China overtakes U.S. in buying cars.

[peter78]

Experts thought China would overtake the U.S. as the world's biggest car market by 2025, well they were wrong. In a small article in my Atlanta paper today, China overtakes the U.S. as the world's biggest car market.

Wow, to me this is a big deal. I guess when we hear about China buying all the oil for gas, it is pretty much true.

Chinese car market overtakes that of United States - Yahoo! Singapore News

By the way, the U.S. has always been the #1 market, no other country has ever come close, till now.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

China


It would stand to reason that with a population so large (more than four times that of the USA) and a growing economy, they would eventually have a demand for at least as many vehicles as we have.

Their country's leaders - even being tyrants they are - are doing their best to grow their economy; while our leaders seem to be content with destroying our middle class and moving us towards a socialist state.
:repuke:

"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." -- Margaret Thatcher

 

[peter78]

You lost me a little bit on the U.S. going to socialism, but China is definately moving fast. Did you read in the article that the new Buick is designed over in China?

I might blame NAFTA for over 15 years instead of socialism, which I guess your talking about the last 10 months.

 

[Uneek]

Most of people in China who own private cars are pretty up there. The greater majority still rely on public transit, bicycles or taxis. Owning a car in China is almost like having your own private jet here in the States or owning an exotic car. I can't imagine what their traffic would look like when cars hit the masses and people of all social status can own one. It's pretty congested as is already.

GM is doing super well in China. The Chinese seem to love Buick and VW.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

You lost me a little bit on the U.S. going to socialism, but China is definately moving fast. Did you read in the article that the new Buick is designed over in China?

I might blame NAFTA for over 15 years instead of socialism, which I guess your talking about the last 10 months.

No, I am not blaming NAFTA for anything. That is another issue for another day. I blame our ever-expanding government, hapless bureaucracy and reckless spending. This began long before Obama, however, and BOTH PARTIES are culpable for the fiscal train wreck that lies ahead.

As for the Chinese loving Buicks, you are right. Unfortunately, the cars for their market will be made over there - and not here. Seems as though their government does whatever it can to protect Chinese jobs by blocking imports, while they force other countries to purchase their products.

Likewise, the Chinese (and most other countries) will want to push harsh environmental taxes & regulations on us, while exempting their industries.
:lasercannon:

Okay - end of rant. It's Saturday night.
:bat:

 

[MikesToy]

Owning a car in China is almost like having your own private jet here in the States or owning an exotic car.

In other words, having a car in China is a "nicety" and not a "necessity" here in the U.S. right?

 

[Jeff Kleb]

In other words, having a car in China is a "nicety" and not a "necessity" here in the U.S. right?

Mikey,

I believe the point was to say that owning a car in China is a sign that you have "made it" - since so few people (as a percentage of the population) are affluent enough to afford one. I suppose it is a comparison to those in the USA who are fortunate enough to have the means to acquire private jets, yachts, mansions, etc. etc.

When a guy drives a Ferrari, has his own Gulfstream jet and lives in a huge mansion, most of us would say he "has it made" or is very affluent. That is what the post meant to me. The rest of us almost all own a car (or have access to one), and it is no big deal here in the USA. Because of our infrastructure, transportation system and economy, it is virtually a requirement to have a privately-owned car or truck in order to get to work, school, etc. I know there are exceptions (farmers, folks in large cities such as NY or LA, users of mass transit, etc.), but the vast majority of us must drive to work.

:reddance:

P.S. I suppose we are going to see more and more Chinese people increasing their standard of living and growing their economy - as ours stays in the dumper. We have our leaders telling us to get by with less (not always a bad thing in some cases), while others around the world are doing their best to produce and consume more than ever.
:toilet:

 

[VNT]

I'm not surpirsed at all, we all knew it was going to happen eventually.

 

[Uneek]

In other words, having a car in China is a "nicety" and not a "necessity" here in the U.S. right?

Mikey,

I believe the point was to say that owning a car in China is a sign that you have "made it" - since so few people (as a percentage of the population) are affluent enough to afford one. I suppose it is a comparison to those in the USA who are fortunate enough to have the means to acquire private jets, yachts, mansions, etc. etc.

When a guy drives a Ferrari, has his own Gulfstream jet and lives in a huge mansion, most of us would say he "has it made" or is very affluent. That is what the post meant to me. The rest of us almost all own a car (or have access to one), and it is no big deal here in the USA. Because of our infrastructure, transportation system and economy, it is virtually a requirement to have a privately-owned car or truck in order to get to work, school, etc. I know there are exceptions (farmers, folks in large cities such as NY or LA, users of mass transit, etc.), but the vast majority of us must drive to work.

:reddance:

P.S. I suppose we are going to see more and more Chinese people increasing their standard of living and growing their economy - as ours stays in the dumper. We have our leaders telling us to get by with less (not always a bad thing in some cases), while others around the world are doing their best to produce and consume more than ever.
:toilet:

Mike,

Jeff pretty much sums it up nicely.

In the '90s my dad's coworker exported a Mustang to China, it was worth over $400k. Currently the exchange rate is $1 USD to about $7.5-7.75 Chinese dollar.