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  1. Blogger
    If you are reading this blog entry, then you are probably one of the members who spend hours on mycarforum and myautoblog every day. And hanging out with other car enthusiasts, you would probably know at least the basics of cars; maybe more. When you buy a car, you more or less know what sort of car and kit you are getting for your hard earned money.
     
    But you would be in the minority. Most Singaporean car buyers couldn't give a damn what is under the bonnet, the figures or even if the car was rear wheel drive. What they do give a damn about though is the badge stuck on the bonnet and boot of the car. Who cares about how the car drives so long as the badge is fancy enough to impress your next door neighbour, your relatives and your friends. The car badge is literally worth more than its weight in gold. Anyone remember those fake Lexus Harriers running rampant in Singapore several years ago?
     
    And unsurprisingly, the premium car marques in Singapore have caught onto this propensity for flashing wealth. And so BMW brought in the 1 series as an affordable and attainable way of getting on the premium car bandwagon and then the 320i and then the 318i.
     
    Well guess what? Now there is an even more affordable way to lay one's grubby Singaporean hands on a snobbish German badge - the Audi A1! If one can put up with the small size of the car, it represents the most badge for buck! Imagine the 4 Audi Circles for $126 grand thereabouts! With COE prices as they are these days, this sum isn't all that steep (relatively speaking). This has got to be my top pick for maximum badge for minimum cash!
     
    So, just in case, if you happen to be in the majority (i.e. you have some snob in you); and are in the market for a premium car, you should head down and plonk down some cash for an Audi A1 right away. No test drive needed and don't even bother with the car reviews. It won't matter to you anyway. You get all your money back the next time you pull up alongside your neighbour's VW Golf.
     
    Well, at least until the Aston Martin Cygnet goes into production and your neighbour gets his hands on one.
     
    PS: If you were ever in doubt, this was a review of the new Audi A1 and it told you all you needed to know about it. And no I didn't have to drive one to write this.
  2. Blogger
    It is official. Market Street Car Park will be no more. In its place? Yet another office building in the heart of Raffles Place. The CBD parking crunch just got worse.
     
    With rental values of office space back on the upward trend again, it is no surprise that the owner of the Market Street Car Park has decided that the land it sits on would be better utilized as a proper commercial/office property rather than serving the needs of hundreds of drivers who work in Raffles Place.
     
    Well, it is hard to say no to money. But, perhaps businesses and organizations in Singapore should be quicker to do a rethink of their mentality that provision of car parking spaces as a drain on profit.
     
    Owners of commercial properties and shopping malls should be the first to take heed. After all, despite whatever the Government is trying to do; most middle and upper class Singaporeans simply refuse to travel on public transport. And, if you make parking difficult or if you charge an exorbitant rate for parking; there will come a time when the balance is tipped and drivers will simply figure that it isn't worth it any more and they will choose to pass on the shopping mall. Drivers are customers too; often generous ones at that.
     
    Property developers too have been all too anxious to cut down on the provision of car park spaces once the Government authorities have relaxed the requirements. Every square foot expended on parking, is one less square foot to be sold. While their sales talk about how providing 1 lot per unit is enough may smoke the first time house hunter, savvy drivers/house buyers are increasingly becoming aware of parking woes cropping up in newer private properties. After all, most who can splash the cash for the record breaking property prices today have the means to buy a second, third or fourth car. And when parking spaces become scarce, neighbourly relations take a beating and sometimes the parking woes get published all over the internet or the papers. That can only be bad for the property value.
     
    So to the big-wigs at these huge businesses, it is time to do a rethink. It might be a wise investment to build a little bit more parking space than you deem necessary. In quasi-business lingo, this is a hedge against the risk that the market attitudes change.
  3. Blogger
    Blog post by sgbluechip:
    I drive a humble Japanese car which I bought brand new 3 years ago. I paid the full amount in cash and hence no expense on loan interest was incurred. I would like to see if it is worth keeping my car or change to taking taxis on a daily basis.
     
