The bumps facing Beijing's auto addiction

I have a close friend back in California who came to Beijing as a tourist in the 1980s. His impressions of what the city was like then are similar to mine today.

The people are delightful, kind, friendly and happy to help a stranger; the food is without equal; the historical sites and buildings, the cultural relics of generations of Chinese, are breathtaking; and the streets are filled with bicycles.

Well, ahem, they used to be.