Wednesday 11 June 2008

Cheap oil cheap cars

3 days without internet connection is why I have been away in case you’re curious. Anyway, this picture is the hottest forwarded e-mail in the past few days in the wake of the recent petrol hike.
RM0.16 for a litre of petrol!!! I think all us car-whores out there will be foaming in the mouth, or have multiple orgasm each time we fill out our tank.

But seriously, have you ever wondered how things will turn out if we really have cheap petrol? Maybe not RM0.16 per litre, that is really ridiculous. Let’s say the price in our good ‘ol Malaysia is about… RM0.50 per litre. Yes… brings an instant smile to your face isn’t it?

And to top that up, what if the govt really decides to lift the tariffs on imported cars? That’s right, imagine the price of a Civic or a Altis is about RM70,000. And with just RM50,000; or lower, you get yourself a brand new Honda City or Toyota Vios. Getting a hard-on just by reading that, isn’t it?

It’s like a dream come true isn’t it? Most of us here would probably be driving at least a City or a Vios and for those who are a little more fortunate, will be behind the wheel of a Civic or Altis already. Those who are willing to squeeze the wallet a bit will probably be roaming around in Accords, Camries and not to mention the BMs and Mercz, which I am sure many will do. And I don’t need to remind you… petrol is only RM0.50 per litre.

But wait, when the price of those cars come down, it is only natural that prices of domestic products be made cheaper in line with the above prices. If the above is made possible, then I think the price of Proton cars will be in the region of RM20k – RM35k. Can you imagine how much a Perodua Kelisa or Viva will cost? Probably around RM11k – RM15k?

If… just if the above becomes a reality, what do you think will happen? Do you seriously think you will enjoying yourself on the road? With every Tom Dick Harry Mary Jean Jane and your maid’s secret bf can afford a car, how do you think the traffic jam will be like? How big do you think the population of rempits will be? Heck, do you think the rempits will roam the streets at night in bikes?

I shall leave it to your wonderful imagination on what will happen if the above is a reality. I am sure you all have an idea or two…

37 comments:

My Rantings said...

You got a point there, zewt. If that becomes a reality, we will never reach our destinations on time, probably like Bangkok. As it is, our roads are choc-a-block!

Anonymous said...

well said, zewt. the last picture might become reality in msia...

Anonymous said...

ya you really got a point there... perhaps if the price is just right where no price is high enough to make drivers complain everyday or the traffic is average (no need constant brakes and all), but then again, nothing's perfect;B we just have to be thankful... well, I am:)

ahjohn said...

bruder,

balance la...macroeconomics!
haha...look who is talking...

It will be either the fuel or the car tax be down. It applies in every country. No country will enjoy that both luxury. But unfortunate for us, we suffer both. Why? Coz while demands need to meet the supply in economics to achieve equilibrium, someone needs to pay the price so that someone can enjoy 18k on allowance, remember? common, balancing of accounts...

If not, how do you expect him to go for facial in his golf arena face?

Huei said...

humans are "fan jin" wan ler..it's like cigarette price..even if they tax is ridiculously HIGH, ppl still smoke! n about transport..seriously..one has no choice but to get a car the minute it becomes more "affordable" (pay raise la). open the newspaper n there are news on how a bus crash n how many lives were killed!

n i agree with ahjohn..we can't have both luxury..petrol price can hike, but abolish tax/tolls/renewal of license (they say thailand dun nid to renew wan)..y must we let the gomen earn us so much money which most of it will fall into their pockets? unless they bring improvements to the cunt-tree..i dun think they should take so much from us n get high allowances even after deduction..n asking ppl to change lifestyle while they cruse in their private jet!

haih..msia..truly bullcrap! pakchilah!! =P

frostee said...

Well said but if there's a viable alternative to getting a car, like efficient and aeasily accessible public transportation, we won't see that bad of nightmarish traffic situation. Case in point, cars are considered cheap in western countries, though fuel prices may not be that low but still affordable, we don't see much chock-a-block traffic in major cities (excl. mega cities).

We buy cars out of necessity. If there's good alternative, people would surely opt for it.

missironic said...

ok..i see your point there...pro and cons yea? but yet..humans will never satisfy..want something more and more despite knowing wat will happen next...

Seaqueen said...

Painting a good picture there but in reality, the govt will never let that happened. Gone will their extra pocket money if they do that.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

worse then the last pic..at 2.70 n high prices..cars r jammed at every corner of the road already..

dont even say 50 cents..

back to the good old days of 1.20 u would be having wet pants everywhere u go..

Anonymous said...

Is that the streets of Caracas? ;)

Anonymous said...

