The cost of owning a car is exorbitant in Singapore, and the price of the Certificates of Entitlement (COE) to buy them is painful. Big car COEs are more expensive simply because bigger cars are more desirable, and luxury cars are indeed larger. These big car COEs are now regularly more than $100,000.00.
A man once watched anglers pursuing their pastime along a riverbank. On that day, he noted the puzzling behaviour of an angler who repeatedly threw his bigger catches back into the river while keeping the more modest ones. Finally, he approached the fisherman and asked, “Why are you throwing away your big catches?” He replied, “I have a small frying pan!” I find the unexpected answer startlingly! As for logic, well, it is another matter.
Do we need big and powerful cars in land-starved urban Singapore? Will smaller cars do? Does the logic of the small fish-for-small-frying pan apply? To further examine this issue, we could perhaps look at a very different situation in Italy. It may help us review our demand for big cars.
Because of the hilly terrain, parking spaces are limited on the Sorrento Peninsula and along the Amalfi Coast. The roads and parking spaces are correspondingly narrow and limited. Hence, small cars are needed. How small? A picture is worth a thousand words. I will let the photos convey the answer.
To be continued, Part II
Vince
Dr Vincent Chong is a retired Professor of Radiology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
