Half a world away from Detroit, where the Big Three are fighting for survival, car lovers are running their hands over the shiny sheet metal on display at the Shanghai auto show this week.

China is the world's bright spot when it comes to car sales. Despite a slowdown in sales, China has even dethroned the U.S. as the world's biggest auto market--every month this year, more cars have been sold in China than in America, where industry sales have plunged by a third in recent months.

Because the global economic slowdown has crimped budgets in China too, mainland Chinese car buyers who used to favor foreign brands are more likely to buy Chinese, according to a survey from TNS Automotive China, part of custom research agency TNS. The survey showed that 44% of China's future car buyers who want to buy foreign brands instead plan to purchase Chinese makes. "The economic slowdown offers real opportunities for Chinese domestic car makers," said Klaus Paur, Shanghia-based TNS Automotive Director for North Asia. "They can benefit from the cautious consumer behavior and position themselves as attractive alternatives to foreign brands--if they deliver sufficiently well on consumer expectations regarding product quality and reliability."