You painted a horrible picture in our minds to draw a good point!
Cars are much cheaper around here, yet we're suffering all the same as the petrol and food prices soar.

andrew said...

ahhahaha =D good point!!! and the picture is crazy if its gonna happen!! -D

Jorji said...

we malaysian can build elevated bridge la..dun worry..just bring down the price of the cars and petrol..later our good government will build good road,bridge ..see..no jam...but must pay toll lah... :)

Anonymous said...

I honestly think that the people are unhappy due to the fact that we don't actually have a serious alternative other than to drive our fat arses around in our country.

Same thing goes for Jakarta if you've been there. Bangkok, however, has a rather reliable and cheap train system in town.

If I'm not mistaken, two train systems in Bangkok itself....

Like you keep harping with the "less cars, less cars", I'm a broken record asking for better public transportation systems.

Ivan said...

zewt, if the petrol price goes up, then I believe the car import/excise tax should go down accordingly.

Just because we don't want to see our roads jammed up with cars/vehicles, it doesn't make it right for the government to slap excessive taxes for import cars. If it wasn't because of Proton, they would not have any excuse to maintain the taxes apart from filling up their deep pockets.

The tax itself is a protectionist policy of giving a very big edge to Proton against foreign car makers - and this policy doesn't benefit the consumers, but only Proton. Consumers has a right to cheaper products without needing to always buy local.

Maybe I'm missing your point here. But what is wrong with being able to own a Civic or Altis at half the price that it is at now? These cars are honestly not luxury items overseas - it is only made such in Msia because of the taxes.

And if the taxes are removed, Proton and Perodua won't even need to lower down their car prices - they simply won't survive because in the past 10 years, Malaysian car makers have not been able to achieve the level of quality and low cost production that competitors has been able to do successfully. As a consumer, I have no problem with doing away with Proton or Perodua. And certainly we can do without the high import taxes.

khengsiong said...

I agree with ivan to some degree. Maybe the government should keep the petrol price high, but reduce the car import duty. That way, we can still own, and drive a car when necessary, e.g. family outing on weekend. But on day-to-day commute, use public transport if possible.

China and India will continue to see more cars as their people get richer. Tata has just rolled out the 'cheapest car in the world' - Tata Nano.

Anonymous said...

I'll get myself a beemer immediately! haha...so in conclusion, it has to be a good balance - not to expensive and not too cheap...I was pretty ok with that RM1.92 per liter price tag what..

Anonymous said...

Phew!!! Thank goodness you're ok! Was wondering what had happened to u! No update, no comment in my blog, nothing...!!! Next time, don't scare people like that hah!!!

No internet connection? Didn't pay ur bill kah? LOL!!!

Petrol prices going up, nobody buy cars...fewer cars on the road, less pollution...a welcome relief to the global warming problem!...Wouldn't that be great?But I would expect them to have special offers on cars like the Proton Iswara at one time...to get rid of the existing stock! What do you think?

HappySurfer said...

Interesting last picture. That could be Malaysia too if our roads have the same number of lanes.

Horny Ang Moh said...

Either way we r farked! Life is getting very hard!
Have a nice day!

tulipspeaks said...

I just came back home after filling up RM50 worth of petrol into my Kancil. No, I don't want to know how much Venezuelans paying per litre unless I want to have another sleepless night! :(


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zewt said...

Dancing Queen - that's exactly what i mean.

drumsticks - it's already a reality in certain roads.

ArMs - hey there, welcome to AZAIG. well, i dont notice a reduction in traffic but i think ppl are driving slower now... which is worse.

ahjohn - so it is a luxury? the thing is... ppl dont realise it is a luxury. luxurious necessity but luxury none the less.

huei - thailand... probably not so proper kua the administration. anyway, too many cars on the road is still bad la.

frostee - it is a luxurious necessity. necessity but luxury nonetheless.

missironic - we just dunno what is ahead of us.

zewt said...

seaqueen - well, i hope ppl will stop hoping for that at least.

constant craver joe - hahaha... cos stuck in the jam and no place to pee eh?

siew - no idea... hopefully not our streets soon.

cc - hey there, welcome to AZAIG. well, sometimes we need to see the reality of things to come to a good conclusion.

andrew - it's already happening. try sultan ismail at 6.30pm.

Aput - hahaha... well, i get your point bro. shall shift my point soon enough. but still... we need to have less cars on the road.

Ivan - certainly, it's not a sin to own a nice car, but i just think the mentality of ppl here will turn the city into a driving hell. i am just a supporter of less car. yes, we must have better public transport but still... cars must be reduced.

zewt said...

khengsiong - that is a good idea. but i dont think malaysians can take such sweets yet. we will turn the roads into driving hell.

giddy tigress - so 2.70 not good already la? :P

suituapui - yup... i definitely welcome saving the environment kinda notion :) i am still ok... hehe....

happysurfer - it's already happening in some roads.

hor ny ang moh - long time no see!!!

tulipspeaks - hahahaha... 50... can take u a long way i am sure... not for me though.

