Over the past two decades, Singaporeans, on average, have become much more affluent. Even with higher prices of certificates of entitlement and parking, car ownership has constantly been on the rise among Singaporeans.

Since Singaporeans now have much higher purchasing power, it is no surprise that taste and preferences have shifted from the small cars of the past to the bigger cars that are now available on the market ("The big squeeze"; Oct 30).

Other reasons for getting bigger cars are bigger families and the desire for more comfort for passengers.

In short, Singaporeans want to use their increased purchasing power to increase their material standard of living.

Even so, it is not the practical decision to build more parking spaces in Singapore, which is already starved for land space.

Increasing parking spaces just to accommodate larger cars is a decision that is not just unwise, but is also likely to lead to negative responses if implemented.

The majority of Singaporeans still use the public transport system as their main mode of transport. Thus, increasing the size of parking spaces will not benefit most Singaporeans.

If implemented, it will not be long before there will be a call to widen roads to accommodate these larger cars.

What should be done is for consumers to take into account that Singapore's infrastructure may not be the most ideal for large cars, and scale down their wants accordingly.

Once they buy larger cars, consumers have to be prepared to face the consequences and difficulties of utilising such a car in land-scarce Singapore.

Regardless of the eventual course of action, one must realise the limitations Singapore faces and that getting large cars and not face any trouble while using them can be possible only in countries such as the United States, which has a wealth of space.

Poh Sze Hui (Ms)