Political Dogs: Chinese are Making a Shift Towards Driving Cars

Chinese are Making a Shift Towards Driving Cars

by Steve
11/26/2005 12:04:00 PM

Reading a press release about the rise in motorcycle sales, I found something that intrigued me...
Demand for all categories of motorcycles is expected to remain healthy, despite the slowdown in growth in key markets such as China, which is rapidly transitioning away from motorcycles and toward cars for its transportation needs.
I knew that the Chinese rode a lot of bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles, but I didn't know there's a trend towards ditching the two-wheeler for a four-wheeler.

I suppose this is going to create a larger demand for oil. You think gas prices are high now? Wait until China becomes heavily dependent on cars! They're already consuming a lot of oil for industrial purposes, and this is part of the reason why oil prices are going up.

I imagine China is experiencing something similar to our "urban sprawl". I haven't seen any news report about Chinese suburbs, but considering they're creating so many jobs near port cities, getting people to their jobs is probably becoming a tough little fortune-cookie to crack.

As a motorcycle rider myself, I can attest to the outstanding fuel efficiency bikes provide, and their cheap sticker prices. You can get a 1100cc motorcycle brand new for about $8,000, and will get you about 45mpg, just in city driving alone. For this reason, I've spoken out for removing the restrictive laws American states have on motorcycles, in attempt to reduce our demand for oil.

It'll be interesting to see how China reacts to the shift towards automobiles. With oil prices going high, they'l need to raise worker wages just so that they can afford gasoline. Or, they can just put their foot down in Chinese style, and make cars illegal.

6 Comments:

That picture is racist...

It is beyond offensive.

By Anonymous, at 7:14 PM, June 20, 2006
way to make a political statement by posting a picture that shouts out your knowledgable ignorance. surely, stating the fact that you're an asshole will really make your argument sound intelligent.

By Anonymous, at 12:16 PM, September 05, 2006
It's kind of amazing that you draw intelligent readers (like the other two people that left comments). They probably got to your page by accident - the same way I did. Why do I even bother?

By Anonymous, at 5:50 PM, January 15, 2007
Wow. Indeed, what a bad picture to choose for your article. I google Chinese gangs and your post was found. The image made the post unreadable and by far, I see others think the same.

By Anonymous, at 1:35 PM, April 17, 2007
How interesting that a post containing such a picture, which happens to be posted by a fellow of asian / oriental heritage would be labeled racist by people who don't know the poster nor his sense of humor.

Steve, you must be a racist based on the photograph you posted! It must be some kind of self-hate thing you got going on!

By Dave, at 2:54 PM, April 17, 2007
Actually, there is a millenium's old history of rivalry between the Chinese and Japanese. Both sides hate each other. The Chinese have long tried to attack the Japanese over the millenia, only to be defeated by the rough waters that separate the two geographies.

I being of Japanese descent, do respect the Chinese for all that they are, but then again I'm am American. My mother and grandmother, don't like them at all.

But it isn't racism. It's just like the French and the Americans hating each other and poking fun of each other.

By Steve, at 5:24 PM, April 17, 2007

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Chinese are Making a Shift Towards Driving Cars

6 Comments:

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