Ivan said...

Hi zewt,

I didn't mean to disagree on reducing the amount of cars. But if we talk about using the import duty as a means of reducing the number of cars in the country, then I would say it's not the right way to go about it. Or at least it doesn't tackle the problem of why Msians wants/needs to own a car

If we advocate to have subsidies cut for petrol, then the same rule should be applied for import duties on cars, which serves as a protectionist policy and to the detriment of consumers.

Now...if we talk about the mentality of the Malaysian people, we will only be able to really understand the drive behind it (i.e. owning a car) when we have a proper public transport system in place. Honestly, I do believe quite a number of people are willing to switch to public transport - provided it is efficient and not too expensive.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's a bit too early to judge that given an efficient transportation system in place and import duty removed, it will end up as depicted in the picture you have shown.

Seaqueen said...

Yea. Me too. Unless they're beginning to be so conscious about $ that they switch from a bigger car to a smaller one, which I think again is just wishful thinking eh?

william wang said...

It is about time the world should curb the usage of limited resources that can also polute our enviroment, that include forbiding cheap fuel. But we cannot say that in some coutries their fuel is cheap just because it is lower than ours, maybe it is quite expensive comparatively in there micro economy.
It had really caught on us this time and some are actually spending almost 40% of their income on fuel & energy. The only way our government can help is by lowering the taxes especially on items for the middle-income group and their income tax.

Anonymous said...

The rise in petrol really has everyone in a lurch. Good companies are giving their staff either an comparative increment or a hardship allowance (love how that sounds). Other companies are not helping the welfare of their staff. They give their execs a raise but lower levels just get an advance on their bonus. How is that fair?

These increases (not just for fuel) will cause less spending and liquidity in the market. Maybe a recession is also otw for us...

Wee-Leng said...

Just get a bicycle... or walk if possible... It solves a lot of problems.

zewt said...

Ivan - fair point. indeed, i am sure there will be many who are willing to switch to public transport when it finally reaches an efficient state. but i am still skeptical about a large amount of ppl out there. i believe there are quite a number out there who are just waiting for the public transport to improve so that others will take it... i have written about this issue before when i initially started blogging.

seaqueen - a lot of things are just wishful thinking when it comes to cars in malaysia.

william wang - well said! we are just spending too much on cars and fuel compared to the income we earn. ppl should come into realisation that we are not as rich as we think we are and should strive to increase our income and not trying to ask for govt to reduce the expenses.

pinknpurpledlizard - wow... which good companies are doing that? i am certainly interested to know. and i am certainly interested to see whether my boss will do that.

wee-leng - will u do it?

Pak Zawi said...

Zewt,
At 50 sen a liter, The border towns of Malaysia will be full of cars from Singapore and Thailand. Smuggling petrol will be the most lucrative job in Malaysia. Many new millionaires will be made.

Anonymous said...

Which companies? Hehe... Mine is. :)

But I guess staff should cohesively band together to talk to their bosses about a small raise or allowance to help ease their burden. Some have schooling kids, loans to pay off, many mouths to feed, etc and with prices of goods going up, its going to be tight.

The baddies are many. Know of some public listed and BIG companies who are not helping their staff at all esp the lower levels.

SuLee said...

hi zewt, is been a while, how ve u been!? just wanna say hi :)

zewt said...

zawi - imagine if it is 0.16 like venezuela then...

pinknpurplelizard - well said!! that is exactly what i am trying to say. time for modern slaves to come together and make a demand or something. i just got to know a few companies giving increment across the board to all employees.

SuLee - hello there. i am good. Hope you are well too.

myop101 said...

If the Govt comes out with a good, affordable and efficient public transport system, i don't see why i should drive.

But until that happens, do I have any choices but to keep driving? I am not worried about the jam, it is not like there is no jam nowadays. afterall, i wake up at 6 am everyday and get on the road by 6.40 am.

Mcmercedez said...

Hm.. If the cars & petrol are at that price, then no need to buy car liao.. Why?? Coz everywhere will be pack jam.. I think until a stage whereby you can just park your car in the middle of the road and then go shopping then only move your car.. hehe..

I seriously and truly think that even with AFTA, this will not happen.. Then probably the bank installment and road tax will play a major role.. Something like S'pore maybe can control a bit..

zewt said...

myop101 - wow... guess staying in shah alam isnt that fun huh. but yeah, you have a point, a cheap and efficient public transport is a must.

mcmercedez - AFTA? with proton around, you can forget about it.