    Cost of car: $46,000
     
    Yearly costs:-
     
    Road tax and radio: $769
     
    Insurance: $700 (50% NCD+5% police white card for good driving record)
     
    Petrol: $1200 ($100 per month. My workplace is near my home but extremely inaccessible, though parking is free)
     
    ERP: $20 (I rarely go to town area)
     
    Yearly servicing: $150 (I do it only once a year, since I drive an average of 10,000 km per year)
     
    Other wear and tear: $200
     
    Parking at home: $765 (No way to avoid this unless you are living in private property)
     
    Parking outside home and office: $120
     
    Car wash: $144 (twice a month@ $6 each time)
     
    Depreciation: $4,000 (minimum)
     

     
    If I were to drive my car for the full 10 years, it will cost me $40,000. As the scrap value at the end of 10th year is $6,000.
     
    Hence the total cost of my car ownership is $8168 per year. If I were to take a taxi everyday to work, it will cost me about $20 daily. That alone will cost me $4,800 a year. Though there are days I am on MC and leave, let
  4. Blogger
    Generations and generations of our older folks have always advised us against buying our first car before our first house. Now, for the serious petrol-head, that is as unacceptable as Lindsay Lohan without makeup.


    We need the car, we don't just want one. We are prepared to live in our cars. If you don't agree to these Terms and Conditions, you just aren't a petrol-head and you don't have to read this anymore.
    Right, Now to business.
     


    The house; I'll be quoting as an example will be a conventional 3 room HDB flat located in the favourable Bishan/Ang Mo Kio area. The car the house is going against, is a Ferrari. Any one in fact. The F430, the California or the 599. But for simplicity sake, I'm going to use the F430.
     
    Of course, the house looks like the obvious choice. But is it? Well lets find out.
     
    For a HDB flat in Bishan or Ang Mo Kio that is going to set you back roughly S$450,000 just for a box in the sky. Then you still have legal fees to pay, not to mention your time spent running around on buses and trains (since you don't have a car) to find that dream home of yours.
     


    Time is money my friends and with the 2 or 3, maybe even 6 months of looking around you could have invested in the stock market, started a business. Anything! But no, you were burning fuel in the buses, spending sleepless nights thinking whether a house facing North or South was better for your future leather couch. Then, you'd need another S$100,000 to do up the house decently so that you will actually want to stay there.
     
    That is already S$550,000 gone into the house, not counting the time you spent, your transport costs and the sleepless nights. Things are looking bleak for our older folks' advice. However, what you do get at the end is a nice loft, a place to stay and more importantly, your girlfriend can marry you.
     
    So what about the Ferrari?


    Let me demonstrate the ease of the entire transaction. While you were running around in your bus or train, I simply switched on my computer, went to the particularly popular website called SgCarMart and typed in
  5. Blogger
    Ever wondered why so many wealthy Singaporeans advocate paying full cash for car purchases? Ever wondered what makes your car loan so profitable that dealers add a 'loading fee' to 'push' buyers to take up loans of minimum tenures? The answer lies in the deceptively quoted interest rates.
     
    Now for the non-Finance trained among you, let me go through some basics. The key difference that we are concerned with is that interest rates for car loans (or strictly speaking hire-purchase) are quoted on a flat basis as opposed to a declining basis. Under a flat basis, the interest amount payable is computed based on the total loan amount and multiplied over the years. I am sure this is familiar to all of you who have financed a car before. But, what you may not know is that for other loans such as mortgages, the interest typically is computed on a declining basis. Under this declining method, the interest is applied on the loan amount that is left and not the whole sum loaned. Simply put, as you slowly repay each part of the principal amount borrowed, your interest payable becomes less.
     
    At this point in time, I am sure the question on everyone's minds is "So what?" Well, the implication of a flat basis interest rate is that it disguises the true or real interest rate that you are paying; making you think that you are paying a much lower interest rate than you really are. Let me provide an example:
     
    Let us assume that I buy a car at $100,000, at a full loan for 3 years. For simplicity of calculations, let us assume an unrealistic interest of 10%.
     
