SHANGHAI, CHINA - Why U.S. automakers can’t import smartly designed, well-made little cars that get 50 miles per gallon into the United States is absolutely beyond my comprehension.

Particularly because they already make those cars, and because oil prices (as well as gasoline prices) are destined to move even higher from here.

If you don’t believe me, let me tell you about the little beauties I saw in downtown Shanghai early one recent morning.

They’re made by Buick - a General Motors Corp. (GM) nameplate that’s on its way to extinction in its home U.S. market.

Here in China, on the other hand, Buick is a luxury car of choice. Buick’s also known for making sporty "econo-boxes" that offer a little bit of zip.

Ford Motor Co. (F), too, seems to have gotten back to its once-successful roots by "bringing a better idea" to the Chinese market. It’s not a luxury car, but it does demonstrate some global thinking. The car I’m referring to is the Ford Focus, a "world car" designed so that a common chassis can be adapted for virtually every key market around the world. The car started out as the "Euro Focus," so it was imbued with a sporty, sophisticated design and image right from the starting line. And it shows - it gets very high marks from Chinese buyers.

But it, too, remains "unavailable" in the U.S. market - at least the sporty designs that I’m seeing here [although our crack Money Morning research team back in the States did some digging and were able to tell me that the Focus could debut in the U.S. market by 2010 or 2011]. European competitors such as Germany’s Volkswagen AG (OTC: VLKAY), and France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen SA, with its Citroen and Peugeot nameplates, both, also are clamoring for share on Chinese streets.

There’s a good reason for all this interest: Here in China, auto sales are growing by 15% to 20% a year, with no signs of slowing down. Where as this used to be bicycle heaven, it’s now bicycle hell.

Much of that torrid growth is being "driven" by locals who are buying their first cars.