I realized I had neglected the aspect of something that would probably amaze a lot of my friends; new car sales in Korea. I don't know it up close and personal, as a matter of fact, about as much as I can say is that it's a storefront operation in most places. Nope, no 600-acre Lord Vader Automotive Group operations in Korea, just storefront space, (okay, pretty much SEVERAL storefronts,) where you see, you order, you specify, you tell the man to tint your windows Vampire-safe black, and given that I've never interrupted a new car delivery walking down the street, they bring it to you, at home, or work, or wherever you choose. Service is in yet another location, and I haven't a clue if it ever crosses the minds of Koreans to trade in their cars, or if they just save them for when Juin-Lee turns 19 and gets her drivers license. (that's what I hear from my students, driving age is 19. Damn, that's rough. Or maybe good, depending on your view of things.) Actually, come to think, the only real space-intensive automotive operations I've seen at this point are used car dealers, which are almost inevitably out in the boonies where space isn't QUITE at such a premium. In fact, I don't really know anything about the demographics, or sales of new versus used or anything, although the showrooms never look terribly crowded whenever I walk by. And when you're on the street, the percentage of new cars versus used almost inevitably weighs in the direction of cars that are anywhere between 5 and 20 years old. So perhaps the whole new car game is less about economic development at this point in history, and more about desire; get 'em wanting the good stuff. BMWs are the popular foreign brand around here, at least, followed by Mercedes and Chrysler. I did see one auspiciously affluent Korean roll by in an '05 Mustang, but only once. And they don't get the V-8 model Mustangs, only the V-6s. Poor devils.The odd Lincoln Town Car, which looks positively elephantine on these streets, I mean bigger than probably 2/3s of the trucks. Gawd.