    Based on the flat basis, my total interest is $10,000 per year. This makes my total interest $30,000 and the total sum owed $130,000. My monthly repayment is roughly $3,611. But let me input all this into my financial calculator to obtain the effective annual interest rate (or what I call the real interest rate that I am paying). It turns out that my effective annual interest rate is a hefty 19.46% or nearly double!
     
    As a contrast, if we apply the sums above in the context of a typical mortgage, my monthly repayment would be roughly $3,226. My monthly installment is more than 10% cheaper! The effective annual interest rate that I pay on the mortgage is also a more tolerable 10.47%.
     
    Of course, I won't be listing out the exact working simply because it would probably bore everyone to tears. And, the extent of deceptiveness will vary as the numbers vary. But this does not detract from my key message: Do not be deceived by the seemingly low interest rates! As much as possible, we should all endeavor to keep the amount that we loan to a minimum. Most importantly, the next time car sales people tell you that it is good to take a loan for the car because you can reinvest your spare cash to obtain better returns, take it with a hefty pinch of salt!
  6. Blogger
    Making its world debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show on 6 March 2012, the face-lifted RX range, consisting of the RX 270, RX 350 and RX Hybrid, is set to arrive in Singapore in Q2 this year.
     



    The new RX exterior features a new, more elegant and aggressive frontal design. An enhanced interior offers an expanded choice of colour schemes, new trim finishes, a new steering wheel, a revised instrument binnacle and a second generation Remote Touch Interface (RTI).
     



    The versatility of the RX Hybrid
  8. Blogger
    Diesel cars have never been popular in Singapore, especially the bigger engines. But i'm pretty sure there's a lot of driving enthusiasts out there who would love to own a diesel car, if the tax wasn't so high. In most countries, diesel cars are actually quite popular due to the fact that diesel is cheaper than petrol.
     
    Well, things are going to change around here, soon enough...
     



     
    As announced by the Minister for Finance, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, in his FY2012 Budget Statement, the special tax for Euro V compliant diesel cars will be revised with effect from 1st January 2013. Instead of the current rate of $1.25 per cubic centimetres (cc), the annual special tax for a Euro V compliant diesel car will be computed based on $0.40 per cubic centimetres (cc) of engine capacity, subject to a minimum annual payment of $400.
     
    The revision to the special tax structure for Euro V compliant diesel cars is made in recognition of its improved emissions, relative to pre-Euro V diesel cars.
     
    Motorists can choose to pay the special tax annually or 6-monthly, together with the road tax. The revised special tax for Euro V compliant diesel cars will result in nearly 70% savings to owners, as shown in the table below:
     



     
    According to LTA, the special tax for diesel taxis and Euro IV diesel cars will remain unchanged at $5,100 per annum and $1.25 per cubic centimetres (cc) respectively.
     
    Click here to check out new diesel cars currently in Singapore.Diesel cars
  9. Blogger
    [extract]


    Honda revealed its 2012 Geneva Motor Show line-up with 2 sports car concepts, a prototype of the European CR-V as well as the debut of the all-new 1.6 Diesel engine all appearing on the Honda stand.
     



    The stunning Honda NSX Concept will make its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show. Highlighting the design and technology direction for Honda's next generation supercar, the NSX Concept features a V6 mid-mounted engine and will employ a range of new technologies including the innovative Sport Hybrid SH-AWD
  10. Blogger
    Honda today announced that the Honda Civic will race in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).
     
    "We have made a decision" said Honda CEO, Takanobu Ito "to enter into the WTCC with the European Civic. We will develop a totally new engine for this project and we are all excited about starting this new challenge."
     



    For this project, Honda has formed a joint partnership with Mugen and J.A.S. Motorsport. Mugen will manufacture a bespoke racing engine developed by Honda R&D and will maintain the engine in every race along with the team. J.A.S. Motorsport will develop the race car, using the new Honda Civic 5door produced in Honda's manufacturing plant located in Swindon (UK).
     
    The racing engine is a 1.6 litre 4 cylinder direct injection turbo-charged petrol engine, developed in accordance with FIA's Super 2000 regulations.
     
