现”。

　　Interior [in'tiəriə] (内部的)features will also receive a facelift(整容), including steering(操舵)wheels, clocks and dashboard(仪表盘)layout.该品牌车的内饰也将有所改观，包括方向盘、时钟和仪表盘布局。

　　Lexus has held the number-one spot in the US luxury- vehicle market for the past 11 years, but fell behind both Mercedes-Benz ['mə:sidi:z] and BMW in the first three months of this year.过去11年来，雷克萨斯在美国的高档车市场一直处于龙头位置，但在今年前三个月落后于梅塞德斯-奔驰(Mercedes-Benz)和宝马(BMW)。

　　It also faces growing challenges from Audi, Cadillac and South Korea’s Hyundai .来自奥迪(Audi)、卡迪拉克(Cadillac)和韩国现代(Hyundai)的挑战也在逐渐加大。

　　While Lexus’s January-March sales were 6.2 percent higher than a year earlier, Audi gained 22 per cent and Cadillac 35 per cent. Hyundai’s Equus is priced far below the comparable Lexus model.雷克萨斯今年前三个月的销售额同比增长6.2%，而奥迪和卡迪拉克则分别增长22%和35%。现代雅科仕(Equus)的定价远远低于雷克萨斯同级车型。

　　Lexus’s German rivals are launching smaller, sportier models. Mercedes will show a small A-Class concept at the New York and Shanghai shows this week, while BMW has announced plans for new models based on the Mini platform.雷克萨斯的德国竞争对手正推出更小、更运动的车型。梅塞德斯将在本周的纽约和上海车展上展示一种小型A级概念车，而宝马则已宣布了推出基于Mini平台的新车型的计划。

　　Mr Templin said increasingly stringent [ˈstrindʒənt](严厉的)US fuel-economy and emissions [i'miʃən](排放)rules were forcing Mercedes and BMW “to do things that we’re not going to do”. “We have this big sister division called Toyota that already does that,” he said.泰普林表示，美国越来越严格的燃油经济性及排放规定正迫使梅塞德斯和宝马“去做我们不会做的事情”。“我们已经有丰田品牌这么做了。”

　　“We don’t want to water down(冲淡)our brand by going down market too much. Small can still be luxurious[lʌg'ʒu:riəs], but it will be interesting to see whether people are willing to pay for expensive small cars.”“我们不想太降低档次，让我们的品牌打折扣。小型车仍可能豪华，但人们是否愿意花钱买昂贵的小型车?这将很有意思。”