Will You Drive a Howo ?

China is car crazy. Not only are there over 70 car manufacturers in China but there are about 1.3 billion people that want one. Most, thankfully, can't afford one - if they could, the country would quickly halve its population as pedestrians got knocked off and those that survived died from noxious emissions. The inability to buy a car however, didn't keep people away from China's largest car show this week - Auto Shanghai ran for over a week at the largest exhibition center in China.

Last Sunday as I tried to get into the Auto Shanghai I found myself in the middle of the largest, pushiest crowd of people I've ever seen. That's saying a lot for someone that lives in China. As I was shoved toward the entrance, trying to keep my balance, I thought to myself that this must be what it is like to be in a soccor riot. I could visualize the Discovery Channel special I would be featured in, the episode being for their disaster series - the infamous "Auto Shanghai stampede of '07". The conclusion of the special would be that if only the idiots that organized Auto Shanghai had not tried to cram thousands through one little entrance...

Once inside I was pushed from one exhibition hall to the next. The first two halls featured Chinese-made cars with names like "Great Wall", "Roewe" (hints of Rover), and "Chery" (hints of Chevy). Then I was shoved through a Japanese hall and on to the Ford hall. I couldn't see the cars for the crowds. Once in a while I'd catch a glimpse of the top of a car with a bored model perched on the hood. Loud, very loud music boomed from every exhibition. Teams of models behind barriers danced, pranced and pointed at the cars. Over the top of the crowd I could see that Ford had imported a troupe of handsome Western men and beautiful women acrobats to draw the crowd - as if a crowd needed to be drawn! Everyone was holding their cellphones over their heads snapping pictures of the models and the cars. Snap snap snap. Men were taking pictures of every car, at least the portion visible over everyone else's head. That, I thought, is going to be one heck of a boring slideshow.

I needed to get out. I slowly worked my way toward the auto parts hall where I hoped to shed the crowd. The fuel pumps, axles, and tires were less of a crowd pleaser so I finally had room to breath and walk in directions I actually wanted to go. So I headed for the exit - I wanted to get as far away from Auto Shanghai as possible. On the way out I noticed a Chinese-made 18-wheeler truck brand called "Howo". Will Howos someday be lined up outside American truck stops?

For another perspective on the chaos at Auto Shanghai read this account by a clearly upset attendee.