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I finally realized that fatherhood had taken over my life. It’s the cycle of life that I thought I’ll never be in. Happy being a Bachelor for more then 40 years till I met my wife. I thought , sure, we can still survive with a Coupé . Then came baby 1 and we changed to a five door hatchback ( Have your tried putting a baby in the back seat of a Coupé, I’ll spent more $ after to see the chiropractor for my back). But when baby 2 came along, suddenly with two child seats at the back , there is no room left to put anyone else, the maid can’t even fit in between. There are days when we have to go out with the elders. (luckily we only have two of them in singapore). Don’t know where to fit if there are all 4 and 2 kids and my wife and me. I need a V class Mercedes or a Toyota HiAce van for that. I know many people will say “Hey, we can manage to squeeze up to 8 in a SUV or MPV”. They can sit on laps and the adults can sit “one in one out” seating positions. First it’s so uncomfortable, after even a 30mins drive . As an adult, I can’t seem to feel my legs if I’m in the middle or 3rd row after the squeeze. Good luck trying to ask two 80 year olds to do that, you will never hear the end of it. Secondly, legally you are only supposed to have the right amount of people per seat belt. So our quest was simple, or so we thought… My wife and my needs were simple. 1) Safety first for the kids. (Who cares about looks😂 that is when Parenthood hits) 2) Comfort for everyone in the car. 3) Have enough booth space at the back to at least put 1 stroller with all rows of seats up. 4) Reasonable size and height that can go into most car parks and easy to drive. ( if it’s huge, I’m sure someone will ding the car on the first day of driving it) 5) As cheap as possible with all those needs. well, this is abit of an option point. Good to have , but with COE at this price, it’s a tall order. Our little adventure started one sunny Monday morning. We have mondays off (lucky us)😝. We visited, I can’t remember how and dealership and Parallel importers, second hand car dealers too. To make it short, We did not see the Rolls-Royce , Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley , Porsche,Aston Martin ,etc… So after seeing a lot of brands. I can tell you we learned a lot. As our priority was safety first for the kids. They are at 7 months and 2.5 years old of me writing this . They both need a properly child care seats . The youngest one needs a back facing type as he has not fully developed his core and neck muscles to fit front facing child seats. So we needed seats that have Isofix features, ( I’m not going back to the dark ages especially when it comes to the safety of our kids) if you know, most 7-8 seats have 3 rows of seats. And there are two types of configurations. The ones with the opening in the middle of the 2nd row ( eg: Toyota Alphard) and the ones without the opening. And if you decide to choose the ones which have middle opening to walk to the 3rd row. The easy part is that you don’t really need to move anything or seats, You just open the doors and the walk into the car and go to the back from the middle aisle. It’s not very wide, but an adult can squeeze through. Here comes the question. Generally , the most comfortable and expensive seats are the 2nds rows, with the leg and arm rest and some even comes with massage options. Good points to score points with the elderly on the massage options. But no, most car makers don’t think this way, they don’t have isofix at the 3rd rows and they want you to put your kids in the 2nd row after you spend buckets loads of $ on those prized seats. How is my child going to enjoy the massage or leg rest when the child seat is a buffer between them. And I rather score points with my mother in law then make her climb into the 3rd row back seats😅. If you chose the other configuration without the middle opening at the 2nd row seats. You won’t be an able to get to the 3rd rows with two child seats fixed into the 2nd row seats. Maybe some cars can , but the gap is so small when you can’t fold the seats down to access the 3rd row seats. Only a few cars made it to our list because of the isofix at the 3rd row seats. Sad to say the popular Toyota Alphard didn’t made it , they don’t Isofix at the 3rd row, even the Volvo XC90 ( known for its safety features) doesn’t come with it at the 3rd rows, all Japanese brands don’t have it at all. and some other continental brands too, like Mercedes MLB20, BMW 218GT, Citroen, Peugeot, Alfa, Fiat, Skoda and Korean brand Hyundai and Chinese BYD M3e both didn’t have IsoFix at the 3rd row too. Audi and Renault didn’t have anything in their show room at Leng Kee as of now. If you are still with me after my long rant, here is our list of cars that made it. 😂. Kia Carnival Opel Zafira E Life Seat Alhambra Volkswagen Sharan (The VW Touran didn’t make it as it has no booth space for my stroller after all 7 seats are up) With every list there can finally only be one left. How we came to the one was pretty easy. Kia carnival is huge at 5115mm long. Parking it is going to be a challenge at older carparks and I’m sure one of us will ding it. Also the engine is a diesel 2.2L and our government tax on diesel is not something we want to consider. Next off the list was the Opel Zafira E Life. With a range of only 230 km range after a electric charge, going up north for a family holiday is going to be a challenge. The two horse ( Alhambra and Sharan) race to the last comes built from the same factory in Portugal, and they are under the umbrella of Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen “The people’s car “ in the English and kudos to them for designing this for the normal people in mind, it is the perfect made for the family like mine, two or more young kids with elder parents. They have integrated child seats for those with kids from 3-12. Saves you spending more money for buying boaster seats for the older kids or when your young kids gets older. Have enough space to put the stroller at the back with all 7 seats up. Not as easy to get to the 3rd row back seats as the ones with middle aisle configuration. But it’s not hard either to get to the back with its sliding door and reasonable gap ( I’m 1.78m and I could climb in with easy). Yea I have two kids, and “IF” (please note on the word “IF”) I decide placed both the kids in the 2nd middle row, just to take the piss out of my in-laws…😅 I can put one in the middle and one to the side of the 2nd row (because they are all 3 individual seats in the 2nd row and they all have Isofix on them), while the rest of the adults can still go to the back from the other side. If when my wife is willing to give us another bundle of joy or the agent of Chaos depending on the kids mood. But she said, her factory is close. it really spacious in the middle row, I can have three adults sitting side by side without feeling squeezed not like my BMW 216AT back row seats. But I would like my elders to be comfortable, so putting the youngest in the middle seat on the 2nd row and having two elderly flanking that child and have my helper at the back with the older child works best for us. But there can only one car “to rule them all”. we went with the Sharan based on the badge the power of the engine. Well first it’s a VW, and I was told that the whole singapore market for Seat’s last years new car sales was less then 100 units, somehow no one’s wants a Seat, I’m not sure if this report is true, but yes I don’t see a lot of Seats on the road compared to VW. So resale for the Seat is not ideal. The Engine for the Seat Alhambra is a 1.4 and the VW Sharan a 2.0, they are both turbocharged and power is more then 110kw and hence they fall into category “B” for the COE. The Sharan has all the extras and nicer interior, like the sun roof, yes it’s nice to have but not a need. The difference with its current discount on both cars in $ was not significant large. (Out goes point 5 on our list) But in return was neutralized by the better resale value and VW brand, but the one that closed the deal for me was being able to have the same engine (EA888) as the Golf GTI with a 7.8 seconds to 100km, making my dreams of me going back to being the young bachelor I was at heart. 😎 Even though my wife thinks I’m already an old uncle in my late 40’s 😆. I still want to put the windows down , have the sun roof opened and blast my music from Gold 90.5 (boomer station) and feel the wind in my face while I hand surf with my arms hanging out the door ledge. Hey , you are never to old to still be an young Ah Beng at heart. Your sincerely, Ctaiwee

