Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices for cars up to 1,600cc rose slightly over S$1,000 in the latest round of bidding on Wednesday. (Yahoo! file photo)

Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices for cars up to 1,600cc rose slightly over S$1,000 in the latest round of bidding on Wednesday.

Prices of COE for category A cars (1600 CC and below) rose by $1,111, or 1.7 per cent, to $68,000 from $66, 889.

Elsewhere in other categories, COE prices dropped.

For Category B (above 1600CC), the COE premium saw a big drop of $7,811 to $80,191.

In Category C (goods vehicle and bus), the COE premium dropped by $2,000 to the current $57,334.

Category D (motorcycle) premiums dropped by $212, or 11.8 per cent, to $1,801.

Lastly for category E (open), the COE premium dropped $5,991 to $87,999.

Crowd at the World Time Attack Challenge in Sydney. (Photo from www.Cheryl-Tay.com)

The atmosphere at WTAC keeps getting better, thanks to the The atmosphere at WTAC improves every year, thanks to international competitors and the freedom to roam into any garage to get upclose and personal with the mechanics and race cars. (Photo courtesy of www.Cheryl-Tay.com)

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to head down under for the World Time Attack Challenge in Sydney. This is a popular motorsport event where competitors race against the clock for the fastest lap time. There were no Singaporean drivers, but there was one car built by a Singaporean.

Henry Lim, owner of tuning company Cosmic Performance, has been working on cars since he first got to Australia 12 years ago. He started his own automotive business in 2009, providing tuning services, engine building, importing and distributing of parts, as well as developing his own line of in-house products. Prior to that, he held a full-time job as a project manager in manufacturing, while providing tuning and consulting services to workshops outside of office hours.

The Subaru WRX he built for Peter Fuller to run at WTAC this year unfortunately fell prey to some parts issues and failed to make it out of the pit. He then spent the rest of the event managing the Cosmic Performance booth which was

The new B-class. (Photo from www.Cheryl-Tay.com)

What are some of the main causes of driving errors?

Peter Hackett, Australian racing driver and chief instructor of the Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience, touched on them in a presentation recently.

Developed in Germany to teach participants how to recognise and avoid dangers while experiencing the luxury car brand brand, the Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience is a series of full-day driving programmes, one of which I attended.

The event was held in Singapore from 17 to 26 August at Changi Exhibition Centre, hosting about 330 participants in total.

In Peter's presentation, he said the biggest cause of driving errors is inappropriate speed, followed by failure to observe right of way, maintaining of insufficient distance, errors when turning off, incorrect use of road and influence of alcohol.

Inappropriate speed, Peter explained, is the inability of the driver to recognise the speed for the environment. For example, there are speed limits on public roads, but within the temporary track

COE prices fall for most categories (Getty Images)

Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices have dropped for four out of five categories in the most recent bidding exercise which concluded on Thursday.

Premiums for Category A (1,600cc and below) saw the largest decrease, as prices dropped from $73,501 to $66,809 — a difference of nine per cent from two weeks ago.

For Category B (Cars 1,601cc and above), the COE premium is now at $88,002, down seven per cent from $94,502.

Prices for the open category (Category E) saw the COE premium fall from $95,034 to $93,990.

Category D (Motorcyles) also saw a tumble in prices, from $2,081 to $2,013.

Meanwhile, only Category C (Goods vehicles and buses) saw their prices increase marginally by four per cent, from $57,001 to the current $59,334.

Sharp increases in Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices were seen in the most recent bidding exercise which concluded on Wednesday. (Yahoo! photo)

Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums have risen sharply for all categories of vehicles in the most recent bidding exercise which concluded on Wednesday.

A sharp increase of $4,4845, or 7.1 per cent, was seen in the COE prices of Category A (Cars 1,600cc and below), bringing the price to $73,501. The COE premium for small cars was at $68,656 in the previous round.

The COE premium for Category B (Cars 1,601cc and above) is now at $94,502 after a $4,001 or 4.4 per cent increase, once again breaching the $90,000 mark.

For Category C (Goods vehicles and buses), the COE premium is now at $57,001 compared to $55,805, due to a  $1,196 or 2.1 per cent increase.

Category D (Motorcycles) saw a $222 or 11.9 per cent increase, with premiums closing at $2,081 compared to $1,859 in the previous round.

In Category E (Open), the COE premium is now at $95,034 compared to $92,700 previously, registering a $2,334 or 2.5 per cent increase.

In May, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced a more

The Toyota 86 is the result of a joint collaboration between Subaru and Toyota. (Adrian Wong)

Sister car to the Subaru BRZ, the Toyota 86 is the result of a joint collaboration between Subaru and Toyota. Both are similar compact sports cars with a two-door coupe body style, front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout and 2+2 seats, differing in the front air intake form, trim details and suspension settings.

Modernising the iconic AE86, the Toyota 86 builds upon its small and lightweight predecessor to bring the brand's history of sports models up to date. Backed by half a century of Toyota's racing heritage, the 86 retains the motorsport spirit it is known for, attracting both the old boy racers and the new-age speed addicts.

Targeting previous AE86 owners who have given up the coupe for various reasons and encouraging them to relive their younger days, the 86 has been adapted to the lifestyles of today to also appeal to the new-generation of sports car lovers.

With its accentuated curves and deep-set lines, the 86 was awaiting my arrival in its strong and silent stance, fronting a

An introductory drive allowed the press and prospective buyers to understand the features of the car. (Clement Element PerfectEdge Photography)

Those four laps I had at the wheel of the McLaren MP4-12C left a smile on my face for the day, and the rest of the weekend too.

I've met the MP4-12C on several occasions and even sat in the driver's seat to admire its extensive carbon fibre workmanship, but never had the chance to even start up the car. Finally, the opportunity came for me to roar the car to life and also take it for a rather hard spin.

Held from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm one Saturday at Changi Exhibition Centre, Wearnes Automotive, the authorised distributor for McLaren Singapore, over 100 participants took to the wheel of the MP4-12C. They consisted of the media, current customers and prospective buyers.

Instead of just a drive around the showroom, this introductory drive experience allowed us to understand the features of the car better and feel its characteristics under the guidance of instructors in a controlled environment. Denis Lian, former racing driver and brand manager for McLaren Singapore, designed the track,

The BMW Driving Experience is a one-day advanced level course conducted five times a year by Performance Motors Limited (PML) (Photo courtesy of www.Cheryl-Tay.com).

After that horrendous tragic accident between a Ferrari and a taxi, one of the issues raised was to have drivers of high performance cars go through driving courses to prepare them before driving those cars.

While that is a viable option to be considered by carmakers, there are such courses existing for drivers to participate at their own will. I've attended driving courses by several carmakers before, the most recent being the BMW Driving Experience conducted at J Circuit in Johor, Malaysia.

Formerly known as the BMW Advanced Driver Training, this one-day advanced level course is conducted five times a year by Performance Motors Limited (PML), authorised distributor for BMW cars and motorcycles in Singapore.

The objective is to provide driving pleasure, education and entertainment in a controlled and safe environment, while allowing drivers to understand the limits of technology and driving skills.

At the invitation of Pirelli Singapore, I was part of the group of 30 participants.