Now, the city-state of Singapore may be well known for its ban on chewing gum and its consequently clean streets, but maintaining environmental standards involves a lot more than just keeping up appearances.
For anyone who wants to drive a car, it can be very expensive.
Liz Neisloss explains now how Singapore's motorists pay for their driving pleasure.
A car contest in Singapore -- days in the hot sun, but the last one standing with their hand still on, drives away with the new car.
You could say it's worth it. Singapore is one of if not the most expensive place in the world to buy a car. Why?
The government tries to price them out of reach to limit the number of cars in this small crowded urban country.
Before you even buy a car in Singapore, you have to pay for what's called a certificate of entitlement. Each month, the government puts a limited number up for bidding.
Add in a hefty import tax and a registration fee, and your total? As much as eight times the base car price.
So, for example, a China-made really small hatchback would be... in Singapore, would be equivalent to like a Porsche Boxster in America.
This is Cheryl Tay's car. She's a writer specializing in cars and motorsports.
I think it's the mindset. It's all about, like, you know when one of the first few questions I get asked is "What kind of car do you drive? " or "Do you have..."
Now it's no longer "Do you have a car?" but rather it's "What car do you drive?"
While Singaporeans may be car focused, many can't afford cars.
But in this small, increasingly affluent country, there's enough demand to keep the bidding for those required government certificates high.
The recent certificate price broke a record at more than US$63,000 for a small car.
Marcus Lim can afford several cars. He says family is why most Singaporeans want cars.
In Singapore, as the saying goes, a parent is slave to your child. So for me, I'm slave to my family.
I want to make sure that they have the convenience of having transportation at any point of time they would require that.
And why not make that prize possession the showpiece of your home? In Singapore, you can live with your car, literally.
In this condo, the car parks itself right in your flat, perfect for that sports car with a massive Singapore price tag.
I think Singaporeans generally love cars. So, people are still willing to splurge on beautiful sports cars.
Oh, no! It doesn't seem that the traffic's improving. In fact it's getting worse. We're just running out of road.
Make way for another car. Seventy-eight hours after the contest begins, one man has hung in for the free car. Well, not exactly free.
He'll still have to pay the taxes and for that pricey government certificate. More than this car alone would likely cost in any other part of the world.