Smashed GT-R

Yikes. What a shame. They should race only on the track, not on the way there.

New Cars

The new Opel Vectra is sweet.
The new Cefiro is not bad too.

Value For Money (March)

These are the top 5 in terms of % profit:
1. Honda Civic Type-R - 9.67% ($105,000 list, $95,739 actual cost)
2. Honda Civic 2.0A - 13.64% (82,000, $72,154)
3. Toyota Prius - 16.01% ($106,334, $91,652)
4. Toyota Camry - 16.91% ($95,988, $82,100)
5. Mitsubishi EX 1.5 - 16.95% ($62,988, $53,856)

Sports Cars

Honda Civic Type R - $11,566 ($108,000 - $96,434)
Subaru Impreza WRX 2.5 - $26,879 ($85,388 - $58,509)
Mazda RX8 - $31,349 ($121,488 - $90,139)
Volkswagen Golf GTi - $36,574 ($128,900 - $92,326)
Audi TT 2.0T - $36,690 ($195,000 - $158,310)
Porsche Cayman S - ($254,233 cost)
BMW 630Ci - ($201,063 cost)
Maserati Quattroporte - $82,776 ($380,000 - $297,224)
Ferrari F430 - ($471,647 cost)

Civic looks like a good deal. Try to get the rest second hand.

S300 vs 730i

BMW 730Li - $65,850 ($288,800 - $222,950)
Mercedes S300 - $83,733 ($295,888 - $212,155)

It's less obscene than it used to be. Still, don't be a fool.

Civic 2.0 vs Sylphy 2.0 vs Lancer 2.0

Lancer 2.0 - $10,744 ($68,988 - $58,244)
Civic 2.0 - $15,725 ($84,800 - $69,075)
Sylphy 2.0 - $22,166 ($87,500 - $65,334)

Seems like the Lancer wins.

Small Executive Sedans

Jaguar X-Type 2.1 - $30,270 ($135,000 - $104,730)
Lexus IS250 - $40,415 ($145,000 - $104,585)
Mercedes C200K - ($119,244 cost)
BMW 320i - ($121,251 cost)

Large Executive Sedans

Volvo S60 2.0T - $35,641 ($137,000 - $101,359)
BMW 523i - $40,094 ($183,800 - $143,706)
Audi A6 2.0T - $41,078 ($180,300 - $139,222)
Mercedes E200K - $44,085 ($179,888 - $135,803)
Lexus GS300 - $44,920 ($183,000 - $138,080)

All these cars are comparable except for the Lexus, which has a bigger engine. The 'steal' here has to be the Volvo, which is so much cheaper. However, percentage profit would be obscene.

Medium Family Sedans

Kia Cerato A - $8,389 ($52,999 - $44,610)
Hyundai Avante - $10,339 ($61,398 - $51,059)
Daihatsu Materia - ($51,929 cost)
Toyota Corolla - $12,594 ($64,988 - $52,394)

Which Large Japanese Saloon To Buy?

Here's the latest figures from LTA: Dealer's profit (list price - cost price)

Honda Accord 2.4 - $3,939 ($94,000 - $90,061)
Honda Accord 2.0 - $9,286 ($90,000 - $80,714)
Toyota Camry 2.0 - $14,902 ($95,988 - $81,086)
Hyundai Sonata 2.0 - $16,082 ($72,398 - $56,316)
Toyota Camry 2.4 - $18,251 ($103,988 - $85,737)
Nissan Cefiro 2.0 - $18,287 ($91,000 - $72,713)
Nissan Cefiro 2.3 - $18,829 ($96,000 - $77,171)

What I don't understand is why the Cefiro costs so much less than the Accord.

Another Senseless Shooting In USA

They should have one of these every week until the people there wake up and demand gun control. Stupid news article didn't even mention the issue.

New Ford Mondeo

My first impression of the new Ford Mondeo was that it had a resemblance to the Aston Martin, or maybe the new Jaguar XF. Nice.