Singaporeans are extremely conscious of numbers. Our fetish for figures and statistics, be it vehicle performance or PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination), is inculcated from a very young age, to the point where it becomes almost an obsession for many locals – adults and kids alike.Every year, without fail (and the student better not fail), parents will stress themselves over their children’s PSLE results. It’s madness.
Less mad, but still bordering on obsessive-compulsive, is drivers’ obsession with performance figures. Power, torque, top speed and acceleration from 0km/h to 100km/h.
If Car A’s maximum speed is 200km/h and Car B’s is 210km/h, the driver/buyer will inevitably focus on those numbers because they’re the only tangible facts they can grasp. Never mind even if they’ll never drive anywhere near those illegal velocities.
PSLE scores, engine outputs, how fast, how good. It’s always a game of numbers in Singapore.