Debby, Milky and Alyshia from Taiwan danced for the crowds at Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore (Photo: www.Cheryl-Tay.com)

You could practically see eyes popping out of heads when the Taiwanese models took the stage and performed a dance number for the crowd that gathered at the stage way before their stipulated performance time.

Part of the professional Lava Girls dance group, three of them were in Singapore for the inaugural Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore exhibition. Working as race queens and dancers for Westlake Performance Tyres, Milky, Debby and Alyshia drew lots of stares over the weekend with their ample bosoms and skin-tight neon green outfits.

A pretty face matched with those curves spells trouble in many ways and Milky recounted how she once got molested on the job.

She was giving out gifts to visitors at a booth and was touched on the leg twice by this man who wanted to get the free gift. After she gave the gift the second time and turned away, that same man grabbed her hard on the butt.

Her eyes flashed anger as she recalled how she turned back around and paused for five seconds, just staring at

MAS lifts current car loan curbs for 60 days for some used cars (Yahoo! photo)

Relief at last for second-hand car dealers.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will lift current restrictions on car loans for a period of 60 days for used cars that were part of car dealers’ inventory before the new curbs were introduced on 25 February.

As dealers have up to seven days to register used cars under the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) Temporary Transfer Scheme (TTS), used cars registered as of 4 March will be eligible for this concession. MAS estimates this pool comprises less than 7,000 cars.

In a statement on Friday, MAS says the move takes into account the distinct conditions in the used car market currently.

It says that the inventory of used cars acquired by dealers at relatively high in-built Certificate of Entitlement (COE) values before the introduction of the financing restrictions has made it particularly challenging for them to adjust to the new market conditions.

MAS adds that demand has also fallen more sharply in the used car market compared to

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Public-listed media company Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has agreed to purchase online car portal sgCarMart (SGCM) in a deal that could be worth up to S$60 million.

Both The Straits Times and The Business Times reported on Tuesday that the deal includes SGCM’s online vehicle classified site, car auction platform, online marketing site as well as a service provider for car loans, insurance and settlement services.

The site was founded in 2004 by friends Vincent Tan, Tan Jin-glun and Seah Hon Hui, when they were engineering students at the National University of Singapore. They are now all 32 years old.

Originally a car classifieds service, sgCarMart now also provides car loans, insurance and valuation services.

According to the site, it has about 10,000 car listings and attracts over 2.2 million visitors every month.

SPH said the final price is dependent on performance targets and will be paid in cash.

In an interview with The Straits Times, Mr Vincent Tan said he believed that the

COE prices get back to normal (Getty Images)

Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums for small cars closed lower in the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday, while that of big cars shot up.

This brings price levels back to normal in a way after the previous round two weeks ago saw the COE price for a Toyota became more expensive than that of a luxury car like a BMW 5.

COE prices for cars 1,600cc and below fell in the latest exercise Wednesday by 14 per cent to $64,209 from $74,689.

COE premiums for big cars corrected, going up by 27 per cent to $73,900 from $58,090. The increase was the biggest among the categories where prices rose.

COE prices for goods vehicles and buses and motorcycles rose marginally.

Premiums for goods vehicles and buses rose by $211 to $53,900 from $54,111.

Premiums for motorcycles also went up slightly by $14 to $1,909, from $1,895.

For the open category, prices were up by 13 per cent to $73,301 from $65,001 in the previous bidding exercise.

This is the first bidding exercise since Transport Minister

Mercedes-Benz A-Class (12)On Wednesday evening, the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class was launched in not one, but two venues simultaneously. The premium German compact, marketed as the "rebel" of the family, made its appearance at both Overeasy and KPO on the same night to two different audiences.

“Every family has a rebel. The all-new A-Class is radical, markedly emotive in design, with powerful engines, and a host of standard safety features; it is a perfect choice between temptation and reason, without compromising our brand belief – the best or nothing,” said Wolfgang Huppenbauer, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Singapore.

At the launch party at Overeasy, over 350 exclusive guests including Mediacorp artistes Elvin Ng, who is also the brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, Desmond Tan, Rosalyn Lee and Rebecca Lim, Mercedes-Benz loyalists, and friends of the media witnessed the unveiling of the all-new A200 and A250. Star of a similar party along Orchard Road at KPO, the A-Class was presented to over 200 fans of

COEs for buying a car like the BMW M3 couple is now cheaper than a COE for a standard Toyota model. (Adrian Wong)

For the first time in 23 years, the COE car for a luxury car like a BMW 5 series or Porsche is now cheaper than one for a Toyota.

COE prices in the first tender since tighter loan policies were announced last month saw prices for cars above 1,600c plunge over S$34,000 in the latest COE bidding results released on Wednesday.

The new price? S$58,090, a steep drop from the previous price of S$92,667.

Prices for the Open COE also fell sharply to $65,001, down over S$26,000 from $91,910.

In contrast, COE for cars up to 1,600cc finished at $74,689, just down slightly from the $78,301 before the stricter loan policies and tiered taxation system were announced.

This means that a buyer interested in a standard Toyota model like an Altis is expected to pay a COE of about S$74,000 while another who is keen to buy the latest BMW 5 Series only pays just over $58,000 -- nearly S$16,000 cheaper.

Car trader Elton Lim told Yahoo! Singapore "it's all to do with the newly introduced Additional

While everyone was harping on the high Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices, another spanner was thrown into the works with the recent announcements regarding cars.

First, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has restricted financing for motor vehicles. Buying a car now requires a down payment of 40 to 50 per cent of the car purchase price in cash, including relevant taxes and the COE. In addition, the tenure of the loan has been changed to five years instead of 10. These revisions apply to both new and used cars, but not to motorcycles and commercial vehicles.

During the budget speech, it was also announced that there will now be a tiered tax rate for passenger cars. Instead of all cars paying the same main vehicle tax (or known as additional registration fee or ARF) at a flat rate of 100 per cent of the car’s open market value (OMV), more A tire For example, a Mercedes-Benz E250 which has an OMV of above $50,000 will need to pay 180 per cent of incremental OMV.

These cooling

Uber offers an alternative to taking the taxi. (Photo provided byUber)

A new kind of private driver service was officially launched in Singapore Thursday, offering commuters an alternative form of transport.

Called an on-demand limousine service, Uber is basically an application which will provide luxury transportation for you at your convenience.

All you need to do is download the Uber app, register, key in your location and the nearest driver will be dispatched to you with an estimated arrival time. It functions similar to a taxi booking service, but the difference is that the cars used are of premium brands such as Mercedes-Benz, hence putting it a class above the regular taxis.

At the end of your ride, the fare is charged to your credit card on file, and you receive a detailed receipt in-app and via email.

Unlike a car sharing or car rental company, Uber does not own a fleet of cars. They work with limousine companies and the cars come complete with professional drivers dressed in suits and ties.

At the moment, you won't be able to choose the type of