|
The wheels have fallen off the US auto industry, and all the king's horses and all the king's men cannot put Detroit back together again. But when one car door closes, another opens, and China's booming motor vehicle makers will soon be sitting in pole position. Say goodbye to Ford and hello to Chery. A new order is sorting itself out and major corrections are underway in the chaos of these fickle economic times. Profound changes are always startling. How could the Ford motor car, one of the icons of America's industrialization and the symbol of individual freedom, be allowed to perish? I can answer this with another question. How could a black man be elected president of the United States? America, China and the world are simply evolving, socially, economically and environmentally, and the transport industry is spinning into a new phase. Look what happened to US television factories in the 1980s. Americans vowed the TV set was as American as Apple Pie, and should never be allowed to go under, but it did, and Japan took control of this mammoth industry. The same fate awaits the inefficient US car industry, and China is positioned to fill the gap with cheaper, more efficient and even more environmentally friendly machines. China's environmental record is not pretty, but wouldn't it be ironic if the world's cleanest engines were soon made here? Motor companies, both foreign and local, are boosting their research and development centers in China helping to innovate the next great advances in the auto world, especially in green technology. | 
