I'm Audi 5000

One of the last things I did in town before jetting out was to hit the Audi launch event in downtown Saigon.  They were opening the first official Audi showroom in Vietnam, and showing off their A8 and Q7 vehicles.

I had neither the inclination nor the means to purchase a car, so I fit right in with the crowd.  I met the typical Saigon crowd at this thing - the wealthiest folks I met that night was probably the pair who tired of checking out the cars, the models, the cocktail waitresses and instead were closely examining the HVAC controls of this new building.  Just another night in Saigon.  But the champagne was nice though.  

So I'm out.  This is my view these days - it's not an Audi, but it's close.      

For continued interesting tidbits about the expat experience in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, check out those on the blogroll, in particular:

• Kevin at SaigonNezumni - hurry before he becomes the test case as the first expat blogger arrested by Vietnamese authorities.
• Thirsty at his wordpress Thirsty Thongs - he promises to start up again after I leave.
• Preya at Dreaming of Hanoi / Preyanka - in Bangkok, Thailand and optimistic now that her guy, Obama, won.
• Liz at Stateless and Aimless - new at this blogging thing, also in Thailand but upcountry.

Tam Biet!

Saigon Sights

Some sights while walking about HCMC:

I saw this boat anchored in the tributary near the golf driving range I hang out at.  It's odd to see this sort of pleasure craft in Vietnam, I'm guessing because you can use it to sneak things (and people) across the border.  I've come to find out that the person who owns this also owns an airline without any planes.  I guess they traded a Boeing for a 30ft boat.   

A friend told me that there was a Mercedes McLaren in town, but I was a bit incredulous because said friend wasn't a full-fledged car guy.  Turns out he's right, as I spotted this outside of Diamond Plaza on a weekend.  

The "new" Vietnam is filled with fat kids.  Family sizes are much smaller than they used to be, in both the white collar class and the blue collar class in the city.  I believe this kid is a valued son to a shopowner nearby.  It's hard to blame parents for overfeeding their kids when they themselves can so easily remember existing on rations.  The bike is a start though.        

This picture is a small example of how things seem weird here until you look more closely... if you do, then maybe only half of the things are weird here!

I walk down this street a lot.  One day I see a small pile of bricks and debris, and I just though that the street cleaners hadn't come by yet.  But the pile was still there the next day.  Over time, it would grow, and then wane after a rain storm.  

One day I walked past during a heavy downpour and I finally realized what this was.  This debris sits outside a building that has underground parking.  You get to the parking spaces by taking a subterranean ramp that feeds out to the street.  When it rains moderately, the street corner drains are quickly overwhelmed and the parking ramp funnels the collected downpour into the garage.  This mound of discarded construction materials helped to provide a lip blocking that flow.  An interesting, if temporary and ugly, solution.     

Top Gear in Vietnam

Jezza and the boys of Top Gear are/were? in Vietnam to film a segment for their show.  Wha!?  This is more interesting to me than Brad and Angelina... I wonder if they are still in HCMC, or if they've already booked out of town on their rumored motorcycle tour.  

Fiat 500 in Vietnam

It's a Fiat 500, and I must declare, it's a very good looking small  car. It doesn't seem to be trying too hard to look chic, like the Mini Cooper does.

According to the security guard / car model, this is being imported by Mekong Autos and will be sold here in 2009 for $40k USD, which is not too bad for this market.

Mekong Auto was one of the first passenger car assemblers here after the Doi Moi era - ten, fifteen years ago the only personal ride in town was their eponymous vehicle, the Mekong, which was sorta like a Jeep Cherokee replica.  I got a lift in once recently, and those Mekongs are rough and ancient, but still running!  

Guess what this is

Not a bad view.

Flat Grey is the New Black

Skunkworks cars these days are going with flat black paint jobs. That
trend hasn't reached Vietnam yet; instead some folks are going with a drab grey, like these two Hyundai Santa Fe's (which sell for $55k USD new!) that are company vehicles for G7 Coffee.

Brutal Beijing Olympics Crackdown

Oh my god, the brutal detainment!  This Reuters clip, courtesy of With Leather.  

 

 I just love it when people complain about "abuses" that they have no inkling of.  I bet you this is the first time they've been to China.  Are places like China, or Vietnam, perfect?  Of course not.  Could the government do a better job with respect to citizens' rights?  Of course it could - but all governments in the world usurp the power of the people.  It's about hitting the right balance.  Vietnam is not there, but neither is the US.

