As many of you know, I am a believer in emerging markets as being the driver of much of the growth over the next 10 years--and driving growth means that you can expect to see much innovation coming from unexpected places. Take transportation, car manufacturing, an industry which has not fundamentally changed much in fifty years. Yes, new competitors like Toyota, Hyundai etc. and the players have changed over the years, but the game has stayed fundamentally the same from a technology view. Yet there are a number of factors intersecting--a busy crossroads, if you will. These include sharply rising gas prices, global warming, pollution (so thick you can taste it in the air), congested driving conditions, and new markets that stress affordability. For an interesting take, see this article by Amelia Gentleman in the International Herald Tribune on India's largest electric car company.

Note the compact size, new materials, low cost, and the contouring of design to driving conditions. It is far too early to even suggest that this company will be a success, and arguably the odds are heavily stacked against it. But with gas being so expensive, people recognizing the environmental hazards, electricity being subsidized in places like India, and a burgeoning group of local car manufacturers, it is quite conceivable that new forms of transportation will emerge in these countries -- low cost electrical or hybrid vehicles; and with their potential market volume and the cost-down opportunities that the market scale affords, it would be only one step away to drive toward the larger export markets.