The first car in China

In 1902, Yuan Shikai spent vast sums to import an Edward type car designed and made by American Charles E. Duryea brothers from Hong Kong so as to please Empress Dowager Ci Xi. That was the first imported car of China.
The car body was wooden and open with double row of seats and roof, the engine had three cylinders and four strokes, the power was 4 horsepower. Two gear shifts were arranged on the side, transmitted to the rear axle to realize driving. Car wheels were steel rings, pneumatic tires and wooden scrools. It was lighted by kerosene lamp without signal device.

After Ci Xi prepared for the first time to ride in the car, she found that driver Sun Fuling was sitting in front of her! According to the strict grade system in Qing Dynasty of China, the slave had to serve the boss. In the car he was on an equal footing with the "boss" Ci Xi - that was the greatest outrage! Ci Xi ordered him to kneel and drive the car, but how could he drive while kneeling? Although she became angry from embarrassment, she felt helpless.

Private transportation, as we can learn from this true story, is helping citizens of a modern society to make their own choices and as some transportation experts are saying as a joke: In no situation people are more equal than in a traffic jam!

Access is more than just mobility

The most common definition of a "sustainable transportation system" which is used by many NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) in Europe and North America is saying that a sustainable transportation system
- allows the basic access needs of individuals and societies to be met safely and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and with equity within and between generations.
- is affordable, operates efficiently, offers choice of transport mode, and supports a vibrant economy.
- limits emissions and waste within the planet's ability to absorb them, minimizes consumption of non-renewable resources, reuses and recycles its components, and minimizes the use of land and the production of noise.

It has become common not to speak of "mobility" as the social goal of a transportation system, but of "access", which includes the needs of people who for economic or health reasons cannot use normal cars. Transportation systems which are almost exclusively based on automobiles, like let's say Los Angeles, exclude all those who are to poor, to ill, to old or unwilling to use a private car. In Europe this kind of car-only transportation systems have been less developed, so it is easier for European companies to embrace the idea of a socially just sustainable transportation system.