Boys + $Toys

[JR8]

Something annoying me this week, and I realise the behaviour is something of a theme.

New, big, $car. Must drive about and make lots of noise [=childish]. In 40mph zone.... vroooom!!

p.s. It must break their hearts to go on holiday to Europe and see they can pick up a Maserati (or sim) for $50k.

[nutnut]

Indeed, but, we are made to tolerate it, if they were kids we would expect their parents to stop them. Too bad they are now adults and we have to accept them

However, if I had a nice new car, I'd want to make lots of noise too

[JR8]

I would also enjoy having a new car (indeed I am!), but I wouldn't be such an antisocial a* about it.

There seems to be an extraordinary base childish level of having to inflict it upon others, to register 'I have it at all'...'



p.s. 'Austin Allegro - chocolate brown'.... you know the sketch

[Max Headroom]

Whilst in a cab a while back, I saw a Citroen 2CV! It was parked at a Bedok gas station. Looking real spiffy too. Talk about a head-turner. Wow, a 2CV in Singapore.

Muscle-cars, sure, don't knock 'em eh. But in terms of sheer all-round awesomeness, that 2CV had me rubber-necking all the way.

[zzm9980]

However, if I had a nice new car, I'd want to make lots of noise too

What I often see in Singapore is adults (30 and 40 yr olds) buying the cars I (and many others from the west) enjoyed in their teens and doing silly modifications on them. Honda Civics, VW Golfs, etc, with loud exhausts and ridiculously oversized wheels and low profile "sports" tires. I guess that is what happens when you buy your first car in your 30 or 40s.

[nakatago]

However, if I had a nice new car, I'd want to make lots of noise too

What I often see in Singapore is adults (30 and 40 yr olds) buying the cars I (and many others from the west) enjoyed in their teens and doing silly modifications on them. Honda Civics, VW Golfs, etc, with loud exhausts and ridiculously oversized wheels and low profile "sports" tires. I guess that is what happens when you buy your first car in your 30 or 40s.

This part of the world doesn't really have the "here's your first car for your 16th birthday!" thing. SEA has always had cars as disproportionately expensive.

[x9200]

However, if I had a nice new car, I'd want to make lots of noise too

What I often see in Singapore is adults (30 and 40 yr olds) buying the cars I (and many others from the west) enjoyed in their teens and doing silly modifications on them. Honda Civics, VW Golfs, etc, with loud exhausts and ridiculously oversized wheels and low profile "sports" tires. I guess that is what happens when you buy your first car in your 30 or 40s.

I wonder if this is legal. I wonder because they (LTA?) seems to be sort of obsessed with any modding of the motorcycles, especially the exhaust pipe. I had to explain in details during my last inspection what a shiny, new clamp was doing on the 10yo silencer at the place it connects to the engine pipe. I also saw police road blocks catching the motorcyclist for that reason but it was over 8y ago.

[ecureilx]

This part of the world doesn't really have the "here's your first car for your 16th birthday!" thing. SEA has always had cars as disproportionately expensive.

mmm. not so .. I know a few in MY and PH, who got cars when they reached 20's ..

or got their first car when they started their first job ..

now in Singapore ......

x9200, LTA has started cracking down on illegally modified cars with louder exhausts etc.

They wont do it for a 911 Carrera or a F 458, as the latter are 'factory standard' ...

[zzm9980]

However, if I had a nice new car, I'd want to make lots of noise too

What I often see in Singapore is adults (30 and 40 yr olds) buying the cars I (and many others from the west) enjoyed in their teens and doing silly modifications on them. Honda Civics, VW Golfs, etc, with loud exhausts and ridiculously oversized wheels and low profile "sports" tires. I guess that is what happens when you buy your first car in your 30 or 40s.

I wonder if this is legal. I wonder because they (LTA?) seems to be sort of obsessed with any modding of the motorcycles, especially the exhaust pipe. I had to explain in details during my last inspection what a shiny, new clamp was doing on the 10yo silencer at the place it connects to the engine pipe. I also saw police road blocks catching the motorcyclist for that reason but it was over 8y ago.

