08 December 2006

For want of an automobile (or two...)

My friend migrated with his family to greener pastures (in his eyes). The first thing he did? He bought a huge gas-guzzling MPV. And in less than a month, he is purchasing a second car. He claims it is a necessity. That obviously constitutes a better life for him.

I won't post his URL or the photo of his newly rented place and MPV. However, I wonder how many people will buy a huge vehicle or two as soon as they leave Singapore and settled aboard.

I am not going to say that that is wrong or anything or put a value judgement on this. However, I am going to observe that if this were the desire of most people seeking a better life, then, we are going to have a whole lot of cars out there...

8 comments:

Anonymous Scout said...

In the United States almost everyone has a car, even sixteen and seventeen year olds get clunkers. If you make enough money to move all the way from Singapore, then you probably have enough to buy and maintain two cars.

Tim said...

I have three in my family. Also two motorcycles.

Anonymous said...

16 and 17 year olds don't just get clunkers. there are a lot that get Explorers and Hummers or BMWs. There are also a lot of Americans that drive inexpensive, fuel efficient cars and know that the flagrant wastefulness isn't a positive thing.

Chuang Shyue Chou said...

Tim, three cars and two bikes! Wow! In the USA, vehicles are almost a necessity. Your cities are not built for walking. With your sprawling suburbia, I don't expect otherwise.

Chuang Shyue Chou said...

Cliff, I do think the world, not merely the USA needs to get rid of this addiction to oil. Sadly, given the urban development of the USA over the last century, it would be difficult, if not impossible not to own multiple vehicles. Your cities are certainly not walking cities. Like you said, many people know that big wasteful vehicles are not the way.

Chuang Shyue Chou said...

C_Neil, that is true. The friend I mentioned has migrated to Australia. He was not poor to begin with anyway. He's part of this brain drain that is afflicting Singapore. Some of the elites are leaving, both in the commercial and intellectual sense.

Anonymous said...

Yes you're right. Where I live now is a perfect example. Public transportation barely exists and even intersections are not ped-friendly... few crosswalks, long delays, no crossing signals. I still don't need a Hummer to get to work... though a Tank might be nice sometimes.

Chuang Shyue Chou said...

Cliff, a tank! Hahahah. Cycling with groceries in cold weather or in high summer isn't practical either.