In Beijing, there are now more privately owned cars than government owned cars. It is the largest market for new and used cars in China. In Shanghai, more and more families can afford cars. This is also true in many large cities throughout China.
On a personal basis, I have been driving autos since I was sixteen. I have owned several dozen cars over my life. In the United States, we are an auto culture. Many families may own 2-3 cars at the same time: one for the mother, one for the father, and one or two for the younger members in the house. Insurance rates for drivers are usually based on age, marital status, previous driving records, and sometimes even on tobacco usage. Single persons under twenty-five are charged more for insurance the younger they are, because the largest number of accidents occurs among that 16-24 years old age group. Insurance statistics demonstrate that the second largest number of accidents among drivers are by persons over sixty-five, and increase with age. This age group is more powerful of course than the youngest drivers and it is difficult to put restrictions on drivers because of their older age, than for younger drivers.
An advantage for me in owning an auto is that I can get in my car at my house and can drive to the store, post office, or university very easily. Also, my children and grandchildren live several hundred kilometers distant from me. With my own auto, I can drive seven to twelve hours to see them, without having to take a plane, train, or bus. Or if I wish to take a trip cross country, that is easy also to do with my own car.
There are a lot of disadvantages in owning a car. Most cars are bought over time with car loans from banks or lending institutions. This means high payments of principal and interest over several years. Autos are expensive to maintain, and their value decreases the older the car is, and the more miles that have been driven. Petrol (gas) is getting more and more expensive. Parking or toll fees are often required. Safety is always an important concern. It is statistically safer to be a passenger on a plane, then a train, or a bus than to be driving or riding in a car. Traffic jams are increasing all the time. Cars are one of the major ways of increasing pollution in cities because of the carbon monoxide which the autos emit regularly. Such pollution also increases the greenhouse warming that is occurring all over the world.
For me, as I am presently living and teaching in China, I am glad not to have to drive, particularly with the very different traffic patterns in Chinese cities than in American cities. I have been invited to drive in China, and should perhaps accept the invitation on express roads to get a sense of driving patterns in the country. At the same time, I have no eagerness to drive in Chinese cities where the truck, then the bus, then the taxi seem to place all others such as motorcycles, bikes, and pedestrians at their mercy all the time.