Last May, this newspaper reported that over a million cars had been registered in Shenzhen, and new cars were being sold at a rate of over 200 per day. (Quick math: six months later times 30 days times 200 cars equals over 36,000 more cars in the hands of Shenzheners!)

So let's look at some real car-for-sale ads and see what kind of information people give when selling used cars in America.

2005 Honda Civic 27,884 mi. US$14,977

2dr, Gray, FWD, AUTO 4SPD, 1.7L, 4cyl

First we are told the year the car was made. Next comes the make: Honda. This means, who was the car's manufacturer? After that is the model. For example, Honda makes the Civic, the Accord, the Prelude, and many other models.

The next information given is the mileage. ("mi." means "miles.") How far has the car been driven? A five-year-old car that has been driven only 30,000 miles is probably in better condition than a two-year-old car that has been driven 100,000.

Then comes the price. There are standards for this, formulas applied based on the answers to several questions: What make and model is the car? How old is it? What's the mileage? What is its general condition? What is its maintenance record? What accessories does it have? And so on. Of course you can fix any price you want, but if you go too far above the standards, you may not be able to sell it.

Now we learn a little more about the car:

2dr: This is a two-door car, also called a "coupe." (A four-door car is a "sedan," and a five-door car is usually an SUV--Sports Utility Vehicle--with a door on the back, called a "hatchback.")

Gray: the color of the car's exterior. Sometimes we see something like "Gray, white int" meaning the exterior is gray and the interior is white.

FWD: This is "Front Wheel Drive." Traditionally, cars received their "push" from the rear wheels. More recently, many cars are powered by the front wheels. And some are "4WD," Four Wheel Drive, where all four wheels are powered.

AUTO 4SPD: this car has a 4-speed automatic transmission.

1.7L, 4cyl: It has a 1.7-liter four-cylinder engine.

This car was being sold by a dealer, so only the basic information is given. Next time we'll look at a car for sale "by owner," and another dealer ad.