Stormforge

great pics henry! my brother who lives at happy valley tells me he can tell from exhaust note what car went by (ferrari, lambo, etc). that's how many exotic cars there are in hk.

on a side note, i recall him telling me that aron kwok (?) - either him or some other famous hk singer - has a zonda.

superchan7

Unlike most HKers, I'm from the New Territories, which is more rural and basically a few super-dense towns here and there separated by uninhabited parkland and various villages. JDM and other relatively affordable enthusiast cars are a common sight, such as Evos, STi, Skylines (mainly non-GTR) and also the ubiquitous Toyota Alphard and various MB/BMW models.

Exotics are more rare out in the NT districts, but transit isn't as convenient so more people drive their own cars, plus parking space is more abundant and cheaper.

Some single/duplex house developments exist out in the NT, priced in the realm of the sane. I grew up in one of them--Fairview Park, outside Yuen Long.

The Previa belongs to my father, but I'm the designated driver when I'm there on vacation. Sad that it isn't sold in the US, because it makes you drool for 7-seater MPVs. That can't be said for USDM models.


Mr. Kwok is known for his car collection including some of the latest and rarest, such as Enzo Ferrari, F50, 599, Murcielago, Gallardo, the newest all-carbon Zonda, various other Ferraris and Lambos. He's also in the Ferrari FXX program. His cars are often caught by local car spotters and gossip magazines.


RUMOR: There may be as many as two Lamborghini Reventons in Hong Kong. At least one has been regularly spotted by photographers.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yeah the car collection of aaron is unbelievable, it's just simply insane. and two reventons in hk? damn...

shinmei

nice pics man, i can't wait to go back to japan in december for a month, last time i went was 5 years ago.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Judging by the pictures, you probably don't miss all the potholes and crappy roads over here

superchan7

I'm sure Japan's roads are nice and generally well-maintained, but Hong Kong's local roads aren't too impressive. The heavy buses and commercial vehicles plying the streets make the roads age quickly and begin lumping. Heavy rainfall every year also loosens and cracks the surfaces. In many heavy-traffic urban areas they don't even bother paving with bitumen asphalt, just leave it as concrete.

Also from the British standards, HK concrete roads have rain grooves that run laterally instead of with the driving direction. This creates annoying noise and vibration, although poorly done rain grooves here in the US tend to tug my car left and right which is another annoyance.

The highways there are great, though, especially compared to California.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yeah, superchan hit it. roads in japan are very nice, very smooth. but the roads in hk aren't that impressive at all. those new highways built in recent years (especially those to and from airport) they are pretty nice though

encore888

+1 especially some particular routes down here in SoCal...the road condition definitely needs to be improved!!!

I thought about getting an international driver's license to try out some of these foreign roads, but my experience in Asia, trying to drive in a heavily trafficked area like Hong Kong requires local familiarity and ample skills.

superchan7

In addition to the opposite direction and sitting on the right side, Hong Kong has other things a US driver may not be accustomed to:

Roundabouts, LOTS of them
Double-decker buses, LOTS of them to block your view
Pedestrians, LOTS of them in popular shopping areas
Speed cameras, LOTS of them on highways that have relatively low speed limits

Otherwise, driving in HK is fairly similar to other big cities, and the manners are generally tolerable (except minibuses).

RXSF

I was just in HK from august 24 to sept 14th! the people there are really rich, you do see a lot of nice cars, however, i think the most common car i saw was the toyota previa. haha

DustinV

Nice photos.

I've been to Japan before in the early '90s. Beautiful country, rich in culture and simply fascinating. Tokyo was enjoyable, a bit too hectic for my tastes but outside in the countryside where the true beauty of the country comes to life I think settling down could be great.

The issue of LHD cars in Japan is simple: it's a status symbol. It signifies "Hey, I am rich!"

Importing a LHD car into Japan is actually more expensive than buying one locally from what hear. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

mmarshall

Were the batteries dead when you got back? Most modern computer-equipped cars have a small parasitic drag on the battery when the car is shut off, and it usually can go 10 days to two weeks before dying.

Anyhow, nice pictures. It's interesting to see how the Japanese treat our LS460 is a Celsior taxicab.

That's probably because of taxation. Japan over-taxes everything, just like Western Europe. That, of course, means more money available for highway paving crews.

Dave600hL

Highways and most cities are pretty good, but country roads are horrible, narrow ,bumpy and not too well looked after.

You must have only been in the city?
I haven't seen any LS460's as cabs over here, but you do see a LS430 an older models as cabs. There is no way cabbies can buy them new, there is just not enough business these days.

The highways themselves are taxed to the hilt.

mmarshall

Thanks. Yes, sorry, I meant the LS430. The Japanese, from the picture Henry posted, seem to refer to the basic design (with probably a less-plush inside) is the Celsior.

I've actually seen a few LS430 (not Celsior) taxis here in the D.C. area, but they are very unusual. Much more common now, in this area, are Prius taxicabs. They are obvious choices for their good reliabilty and low operating costs.

IS-SV

btw, yes there is small parasitic drag on the battery, and no they do not go dead in 10-14 days normally., based on actual experience. I've done it several times with modern cars (2 weeks) and no ill effect.

Have you had your Subie battery die in that timeframe?