    Honda's ambition is to join the WTCC as early as this season, with a string of "inaugural rounds". Discussions are currently being held with the FIA, but these rounds would include Japan (held on 21 October 2012 at Honda's Suzuka circuit), followed by China and Macau. Honda will then enter a two car team, managed by J.A.S. Motorsport, into every race in the 2013 championship season.
     
    Racing has always been a fundamental element of Honda's DNA . In the late 1950s Honda first entered the Isle of man T.T and then Formula 1 in the 1960s. The FIA WTCC is the next chapter in Honda's on-going commitment to world motor sport and provides a perfect platform to demonstrate its racing spirit to Honda's numerous fans around the world.
  11. Blogger
    [extract]

    Meet Red Dragon, a custom-built Ford 350 Super Duty Monster Truck which produces a ground-shaking 1308 bhp and comes complete with an air-cannon mounted on the back that can fire a fridge-freezer 80 yards.
     
    The hand-built truck will be one of the must-see attractions at the all-new Top Gear Live (www.topgearlive.co.uk) on11
  12. Blogger

    Drive or driven?

    By Blogger,

    If one day you were wealthy enough, would you prefer to drive yourself around or be chauffeured around on your daily commutes to and fro wherever the rich folks hang out? Would you choose to brave the jams yourself or leave it to a driver while you recline in the comfort of whatever luxury mobile you picked?
     
    I suspect that most readers will say chauffeur for the daily monotonous commutes in the luxury mobile but self-drive for weekends and nights in the supercar. But let's say (somewhat artificially) that you could only pick one of the two. Which would you prioritize?
     
    The answer is clear in my head, at least. For a petrolhead (wannabe?), nothing beats driving it myself. Whatever it may be; whether it is a Roller or a humble Toyota. I want to drive them all. Myself.
     
    And my reason is simple. Step into a moving automobile and I become somewhat of a control freak. While riding along as a passenger, I have to constantly remind myself that if I still cherished being able to ride on public buses or taxis or even still wanted to have friends that I ought not to open my mouth and morph into a backseat driver. The result is that being driven about, in anyway, is not a pleasant experience for me (and sometimes my driver).
     
    And when I add in the fact that I actually enjoy the experience of driving and would drive for the sake of driving as opposed to going places, it is a no-brainer.
     
    At this point you are probably thinking that this is all a hypothetical exercise in time wasting. But this is actually a decision that many Singaporeans are confronted with (on a reasonably frequent basis). Every time we step out of our sunny shores into foreign nations, this is actually a crucial decision we make. Do we rely on a local driver or do we fire up the gps and rent a car? Or do we rely on their public transport?
     
    What would be your default choice?
  15. Blogger
    Five NASCAR drivers who were invited to meet President Barack Obama at the White House are not going to show, giving the excuse that there are "scheduling conflicts." Nobody is sure of whether "scheduling conflicts" means "political views," but thanks to stereotypes associated with NASCAR, nobody's ruling that out.
     
    The president invited 12 drivers from the 2010 Chase to celebrate their successes. The drivers bailing include Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Carl Edwards. Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch (who had initially declined), Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth all are planning to attend.
     
    While the absentees may indeed have scheduling conflicts, we'd expect that if that were the case, it'd hold true for the majority of those invited. Also, passing on the chance to meet the sitting U.S. president, regardless of one's views, seems like an odd move.
  19. Blogger
    The T-1000 was a pretty vicious killing machine, but it was also a mighty fine pilot on anything with two wheels. From what we can tell, the cop in the following video is clearly the template from which the T-1000 was cast.
     
    Competing in a motorcycle obstacle course, this policeman wields his huge heavy Harley-Davidson police-edition Road King like a toy. The pegs scrape, the onlookers gasp and this cop runs through the course cleanly, much to the relief of the terrified cones. This bit of riding is two-wheeled poetry in motion.
     
    Don't get too close. These terminators are dangerous.

  20. Blogger
    Supercar spotters will be out in force in London on the first Sunday in September. Their prey? A host of rare breeds, which will be taking to the streets as part of the Chelsea AutoLegends motoring extravaganza.
     
