Uncovering the facade of the 2 faced fiend The car has always been a modernist/city-dweller's best friend. He becomes the most convenient mode of transport in an otherwise congested and smoke infested city. You can drive him to your exact destination, which saves you your tussle with buses and trains. When you park him at a specific lot, he will be even more loyal than your own watchdog, securing the parking space, not budging an inch, until you return to coo him and warm him up from his deep slumber. By just rewarding him with petrol, he starts to run the engine as fast as he can (to the maximum horsepower and no of revolutions), obeying you up to your command via your feet, by manoeuvring your right toes on the pedal. Yet, it is precisely because of these advantages which comes with a snap of your fingers that Man is falling into its vicious trap. Uncover this facade and you will see a ruthless, cold machine tryiing to control and tear up your life. Trick #1 Have you noticed that drivers like to blast their music in their vehicles, claiming that it motivates them to drive, or at the very least keep them awake while they are on the road? Well, like they say, the true motive (of allowing the car to accomodate a radio) is always darker. Music keeps one awake, yes, but it does not keep one awake enough to notice changes within the car. Especially when the driver is supposed to be faithfully devoting his attention to all the cement, tar and white markings. When the radio is switched on in the car, conversation in the vehicle will either immediately or gradually cease. The radio takes over the entire mindsets of the passengers, infiltrating the brainwaves as it forces them into gradual  silence. Even as one tries to speak over the music, he will soon be drowned as conversing over a constant stream of music is no easy feat that any mortal can achieve. Without conversation, comes zero communication. Without communication between parties would soon signal a breakdown of the once firm bonds as parties grow further and further away, separated by the car. Ironic as it seems, in spite of the close measured proximity between the driver and his immediate LHS passenger, the distance grows and pulls them away as they let the music dominate the conversation, not once attempting to fill up the materially-empty vacuum because the streaming audio makes one feel as though they have talked to each other because of the illusion that the radio creates. Trick #2 Complaining that your girlfriend is spoilt beyond limits? Well, guys, think again. Your precious, much hyped about, devotedly polished pieces of clustered metal are actually worse than one can imagine. Except that these cunning devils have actually mastered the art of whining-- how to make the car lover succumb to their demands without realising that there are actually demands made. When they need nutrients replenished, they display the big red "E" sign on the fuel panel and it starts beeping to scare you into giving them their staple. Ignore that and the warnings will come in series, each time more urgent than the previous. Coaxing him with pleads and bribes won't gain you any brownie points here, not to mention the curses and swears. Give in not and they'll slow down, stutter and die by the roadside. When they decide that they need more TLC to be shown to their ever fragile and mechanically complicated parts, they make the car less powerful than it can be, thus making the worried owner send it down immediately to the workshop to check for damages. Trick #3 Owning a car dries up more of your assets than you can ever imagine. To drive it on the Singapore roads, one has to pay the annual road tax which will come up to a couple of $1000s. The digit in front of the 3 to 4 zeros would depend on the make of your car. To "rent" a lot for your car for the day would set you back at least $20 for a day in town. To maintain and appease it, you would have to constantly send it to the mechanics to fondle and tune each and every part in the car. Unless you are one of the 10% who owns a landed property in Singapore, you even have to pay rent to the Housing Board for a decent home for your car. But take note, rent does not include shelter from rain, sun and bird droppings. Therefore my friends, if you are not careful, owning a car can do more harm than a heart attack. With all the tricks it has up its sleevers, (and not even 10% has been covered here) you would need all the might you can muster to reign over it. People, you have been warned. Kai 2001