Crusing along Orchard Boulevard last week in my bird crap laden Nissan Sunny, a maroon vision coasted up beside me and effotlessly glided ahead. It was a small hatchback. The brief moment the cars were alongside, I glanced into the cabin on my right.

There were two people in the car. Two of the happiest people I have seen in a long time. I swear, it was all rainbows and butterflies inside. I wanted that.

The car edged forward like a languid dancer, with grace that only comes naturally. I stepped on the gas, struggling to keep up. While the other machine purred, mine whined in annoyance, reluctant to pick up speed.

As the backside of that marvelous construct disappeared from my view, an emotional tussle came over me. I felt pain. Not the kind of pain that you get when an old lady sidles up to you and kicks you in the shin, but the kind of pain that JC must have felt while anguishing in Gethsemane. Continue Reading…

Tata Motors, an automotive company based in India (for those who don’t know), has recently announced plans to raise a large sum of cash.

I quote:

The Board of Directors of Tata Motors, at its meeting held today, has in principle approved, subject to other approvals as may be required, raising of additional long term resources upto Rs.4,000 crores by issue of appropriate securities in the foreign and/or domestic market in one or more tranches on terms to be decided by the Board/Committee of Directors in due course as also the consequent increase in the Authorised Capital of the Company.

The Company has major growth plans for expanding its position in the domestic and global markets in both the commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle business. This will be achieved by upgrading and enhancing the Company’s product portfolio, expanding manufacturing facilities in India and strategic acquisitions/alliances in India and abroad. Whilst this may require incurrence of expenditure for organic growth over the next 3-4 years, the acquisition opportunities will have to be financed upfront. The said funds are being raised to part-finance overall funding requirements to meet some of the strategic plans.

Note: Rs 4,000 crores = US$1 billion Continue Reading…

The entry level BMW in Singapore is the 3-series. It makes no sense to me because, seeing how the locals like their cars small, I would have thought the 1-series would be a hot seller here. I mean, the A-class is doing pretty well for itself despite the fact that it is an abomination. The 1-series is a supermodel next to the A-class and I don’t imagine the price would be too different.

Surprisingly, I’ve heard that the local distributor is planning to bring the newly released 1-series convertible to the island. I’m actually quite excited about this thing and am quite shocked that it hasn’t received the about of buzz it deserves. This may change, however, as I heard a rumour that it will appear on the cover of a locally produced automobile magazine in their next issue. Continue Reading…

I was turning into Holland Village the other evening in my crummy S$50K (US$32K) Nissan Sunny. Suddenly, a flash of red whizzed by on my right. I turned. It wasn’t red, it was Alfa Red!

Since I got my driving license, I’ve been dreaming of getting a roadster. Recently, I’ve narrowed my choices down to the SLK, the Z4, and the TT. This was before I saw the Spider.

Continue Reading…