Rant: A Rocky Road Ahead: The Tough Realities for today’s young Car Enthusiasts in Singapore

[t0y0ta]

On 5/16/2023 at 4:52 PM, Jamesc said:

I am not sure its the gov job to ensure young people have cars.

Want to have a car?

Come and see me.

Gov cannot help you I can.

I have cars for everyone and every budget

No matter how small! 

Not just any car lah. Young Car Enthusiasts (yCE for short) need to try 6cylinder, stick-shift and those cars that must breakdown very 2 weeks so that yCE can try to repair and mod

[Unfazed]

On 5/16/2023 at 2:55 PM, serenade said:

The question is : What are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve your dream car/house/club membership/watch/handbag? If migrants can come here and achieve their dreams, why cannot our local born young people (YP)?

The YP expect their dream to be handed over to them on a platter just because they are a YP and hold a pink IC. Wrong attitude that when this is not given complain about it. Our YP should compete with international talents for success in the same company. 

My parents and myself worked hard for our dream possessions. I worked 60 hour weeks continuously for almost 30 years. Jumped on aeroplanes for work trips on Sunday nights, returned on Sat afternoon. Used my 21 days leave wisely, took an overseas holiday with family to nearby locations only. Saved hard to buy car and private houses.  I worked and saved to pay for my own overseas education too. Never did I complain, nor expect a handout, nor preferential treatment as a Singaporean in a MNC. I competed fairly with my peers world-wide. Some will say I was handicapped too as I had to do two weeks reservist every year and did not contribute to the company in reservist period.        

I see the softness in my own strawberry children and their peers. Come to working life, company must give them 28 days leave. Expect big pay increases, but don't want to work past 7PM and on weekends, cannot work outdoors because hot and dusty. Boss give them tight deadlines, they say stress and want to quit. Must take holidays overseas every other month. Public listed local company bosses I spoke to, lament how difficult it is to get a Singaporean to relocate to a hardship location where the plants are. Singaporeans want to be posted to NY, London, Sydney. Africa, Mid-East, Pacific and third world they don't want to go. The Indians, Filipinos and Malaysians accept the posting and as a result, get ahead in the company. Then the Singaporeans complain that they did not get fair recognition in a local company.

No one owes our YP a living. Neither are they entitled to their dream possessions without the corresponding hard work and sacrifices to be made while young.     

1. You are not getting the points TS is bringing across.

2. You yourself has said you worked hard saved hard to get to where you are. How would feel if your children are exactly like you but still have difficulty owning even the bare basics of things? It's not just cars.

3. YP are not like what you describe them to be. You may see that in your children but that doesn't mean YP are generally like that. I do see flaws but I also see the drive in certain sense. Let's not label them too soon. Healthy competition is fine but we have to ask ourselves if the paying field is fair and level. Yes, we may say nothing is fair but if there is no fairness in competition, then there is nothing meaningful to talk about. And like what others here said, suck it up.

4. If your children are like what you described them, educate them regardless if it goes into their mindset. At the very least, you did your part as a parent. The rest is up to them. But perhaps let's also ask why do they have this mindset? Is it an issue of lifestyle or developed into a helplessness of just-give-up phenomenon? Let them be posted abroad like you said and score their own merits. Their expectations with aspirations will not meet if they are not on solid ground.

[Soya]

No problemo. If no $$ for car, yp can always be bus enthusiasts. They look equally fulfilled 

 

[Mancypher]

On 5/16/2023 at 5:33 PM, t0y0ta said:

Not just any car lah. Young Car Enthusiasts (yCE for short) need to try 6cylinder, stick-shift and those cars that must breakdown very 2 weeks so that yCE can try to repair and mod

Most of them have 3A how to drive stick and 3 pedal?

At most pedal shifter, but feeling is diff compare to 3 pedal.

[Benarsenal]

There's an interesting commentary in ST today, about how even becoming middle class is seemingly unattainable for many youngsters today.

