How times have changed.

Car ownership used to be a status symbol. Back when I was still a student (in the 80s), owning a car means you are atas, you are one up on your neighbour. Not many people could afford cars then, so when you have one you are telling the world you have arrived.

Nowadays, so many people/families own cars that when your family doesn't have one, people look at you like you are not quite there. So owning cars becomes a part of the rite of passage of growing up, getting a job and starting a family. People are not in awe of you when you own a car, as they expect that you/your family should have one. My colleague who resisted having a car told me that his mother-in-law asked him repeatedly when he will be getting his car saying that it would be easier to move the family around and it would be more comfortable for the family. He bought one last year and everyone especially the parents-in-laws were satisfied. He was glad he did, saying that he didn't know a car could bring the family closer together as they now go out together. Last time, his children would go out on their own and he and his wife would take public transport to work separately. So you can imagine that families would be rushing to get a replacement car once their old cars reach 10 years!

So how do the rich differentiate themselves from the masses? They buy big conti cars and own multiple cars. Nowadays to be atas, or appear to be one up on your neighbours, people buy big conti cars and have more than one. It is typical to see a few cars parked on the porches of landed properties. Likewise in my condos, my neighbours have multiple cars so much so that the Condo MCST members are stressed out trying to manage the problem of ensuring fair allocation of parking lots. We could not imagine we would reach this stage of maximizing our car park lots allocation because our condo is right next to an MRT station. People talked about walking 5 - 10 mins to MRT, ours is only a minute walk away! I can only conclude that people indeed are getting richer!

Like that how to expect COE price to come down other than in another financial crisis?