SG: MCE open after ½ a decade of construction

With the MCE opened on Sunday, motorists were looking forward to a smooth commute to and from work. However, that was what they didn’t get, for there where huge jams on both sides of the MCE. Certain portions of the ECP have been closed and redirected as a result of the new expressway opening.. This means new slip roads and diversions to further add to the confusion and jam. Not only that, segments of the new slip roads are not able to cope with the high traffic flow; sharp turns out from ECP and narrowing of lanes all contribute to bottlenecks that eventually led to a jam. Once motorists got onto the expressway, the situation wasn’t any better, for most found themselves stuck in a 1 hour jam on the road.  Of course, one can’t push all the blame on the engineers of the road, for the expressway is new and it is natural for people to get lost in an attempt to familiarise themselves with the flow of the roads. Also, ongoing construction in various sections also mean that traffic will have to be slowed down in those areas.

The Volkswagen Golf has won another prestigious award.  The Straits Times, Singapore's most read newspaper, announced that the Golf beat more than 40 newly-launched models to win the title of 'The Straits Times Car of the Year 2013'. This is the third time a Volkswagen has picked up this award since it started 10 years ago, following victories by the Golf GTI in 2005 and Scirocco in 2009.  The new Golf has won over two dozen major awards worldwide this year.  It emerged victorious in the European 'Car of the Year' and was crowned 'World Car of the Year 2013' and created history last month by becoming the first ever non-Japanese car to win the 'Car of the Year Japan' award.

MINI Asia today announced the launch of MINI NEXT, a specialized retail arm that offers pre-loved MINI cars that have been put through stringent 360-degree checks and reconditioning process by MINI-certified technicians using genuine parts. Eurokars Next, which is the sister company of MINI Habitat(Singapore's sole authorized MINI dealer), will operate Singapore's first MINI Next.