Hv a 97 factory std Corolla SEG apart from 14" alloys bought cash wit my own money.

My biggest n probably only pain wit it is when ppl say:

"Hey, ur car really clean lah. Izit from ur dad?"

Haha. Similar to mine when was driving my dads '72 Datsun during college days.

Got a honk while driving over Sunway Pg bridge in morning jam. Didnt bother at first, until I got a 2nd honk.

Tis time turn to d right n saw tis 2 guys in a soupped up Wira. Both gv me 2 thumbs up and a silly smile b4 driving off.

What a way to start a day

2nd tis.

Many ppl assume tat a safe vehicle is one tat is still physically intact in a typical car pack accident rather than some crumpled body panels to dissaminate d force away from d passenger cell. In fact there were some past crash tests on d ol Smart ForTwo to prove d super compact's super stiff Tridion safety cell. But there were questionable concerns if d occupants internal organs could sustain d force during impact even if there was no direct foreign object intrusion from outside.

Even so, many cars sold here tat aced EURO NCAP, or other recognized independant crash tests hv some safety items (eg. curtain airbags, anti-whiplash seats n ESC) stripped compared to d tested cars although local distributors still openly claim on d same safety rating. N as one or two manufacturers explained, tis is to keep d costs down in order to reach a wider market.

However dun get me wrong here. As much as we need n like cars, d cost to own a new car here is a huge portion of our expenses. In fact d feeling of finally paying off d loan is akin to a huge milestone n relief for many. Thus, it is not tat easy to put vehicle safety at d top when buying n owning a vehicle.

My European n American colleagues keep sayin how grateful we should b coz of petrol prices n shrug off on how long we keep n protect our rides here but they dropped their jaws when they heard how many years (note not mths as they do) it takes to fully repay a typical loan for a budget non-local car.