SINGAPORE: It's that time of the year where you spot random people toting giant plush toys on the MRT. That's right, the Prudential Marina Bay Carnival is back in town, offering more than the chance to win an over-sized toy unicorn, a rainbow lion or a pug with doe eyes. The carnival - touted as Singapore's biggest - opened its doors to the public on Saturday (Dec 22) with 22 rides, three of them new. Notably, prices for most rides have been lowered this year, with the exception of that for the Mach 5 which is priced at 14 tokens. And if you’re worried about long lines, here's a quick cheat sheet on what's worth the wait. 1. Freak Out/Spring Break A new addition to the carnival, this ride starts off easy, but at full throttle, it’s a heart-stopping thrill. Not knowing which or what way you’ll be spinning, while plunging down face-forward definitely adds to the exhilaration. Just remember to keep your game face on at all times – the ride's seating arrangement allows full view of your fellow riders and their scream faces. 2. Wave Swinger This new ride is as family friendly as they come. It was flown in from Italy for the first time to Southeast Asia and features mural panels of iconic Singapore landmarks such as Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands. But be warned, it quickens to an exciting spin after a couple of slow and steady beginning rounds. Perfect reason for dating couples to cling on to each other. 3. Jumper Jumper An experience that would make 90s hip-hop duo Kris Kross so proud, this turned out to be the most unexpected ride of the lot. Incredibly harmless to start before descending into a series of stomach-churning twists, turns and giant hops. Imagine jumping and spinning around on an office chair. 4. The Star Flyer No visit to the carnival is complete without an Insta-friendly shot of the neon-lit Star Flyer which rises almost poetically amongst the steely backdrop of CBD buildings. It moves at a slower pace than the Wave Swinger. 5. Mach 5 Still the most expensive ride in the carnival at 14 tokens, but definitely worth going on for a stomach-dropping spin. Hop on the impressive 55m-tall monster mechanical arm for a great view of Singapore at its peak, before plunging down at 130 kmh and finishing off with 360-degree flips. Pro-tip: Don’t gorge at the food stands before you get on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llhmk5_tF8I 6. S$3 million worth of carnival prizes Tossing a ring on a bottle, flinging a hoop over a Carebear or knocking a trio of milk jugs down with a ball – it all sounds easy but let's just say the games look deceptively simple. They actually require some strategy, skill and a whole lot of luck. If you do manage to score a giant unicorn or banana plushie, a Yoda doll or a sequinned doughnut – remember to hoist it on your shoulders so everyone knows you're a champion. There's also a grand lucky draw with a S$10,000 prize. 7. Food, glorious food The food on offer isn't your usual carnival fare of hot dogs, candy floss and popcorn. You can get a bucket of meatballs (chicken or beef) from Sofnade heaped on twister fries and potato mash topped with cheese sauce and cranberry (S$12) or a bucket of milk tea or lemonade (S$7). There's also an assortment of churros flavours – ondeh ondeh, Oreo, chilli crab, salted egg from Loco Loco (S$6 a cup). For those who need a bigger carb-hit, SingaIndo serves up various Indomie dishes including Aburi shrimp mentaiko, a super-spicy sambal gila, Thai basil and cheesy cheese. The carnival will be open from 4pm to 11pm daily save Jan 18, Jan 24 and Feb 15, 2019 and runs all the way till Mar 24. It is just a stone's throw away from Bayfront MRT station.

