it's not directly plug and play...

 

Singapore import duties are about 100%. Plus, it doesn't stop there. Drivers have to purchase a variety of permits to use their cars downtown for instance. Large & ugly blue triangular stickers are mounted on the windshield to show compliance. Singapore is a very small congested island state, and they have been implementing strict measures to reduce the amount of cars there; there's just not that much room left. Even a plain Jane Corolla costs about $50,000 before taxes and permits.

 

oh I'm well aware of the Restricted Zone passes and Road Pricing schemes lol. I think a Corolla costs closer to $80k now, no?

cause back then the Ford Festiva (I know ) we were looking at was $50k. Thank god we went with a Corolla when we came to Canada and not a Festiva/Aspire.

 

In Hong Kong, the tax on new cars is over 50% - explaining the high price of over US$200K for the LS600l fully loaded. However, the maximum income tax is about 15% with no capital gains or dividend tax - so the wealthy have much more disposable income. If you have ever driven in HK, you would want to have a driver for your LS - streets are very narrow, traffic is slow and parking is very difficult. On the other hand, my in-laws in HK have a GS300 which cost about US$100K and they only put on about 5000 miles a year on their car, so gas and maintenance are much cheaper.

 

indeed, driving in hk is no fun. and you can't really drive fast anyway