As more Chinese cities propose to use license-plate lotteries and other ways to limit the number of cars on the road, consumers are responding by buying more expensive vehicles with higher horsepower engines. For example, in Shanghai, one of the four major cities implementing policies to dissuade people from buying cars in order to ease traffic jams and pollution, 9,000 to 10,000 plates are auctioned every month, fetching an average of 82,000 yuan ($13,400) a car so far this year. Putting the expensive plates on more expensive cars makes sense because as fewer plates raise the cost of owning a car, buyers can rationalize paying more for their cars and believe the restrictions could limit them from trading up later. The following are the views of China Daily's mobile phone news readers on the issue:

The current restriction policy cannot fundamentally solve the serious environmental problem. What we need to do is to make people more aware of the damage to the environment and encourage them to do their bit to reduce pollution. Besides, the government should spend more on public transportation services to make them more convenient and prompt people to use their cars as little as possible.

WANGYOUCAO, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province