????曾幾何時，豐田（Toyota）和其他日本汽車公司幾乎就要顛覆美國汽車制造商和供應商的地位。汽車行業從業者每隔一年就會準時登上飛機，到東京車展一探虛實。

????而現在，汽車行業專家在遠東的必去之地已經變成了上海。中國曾經不怎么重視私人財產和奢侈品，但現在已經成為世界上規模最大、最引人關注而且增長最快的汽車市場。

????今年3月份，中國汽車銷量增長了13%，將經濟增速放緩的擔憂一掃而光。今年全年，中國乘用車銷量有望突破2,000萬輛，這是美國乘用車市場從未達到過的水平。相應的，從1985年開始的上海車展（Auto Shanghai）有望在2013年達到鼎盛規模，超過吸引了近萬名新聞記者的2011年車展。

????全球所有主要汽車制造商以及幾十家規模較小的中國汽車廠商都將參加本次車展。汽車新聞網站TheDetroitBureau.com出版人保羅?艾森斯坦說：“從我第一次參加上海車展到現在已經有10年了，我看著它從一個幾乎無關痛癢的閉塞展會變成了層出不窮的車展中較有影響力和較為重要的一個。”

????但艾森斯坦指出，上海車展的中方組織者在運輸車輛、安排人員和召開新聞發布會方面的熟練程度仍然沒有達到必需的水平。他說，場面“混亂得幾乎像一出喜劇。”

????北美汽車行業周刊《汽車新聞》（Automotive News）認為，今年亮相的幾款最重要的新車表明，汽車制造商相信中國將再次出現跨界車浪潮。這股浪潮已經席卷美國，而且正在歐洲流行開來。隨著采用皮卡底盤的SUV走上下坡路，采用轎車底盤的跨界車正變得越來越受歡迎。

????寶馬（BMW）選擇在上海車展上發布X4跨界車。這是一款豪華車，將在南卡羅來納州制造，主要用于出口。其中少量X4十有八九將成為中國富裕消費者的座駕。選擇在這里推出X4表明，寶馬認可上海的全球影響力。同時，吉普（Jeep）計劃在上海車展上推出新切諾基（Cherokee），謳歌、奔馳（Mercedes-Benz）和大眾（Volkswagen）的新型跨界車或SUV也將在本次車展上亮相。

????雖然中國制造的汽車還沒有進入過美國市場，但一些品味不同尋常的業界領袖可能會對長安汽車（Changan Automobile）的致尚XT掀背車和中國-以色列合資生產的觀致混合動力車感興趣。

????中國汽車市場曾經是富人的游樂場，而現在它的增長則越來越多地受到了非精英消費者的推動。同時，中國富裕階層購買的豪華車數量達到了前所未有的水平。《人民日報》（People's Daily）注意到，比利時克拉特集團（Carat Security Group）將參加本次上海車展。這家公司從事豪華轎車個性定制升級服務，擁有135年的歷史。公司一名高層人士表示，克拉特集團的主要市場是中東、非洲、俄羅斯和拉美，中國則是它今后的發展目標。

????Back in the day when Toyota (TM) and the rest of Japan Inc. appeared on the verge of capsizing U.S. automakers and suppliers, industry figures dutifully boarded airliners every two years to attend the Tokyo Motor Show in a search for facts.

????The must-attend Far East venue for auto experts these days has become Shanghai. The People's Republic, once a place where private property and luxury were officially scorned, has turned into the biggest, glitziest, and fastest-growing vehicle market in the world.

????Brushing off fears of an economic slowdown, auto sales in China rose 13% in March and are on pace to break 20 million passenger vehicles in 2013 -- a level never achieved in the U.S. Accordingly, Auto Shanghai 2013 is expected to be the biggest since it was started in 1985, surpassing the last show in 2011 that attracted nearly 10,000 journalists.

????All major global auto manufacturers, plus scores of smaller Chinese companies, will be exhibiting at the show. Paul Eisenstein, publisher of TheDetroitBureau.com, an automotive website said, "In the decade since I first attended the Shanghai Auto Show, I have watched it transform from an almost irrelevant backwater event into one of the more significant and important shows on a busy calendar."

????But Eisenstein noted that Chinese organizers of the show, which this year starts on April 21, still aren't quite as facile as required in handling logistics of cars, people, and press conferences. There's "almost a comic sense of confusion," he said.

????Automotive News said this year's top automotive debuts reflect what automakers believe will be a repetition in China of the crossover trend, which has swept the U.S. and is taking hold in Europe. Crossovers, built on car chassis, have been rising in popularity as heavier SUVs with pickup chassis have been declining.

????BMW chose the Shanghai show to introduce its X4 crossover, a luxury vehicle that will be built in South Carolina, mostly for export. In all likelihood a small number of this model will be sold to Chinese consumers – wealthy ones. The choice of venue reflects the global visibility BMW attaches to it. Also planned for introduction are Jeep's new Cherokee, as well as crossover or SUVs from Acura, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.

????Though China doesn't yet export to the U.S., motor heads with a taste for the unusual may be interested in Changan Automobile's Zhishang XT, a hatchback, and the Qoros hybrid, the product of a Chinese-Israeli joint venture.

????The growth of the Chinese automobile market, once a playground only for the wealthy, is being fueled more and more by consumers who aren't elite. At the same time, the rich are buying more luxury than ever before. People's Daily noted that Carat Security Group, a 135-year-old Belgian company that modifies cars with armored plating, will be among the exhibitors. A Carat executive said that the Middle East, Africa, Russia, and Latin America are its main markets, though China is a target of future growth.