Happy 49th Singapore!

A 5.8km stretch of PIE, spawning from between Clementi Avenue 6 and Adam Road, have been widened! Works began in July 2011, and the first bits were opened to traffic in July 2013. The widening has added one lane to both sides of the expressway, and also expanded the structures of the existing Eng Neo, Chantek and Anak Bukit Flyovers. As this is the main expressway link for traffic between the eastern and western ends of the island, it is hoped that the widened PIE will reduce congestion, and make travel for those living on the far ends of the island more pleasant.Pictures used for illustration purposes only.

BMW Group Asia celebrated the resounding success of the BMW World 2014 – Stories in Motion, as the event attracted and shared intriguing stories of BMW, BMW i, BMW M, BMW Motorrad and MINI with over 38,000 visitors from August 1 to 3. “The BMW Group has been creating stories of our own over the past 98 years and we want to share these stories with our fans and supporters. BMW and MINI are more than just cars; they offer stories and memories that belong to everyone. This is why we’ve designed the BMW World 2014 to be a story-telling showcase with interactive activities as opposed to a typical motor show. Through the sharing of these exciting stories, we’ve managed to carve our own success with a fantastic event attendance as a result,” said Mr. Sergio Solero, Managing Director of BMW Group Asia.

Higher taxes and new auto loan restrictions have driven down sales of supercars. Just last year, and despite the relatively small automotive market, Singapore was the third-biggest market in the world for bespoke Rolls-Royce sales, and Porsche one of the top 15 best selling marques. However, new taxes which were implemented in March of 2013 and loan curbs have driven sales down by as much as 90% for certain brands. So far this year, only 2 new Aston Martins, two Lamborghinis and 14 Ferraris were sold, compared to 16, 20 and 64 in the same period last year. This decline can be attributed to the new tax scheme, which taxes the first S$20,000 of a car’s open-market value at 100 per cent, the next S$30,000 at 140 per cent, and anything above S$50,000 at 180 per cent. This has bumped up the price tag of a brand new Aston Martin Vanquish to S$1.088 million from S$880,000. It is believed that should the situation continue, certain dealers may be unable to sustain a viable operation due to the large overheads, which is why they are now throwing lavish launch parties to draw in potential customers.