As some have pointed out previously, back in the 70s and 80s it was entirely possible for a single income breadwinner to comfortably afford a decent flat and reasonably support his family and bring his kids through school etc. Nowadays if the household don't have double income, life is not going to be easy (unless the single income is upper 10 percent bracket).

[Mockngbrd]

On 5/17/2023 at 1:18 PM, Benarsenal said:

There's an interesting commentary in ST today, about how even becoming middle class is seemingly unattainable for many youngsters today.

As some have pointed out previously, back in the 70s and 80s it was entirely possible for a single income breadwinner to comfortably afford a decent flat and reasonably support his family and bring his kids through school etc. Nowadays if the household don't have double income, life is not going to be easy (unless the single income is upper 10 percent bracket).

Boomer will say u strawberry

[Flying_genie]

On 5/17/2023 at 1:18 PM, Benarsenal said:

There's an interesting commentary in ST today, about how even becoming middle class is seemingly unattainable for many youngsters today.

As some have pointed out previously, back in the 70s and 80s it was entirely possible for a single income breadwinner to comfortably afford a decent flat and reasonably support his family and bring his kids through school etc. Nowadays if the household don't have double income, life is not going to be easy (unless the single income is upper 10 percent bracket).

The only way to achieve a reasonably middle class standard, is to be a DINK - dual income no kids.

[Voodooman]

While I agree generally our younger generation are going soft, I have also come across very driven and hardworking YP.  I think my kids studied a lot harder than me (during my time) and are more kiasu (competitive) than me.

If I read @Mockngbrd argument correctly, he is also saying the old formula of a good education, coupled with hardwork, equals success may no longer apply to YP anymore and aspirations are gradually being crashed.

Singapore is fast becoming a global city.  Just top 0.1% of China+India+ASEAN richest is 3.5 million people (and their families).  A significant and rising numbers have or may want to have a home (first or second or third) here. There is just not enough COE (650k car population) to go around.  

With our small market, our YP need to get out of Singapore to compete and get rich (if not self employed, then with MNC), the world is their oyster.  Just look at Robert Kuok, he really made big money after he went HK/ China. 

Don't want to venture outside of your comfort zone, then just learn to be contented.  But I also don't envy YP.  At this rate, even our local doctors and lawyers may not be able to afford the same lifestyle as their predecessors.   

[Lala81]

On 5/17/2023 at 2:20 PM, Voodooman said:

While I agree generally our younger generation are going soft, I have also come across very driven and hardworking YP.  I think my kids studied a lot harder than me (during my time) and are more kiasu (competitive) than me.

If I read @Mockngbrd argument correctly, he is also saying the old formula of a good education, coupled with hardwork, equals success may no longer apply to YP anymore and aspirations are gradually being crashed.

Singapore is fast becoming a global city.  Just top 0.1% of China+India+ASEAN richest is 3.5 million people (and their families).  A significant and rising numbers have or may want to have a home (first or second or third) here. There is just not enough COE (650k car population) to go around.  

With our small market, our YP need to get out of Singapore to compete and get rich (if not self employed, then with MNC), the world is their oyster.  Just look at Robert Kuok, he really made big money after he went HK/ China. 

Don't want to venture outside of your comfort zone, then just learn to be contented.  But I also don't envy YP.  At this rate, even our local doctors and lawyers may not be able to afford the same lifestyle as their predecessors.   

Every generation will have their unique problems. Middle class is definitely getting squeezed. With social media, everyone can see how the top <1% lives. 
Haha in my generation, you had to watch some MTV show like Cribs.
Now just the crap on tiktok, youtube, IG alone. Don't feel disconnected/jealous also difficult.

I don't envy the increasingly competitive nature of just everything. 
It's easy to get lost/nihilistic in this increasingly borderless world we are living in.
My approach with my kids is simple, given that we aren't religious (religious beliefs are a spiritual anchor, even though it's just a self fulfilling lie).
Just concentrate on yourself. Only your mind/experiences is truly unique. 

