China's car sales boom, reshaping a way of life

QUFU, China

“We never used to have traffic jams,” sighs Song Wenjun, 63, who founded the local brewery. Song says just a year ago, his chauffeur-driven Buick moved easily through the city of 60,000, hindered only by its four stoplights. Now, he says, there are more than 20 lights and the roads are packed.

China’s love affair with the automobile is thriving despite the global recession, and it’s changing the way people live here in ways reminiscent of the USA’s boom in car ownership after World War II. Song’s story helps explain why: His Sun King brewery has struggled lately, but its workers are still confident enough about their future to buy cars that are becoming increasingly reliable, safe and cheap