Situated on the Chao Phraya River, the city vibrates with endless traffic jams, as tuk tuks, cars and buses fill the roads daily.

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Because Beijing already requires that all cars being sold in the city meet Euro V emission standards, with other cities following suit, passenger cars are not really the problem.

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But with cars already clogging the city, a major transport overhaul is essential.

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When Liverpool beat Manchester United in the city in 2001, police saw a large rise in car crime, with 10 more cars stolen than the usual daily average.

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Nor even the stunning efficiency with which the capital's airport taxi mafia manage to transport me to city center in vintage cars for only twice the fare that it costs in Bangkok.

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Also, Kokomo, Indiana, it's a small city with big issues, nearly a quarter of the work force building cars and auto parts.

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Russians bought more than three million new cars last year and nowhere is that more evident than in Moscow, a city where it's perpetually rush hour, the streets gridlocked with flashy sports cars going nowhere fast.

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If cars with combustion engines are banned from city centres, as proposed by the European Union this week and discussed by authorities across the world, the number of interested buyers might well swell.

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