But, living here, that is hardly my concern.  I'm more affected by the economic hardships that I see daily.  The other day there was a Bentley Continental Flying Spur parked on the street - and across the street, a grandmother was laying out newspaper on the sidewalk for a kid about 4 or 5 to take a nap.  But that's not sexy enough for t-shirts and banners.  

Alfa Shopping

This thing was just hanging out inside a shopping center. Some sort of
promo prize, but I couldn't figure out how to enter the contest.

One of the prettiest sub $50k cars in the world, but too bad you can't
buy one in the States.

Vietnam Taxicab Confessions

On a good day, riding in the back of a taxi gives me a chance to practice my Vietnamese.  I am all about the benjamins, so I usually end up asking them about the economics of driving a cab.

A summary of what I've learned:

• cabbies pay for their gas usage (we'll get back to this in a moment)
• damage to the cab is paid out of pocket, unless the driver can prove the other vehicle is at fault - then the taxi company's insurance will pay
• for Mai Linh, one of the bigger operators, the 7-pax (i.e. the Toyota Innova) are driven solely by those with 1 or more years experience with the company - so the small the smaller the cab, the less experienced the driver
• drivers get 12-hour shifts, and can stake out their own territory
• like most jobs here, it's a 6-day a week gig
• pay is a % of the shift take, depending on the taxi company - it is roughly 45% of the till, but some companies institute a sliding scale, from low 40s to low 50s depending on the total per shift, while others require a minimum take per shift
• I've heard minimums ranging from 250k VND to 400k VND per shift
  
• I guess if you don't make the minimum, they fire you
• pretty much all the cabs have sensors in them to recognize an empty backseat - so you can't just jump into a cab when the previous fare exits.  You have to close the door, have the sensors recognize it is empty, and then open up and get it.  Not a big deal until one is hailing a cab in a torrential downpour
• more than 90+% of the cabs have accurate meters; one is more likely to find the 5% of drivers who do not know directions than the small percentage with rigged meters

Recently, in Danang, I grabbed a taxi heading from the resort to the airport.  For a tourist city, it's surprisingly an interminable wait for cabs there.  I was on the phone while trying to load up the luggage, and some dude in French-inflected English walked out of the resort trying to take my cab.

"It's my cab." (back on the phone)

"I called for a cab."

"I called for it first." (close the door and I'm off)

It was funny as heck, moreso because this dude probably gets waited on hand-and-foot throughout his stay in Vietnam.  He seemed flabbergasted that I wouldn't defer to his arse.  Hey, if you were nicer I would've split the airport ride wit' ya.  Whaddaya expect from a New Yorker in Danang?  I ain't giving up my cab, dude.

Back to the gas situation.  With the recent cut in gas subsidies to fight inflation, gas prices have gone up roughly by 1/3rd.  Fares now have gone up by 2k VND per km, so yesterday I ended up paying about 25% more than usual for a 10km roundtrip. 

Some taxi companies haven't instituted price increases as of yet.  Drivers at two taxi companies in the north, Hanoi Taxi and Saigon Star Taxi, within the past week, have gone on strike to protest the lack of fare increases.

I'll probably end up walking a bit more than usual now, which is all together a good thing.      

Vina Miata

Sweet, an M1 Miata. There are more Bentleys, or Ferraris, or Rollers
in the country than this most capable sports car.

Nice Ta-Ta's

So this is Tata Motor's 1-Lakh car, or roughly $2,500 (but buy soon, before the dollar drops some more!).

It's pretty impressive, imho, and looks a bit like the Japan Domestic Market kei-cars, especially the Mitsubishi i-Car.

A lot of commentators on car blogs, such as Autoblog, are blasting it, but it's because they simply do not get Asia and the emerging market. For $2,500, you're getting a car a bit smaller and with less motive force than a Matiz - and the Daewoo is about $10k ($18k in Vietnam due to taxes).

You're talking about people replacing Yamaha Nuovos, Piaggos, Honda @, and other upmarket motorbikes for something that is safer, more useful in weather, more capacious, still relatively thrifty with fuel (50mpg) *and* has lower emissions. I am pretty darn sure it wouldn't meet US emissions controls, but this thing is designed to reduce emissions if you're trading up from domestically (as in India, or Vietnam, or other emerging markets) available motorbikes.

Tata will be too busy satisfying the local market, but someone should import this thing to Vietnam.