Do they enforce this anytime besides the annual (or biannual isit?) inspections? I know that a lot of shops that offer to "fix" your car for LTA inspection, and then put everything back the way it was after. The car I bought had LED turn signals that apparently weren't legal so I had to have them taken out. They were surprised when I didn't care to have them put back in after.

[nutnut]

Enforced at road side stops and inspections, hence since the road side stops are so infrequent, people take the risk and remove and re-add them at inspection times. However, some modifications are hard to remove and re-add IMO.

I certainly know of a few people in Singapore who have cars that are not road legal due to modifications, but, they are true wolves in sheeps clothing, they basically look like the stock cars and have insane performance. Think standard Lancer that outperforms an Evo.

[nakatago]

This part of the world doesn't really have the "here's your first car for your 16th birthday!" thing. SEA has always had cars as disproportionately expensive.

mmm. not so .. I know a few in MY and PH, who got cars when they reached 20's ..

or got their first car when they started their first job ..

Still not in their teens.

[Barnsley]

Whilst in a cab a while back, I saw a Citroen 2CV! It was parked at a Bedok gas station. Looking real spiffy too. Talk about a head-turner. Wow, a 2CV in Singapore.

Muscle-cars, sure, don't knock 'em eh. But in terms of sheer all-round awesomeness, that 2CV had me rubber-necking all the way.

A couple of years ago I got passed by a Cortina Crusader, couldn't believe it as I hadnt seen one in the UK for years. This one looked in mint condition as well.

[JR8]

Whilst in a cab a while back, I saw a Citroen 2CV! It was parked at a Bedok gas station. Looking real spiffy too. Talk about a head-turner. Wow, a 2CV in Singapore.

Muscle-cars, sure, don't knock 'em eh. But in terms of sheer all-round awesomeness, that 2CV had me rubber-necking all the way.

My mother had one, and after I passed my test I had use of it. It is certainly a very idiosyncratic car!

[IIRC]
- It has a 2 cylinder 600cc engine
- 0-60mph was approximately 30 seconds
- Top speed was about... 75mph
- It was economical to run hehe...
- You could roll it's entire fabric roof back (perhaps it's sole cool feature). In the picture it's half-way back.
- You couldn't roll the windows down. Rather the front windows were 'split pane', so you toggled a lever/lock and could flip up the bottom half.
- A very unusual gear-stick. Imagine a ball-ended umbrella shaft that you have to push/pull horizontally into the dashboard. Example...



Oh and it had the softest suspension you could imagine. It would really lean over into corners. It was not unusual for friends in the back to get carsick if we were driving around winding country lanes.

Love the quote at circa 1:50m - 'In one of these things, you're on the brink of catastrophe on every corner' .... ah, genuine nostalgic lol!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15sDd2OHrg4
'Low Budget Car Race For Citroen 2CV Enthusiasts'

[bgd]

There was a time ('80s) when the 2CV was very trendy with the NZ middle classes. I think the idea was better than the reality and it was short lived.

I believe that they ceased production due to the fact they couldn't meet any safety standards.

If the car in question is 2 tone red then I know it. Driven by an older couple and I see it quite often.

[JR8]

There was a time ('80s) when the 2CV was very trendy with the NZ middle classes. I think the idea was better than the reality and it was short lived.
I believe that they ceased production due to the fact they couldn't meet any safety standards.
If the car in question is 2 tone red then I know it. Driven by an older couple and I see it quite often.

They were cheap to buy, maintain and run. In some ways if you just wanted a car to potter off to the shops or do a school run it was ideal. In that kind of context they were fun too. The easiest car in the world to break into and hot-wire* too... but then, why would anyone bother?

I would have hated to crash it though, for starters there is no roll-bar. The doors are no more than an 1" thick.


p.s. The vid of them racing. They've surely had their suspension tightened/modded, as there's no way a factory version could take corners at that speed, and stay as vertical.


* Observe the exposed ignition wires above the handle of the handbrake. The red knob below the gear-stick is the manual choke, useful on winter mornings!