Some photos to share at the Venice Carnival in Costumes and Masks

hi all, thinking of renting MPV for a roadtrip for my family up to north this year end and i had listed down this 2 MPV from europcar rental in Jb. Anybody in this forum had driven this two car before? Which one is a better rent? in term of comfort for cruising NSH, power for cameron/genting slope, spacious to comfortably fit in 8 ppl? from what i heard, the kia carnival is well known for breaking down is it true? Please advice me. Regards

Are the organisers racists or what? No Malay or Indian sexy girls meh?

On behalf of Haemophilia Society of Singapore(HSS), helping to extend the inaugural Walkathon & Carnival 2012 organize by HSS to members here whom are interested . Haemophilia Society of Singapore(HSS) plans to hold its inaugural Walkathon & Carnival 2012 on Sunday, 15 April 2012. With this event, HSS hopes to increase public awareness about the plight of persons with haemophilia and to raise funds for its programmes. Our event's message is "Walk Strong Towards a Better Future" - encouraging haemophiliacs, their caregivers and loved ones to face the challenges of this medical condition with dignity, hope and resilience. As haemophilia is one of the most expensive chronic diseases to treat, we sincerely hope you will help to contribute to HSS' life-changing programmes by making a donation and participating in the HSS Walkathon & Carnival 2012. Please make your crossed cheque donations to "The Haemophilia Society of Singapore" and mail them directly to HSS' registered address at Farrer Road Post Office, PO Box 273, Singapore 912810 (kindly refrain from sending cash donations through the mail). Your contribution will help to build a better future for all persons with haemophilia in Singapore. Click here to register Thank you for your generosity, we look forward to meeting you at the HSS Walkathon & Carnival 2012! EVENT DETAILS Event: HSS Walkathon & Carnival 2012 - "Walk Strong Towards a Better Future" Date: Sunday, 15 April 2012 Time: 7.00 am to 11.30 am Venue: Playground @ Big Splash, 902 East Coast Parkway, Singapore 449874 Route: 1.5 km along East Coast Park Guest of Honour: Mr Sam Tan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, & Mayor, Central Singapore District Should you have any query about our event or wish to partner HSS in its mission, please email us at [email protected]. We shall endeavour to reply within 3 working days.

