And people laugh at me for owning/riding a scooter in the city ... my guilty pleasures in having the last laugh as I weave through the insane traffic jams.

I recently read that Beijing has balked at the idea of limiting car ownership in the city. The mindset is that having people buy cars is good for economic development.

The number of cars in Beijing is expected to DOUBLE in the next five years.

Silver lining? Buy real estate with location, location, location ... the charm of sitting in your car for a two hour commute each way will definitely lose the "status luster". My Chinese friends who were early adopters (among the first to buy private cars in Beijing) are looking at ways of getting out of their cars by finding residences next to work/shopping/entertainment/schools, etc.