> in Singapore, a new Toyota Camry costs almost US$150,000
Wait, what? Surely that's a typo! If not, what makes it so expensive?
Wait, what? Surely that's a typo! If not, what makes it so expensive?
Toyota Camry 2.0 (A) $173,988
Toyota Camry 2.5 (A) $182,988
http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/newcars_overview.php?CarCo...
(in Singapore dollars, US$1 ~= S$1.2)
The vast majority of the cost is for the delightfully named Certificate of Entitlement, essentially a 10-year right to drive your car in Singapore, whose value is determined by auction -- and it's actually around $20k less than it was last year at its historic high.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_Entitlement http://www.oneshift.com/new_cars/lcoe.php
Agreed, it doesn't boost the morale of the general population to see, but it also really doesn't make living in Singapore significantly worse (particularly since the absolute numbers are pretty small, even if it's a popular/populist talking point).