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Energy Challenges in China, a $3000 Car, and Paying for the HOV Lane

Read a few articles in the WSJ today about cars and it also reminded me of a show I saw on cable this past weekend. Here they are in no particular order:
  • $3000 car - Nissan and Renault are teaming up to build a $3000 car in India. It should open up the opportunity for many Indians to buy cars that were only previously able to buy motorcycles. It will likely mean more congested roads and more pollution though.
  • Sulfur Fuels in China - China is likely going to delay enforcing more stringent auto-emissions standards because its refineries don't produce enough low-sulfur gasoline.
  • Energy in China - I saw a recent University of California Journalism show (Frontline: Undermined) on cable that talked about (among other things) the increasing appetite for automobiles in China and the impact it will have on the environment. Despite that impact, buying behaviors are not effected by "green" messages. The increased cost isn't justified in most people's minds. The segment ended with a really telling quote. An IT worker that recently purchased a car said that there was an old saying in China - "Young people work to death to make money. Only when they're old do they use money to preserve life." I think that's pretty true in most places. The 24 minute overall video also has a very interesting segment on the illegal coal mining industry. Apparently there are an estimated 50,000 illegal coal mines in China with an entire industry built up around shipping and transporting that coal. It has a devastating impact on the villages the native populations live in as well as the provinces in which these mines and trucking routes are. There's also been a lot of news lately about slavery in the coal mining and brick making industries as well. Overall, a lot of challenges over there.
  • Paying for the HOV Lane - A bunch of cities are allowing drivers to pay tolls to drive in the HOV lane. Certainly sounds appealing as I spend about 2 hours every day commuting (when that really should be less than an hour if there were no traffic). But seems like it kind of defeats the purpose of the HOV lane?
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