    The PistonHeads Supercar Run in association with The Sunday Times will set off from the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall at around 10am on Sunday 4 September.
     
    The cars will be aiming for the Sunday Times Supercar Paddock situated right at the heart of Chelsea AutoLegends on the South Grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
  21. Blogger
    [extract]

    Great news for Subaru car lovers in Malaysia. Based on the latest progress, Tan Chong Group has confirmed to assemble Subaru vehicles in Malaysia under a MoU with Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd and the production will start in October 2012.
     
    Today, Fuji Heavy Industries said that the MoU was for a consignment production contract with TC Subaru Sdn. Bhd which currently distributor of Subaru vehicles in Malaysia.
  22. Blogger
    Live in the northern part of Singapore? If so, like many thousands of other Singaporean drivers, you must have at one point in time felt the frustration that comes along with being stuck in congestion along the not-so express CTE.
     
    If you do not, perhaps you might have tried driving along Orchard Road on the weekends during the Great Singapore Sale or the run-up to Christmas. Another frustrating exercise, to say the least.
     
    But, try tackling the normal "peak" traffic in one of our neighbouring countries and you might come to the sudden realization that most of our traffic jams are child's play. And by tackle, I don't mean sitting in the passenger seat while a "local" drives you around, marveling at how bad the congestion is. I mean actually driving a car in it; and make that a manual like most of the "locals" would drive. You don't even have to go very far - no need to head to Bangkok or Jakarta; even a short drive at peak hours in a busy Malaysian city will put things into perspective.
     
    I recently was in Malacca for the weekend and was attempting to drive out of the Melaka Raya area to the suburbs where I was bunking for the night. The short stretch of road that separated Mahkota Parade Mall and the Melaka Megamall (I believe it is Jalan Merdaka) was choked bumper to bumper with cars. It took 30 minutes to drive (if you can call it that) from the Megamall to the junction where Hotel Equatorial stands. I think my grandmother could walk that distance faster than I was able to drive!
     



     
    True, it wasn't exactly a jam that could rival Bangkok or Jakarta. But, driving along, I realized that I wasn't feeling any sense of frustration or impatience. If I were in Singapore, I think I probably would have exhausted my vocabulary of expletives in the first 15 minutes! Why is that a Singaporean stuck in a non-Singaporean jam evince such a non-Singaporean reaction? My gut-feel is that we are all so brain-washed by our endless efficiency mantra that when things are in anyway inefficient in Singapore, we start to feel upset. But because we expect delays in other countries, we are always that little bit more accommodating (well, there are still some Singaporeans who act like **** when overseas but most of us are more accommodating).
     
    So as I am stuck in traffic this weekend in Orchard Road. I will make it a point to grin and bear with it. Give it a try; it might make things more bearable too.
  23. Blogger
    Justin W. Durbin, a 22-year-old serial car thief who is currently wanted in at least four states in America, including Illinois. Naperville, Ill., to be precise.
     
    The bizarre saga of the 22-year-old from Altus, Okla., apparently began in early June. That was when Durbin allegedly sweet-talked an employee of a car dealership in Fishers, Ind., out of a black, 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 valued at $20,000(S$24,526).
     
    Naperville police Sgt. Gregg Bell said Durbin drove the car June 13 to Mercedes-Benz of Naperville, at 1569 W. Ogden Ave. on the city
  24. Blogger
    [extract]

    The upcoming movie, Transformers Dark of the Moon or Transformers 3 which will be released really soon, is well known for its amazing car line-up, like the Chevrolet Camaro, Audi R8, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and many others.
     
    These are some pictures of the Transformers "Dark of the Moon"
  25. Blogger
    [extract]

    Over the years, the number of individuals on our roads has continued to grow... like the pace of our daily lives. At one time or another, we have all been in a hurry when driving or become lost in our thoughts, distracted, worried or preoccupied, despite the fact that driving requires our full attention and concentration!
     
    As a result, there are times when we may perform manoeuvres that are disrespectful to other road users, or even dangerous, or perhaps engage in a behaviour that is self-centred and rooted in an
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