The emergence of China as an economic superpower

J.D. Power surveyed Chinese car buyers and learned that about 89% of middle-class Chinese paid CASH for the car they purchased in 2005..

For now, foreign car makers, Toyota, GM, Ford, VW and NISSAN, all of which have joing ventures with a local Chinese partner enjoy an 80% domination of the domestic market.

Foreign cars enjoy:

1. More compact choices

2. More sedan choices

3. More luxury choices

4. More marketing muscle

4. More perceived quality over local brands

GM is surviving the Japanese assault in the US by virtue of its success in China with a 47% jump in sales to more than 450,000 vehicles.

GM now has 12.5% market share overtaking VW at 10.8%.

Ford is making headway with its hot-selling Ford Focus and plans to offer a five door version to meet China's demand for flexibility.

In any event, car sales are at high-speed and look to remain so for the forseeable future.

But, just how long can this go on?

What do you think?