lol....nothing much....for the cats carnival it was one hall.... for the vw party its showing mainly cars from vw and some computer games however there are some nice models at the cats carnival

[extract] It was a hot Sunday afternoon but that did not dampen my enthusiasm in paying a visit to the annual CATS Classified Car-nival event. I was there for 3 main reasons

This morning, along machperson rd, saw kia carnival premier taxi. wow.., very big. i think it is new model. I wonder if the taxi import it or how? anyone see?

Dear all members, We will be at the Car Carnival on 11th July, Singapore Expo and thus, we need a Fit/Jazz for us to do demonstration on our TOMAX Auto Tilt and Auto Fold module and your car will be displayed on the booth for the One Day Event. Date & Time needed Before Car Carnival : 10th July Night Date & Time you can take back the car : 11th July Night If you willing to lend us your car for the Car Carnival Display and Demonstration purpose, you will be given the following : 1) Free 1 set of TOMAX Door Mirror Control System (Auto Tilt & Auto Fold) Installed 2) Free 1 set of our Latest Product, PRA 3-IN-1 Tire Rescuer 3) Free 3M PFS Grooming 4) Free 1 bottle of Valvoline (5W40/5W30) Any interested members, please email me the below details : 1) Name & Nick 2) Contact No. 3) Car Model & Year Manufactured 4) Car Plate No. Email Address : [email protected] I will contact you on the arrangement upon receiving your email, thanks.

anybody went there today?

Philips Carnival Sale 7th & 8th Nov 9.30am - 6.00pm 620A Lorong 1 Toa Payoh Info for all mcf sis n bros...I m not a philips fans...but it's jus opp my house...keke... Hope u all can get gd lobang...I dun hav any info on their sales though.

Any body know if the major AD(toyota, honda, nissan...) will show up on the car carnival in the coming Sunday?

Philips Carnival Sale 23-24 August 2008 9.30am - 6.00pm 620A Lorong 1 Toa Payoh For Car Drivers, try not to park at Philips. It's going to be very packed. Try 2 carparks, open carpark @ Blk 148 or MSCP @ Blk 141 to 144(walk to Blk 144 n Philips is opp). Then walk over to Philips. When u hav finished shopping, jus drive over to pick up ur items. For many years, it is always packed wif pp and cars...Super Jammed. Fyi, I always see many drive lorries, vans and pickups when going to Philips Sales. For the past years, pp will grab the 29inch TV. But these 2 yrs, pp are getting the LCD TV, plasma TV n PC monitor. I tink u can ask them to deliver n install the bigger LCD TV and Plasma TV. Rest are like vacuum cleaner, light bulbs, hair dryer, juicer, food processor....U can oso choose from 0% instalment plans, there is normally no q. But the Q for paying cash/nets is super long, so be prepared to wait. Try not to bring children cos it's v hot n packed wif pp. There's a small mcdonald booth selling drinks, fillet o fish n chicken nuggets. My Suggested Itinerary: 8.30am -- U cld eat breakfast at Blk 127 Lor 1 Hawker Centre or Blk 128 coffee shop for Muslim Indian food. For Blk 127 HC, there's quite a no. of good food. Fried Prawn Mee(open at 10am), Fried Carrot Cake(corner one), fish ball noodles, Cantonese Congee, Wantan Mee, Fried Beehoon/ Nasi Lemak, Muffins and the Mini Teochew Bao. U can pack home the mini bao...include their signature kon bak bao, small bak bao, char siew bao n dao sar bao. Parking cld be another problem here too cos many pp like to eat here. 9.30am -- Shop at Philips 12pm -- U can go bk to the Hawker Centre to hav lunch. Hope mcf pp wld enjoy ur trip at Philips and oso happy shopping.

Hi all, My newly created webpage on the carnival for those who miss it: http://www.geocities.com/mivec5168/Carloverscarnival.htm Hope u all enjoy...

