Updated April 8, 2012
Editor's Note - This article was written back in 2006. Since Chinese car sales have exploded as has Chinese demand for fuel. Isn't the problem only getting worse?
As I was watching
CNBC today, one segment included an interview of
the CEO of Ramada Hotels who was explaining why
his company was going to experience huge growth in
the future; new hotels in China.
The CEO explained that China was going through the
same infrastructure changes that the U.S. went
through in the 50's and 60's. Today, he went on,
it isn't easy to drive from city to city or from
town to town to city in China - highways and
freeways just aren't that common.
That; however, is going to change quickly as miles
and miles and miles of highways and freeways will
soon connect China, the way highways and freeways
now connect America.
If you build it, they will come
Why have highways and freeways if no one drives?
Of course in the 40's and 50's in America, no one
needed a car either. Thus, it isn't just hotels
that are going to explode in China as the country
becomes more connected, but automobile sales as
well. In fact, the potential of the automobile in
China is far greater than what America will ever
achieve.
So, where will the fuel come from?
The advancement of hybrid
cars and other alternative technologies simply
cannot advance fast enough. Quite simply, there
isn't enough oil to fuel China's development.
While new
reports show that gasoline prices are the
highest since November, and 30 cents higher than
the same time last year, gas prices are going to
go much higher. Even without increased oil demand
from China, or India, gas prices in America have
no where to go but up.
The days of cheap gas are over.
But that is only the beginning. In 10 years
Chinese demand will have grown so significantly,
that oil will not meet the energy needs of the
world.
How expensive will gas be then?
We must act now. Join the hybrid
car revolution!