Professionally, I've stayed in my comfort zone for quite a long while. But I can say I don't enjoy the bother of being involved in operations/HR/dealing with more KPI etc. If I earn the least among my closer friends, so be it lor. 

 

[RadX]

Again

 

contentment is always a virtue to have!

[Lala81]

On 5/17/2023 at 1:18 PM, Benarsenal said:

There's an interesting commentary in ST today, about how even becoming middle class is seemingly unattainable for many youngsters today.

As some have pointed out previously, back in the 70s and 80s it was entirely possible for a single income breadwinner to comfortably afford a decent flat and reasonably support his family and bring his kids through school etc. Nowadays if the household don't have double income, life is not going to be easy (unless the single income is upper 10 percent bracket).

As a single income family. I agree. 

But even for professional women, increasingly, they still choose to work fulltime even with kids. All my friends wives are still working. If they made any adjustments to their careers, they just do it to the minimum. I guess one difficulty is that it's hard to be a part timer once u get past basic service worker like retail/service.

[Fcw75]

On 5/17/2023 at 4:25 PM, RadX said:

Again

 

contentment is always a virtue to have!

How to take advice from this guy?

He can’t even spell ‘from’ correctly. 🤪

At least do a spelling check man…I wish him all the best too!

Edited May 17, 2023 by Fcw75

[RadX]

On 5/17/2023 at 7:19 PM, Fcw75 said:

How to take advice from this guy?

He can’t even spell ‘from’ correctly. 🤪

At least do a spelling check man…I wish him all the best too!

U getting to be what you despise from the onset … that @inlinesix… Cb pedantic 😂😂

 

[Fcw75]

On 5/17/2023 at 8:34 PM, RadX said:

U getting to be what you despise from the onset … that @inlinesix… Cb pedantic 😂😂

 

Damn you are right…😓

Thanks for the reminder.

Haven’t seen his posts for a while.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Fcw75

[inlinesix]

On 5/17/2023 at 8:34 PM, RadX said:

U getting to be what you despise from the onset … that @inlinesix… Cb pedantic 😂😂

 

Thanks for the reminder

IL6 ftw

Taycan ftw

[RadX]

https://blog.seedly.sg/mexican-fisherman-story-what-is-success/?fbclid=IwAR3xrktXzGCihB3nrbOPHESlhDkpyvi8s12cD1tu4wh_-Rw9wooWYWd5YWY&mibextid=S66gvF

[RadX]

Lotsa zoomers here @Mockngbrd millenial

 

if u wan play cars, sg is definitely not the place … move on

[Sosaria]

On 5/17/2023 at 2:20 PM, Voodooman said:

While I agree generally our younger generation are going soft, I have also come across very driven and hardworking YP.  I think my kids studied a lot harder than me (during my time) and are more kiasu (competitive) than me.

If I read @Mockngbrd argument correctly, he is also saying the old formula of a good education, coupled with hardwork, equals success may no longer apply to YP anymore and aspirations are gradually being crashed.

Singapore is fast becoming a global city.  Just top 0.1% of China+India+ASEAN richest is 3.5 million people (and their families).  A significant and rising numbers have or may want to have a home (first or second or third) here. There is just not enough COE (650k car population) to go around.  

With our small market, our YP need to get out of Singapore to compete and get rich (if not self employed, then with MNC), the world is their oyster.  Just look at Robert Kuok, he really made big money after he went HK/ China. 

Don't want to venture outside of your comfort zone, then just learn to be contented.  But I also don't envy YP.  At this rate, even our local doctors and lawyers may not be able to afford the same lifestyle as their predecessors.   

I agree. Don't need to look at YP. Just look at ourselves and the answer is obvious. In a couple years' time when our current vehicle COE expire, how many of us can afford or willing to shell out that amount of money for a new COE, if prices are still around this $100k level or worse?

I know I will probably have to downgrade to motorbike Even if I can scrape enough cash to pay for new COE, it's just not worth it. That amount of money is better invested in other things or for retirement/emergency.

So that pretty much answer the question of whether our standard of living has deteriorated.