There’s no getting around the fact that Americans love their cars. That romance spread to much of the developed world and is now spreading across the Pacific to populous and cities in India and China that were not designed to handle motor vehicle traffic. The results have been predictable—increased pollution, intractable gridlock, deteriorating roadways and dependence on foreign energy sources.

But just before this year’s Olympic game began China started experimenting with car control in what could be a litmus test for similar plans worldwide.

Formerly a nation whose transportation system was defined by bicycles and railroads, China’s levels of car ownership grew an incredible 32 percent during 2007 with its emergence as a world manufacturing power. That pace has slowed in recent months, although in October, sales were up by more than 8 percent over the last year, according to Forbes.

While national pride was bolstered, people are quickly realizing the problems of increased car ownership. Last fall, the government of China rolled out a national “No Car Day” to help remind its citizens of alternative transportation methods. Imposed as well were a series of progressively more complicated no-driving days based on private license plate numbers in the city of Beijing.

However, while clearly expressing the national desire to reduce car use and fuel consumption, government-mandated solutions often overlook the very economic effects that allow the populace to own and drive cars in the first place. Artificially limiting gas demand creates unstable prices, and confusing rules can lead to drivers being on the road when they should not. Plus, without the price system to moderate between demand and supply, influential citizens unable to legally buy more access to the roadways will increasingly look to skirt the system.

That having been said, China's multifaceted approach to reducing car-related pollution also has contained some more promising measures. Before the games began, China slashed a generous subsidy on diesel and unleaded gasoline, allowing demand to more directly influence prices, and forcing consumers to pay more per mile driven, encouraging them to seek alternative means of getting around. In Shanghai, private license plates are sold at auction rather than distributed for a flat fee, limiting the the number of cars on the road, and increasing the price of car ownership, forcing people to truly consider how thoroughly they need a car.

It's not news that in places where the cost of car use and ownership is highest, the amount of driving is lowest. But the idea is not simply to impede cars from getting to the roadway, as vehicles provide an important part of the economic engine that has driven China's emerging prosperity. By setting up demand-based systems, China has allowed its citizens to determine how valuable the use of a car is to them, and to pay for car use.