Singapore media professional Ellie Lim gave up her plan to buy a new Volvo SUV to ferry her newborn baby when she realized it was going to cost her more than S$200,000 ($142,000). “I was quite shocked,” said Lim, 34. Coupled with high interest rates on car loans, fuel prices and maintenance fees, buying a new car is “a financially unsound decision,” she said. Why would you spend the cost of an apartment from the government’s Housing & Development Board for a rapidly depreciating asset? “These are all like HDB flats running on the road.” Lim’s lament is a common one in Singapore, which strictly controls the number of vehicles on its roads by forcing buyers to bid for a limited quota of permits, […]