Back in 1984, the story of a Beijing chicken farmer saving up to buy a Toyota car shot to prominence in the Chinese media as a leading example of the country’s growing prosperity. The family at the center of the story may not have been the peasants they were presented as — its patriarch was in fact a senior government official — but the message was clear: Vehicle ownership was a symbol of success in the new China. Fast forward 40 years, and China is reaching a milestone of a different m