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https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/motoring/ford-agent-lands-byd-dealership I'm excited by the prospects of the introduction of BYD cars, but I'm apprehensive about Vantage Motors as their agent... Their track record with Ford has not been the best.. As for the idea of buying an electric car, there's a whole debate on how green they really are, especially when you take into account the carbon footprint of making the battery and it's disposal. As for buying Chinese, that's ok, there are different levels of QC - their local Chinese market ones can be quite nasty, but their better ones are very impressive. I think they will want to put their best food forward.. and already BYD cars are being used as taxis.. Vantage will be pleased, their business has been rather slow recently.. BTW mods: BYD is not a selectable option in the list of car brands for discussion... FYI...

Another alarming and sad news. Greed is "eating" into the human flesh. 18-year-old model sells her virginity to Hong Kong businessman for $3.47 million What have Dracula, Nadia Comaneci and an infamous nubile lass wanting to sell her virginity for millions have in common? The answer: They are all from Romania. After making it known to the world last year that she would be putting up her virginity for auction, aspiring model Alexandra Khefren, 18, placed her country back in the spotlight. The country of medieval castles and forests was particularly known for two world-famous icons for decades: the legendary blood-sucking Dracula who terrified movie-goers all over the world and gymnast Comaneci who became an international sporting celebrity after making history with perfect scores at the 1976 Olympics. Khefren, who became an online celebrity following her audacious move, created more buzz late last year when she found an early bidder who was willing to take her for $1.4 million. That's an already obscene sum of money for a sexual transaction but it wasn't enough for her. Finally, she got an offer she simply could not refuse. Last Friday (March 30), she slammed the gavel: It's sold to an unnamed but "friendly" Hong Kong businessman who will blow $3.47 million for the 'honour' of deflowering her. Khefren made her announcement on Cinderella Escorts website, a Germany-based agency that sells virginity of teenage girls online. She had said she got the idea to sell off her virginity when she saw the Hollywood movie Indecent Proposal which sees Robert Redford paying US $1 million to have sex with Demi Moore. Her parents were reportedly outraged, but Khefren was adamant about going ahead with her plan as she wanted to give them a good life, buy a house and also get a good education for herself. Despite criticisms reported in the media, she remained unflinching. She would rather benefit from the sale of her chastity than give it to a "future friend" who might leave her anyway, she said. The other person who will profit from it is the agency owner, 26-year-old Jan Zakobielski, who had told the media that he was enjoying a lucrative business. Zakobielski, who will take 20 per cent, told The Daily Mail in December: "No-one makes these young women do anything they don't want to do. They have their own minds and their own opinions on sexuality." http://www.asiaone.com/asia/18-year-old-model-sells-her-virginity-hong-kong-businessman-347-million

Hi. Would like to find out which shop sells TOYO tyres and has proper equipments that changes the tyres without damaging rims. Did a tyre change at a popular tyre shop at AMK(can't mention name) and all 4 rims got scratched. Boss still argue that the damage was by my driving. Do not want the same to happen again. Please advise.

