The truth is that I never did see that movie and only heard about it from others after I had bought the bicycle.Then working in TAR college, transportation became an issue. Our public transportation system sucks big time. Staying in Hot Spring New Village at that time meant that I had to wake up very early, take a bus out to the main road and then another bus to the college. And since the changeover point was in the middle of the bus journey's from KL to TAR college, it meant that it is almost a certainty that the bus is jam packed by the time I get go it. So, like the majority of poor blokes at that time, I bought a Honda Cub 70 cc. The cub chai was fantastic. It provided me mobility that I never had. Only drawback was the traffic, smog and fumes from traffic and of course the rain. Mind you, traffic in the early 70s was relatively less than today. Occasionally, I would borrow my friend's larger capacity bikes (with clutch) just for the thrill of riding a bigger bike. My license was valid for up to 250cc bikes. It was great fun to ride scramblers (Yamaha) and the really heavy Suzuki 250cc then.
The cub chai lasted me until 1981 when I switched jobs to Hewlett Packard. One question that the interviewer posed to me when I went for the HP interview - do you have a car?? Oh oh, car?? Expensive lah. Heck, I was desperate to get the HP job - so I committed to get a car if I was hired.
So when they did offer me the job, I scouted around for a second (third, Fourth, etc??) hand vehicle. I managed to buy a Toyota KE-30 that was 13 years old for $3000.00. No aircond, very basic, but what the hey, it is a car - 4 wheels, no worries about the rain. Except that when it does rain, you need to constantly wipe the windscreen from inside, since there was no aircond.
So when they did offer me the job, I scouted around for a second (third, Fourth, etc??) hand vehicle. I managed to buy a Toyota KE-30 that was 13 years old for $3000.00. No aircond, very basic, but what the hey, it is a car - 4 wheels, no worries about the rain. Except that when it does rain, you need to constantly wipe the windscreen from inside, since there was no aircond. Drove that for a year and then sold it for $2000.00. Why? Because HP instituted a company car policy and got me a Toyota Station wagon. Why that instead of a regular sedan? Because I was in support services and we were expected to transport instruments and parts occasionally. In the 4 years I had that car, I ran up almost 300000 km!! I drove it to Penang, Johor, Kota Baru and even Singapore!. And then HP started experimenting with the auto policy. They went for long term rentals just like in the United States. I got myself a brand new Ford 1.8 sedan. One thing about rentals - they had problems, the rental company changes it for you. I was driving to Kerteh when I got into a serious accident. While trying to avoid oncoming traffic, I verged too far to the left, rolled the car 360 degree on it's side and ended up with 2 flat tires, a car that looked like it was going right when I was driving straight ahead. I was shaken but not stirred. Drove that mangled heap to Kuantan and got another car from the rental branch there.
And HP changed their auto policy again - no more company car. They give us a monthly auto allowance, we buy our own car. So I purchased a Mazda 626 1.8 sedan. That was the time of Knight Rider and I was the only one in the company with a digital dash. Cool! But my business related travels took a toll on the car. Ran up another 300000km in 4 years, and had to change to another car.
This time - a Mazda Astina 1.6. I christened that car a Japanese Porche for it's retractable headlamps. My Japanese Porche lasted me 13 years before I replaced it with the current Toyota Unser 1.8 Auto. The Astina was too small to fit all my son's barang barang when we went for holidays, so I opted for an MPV of sorts. I have sworn off getting Mazda's because of bad experiences with their distributors. Both of my Mazda's had aircond problems within one week of delivery. Within 5 years, both of them experienced radiator overheat. And in the Astina, the clutch and gearbox crapped out in it's 10th year. When I wrote to their distributor for an answer, the admin person handling my snail mail sent me a chain letter. Unfortunately for her or him, the post mark clearly showed it was mailed from the Mazda distributor' company franking machine. So stupid.
This time - a Mazda Astina 1.6. I christened that car a Japanese Porche for it's retractable headlamps. My Japanese Porche lasted me 13 years before I replaced it with the current Toyota Unser 1.8 Auto. The Astina was too small to fit all my son's barang barang when we went for holidays, so I opted for an MPV of sorts. I have sworn off getting Mazda's because of bad experiences with their distributors. Both of my Mazda's had aircond problems within one week of delivery. Within 5 years, both of them experienced radiator overheat. And in the Astina, the clutch and gearbox crapped out in it's 10th year. When I wrote to their distributor for an answer, the admin person handling my snail mail sent me a chain letter. Unfortunately for her or him, the post mark clearly showed it was mailed from the Mazda distributor' company franking machine. So stupid.So, today, in the fifth year of owning the Toyota Unser, I just booked myself a Toyota CAMRY 2.0G!! Hopefully, this will last me for the next 15 years or so. And my Unser?? I am keeping it. Occasionally,
I still need a utility vehicle and the secondhand price for that is just not worth selling it off. Sales has been so good that the waiting period is now 5 months. My order is for a silver Camry. So I upgraded to a 2 litre car and downgraded from Gold to Silver colour. I am asking for a pre-Chinese New Year delivery in 2008!


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