In Singapore - The Amazing world of CARS

As I set my foot in Singapore, the first chord that strikes me is the amazing variety of cars that zoom past me. Being a car freak, I am very familiar with Indian cars. Infact, familiar should be an under-statement. If you show me any visual part of a car (example: a headlamp, tail lamp, bonnet, etc), I can indentify which car it belongs to...... Such was my expertise in that field, that when I landed in Singapore, I thought that I can do the same thing here. But I was wrong.

(Seen here in the pic is a Peugeot 307 at my office campus).

Being a Software Engineer by profession, if I allocate memory for all the car names to be remembered along with their appearance, my CPU will crash :D... So many varieties of cars, that i just wonder how a singapore kid (who is crazy after cars, just like me) remembers all these car names. Even after being here for a week, I am really finding it difficult to remember these names. Often, you will find me going around cars looking to indentify them and mark them (just like the way I used to do it with my brother, as a kid). On top of the numerous models, all these cars are maintained really very well (unlike India), thanks to the clean atmosphere and good traffic sense among people (unlike insane people in India).

And the aftermarket upgrades in cars here look awesome. The cars have been modified so beautifully that it just leaves you open-mouthed. And almost all the cars (except taxis) have gorgeous-looking alloys. India, being a cheap car market, the cars launched there do not have any good after market upgrade trims. Whereas, the same counterparts here looks awesome with such good quality accessories and ofcourse, good maintenance.

The very common brands in Singapore are Honda (Stream, Accord, Civic Fit, Jazz, City-least common), Toyota (Corolla, Camry, Axio, WISH, Estima), Mazda (Mazda3, Mazda6), Mitsubishi (Lancer, Lancer-Evo), Hyundai (Avante, Getz), Subaru (Impreza), Nissan (Latio, Sunny, Teana, Cesira), Kia (picanto, Rio), Proton(the malaysian carmaker trying to enter India). Apart from these Japanese brands we do find traces of other brands like Rolls Royce (Silver Spirit), Mercedes Benz (S-Class, CLS, EClass), BMW (7 series, 5 series), Audi (A3, A6, R8), Porsche(Cayman, Boxster, 911 Carrera), Jaguar (S-Type, X-Type, XF), Lexus (LS540), Peugeot (307, 308), Chevrolet (Optra, Aveo). Chrysler (300). But I am yet to find a ferrari (quite disappointing :( ). Even the luxurious cars like BMW-7series have been fitted with such gorgeous looking alloys, that they look like proper sports cars!

Terminology: In the world of cars, the term "generation" is used to refer to a particular model of a season. When the model gets some changes (launched with a new styling just like the new honda city), then it belongs to the next generation (just like humans).

My first day to office was an exciting one, sitting at the back of a 44 lakh car, the Mercedes Benz E220. The ride was comfortable enough, but i found the car too pricey :D Everyday morning I try to hop into a different taxi (I wait for a new model taxi to pass by me :D), so that i get a chance to be seated in different models :) The ubiquitous taxi here is the Toyota Crown (which is very ordinary looking). Apart from that we have the Hyundai Sonata (yes you heard it right, the 16lakh car in india is used as a taxi here), KIA - Premier (in the second pic above), Mercedes E220, Volkswagen Passat (which is called as Skoda-Superb in India), Toyota Wish and few more (which I may not have noticed so far).

And all the latest generation cars are present here (which are due to to be launched in India in the near future). For example, I see the new Hyundai-Sonata running as taxis in huge numbers (launched in India 3 weeks back). The next generation Toyota-Camry is already here (which looks like a worthy competitor to the latest Honda-Accord). I see all past generations of Toyota Corolla here (which is present in India only for the past two generations).

There seems to be lots of difference in the naming conventions of cars in India and Singapore, showing that India is a low-cost market (sensitive to price change, and hence late launches). The previous generation Corolla was already called the Corolla-Altis (including the current one) in Singapore. But in India, the previous generation was plainly called as Corolla, and the new one is called as Corolla-Altis. The new generation Nissan-Teana (to be launched in India) is called the Nissan-Cesira here, and I am sure it will be called as the Teana in India. I am yet to find the latest generation Honda City here though, and I find only traces of the previous generation City here. The Mazda3 sedan is very common here showing clearly why the Honda-City is not favourite here. This sedan is very gorgeous looking having a very sporty look and will give the Honda-City a run for its money, if launched in India. I just fell in love with it. The most commonly modified cars in Singapore are the Mitsubishi-Lancer, Subaru-Impreza and the Mazda3. The toyota has a total different list of cars (apart from the usual ones), which are badged as WISH (quite confusing)......

Lastly, a small mention about the buses here! Ridiculously smooth Mercedes-Benz (automatic version) buses on the smoother Singapore roads.

Still I am learning to swim in the huge sea of cars in Singapore...Ciao!