LONDON—Collapsing commodity prices have forced one of the mining world’s most aggressive chief executives into retreat, pushing Glencore PLC’s Ivan Glasenberg on Monday to scrap the company’s dividend, issue more stock and sell assets. The moves are the most dramatic yet among companies caught in the deepening, fast-ricocheting effects of the world-wide slump in prices for everything from copper to crude oil. With a massive trading operation built years ago by founder and controversial financier Marc Rich, Glencore was supposed to be less vulnerable to swings in the energy market. Instead, the company has been hit especially hard. In an interview, Mr. Glasenberg said the moves announced Monday weren’t necessary from his point of view but were made to soothe investor fears of a worst-case scenario in which commodity prices keep falling as demand from China slows further. Investors have fled Glencore this year, driving its share price down nearly 60%. In comparison, rival Rio Tinto PLC has fallen 25%, while BHP Billiton Ltd. is down 12%. After Monday’s announcement, Glencore shares closed up about 7% in London Stock Exchange trading. “If this doesn’t do the trick,” Mr. Glasenberg said about the moves, “we’d have a very difficult environment in the world.” The slide by commodity prices to lows not seen since the depths of the financial crisis has been a big setback for Mr. Glasenberg, a star in the mining world who just a year ago made headlines by proposing a blockbuster merger with Anglo Australian mining giant Rio Tinto. Rio rebuffed the deal, but industry watchers long held out expectations that Mr. Glasenberg, a steely-eyed trader, would eventually win the prize. The likelihood has dimmed because of the damaged stock price and debt concerns. The South Africa native built Glencore from a commodities-trading house into a mining giant. Known as one of the most secretive trading outfits in the world, Glencore went public in 2011, valuing Mr. Glasenberg’s stock at more than $9 billion. In 2012, he launched the $29.5 billion megadeal for mining giant Xstrata, a combination that ended in a power struggle with Xstrata boss Mick Davis, who eventually left the company to launch a private-equity firm. Along the way, Mr. Glasenberg has landed some big names, such as former BP PLC chiefTony Hayward, now Glencore’s chairman, and former Morgan Stanley CEO, John Mack, a Glencore director. Glencore’s rapid ascent dazzled investors, and Mr. Glasenberg was seen by many analysts and rivals as one of the industry’s brightest leaders. Competing chief executives at Anglo American PLC, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton stepped down after major investments launched by those CEOs were struck with billions in write-downs. Mr. Glasenberg rattled their successors with exhortations to cut back on production of iron ore this year, but big producers largely shrugged off Mr. Glasenberg. Now, though, Mr. Glasenberg is facing the toughest test of his career. On Monday, he responded with a series of moves more drastic than those taken by any other resources company, including large oil companies and integrated mining giants, all hammered by the commodity-price downturn. Iron-ore prices have fallen 21% this year, while copper is down 18%. Brent oil, the international benchmark, is down 17% since the start of 2015. In response, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. have cut share buybacks, while Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP and most of the world’s mining giants are slashing spending. U.K. mining company Anglo American said earlier this year it would cut almost a third of its workforce over the next several years to cope. Glencore executives are scrambling to protect the company’s credit rating, a battle that comes down to reducing debt faster than earnings erode. Just last month, Glencore officials promised to trim debt amid disappointing financial results for the first half of 2015. But executives also forecast an upturn in commodities prices later this year, and said they didn’t expect to resort to dividend cuts or issuing new shares, though Glencore said it couldn’t rule out such moves. On Monday, Mr. Glasenberg said big shareholders he met with in recent weeks told him they wanted more to protect Glencore from a worsening slump. Lower commodities prices have battered earnings, making it tougher to hit key targets tracked by analysts, such as debt relative to earnings and cash flow. Credit agencies use those measures to gauge creditworthiness. The two big ratings firms, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service, now rank Glencore two notches above non-investment-grade debt. If Glencore falls into “junk” territory, the company’s costs of funding its massive trading operation could spiral, exacerbating the earnings squeeze. Some trading counterparties could also get spooked, pulling out of trades altogether. Last week, S&P cut its outlook on Glencore’s debt rating to negative, citing the company’s hefty debt and the impact of the commodity-price slump. After Monday’s announcement, Ben Davis, an analyst at Liberum Capital, said Glencore is “going into full battle mode, which the market certainly appreciates.” Despite Monday’s stock-price rise, Glencore shares are down about 75% from the company’s initial public offering. Glencore said it would issue new equity to raise $2.5 billion and suspend future dividends to save an additional $2.4 billion. The company promised asset sales of $2 billion and other cuts, including working capital and capital spending, that will add up to $2.5 billion to $3.3 billion. Those moves are aimed at reducing Glencore’s net debt to close to $20 billion by the end of 2016, compared with its previous target of $27 billion. That would improve a measurement of leverage tracked by analysts and ratings firms: net debt divided by earnings before interest, taxes, debt and amortization, or Ebitda. At its smaller debt level, Glencore still would need to post annual Ebitda of about $7 billion by the end of 2016 to hit its targeted leverage figure, compared with the $9 billion it would have needed with the higher debt level. Glencore said copper and coal prices would have to fall significantly further from their current levels to threaten the target issued Monday. The debt-related worries are centered on Glencore’s trading operation, which had revenue of $35 billion in 2014. Glencore executives have said their trading or “marketing” business, in which traders buy and sell commodities, can rack up profits no matter which direction the market goes. Glencore’s marketing unit has been profitable every year since 1994, when a group of managers, including Mr. Glasenberg, bought the company from Mr. Rich, who later became famous for getting a pardon for a tax-evasion conviction from outgoing PresidentBill Clinton. Mr. Rich died in 2013. Earlier this year, Mr. Glasenberg said trading would make between $2.7 billion and $3.7 billion in annual profit “no matter what commodities are doing.” Last month, however, Glencore reduced its full-year projection for trading profit to between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion. Glencore has struggled to explain the trading operation and its debt to investors. Most of Glencore’s rivals in trading are closely held, disclosing few financial details or opportunities for comparison. That makes it more difficult to gauge Glencore’s financial flexibility in defending its credit rating. One example is Glencore’s “readily marketable inventories,” or RMI. The company describes them essentially as short-term debt used to trade commodities around the world. Glencore doesn’t count RMI in its net debt calculation, saying in regulatory filings that the obligations are covered “either by a physical sale transaction or a hedge transaction.” Analysts, including those at credit firms, see RMI as a mix of cash and debt. But Glencore says that gives an exaggerated picture of the company’s debt level. As of June 30, Glencore reported net debt of $29.6 billion, but that figure doesn’t include RMI of $17.7 billion. “A large amount of our debt is financing the trading business…so our debt looks like a big figure,” Mr. Glasenberg said in an Aug. 19 meeting with analysts. “But it can be whacked down by playing around on the trading side of the business.” Glencore has already pulled that lever, cutting RMI by $1.5 billion in the first half of 2015. The reduction was aided by the fact that as commodity prices fall, traders don’t need as much cash to hold on to those inventories. By shrinking readily marketable inventories, Glencore can reduce its leverage as measured by credit firms and lower its debt-to-earnings ratios. But that isn’t likely to dramatically improve Glencore’s overall debt exposure. Moody’s classifies half of Glencore’s readily marketable inventories as debt, so a $1 billion decline in RMI is equivalent to just a $500 million reduction in net debt. S&P counts a much smaller portion of Glencore’s readily marketable inventories as debt.

Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC has sold its entire stake in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Financial Centre in London for £582.5 million (S$1.2 billion). Norges Bank Investment Management, Norway's sovereign wealth fund, is the buyer of the prime freehold property in London's financial district, said GIC in a statement yesterday. The move follows GIC's full acquisition of the RomaEst Shopping Centre - in which it already had a 50 per cent interest - in Italy on Monday. GIC bought the 585,000 sq ft London office property from Merrill Lynch in 2007 for £480 million, beating investors such as Syrian-born tycoon Simon Halabi and Irish investor Derek Quinlan. Norges Bank said in a statement that the acquisition was not financed by debt. Bank of America Merrill Lynch will continue to manage the property, under the lease agreement. The financial centre has a net lettable area of about 550,000 sq ft. It comprises four buildings on a 1.3ha site, and was first purpose-built by the American bank as its flagship headquarters in London. The complex is also near the historic St Paul's Cathedral. GIC has been on a shopping spree in Europe of late. It bought a stake in RAC, Britain's second-largest roadside assistance firm, from Washington-based private equity firm Carlyle Group two weeks ago. GIC also agreed to buy 30 per cent of Spanish real estate firm Gmp for more than €200 million (S$323 million) last week. Earlier reports had noted that GIC may be part of a group of investors in talks to buy airports in Aberdeen and Glasgow in Scotland as well as in Southampton in southern England for £1 billion. Quick calculation on the returns from purchasing Bank of America Financial Centre: Purchase $480 million (sterlings) in 2007 = SGD $1,440 million (07 sterling to SGD is 3 ish to 1 give and take lah) Sold $582.5million (sterlings) in 2014 = SGD $1,194 million (current rate is 2.05 ish give and that lah) Lost = SGD$246 million just in foreign exchange fluctuation Assumption: No debt financing, related fees not taken into account, rental not taken into account Somebody please tell me I'm wrong but the numbers are what it is right?

The picture abit NSFW, click on the link if you want to see it Singapore becoming like wild west oredi ^^ A 22 years old Chinese Singaporean guy sold his body to a Pakistan guy and recorded a video on their "session" at the Pakistan's house. Accordingly to reliable source, this Chinese Singaporean know the Pakistan guy through Facebook and he was offered with $800 for a 60 minutes session with the Pakistan guy at his house. The Chinese Singaporean is unemployed for months and he is depending on such arrangement to earn his living. Their "session" was recorded down by the Pakistan guy and he share it on his social media platform and receive more than 300,000 viewers within two days. In the video, it is damm disgusting to see both of them "enjoying" and smiling throughout their session. Many netizens commented that they are shock on the action by this Chinese Singaporean as many of them felt that he should get a proper job instead of doing this as a living. - See more at: http://www.allsingaporestuff.com/article/chinese-singaporean-guy-prostitutes-himself-pakistan-man-s800-hour#sthash.ueQKnndP.dpuf

Hi Bros, I tried searching for the address of the shop, but it return with no hits. May be bad at the search engine. Any kind bros know the exact address? I was told the shop is at Penang Road, but I guess an exact location should be must easier for me to locate. :) Thanks!

