[dragin]

Last Autumn the Michelin Tire Company held its annual "Bibendum" event in Shanghai with the goal of advancing sustainable mobility worldwide.

Michelin picked China again this year in its continued effort to pave the "way forward to a more fuel-efficient, cleaner, safer and less congested road mobility which is respectful of both people and the environment."

As I see it Michelin realizes that China has an opportunity to do this automobile thing differently, namely, in a people friendly way.

It was good to see Chinese manufacturers/institutions taking the challenge and making an investment that will surely pay dividends.

The ones who made a statement that they care about a "Green China" are as follows:

SAIC
Lifan
Chery
Wanxiang Auto Parts
Kinglong Bus
Yutong Bus
Guangzhou Bus
Sunwin Bus
Tongji University School of Automotive Engineering
Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Automotive Engineering

Foreign joint venture partners that also showed that they care about the China that sustains them are:

Hyundai
VW Audi
Daimler-Chrysler
Ford
BMW
Toyota
Nissan-Renault
PSA Peugeot Citroen
GM

Yeah you say, its just good for business, but you gotta give these guys credit for having a vision, and for showing a concern for the ones who will inherit this fragile planet of ours. It is indeed a good investment........

Details of the event can be found at:

http://www.challengebibendum.com/challengeBib/AfficheServlet?Rubrique=20070904190052&Langue=EN

 

[wrxowner78]

i care.

 

[splitter]

I care...
I would sell my car to get a bicycle.. if my nation needs it....

 

[Dr.Al]

China could be the undisputed "Green" leader

As the most populous and potentially powerful nation on earth, I believe China is standing at the crossroads of either taking a giant step towards a Green future or a crashing thud into dying brown past. The choice is very clear and has everything to do with the government actively endorsing (and perhaps even subsidizing) electric, solar and hydro power rather than gasoline and diesel powered designs. Rather than trying to play catch up (with Japan, US and European internal combustion technology) and wasting billions of investment capitol on being the last one on the wagon- China could be the global leader in the emerging "Green" technology designs.
Just as JVC, Panasonic, etc... decided to gang up on Pioneer's laser disc (and thereby delayed Cds and DVDs for a decade) and force continued production of the inferior VHS format- the most powerful auto manufacturers and oil companies are likewise subverting excellent and viable electric car designs (all over the world) today. Until Henry Ford stopped them, electric cars outsold gasoline models 100 years ago. Today, the electric car (even without expensive lithium batteries) can be built to have an effective range of at least 100 miles; this takes care of 70+% of the world's daily driving needs and the production costs are equal to or lower than gasoline vehicles.The question is very simply stated as whether China wants to be the last one into a dying market (like the VHS tapes) or amongst the first into a superior product (like the DVD)?