Hi everyone, just to highlight that there is a Audison & Hertz carnival at Soundwerkz on the Sunday 30th Dec. Those who looking to upgrade their current system might want to check them out on sunday. Heard there will be packages on promotion. Can visit their website to know more. http://www.sound-werkz.com Just a bit of contribution. Was at there doing up soundproofing and was told of this event. Nothing affilated with the mentioned shop, just thought it might helps those who thinking of update their current sound. Cheers!

Hi guys, I read that Toyota is having some Carnival from 27th-30th Sep 2007 at Suntec. Anyone been there? Any special promo?

Hi to all bro here. Me here posting pics as mentioned above. Hope u guys Enjoy. Took quite a lot of pic there. Just hoping to share. In order to save space i put links to my photobucket instead. Enjoy. File have been resized for fast loading Altezza http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...nt=Altezza3.jpg ://http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d...Altezza3.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...ent=Altezza.jpg Bizol WRX http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...nt=BizolWRX.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...t=BizolWRX2.jpg Garage R WRX http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...GarageRWRX5.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...GarageRWRX6.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...=GarageRWRX.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...GarageRWRX2.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...GarageRWRX3.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...GarageRWRX4.jpg Garage R 350Z http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...GarageR350Z.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...arageR350z2.jpg Garage R Stream http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rageRStream.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...ageRStream2.jpg Knight Sports RX7 http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...tsportsRX72.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...tsportsRX73.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...htsportsRX7.jpg Knight Sports RX8 http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...ortsRX8Blue.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rtsRX8Blue3.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rtsRX8Blue2.jpg Monster Garage RX8 http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...htsportsRX8.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...tsportsRX82.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...tsportsRX83.jpg Silent AirTrek http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...entAirtrek6.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...lentAirtrek.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...entAirtrek3.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...entAirtrek2.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...entAirtrek4.jpg Silent S15 http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...=SilentS156.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...=SilentS157.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...t=SilentS15.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...=SilentS155.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...=SilentS154.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...=SilentS153.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...=SilentS152.jpg SG Trackies http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...SGTrackies3.jpg SG Trackies EVO http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...=SGTrackies.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...iesEvoBlack.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...TrackiesEvo.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rackiesEvo2.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rackiesEvo3.jpg SG Trackies WRX http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...TrackiesWRX.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rackiesWRX3.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rackiesWRX2.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rackiesWRX4.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rackiesWRX5.jpg Robson Civic http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...RobsonCivic.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...obsonCivic2.jpg Petronas BMW http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...PetronasBMW.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...etronasBMW2.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...etronasBMW3.jpg Lambo http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...urrent=Lam3.jpg Singapore Police Force WRX http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...=PoliceWRX3.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...=PoliceWRX2.jpg LTM WRX http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rent=LTMWRX.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...ent=LTMWRX3.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...ent=LTMWRX2.jpg Civic EG6 http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...t=CivicEG63.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...t=CivicEG65.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...t=CivicEG62.jpg http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...t=CivicEG64.jpg Civic EG6 and LTM WRX http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/cer...rent=WRXEG6.jpg OK Seen their pic, Now lets see and hear them rev up the RPM & flame in action!!!!!!! Gentlemens Turn up yr speaker!!!!!! LTM WRX Roaring and Flaming Civic EG6

Hey bros, anyone knows who is the participants for this event tomorrow. I wish to get some accessories like roof rack for my truck. Dont know whether they have er not

Hi all, is there any up and coming car carnival? (something like at marina South areas)

Came back from Seoul few months back and saw quite alot of new Carnival on the road.But strangely we r still seeing the old maids in C & C showroom .It is much more muscular in design and still still look big but not bullky.Worth a look if it hits our shore. Wake up!C&C

anyone sat or driven this car before? wanna give some comments? i personally feel the car damn heavy. Even with a 2.5 V6 engine oso cannot accelerate.

1. Thinking of getting a really cheap OPC MPV as a second car. 2. I think Korean MPVs have noisy engine. No much gadgets just pure space and easy to drive. Anyway, the cheap price make up for all these. FC, I heard is bad..sould I be looking at 6/7L? 3. Which is a better buy? in term of space, comfort and ease of maintenance? Please advise me. Thank you. Regards,

Proton Drag Carnival will be held on 2-3 Oct at Pasir Gudang.Anyone going there n when?

any Carnivals here?