Turning Vietnamese

A Brazilian keeper is renouncing his citizenship to apply for a Vietnamese passport, in order to play on the national team. First the WTO, then the Security Council, now Brazilians want to be Vietnamese. These are interesting times..

Here's an F430 on the streets of HCMC. Dang. This was taken by the blogger 'lilmissmeg' at LiveJournal, the now Russian internet company. Found her blog through SaigonNezumi, who commented on some less than savory things she's written about the local populace. I'm more interested in the car than the commentary. So, if you own this thing, give me a lift going 3 kph, will ya?

Managed Traffic

These days major urban centers are implementing things such as a "congestion" tax to manage traffic during the work day. Examples include London, which is attempting to expand its current congestion tax to levy higher rates on 'Chelsea Tractors' (aka SUVs), Bloomberg's plan (recently defeated) to impose a congestion tax in NYC, and Beijing banning cars via a lottery, in preparation for the '08 Olympics.

Here in Hanoi the traffic is pretty bad. But just imagine how bad it could be without the current congestion controls. Within the city delivery trucks, sized more like lorries than American delivery vehicles, are prohibited during the morning and evening rush. The morning rush is between 6am and 8:30am and the evening rush is between 4pm and 8pm. These smaller Hyundai Porter and Suzuki Hi-Jet trucks have a a bit easier time than the bigger delivery trucks, which can only travel the streets from 9-4 and then after 9pm or so. Every bit helps, I guess.

Cleaner Air in Vietnam Coming Soon

Read in the paper today that starting on July 1, 2007, all vehicles will have to meet the Euro II emissions standard. A cynic would say this is still a decade behind Europe - and they would be right - but it's a good step forward nonetheless.

Some manufacturers are speculating that this will add $500-1200 to the price of a car. Increases to motobike prices may be dampen a bit, as new Hondas and the like are already meeting these regs.

With the new Euro II standards, does that mean I can no longer bitch about the pollution while camped out atop my Minsk, sucking the tar out of a Vinataba? Or am I still allowed some ostentatious hypocrisy?

Returning To The Village

"Ve que, nhe?" was the offer and, with a nod towards learning more about our in-laws and the culture, we obviously accepted.

Two days before Tet, the first day most businesses let their employees off and closed down, is our planned departure. We head out mid-morning to "ve que," or return to one's village. This idea is shared by millions of other Hanoians, who consider home somewhere other than this metropolis that's about to take a slumber.

We are conspicuously cramped in a little European sedan, driving through the city to reach the main artery heading south. Buzzing around us are mainly the chariots of choice, Honda motos. You look at other travelers and imagine their stage in life: the entire family going to visit the grandparents; the college kid with a backpack strapped to their person, filled with gifts of alcohol, cigarettes and perhaps dirty laundry for their parents; the grizzled divorcee, with a suitcase bungee corded to the rear rack, or more impressively, clutched by the handle. I envision a lapse in physical stamina 30km into the trip, a loose grip and Johnny Walker Gold being inadvertently dispensed for his deceased homies. Offerings are part of this holiday, he would think, in consolation.
Upon reaching a divided four lane highway, I settle into my discomfort and begin counting down the two hour trip. It's a beautiful day and the constant airing of one's grievances via push button horns begin to meld together and fall into the background. I can handle this for two hours, I think. The respite is short lived, as the road narrows and becomes undivided.

We are outside the city now. The easily traversed highway disappears along with the brick and glass towers that led to their creation. Rice fields and smaller hamlets along the way only support this slim corridor we're on. How soon will the burgeoning middle class, traveling en masse alongside in this hallway, demand that their travels be expedited by the promise of wider roads? Or will the bureaucrats of those same localities obviate these complaints by laying down a ribbon of asphalt-cum-yellow bricks?

The incessant traffic leaves little time to ponder. A motorbike passes on the right. A motorbike passes on the left. They are both oncoming traffic. Don’t worry, this is Vietnam, you’re going the right way. To make better time, we start to play chicken with incoming vehicles on the other lane. Staring down a truck, horns and lights ablaze, bearing down on you is quite an effective remedy for clock watching. I can’t take my eyes off the scenes constantly unfolding through the windshield. If there is doom to be had in such driving techniques, I want to see it happen.


After a long ride filled with latent fear, we make it to the village. It takes about five minutes on packed dirt roads which frame family rice paddy plots to get to the house. Along the way, we nearly squeeze every bicyclist or moto we pass into the flooded crop beds. I wonder if they resent all the village folks who’ve left for the city. I wonder why they don’t know the hand signal for flipping the bird.

