Death Spiral? Chinese Car Obsession

(1/31/2013) China has overtaken U.S. as the largest car market. Owning a car is a symbol of social status in China even though driving in many cities in China is not a exciting experience at all. The traffic congestion in China is pretty well known (Look at this historical gridlock near Beijing in 2010). Recently, Beijing is experiencing severe smog for days. How bad was it? You cannot see the Sun in Beijing when you are in a sunny day (See CNN's report below). People say "The More The Air Is Polluted, The More I Prefer To Drive." Is it another new paradox smilar to Prisoner's dilemma or Paradox of thrift in the Economics?