ANy one know where to find those shops that keeps Honda stocklist? I want to get a pair of fog lamps for my Honda Airwave, but not sure where to find it.. any bros can recommend? Thanks..

Need joint efforts from a few local big names:- First, sgp car cant fight in the mass market coz we dont have the volume (domestic market) to kick start, so it gotta be some kind of low volume, highend cars which is not a bad thing coz profit margin is usually high vs mass market cars. It must have backing / link with some local but World Class names, for example, if the car is somewhat linked to say SIA, at least pple will think maybe it deserves a second look?.... all sales, marketing, promotions, adverts etc will feature SIA girls prominently..... To make it sweeter, first 1000 buyers will enjoy free upgrade when they fly SIA within 6 months of buying the car. As for the interior and uphostery in the car, why not handmade by our very own something Choo, the world famous shoe maker? Surely he can stitch up something nice... even can do it made-to-order if the customer wants durability, he can specify sawphaikhwa skin... guarantee very thick and lasting In this age of hi-tech motoring, we can use Creative's designers and know-how to take care of all the IT components, including the in-car sounds system. Engine?.... dont worry, we can ask the sgp guy who now owns shares in MacLaren to make a deal to borrow designers or even whole engine / handling package for the made-in-sgp car. Body shape? ...... this one not sure which local party / design team can handle it well and give us a super-duper sexy body to tempt all buyers? Maybe some FTs can help here? So far, all major areas are covered, the remaining question: what type of highend, high performance car it should be? Sports car, or high performance 4door eg M3 type? Or life style car eg RangeRover Evoq? Realistically speaking, why not let ST Engineering co-produce a 4X4 Evoq type of life style model using its expertise in rough terrain vehicles? Imagine a Evoq-beater high performance SUV (MaClaren power+handling) bearing the Made-In-Sgp badge sponsored by world class aviation household name SIA (only Saab has such heritage linked with planes)!!! All govt QY plates will be using this model, all TP and SAF will also use a stripped-down 'budget' edition. All applicants for PR / Citizenship will have to show their loyalty by ordering one. Overseas market: the MaClaren+SIA name will do the selling. Anyone interested to subscribe for IPO?? MCF can also help / contribute: by providing a NAME for the car Call it BEST ENDEAVOUR? (short for "I did My Best") or Good Time (short for Many More GOod Years)? or what? .............. maybe just OPERA (more refined form of wayang)?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...eTabs%3Darticle If Temasek's nervousness proves well-founded (that's a BIG IF considering its past history), then China, and consequently the entire world, is in for a rocky time. I knew the bull run was too good to last. At least Temasek made a billion dollar profit this time, instead of their well-publicised billion dollar losses like in the past.

Hi ,guys. Planning to tool up a day running light so i need to get a switch similar to the toyota foglight one. As there are spare switch holes in my car, i rather not get an aftermarket switch unless it fits nicely. Will call up toyota parts centre to check tomorrow. Any other alternatives? One more qn. Are the buttons in toyota cars universal throughout? Would want to get a lexus switch if possible. Looks and feels nicer. Thanks guys.

Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful automobiles ever created, it's not every day that a Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic changes hands. Only four of examples were ever made, and only two or three of them are still around today. One is owned by Ralph Lauren, and another belonged to the late Dr. Peter Williamson. Californian auction house Gooding & Company has now announced that the Williamson Bugatti has changed hands for a record sum, and though the buyer and exact amount paid remain undisclosed, reports place it between $30-40 million, easily eclipsing the $12.2 million paid for a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa this time last year. Until his recent passing, Dr. Williamson had amassed a considerable collection of classic Bugattis. Gooding had helped assemble the collection, and since his passing has helped his estate sell them off. But the Atlantic

KUALA LUMPUR: A top Malaysian general sold an air force jet engine, which was kept in a military warehouse, into the black market abroad and made Twitter Facebook Share Email Print Save Comment millions of dollars, as details of the theft began to emerge in the media. The unnamed Brigadier-General and 40 other armed forces personnel were sacked late last year over their alleged involvement in the case of the missing 50 million ringgit jet fighter engine belonging to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Local papers reported about the theft of the engine which took place reportedly last year. It was reportedly sold to a foreign buyer when the Brigadier-General was the department head. Local media said he may also be one of the four men whom Federal Commercial Criminal Investigation Department identified as the main players in the case. source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/r...how/5363913.cms

Looking for 17" ones.

i should be driving this around on the road man http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/m...F4B81C4AEB40.01 http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/m...ocal/36850.html

Been hearing alot of this shop that sells stickers for cars or bikes near TP at UBI. Think the shop name is Johnson or something like that. Anyone here knows the address? Been gong round near the shops near the TP at UBI but can't find it. Thanks in advance.

