Recreational Vehicles: On the road
房车：启程
An all-American product finds new takers.
全美流行的成品找到了新买家。
Early spring is the main selling season for recreational vehicles (RVs) and the phone on Tom Troiano's desk has been ringing incessantly.
早春时节，是房车交易的黄金时段，在这个时候，Tom Troiano桌面上的手机也响个不停。
The owner of Continental RV, a dealership in Farmingdale, a village on Long Island, Mr Troiano is on track to sell more RVs this year than in any othersince the early 2000s.
Tom Troiano是在美国长岛一个村庄——法明代尔(Farmingdale)的大陆房车(Continental RV)的经销商，Troiano先生预计今年出售的房车可能会比从21世纪以来任何一年卖得都要多。
Buoyed by cheap financing, rising wages and inexpensive gas, travellers are once again splurging on big-ticket camper vans.
财政压力减少，工资上涨再加上廉价的天然气，这使得旅客们又开始了花大价钱购买房车。
RVs are a quintessentially American invention: more than two-thirds are made in the United States.
美国是房车的起源地，而且世界上超过三分之二的房车是美国制造。
Nationally, sales surged to 430,000 units last year, a 40-year high.
去年，房车在全国销售额猛增至43万台，创四十年新高。
At the inexpensive end they sell for as little as $5,000 for a caravan; deluxe versions cost up to $1m and are typically equipped with a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom that are bigger than in many European flats.
下至最便宜如大篷车，只卖五千美元，上至豪华版，价格高达100万美元，这种豪华版房车通常配有一个卧室，厨房和浴室，比许多欧洲公寓都大。
The share prices of Thor Industries, the biggest RV-manufacturer in America, and Winnebago, the third-largest, have risen by 43% and 17%, respectively, in the past year.
美国最大的房车制造商Thor Industries和第三大的Winnebago的股价在过去一年中分别上涨了43%和17%。
That is a big change.
这是一个很大的转变。
During the 2008-09 recession, notes Mr Troiano, RV dealerships everywhere closed down, leaving his shop among the very few left serving the New York metropolitan area.
Troiano先生指出，在2008-09年的经济衰退期间，各地的房车经销商都倒闭了，而他的店铺是少数留在纽约这个大都市店铺中的一个。
The current rebound is mostly owing to the economy's recovery, but it also springs from the fact that new types of customer are embracing the lifestyle.
这一次的反弹主要是由于经济复苏，同时也是由于涌现出了许多接受这一种生活方式的新型客户。
A decade ago the average age of an RV-owner was 49, and over 90% were white, says Kevin Broom of the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) , an industry body.
房车行业协会(RVIA)的Kevin Broom说，十年前，RV车主的平均年龄是49岁，超过90%是白人。
That didn't bode well for the future. But stereotypes are being dented.
这对未来而言并不是好现象，但如今已不是老样子了。
Anecdotal reports suggest that ethnic minorities now make up around a sixth of all new customers, says Mr Broom.
Broom先生说，非正式报告显示，少数民族现在占全部新客户的六分之一。
The fastest-growing customer demographic is 35- to 44-year-olds.
增长最快的客户群体是35岁至44岁的车主。
Another boost comes from affluent immigrants, who are keen to experience long, self-planned road trips in America.
另一块增长来自于富裕的移民家庭，他们想要在美国进行长途自驾游。
Mr Troiano's most recent big sale was to a rich Asian family.
Troiano先生最近的一笔大生意就来自一个富裕的亚洲家庭。
The industry hopes that its poor record with foreign sales—last year less than 1% of RVs produced domestically were shipped to foreign markets (excluding Canada) —may improve, too.
产业经营者希望国外销量同样也能增加，去年国内生产的房车只有不到百分之一的出口额(不包括加拿大)。
China's government, for example, has pledged to build 2,000 campgrounds by 2020, up from an estimated 300 today, in a bid to promote domestic tourism, particularly to remote rural regions.
例如，中国政府承诺到2020年将建成2000个露营地，而目前估计为300个，以促进国内旅游发展，尤其是偏远乡村地区。
Chinese firms such as Yutong Bus make RVs, but not of the quality that many Chinese want.
宇通巴士等中国企业也生产房车，但其生产的性能并不符合大多数中国人的要求。
The country imported 1,000 vehicles last year, over half of them American.
去年，中国房车进口量为一千辆，其中超过一半是美国制造。
RV manufacturers are also marketing the notion that their motor homes can be commercial as well as leisure vehicles.
房车制造商也在推销这样的观念：房车可以是商务车，同样也可以是休闲车。
They can allow travelling salesmen, businessmen and university-admissions officers to save on food and hotel costs, for example, when they hit the road trying to recruit prospective new clients and students.
而且房车能够节省饮食和住宿的开销，比如，当旅行推销人员、商人和大学招生办人员在外寻找潜在的顾客和学生这种时候。
The office, as well as home, can be wherever you park it.
房车可以是你的办公室，也可以是你的家，它能够停留在任何你想停留的地方。
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