Buy Your Car Now Before Inflation Threat Hits Big Time

If you're going to buy a new car, you'd better buy one before inflation makes a comeback.

Economists the world over are predicting that the threat of runaway inflation would cause Central Banks to start raising interest rates.

Yes, the world economy is not out of the woods just yet. Still, conventional economic thinking places inflation as a bigger threat to a double-dip recession.

So, once inflation figures start showing marked increases, you can bet that Central Banks would react - knee jerk or otherwise - by raising interest rates.

This means that if you've been thinking about buying a new car and waiting for the right moment for it. Well, this is it.

If you continue to wait, say, till the 2nd quarter of the year, you might have to contend with interest rates that are higher than the rates that are being offered early in the year.

Of course, you shouldn't rush to buy a car for the sake of buying one. If you are still keen on saving, then you should consider how much you'd save if you continue to maintain your old car in good running condition.

What's more, when interest rates do go up, you can expect the returns on your savings to go up again. You can't expect the same from a new car simply because cars are high-depreciating assets.

On the balance, if you think you need a good car and have the money to spare, don't wait too long looking for a suitable one. When the 2nd quarter of the year draws near, you'd be facing the likelihood of higher borrowing rates.

If you don't need a new car, the saving you put aside would yield better returns, and would prove useful come the next rainy days.

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Addendum: For more info on economist predictions on inflation rearing its ugly head again, see http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/business/49159-global-economy-headed-up-and-so-are-food-prices

Nizar Flips His Car

Former Menteri Besar of Perak Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin flipped his Camry in a road accident recently. He was reported to be lightly injured only.

Some people speculate that he was a victim of the supposedly accident prone Camry. Others suspect it was foul play.

Looking at the TV3 footage captured in the aftermath of the accident, one can deduce that the Camry flipped when Nizar hit the divider in the middle of the road and kept going until it turned onto its side and then turned turtle.

Until Nizar comes out with a Press statement explaining how the accident happened, we won’t know for sure how or why it happened. Still, this is a reminder that big cars with big engines are not for the meek.

Nizar’s Camry is a 2.4L version, which means that its momentum is something to contend with in emergency situations. And while it comes with good brakes and power steering, you need quick reflexes to get it back on all four wheels once you hit something that threatens to flip it to one side or another.

Global Warming - Fiction Made to Appear as Fact

When I drive to work these days, I find myself having to bring up the aircon temperature more than usual. Yes, it's the rainy season, wherein the skies are mostly downcast and the hot days are not so hot.

Yet, aren’t we supposed to be experiencing global warming? The rainy season should be shorter and warmer. I should have had to reduce my aircon temperature setting to make my car cooler.

Strangely enough, I’m told that this is the effect of extreme weather, oh, by scientists in more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science. And I’m supposed to believe them without the logic being made plain for the layman.

I’m supposed to also believe the millions of scientists who say that Darwin’s theory of evolution is the only correct explanation as to why we humans exist the way we do on Earth, even though the logic of it delves into the realm of faith more than that of science.

I’d just like to know why, when global warming is supposed to be about the average temperature of Earth's near-surface air and oceans, the extreme cold weather that the world is experiencing, especially in Europe, is not bringing down the average temperature readings? Even if these cold spells are to be read as few and far between, why aren’t the ice caps freezing over more because of the extreme cold weather that the world is experiencing?

From the recent Copenhagen summit, we can gather that the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) being released into the atmosphere has not reduced significantly. Shouldn’t the world be experiencing more severe hot spells instead of severe cold ones?

Shouldn’t global warming be more beneficial to cold climate countries than not? After all, the GHG that's being released into the atmosphere is supposed to create a giant greenhouse.

If a reasonably educated person like me can’t be easily convinced, how can governments of the world expect the people around the world to do something serious about GHG emission?

Clearly, global warming is not an issue that’s clear-cut. No movie or no documentary is ever going to convince most people to get off their butts to pressure their governments to do something more than just pay lip-service to global warming, especially when there appears to be global cooling right before our eyes.

And no, “extreme weather due to global warming” won’t wash with people caught in heavy rain and in traffic jam, or people caught in floods or extreme snowfall.

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Addendum: Britain is facing the coldest winter in 30 years and temperatures could reach -18 C. If the Arctic conditions continue through January it will be the coldest winter since the big freeze of 1978/79.

And here we are worried about the polar ice caps melting away…

See http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/01/04/britain-facing-coldest-winter-for-30-years-and-temperatures-could-reach-18-115875-21940316/

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Addendum 2:

Global warming, huh? I think many scientists around the world may have gone mad...

See http://news.yahoo.com/video/weather-15749664/deep-freeze-has-town-covered-in-55-inches-of-snow-17475499

Clothes Maketh the Man, Rims and Tyres Maketh the Car

Haa! After years of being in denial, I finally gave in. I traded practicality for more style by upgrading my Ford Focus S2.0 with 18-inch rims and tyres.

My new 18-inch set won't give me better fuel economy. It won't enhance pick-up or acceleration. It won't even enhance ride comfort.

What it does is make my Ford Focus S2.0 look sportier and more stylish.

Really, it's amazing what low profile tyres and bigger rims can do for the looks of a car. I've seen old bangers like Volvo 240s, Datsun 120Ys and even the 1970s Mitsubishi Lancer appearing stylish and good looking simply because they have been equipped with nice large sport rims and low profile tyres.

Of course, it's not just about looks. There are some additional benefits that are quite important, especially for speedsters.

One of the benefits of large sport rims and low profile tyres is that a blowout at high speeds isn't likely to cause your car to flip because the drop from the rim to the road surface won't be substantial.

Yes, it has happened to me before. Apart from a terrible rattle and annoying sounds, my Focus managed to coast to a stop at a safe place by the side of the road, about 150 metres from the blowout point.

Also, low profile tyres tend to be firmer than high profile tyres (when properly inflated to optimal pressure). This means that handling at corners is improved because of lesser tyre-wall roll.

In addition, the 18-inch rims and tyres allow my Focus to accelerate more smoothly.

So, for as long as I'm able to, one of the things I'd do when I buy my next car would be to swap out the stock standard rims for nice large sport rims and low profile tyres.