Interested in DIY sound deadening, specifically secondskinaudio.com damplifer pro instead of the "standard" dynamat extreme. who knows which shop sells Damplifier Pro? if you know pricing, even better.

I saw two Probox van on the road recently. Anybody know which PI is selling it? Wonder if it is as good as popular European vans (Kangoo, Partner, Doblo etc).

Hello all Does anyone know who or where sells BPR7ES-11 locally? Thanks in advance for any help rendered.

Honda owner must be very happy they've moved up one notch to no.3 for Y2006 Jan-Apr http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc/M03-Car%20Regn%20by%20make.pdf? ://http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc...by%20make.pdf? ://http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc...by%20make.pdf? ://http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc...by%20make.pdf? ://http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc...by%20make.pdf? ://http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc...by%20make.pdf? ://http://www.lta.gov.sg/corp_info/doc...by%20make.pdf? Toyota rely on vios and altis remains the No.1 Nissan rely on Sunny continues in No.2 I think Honda absorbs most upgrade user , toyota and nissan most are 1st car owner , do you agree

any1 knows if Giant (at Imm) sells Engine oil. i was there couple of weeks ago, but din manage to find it. might be searching the wrong section though. Would be poping by again today, appreciate if any1 knows can update.

Just wondering if Sim Lim brings in export sets of CDT. Looking for a EF model to see how much it costs. Thanks.

Chevy back after half a century Don't expect models like Corvette yet, but look out for the Chevy Optra, styled by the Italian design house known for its Ferraris By Christopher Tan Bye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee But the levee was dry... THAT seminal line from Don McLean's evergreen will have a new ring for motorists here when the brand that is as American as apple pie makes a comeback this week - after an absence of nearly five decades. Advertisement http://ads.asia1.com.sg/image.ng/Params.richmedia=yes&site=tsti&size=300X250 General Motors, which owns the Chevrolet among several other brands, will relaunch it on Thursday after nearly a year of preparation. But Singaporeans old enough to remember classic Chevys like the Impala and Camaro, or younger petrol heads yearning a ride in the Corvette, might be disappointed. Models like those won't be coming here any time soon. Most of the Chevys due here are rebadged models from Daewoo, which GM took over last year. This doesn't mean car buyers won't have anything new to look forward to. Chevy agent Starsauto, which sold Daewoo previously, will offer the Chevy Optra, a 1.6-litre sedan styled by Pininfarina, the Italian design house best known for its Ferraris. The Optra is called Daewoo Lacetti elsewhere. Asked why GM was replacing Daewoo with Chevrolet, its regional corporate communications manager Karen Goh said: 'Chevrolet is GM's largest brand, with over 3.6 million units sold last year. Chevrolet products are mainstream and GM's strategy is to make it the mainstream brand in the Asia Pacific.' In the Asia Pacific, the marque is used in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Japan and China. Veteran motoring columnist Winston Lee said: 'It's an astute marketing move. Chevrolet is a much more established brand; and it has more cachet than Daewoo.' Besides the Optra, there will be the Chevrolet Aveo hatchback (Daewoo Kalos), and Chevrolet Vivant recreational vehicle (Daewoo Tacuma). Ms Goh said GM will also showcase two high-end models: the Chevrolet Lumina, a 3.8-litre V6 sedan made by GM's Holden plant in Australia, which also has a 5.7-litre V8 coupe version. These will be made available later if there is 'sufficient demand'. None of the Chevys bound for Singapore will be made in America. Instead, they will be assembled in South Korea and Thailand. The Optra, for instance, will be made in GM's Rayong plant in Thailand. The plant also rolls out the Alfa Romeo 156 and Opel Zafira. Ms Goh said Starsauto, part of listed Wearnes International, will 'continue to provide after-sales service and support to Daewoo owners'. The Korean brand will continue to be sold in some markets.

http://www.forbes.com/2002/06/17/0617feat.html "In a laboratory and test track outside Goteberg, Sweden, one carmaker does. That company is Volvo (part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group). Earnest, unsurprising, unsexy, conservative and very, very safe Volvo. "