Cars and the environment

If you've scanned this blog a bit, you'll quickly realize that I'm a wee bit interested in cars.

This post by Our Man In Hanoi, titled "Four Wheels Bad" piqued my interest. It is also, in part, wrong. Here is the bit:

Well the bikes are the lesser of the evils as far as I can see compared to cars.

While we probably 'agree to disagree' with respect to other parts of the post (industry is the engine of the future and tourism is a nice diversion; a full belly and rubbish on the road is better than hungry cleanliness), and while passenger vehicles may overwhelm the roads, they certainly stress the environment less in comparison to the teeming motos.

How clean are car emissions these days? Well, as one would typically answer a complicated question: "It depends."

Assuming that you chose one of the cleanest (non-hybrid) new passenger vehicle, the emissions output is roughly 1.04 grams* per mile, per this source from Clean Car Campaign. That asterisk is important - it denotes that I am not well versed on this issue. Emissions is a complicated matter, because what's coming out of the tailpipe is a stream of complicated gases. The four general categories are Hydro Carbons (HC), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrous Oxides (NOx), and Particulate Matters (PM). From my limited research, there seems to be genuine debate on which category is the "worse" for the environment - an important debate to resolve because certain current engine technology can reduce one type of emissions while increasing another. Suffice to say, I don't know enough, so my emissions output metric combines all four categories.

So what exactly is one of the cleanest new passenger vehicle? For the more car-minded folks, it would be a SULEV certified car. Or in other words, something as radical as a Toyota Camry 4-cylinder sedan, with an automatic. See EPA numbers here. No need for vehicles with 80 lbs of batteries (which, incidentally, like a Toyota Prius, would be cleaner still).

So how do motorbikes do? Again, the short answer is: "It depends (but it's worse than the Toyota)."

As this 2000 World Bank study of South Asia (nee India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka) (.pdf file) demonstrates, two stroke engines pollute (~ 20 grams/km) much more than four stroke moto engines (~ 15 grams/km), but both would pollute more than SULEV cars. Note also that if one were to convert to grams/mile, the numbers would be ~ 33 grams/mile and ~24 grams/mile respectively. The study also points out that emissions performance would be severely negatively impacted due to poor quality fuels and lack of engine maintenance.

Even with more advanced engine designs, such as those offered in Europe or the U.S., motorcycles and motorbikes pollute more than cars. Here is the text of the new, more stringent EPA standards (.pdf file) for motorcyles and motorbikes, issued Dec. 2003. These new standards are more lax than SULEV passenger vehicles, and there are difficulties experienced by manufacturers in meeting these lower standards.

So in short, how do motorbikes do? 4 strokes are better than 2; 125cc's are better than 50 cc's. The Toyota is much better than all the above.

For those who are shopping, here is a list, offered by DriveClean.ca.gov, from which you can pick out cleaner passenger vehicles - note also that PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) is cleaner than SULEVs, and that there are a bunch of PZEV cars out there.

Top down, chrome spinnin'

When we made the decision a few months back to move clear across the globe in 2007, it was substantial, but it didn't really hit us. It really hasn't hit us; only occasionally do we think that 'hey, we're really gonna do this' in our daily activities, even though we're slowly trying to get things in order. Like the other weekend, we're shopping at Costco and thought, 'should we really buy this big box of foodstuff / case of paper goods / etc.' given our time horizon? I think about the move everyday with respect to work, because I am already handling some bits via correspondence, but overall, the idea of moving doesn't seem real yet.

That is, until I look in the garage.

After a bit of debate, we decided to sell my car. After advertising on Craigslist and showing it over a weekend, the car found a new owner. My car means a lot to me because it's my first car, it's the car I met VA in. Growing up, and going to schools in big cities, meant I didn't have a need for private transportation until I moved to D.C. I liked miata(s) for a good five years prior to buying my own. I didn't even know how to drive a manual, and had to get the dealer to drive me home after buying it!

Pretty soon afterwards, I was doing autocrossing (which turned out to be a bore) and taking it for HPDE events at VIR and Summit Point. It was a great source of enjoyment and amusement for me - it's an easy platform to learn how to wrench - and it provided easy fodder for ridicule amongst family. It may be viewed as a hairdresser's car, but man, what a easy going sports car. I hope the next owner treats you well.

Gettin' Ready for Time Attack!