It’s good because the government mandated it to be good. After a series of scandals in the late 1990s and early 2000s, various members of the railway ministry’s management were ousted and prosecuted, including the minister himself (Liu Zhijun). This showed that China was not playing around with the high speed rail…

I think truck nuts would get you a traffic ticket (or worse) for displaying obscene materials in public.

It’s not as artificially cheap as it used to be. Looking at historical charts, the RMB was artificially inflated in 1994 from 6:1 to nearly 9:1, and after about 14 years of loosening (the peg was loosened in 2005) now it’s back at just under 7.

Pretty sure the shareholder/M&A culture in the USA is of the same “use and discard” policy. We call it pump and dump, hire and fire, running companies into the ground, etc.

I’m looking forward to the Chinese car enthusiast market opening up. With enough pressure from the affluent crowd that is becoming interested in older cars, hopefully some historical exemptions will start to gain traction.

Another subtle thing affecting (to be accurate, boosting) American brands in China is politics. Yes, most people in China accept Japanese brands as very practical, reliable cars, much like people in the States know the Japanese big 3.

That’s very typical here in the States too.

My XJL has a plasticky analogue clock with thick plastic illuminated hands. It looks like something that should go on a kids’ book.  But it does proudly say “XJ” on the face!

I think the most confusing actual name ever was the -35iS engine option. Z4 sDrive35iS is such a mouthful without actually saying anything:

In unit volume, sure, doesn’t compare to Ford F-150s.

I may think it, but I didn’t say it.  Point is, look at all of the current Tesla products.  None of them have huge air inlets up front.

China “ceasing to be an engine of growth”, is that a statement with factual evidence? Yeah, the market is saturating with what is probably a hundred-million-car annual market, but China isn’t in recession.  Yet.

Predictably, the NY haters and defenders are warring in the comments. Cities gonna have city problems, cities exist because that’s where most of the attractive jobs are. If you hate NYC, try Paris (crime) or Hong Kong (3x the density).

People just don’t remember that to live in NYC vs. suburbia you simply need to halve (or worse) the square footage of your dwelling.

This is generally the same with most major world cities. London, Paris, Hong Kong, etc.

Wow, I thought CA was red outside the Bay Area and LA.  Interesting

An important factor is safety. If the city isn’t safe, all the affluent people will want to move out.

Perhaps you’re referring to the county and not the city?  I think the city is a *somewhat* more liberal mix, as cities tend to be.

This is me. I love the city, but I don’t want to literally live IN it.

Uhh, something something jerbs.