All vehicles, from cars to airplanes, are composed of a series of individual, interrelated parts, each performing a specific job. If any one component fails to perform for whatever reasons, the overall system can fail.

“We manufacture them using 99.99 percent pure lead. The raw materials are produced by Yangon Metal Industry Co Ltd, which is the only large-scale private supplier of purified lead in the Myanmar market and also the sister company of Proven Technology Industry Co Ltd,”

Myanmar has more than one million motor vehicles of which 68 percent are motorcycles, according to the March 2008 figure of Road Transport Administra-tion Department.

“The majority of taxi drivers and public bus drivers have been accustomed to using the brands Mollar and Trane, from Thailand, for a long time. Among the lubricants imported from Thailand, they are the most well-known and sell briskly in the market as their retail prices are within the reach of middle-class car users,”

“The Sunny Super Saloon is now about 220-230 lakh (K22 million; about $19,500). Four months ago it was more than 300 lakh (about $26,800),” he said. “The 1988 Corolla has also fallen in price, from 425 lakh (about $38,000) to 320 lakh (about $28,600).”

“Sunny pickups are easy to manoeuvre and the turning circle is really good in a Sunny pickup and this makes it easy for women to drive. There are downsides though – the iron body is thin and they often need to be brought into the workshop for repairs to the car body,”

A man came out from the car and shouted: “How could you do that to me?” I was too shocked to respond, so he continued: “The traffic police will arrive in a minute and everything will get worse.”

He said Chinese tyres were the popular choice for his customers, who would pay from K20,000 to K300,000 depending on quality and size. The price of a comparable Thai-made tyre varied from K40,000 to K350,000, he added.

“Some owners change the wheels to aluminum and zinc alloy, others seal the roofing to put in an air conditioner. Another popular thing is to put in some woofers, and have roof racks on top of the vehicle – not really for luggage but just for aesthetics,"

“Last year, a BMW was severely damaged in a collision. We restored it to its original condition, including the body paint, within half month. Nobody can notice that it had been severely damaged in the accident,”

“It doesn’t matter if your car is new or old, anybody can deck out their car with all kinds of audio equipment. If you use top brands for the whole car, it can cost up to K5 million while at the cheaper end, it can be done for about K50,000,”

“This sticker has a personal meaning. It symbolises the friendship between me and my two best friends. The three of us pasted this sticker on our car’s back window as a kind of a signal, so we can spot each other easily,”

“We always make sure to explain to car owners who have converted their vehicle to CNG the importance of regular maintenance. While some drivers do return to service their vehicle, some simply neglect to do so. We urge them to regularly service their CNG vehicle,”