Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Asia and Automobiles

People in Asia don't have a love affair with cars like Americans do ... that is until now. Current projections show that China will have more cars than we do by 2020 and will have more road built by 2030. Why should we care? Well, one of the reason why oil was so cheap, until recently, was that the US used get oil cheap from China's reserve supply because they were not using it. Now that they do use it, less of that is available and probably will not be soon. Expect oil prices to get more and more expensive, the more dependent China gets on oil. Also, considering how many people there are in China, with them changing from bicycles to cars, don't expect air quality or carbon production to get better any time soon.

India's Tata Motors just announced a car, 4-seater, that will cost $2,500.00 retail. This is the cheapest car in the world and half the price of any car currently available in China. This of course, is exciting news anyone too poor to own a car, not too exciting about anyone concerned about the cost of oil or about global warming. This makes alternative energies that much more appealing.

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