DreammachinesInChina'sbiggercities,theriversofbicycles—onceoneofthemostvividimagesofurbanChina—havebeenreplacedwithstreetsjammedwithcars,mostofthem,terrifyingly,inthehandsofnovicedrivers.Bybanningorseverelyrestrictingmotorcycleuseinthesecities,ChinahasleapfroggedthedevelopmentpatternofitsAsianneighbours,wherethemotorbikehasusuallyprovidedthenewlyaffluentwiththeirfirsttasteofeffortlessmobility.Shanghai,hometoabout9mordinarybikes,arousedaflurryofmediacriticismlastyearbybanningthemfrommainroadsinthecentre.Buttheyarelessandlessusedthesedays.Tosomeextent,China'sembraceofthecarhasbeenapredictableresultofgrowingurbanaffluence.ButseveralotherfactorscauseddemandinChina,atleastuntilayearago,tosoarbeyondexpectations.AhugeboostcamewhenChinajoinedtheWorldTradeOrganisationin2001,whichrequiredaconsiderableeasingofbarriersoncarimports.Thepricesofdomestically-producedcarsfellrapidlyinanticipationoftariffreductions,andhavecontinuedtodosoby10%ormoreayear.Pricecuts,andtheintroductionbyforeigncarcompaniesofcheapermodels(madeattheirfactoriesinChina),alsohelpedputcarownershipsuddenlywithinreachofafast-growingnewmiddleclass.“ThereissomesimilaritybetweentheChineseandAmericanapproach,”saysJean-ClaudeGermain,thechiefrepresentativeinChinaforPeugeotCitroën.“Whensomebodydoesn'thavethecashtobuyacarhewilldreamandwilldoeverythingtobeonedayinthepositiontohavethisproduct.”AnothercrucialengineofdemandwasadramatictransformationinthesocialandeconomicstructureofChinesecities.Tenyearsago,mosturbanresidentswereemployedbystate-ownedfactoriesorotherentitieswithlinkstogovernment.Theylivedinhousingassignedbytheiremployers,virtuallyrent-freeandusuallyclosetowheretheyworked.Abicycle,orpublictransport,wasusuallyadequatetotakethemfartherafield.Thebanks,too,didnotlendtoindividuals.Sincethelate1990s,however,housinghasbeenlargelyprivatised.Manystate-ownedfactorieshavecloseddownorbeenshiftedtosuburbanareastoreducepollutioninthecitiesandmakewayfornewdevelopment.Close-knitcommunitieshavebeenscattered,oftentothesuburbs,toplacesill-servedbypublictransportandfarfromplacesofwork..Mostpeopleinthecountryside—where60%ofthepopulationlive—willnevergetbeyonddreamingofhavingacar.Butthepsychologicalimpactonmanyurban用心爱心专心1residentsofthecar'ssuddenaffordabilityhasbeenconsiderable.获奖译文英译中梦中的机器作者：geoffhan曾经生动地反映中国城市面貌的滚滚自行车流，已经被中国较大城市街道上拥堵的轿车取而代之了。让人感到恐怖的是，它们的方向盘大部分都握在新手司机手里。通过禁止或严格限制在城市中使用摩托车，中国跳过了其亚洲邻国的发展规律：在这些国家的发展进程中，通常是摩托车最先让那些新兴的富裕一族尝到了轻松出行的滋味。拥有900万辆普通自行车的上海，去年由于在市中心的主要路段禁止自行车通行而掀起了一场媒体的批判风波。但是现在用自行车的人越来越少了。在某种程度上，中国对轿车敞开怀抱一直都是不断富裕的城市生活可以预见的结果。但是还有一些其它因素导致中国对轿车的需求（至少在1年前）达到了一个超出预想的高度。2001年中国加入了世界贸易组织以后，必须要大大放宽对进口轿车的贸易壁垒，这对轿车的需求产生了极大的刺激。由于预期轿车关税将大幅度下调，国产车的价格暴跌，并且继续以每年10%左右的速度下降。汽车降价和外资汽车企业对廉价车型的引进（在其中国的工厂制造），也使得中国迅速增长的新中产阶层突然发现自己已经有能力拥有一辆轿车。“中国人和美国人做事有些相似点，”标志-雪铁龙中国首席代表让-克劳德·日耳曼说。“当一个人没钱买车时，他会梦想有一天自己能够拥有一辆汽...
