SPECIAL REPORT: "A global love affair: A special report on cars in emerging markets," by Matthew Symonds, The Economist, 15 November 2008.

Data right out of brief slide I often use: Car saturation rates in U.S. and Europe and Japan are high (roughly 6-800 per 1,000 population) while the same is not true for New Core (Russia about 200, Brazil about 150, and China and India more like 15-25).

Second slide worth noting: "crossover point" for sales of cars (roughly 14m units per year), U.S. versus BRIC, happens this year--2008. From now on more get sold in BRIC than in U.S., meaning we lose our status as demand center.

Post-American to some, very American to others.