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Articles by Edric Pan
Reassessing dishonesty and proportionality in statutory wrongful dismissal: Lessons from JGP v JGQ
Employers must justify dismissal itself, not just misconduct, Singapore tribunal suggests in medical claims case 1. Background and facts Following the judiciary's move to publish selected Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) decisions, JGP v JGQ [2026] SGECT 1 is the first to be accompanied by written grounds.
Bentley to launch its first pure-electric car in September
Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser sees scope to further tap the top-end sports and supercar segments. CREWE, England – The future looks green for Bentley. Well, greenish at least. By end-September, it will launch its first pure-electric production car, a new model entirely distinct from its existing Continental and Bentayga lines, both of which will remain hybrid petrol-powered for the foreseeable future.
Singapore hurdler Kerstin Ong and her BMW X2 SUV
SINGAPORE – Given national hurdler Kerstin Ong’s association with speed, you would expect her choice of wheels to be similarly racy – a low-slung coupe or perhaps a two-seat roadster. However, Singapore’s 100m hurdles record-holder gets around in something more posh and sensible – a BMW X2 sport utility vehicle (SUV). A little-known fact is that the 28-year-old grew up around cars.
Me And My Car: Technopreneur and his expensive passion project - Audi’s V10 wagon
SINGAPORE – I am not familiar with the sartorial preferences of Mr Brian Tan, 43, but I am certain that whatever trousers he wears must come with deep pockets. Mr Tan is a former wealth manager who co-founded a successful kids’ tech start-up, myFirst, seven years ago. It develops and sells devices, such as cameras, phones, tablets and 3D pens, to safely introduce young children to the universe of electronics and connectivity. And the basis of my deduction about the depth of his pockets?
Flexible Work Arrangements - Next Steps For Employers
The recently announced Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements Requests (Guidelines) require employers to, as far as reasonably practicable, consider employees' formal requests for flexible work arrangements (FWA) from 1 December 2024 (Effective Date). The three types of FWAs that can be requested are (i) flexible place of work, (ii) flexible working hours (with no change in total working hours and workload) and (iii) flexible workloads.
Lexus RX shines like a polished diamond
The fifth-generation full-size sport utility vehicle offers a huge dose of driving fun too SANTA BARBARA, California - The Lexus RX has always been the gentleman's crossover - an urbane, high-riding luxury car which prioritises comfort, ease of use and unparalleled refinement, rather than a sport utility vehicle with off-road pretensions. And that has not changed with the latest fifth-generation RX. The new car is unmistakably an RX at a glance, albeit with its looks deftly tweaked.
Car review: Lexus RX now a polished diamond
SANTA BARBARA, California – The Lexus RX has always been the gentleman’s crossover – an urbane, high-riding luxury car which prioritises comfort, ease of use and unparalleled refinement, rather than a sport utility vehicle with off-road pretensions. And that has not changed with the latest fifth-generation RX. The new car is unmistakably an RX at a glance, albeit with its looks deftly tweaked.
Me And My Car: Mountaineer's French fling with 35-year-old 205 CTI
SINGAPORE - In June 2021,when the world was in the grips of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr David Lim decided it would be a good time to buy a car. Not just any car, but a classic car which he would have to source from abroad. Already a subscriber?
Car review: Maserati Grecale is a wind-swept winner
MILAN - Maserati's new sport utility vehicle (SUV), the Grecale, is named after a Mediterranean wind. Clearly, Maserati hopes the car goes like the proverbial wind as well, because within the range-topping version of the Grecale beats the heart of a supercar.
Toyota GR Yaris review: All-time great?
No one with even a passing interest in cars would be unaware of Toyota’s new GR Yaris. It must be one of the most highly-anticipated arrivals in recent memory, with rave online and YouTube reviews long preceding its launch in Singapore. Does it justify the hype, then? The shopping-trolley Yaris hatchback seems an unlikely base from which to create a world-beating hot hatch. But the changes wrought are so extensive that the GR may as well be a standalone model.
Petrolhead plugs in
Lawyer Patrick Yeo has spent most of his life burning petrol. The 51-year-old has been through many interesting and often sporty rides. There are too many to list here, but he counts among his favourites a 2000 Honda Civic SiR, a 2003 Volvo V40 T4, a 2003 Lexus GS300, a 2006 Subaru STI, a 2007 Nissan 350Z Nismo and a 2008 BMW 335i Coupe. Perhaps by way of penance, his latest ride emits not a gram of hydrocarbon on the move.
Natural born thriller
When it comes to road cars, the words "Mercedes-Benz" and "thrilling" rarely appear together. But the new CLA 45S is not your usual Merc. In fact, it probably has more in common dynamically with the Mercedes-Benz which Lewis Hamilton drives every other Sunday than with an S-class.
Zippy, zappy boys
Slowly but surely, electric vehicles (EVs) are populating Singapore's roads. Their presence is welcome as their benefits include zero local emissions, low noise pollution, lower operating costs and higher reliability because they have simpler powertrains. Here, we compare two cars which bookend the electric sport utility vehicle (e-SUV) spectrum - the Jaguar I-Pace (the reigning Straits Times Car of the Year) and, from the brand that is synonymous with EVs, the Tesla Model X.
Car review: Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla Model X are two powerful crossovers
SINGAPORE - Slowly but surely, electric vehicles (EVs) are populating our roads. Their presence is welcome as their benefits include zero local emissions, low noise pollution, lower operating costs and higher reliability because they have simpler powertrains. Here, we compare two cars which bookend the e-SUV spectrum - the Jaguar I-Pace (the reigning Straits Times Car of the Year) and, from the brand that is synonymous with EVs, the Tesla Model X.
Treasure hunter
In the summer of 2018, Englishman Paul Mitchell was at his home just outside of London, planning a round-the-world trip to celebrate his upcoming 40th birthday. He started surfing travel websites leisurely, but ended up on Google Maps frantically trying to locate a particular carpark in Singapore. Something had caught his eye on a travel blog.
Restoring a rustbucket
A broomstick may be an odd thing to find in a car's boot, but there is a good reason why Steven Chia, the affable host of current affairs TV programme Talking Point, carries one around. The steering column-mounted gearshift on his trusty 1971 Mercedes 200 sometimes gets jammed in second gear. The solution, as Chia has discovered in his 17 years as the car's owner, is to lift the bonnet and prod the gear linkage with a stick to set it free.
Beetle nut
Video game developer Cash Ong spends his days creating mobile entertainment for others. But in his own time, he finds joy in something a lot more tangible - a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle which he has owned since 1999. It is the 47-year-old's second Beetle. He had a 1961 Baja Beetle - a version made for offroad use - when he was studying in Australia in the mid-1990s. That car was "a rust-bucket" which he and his then-girlfriend (now wife) spent more time restoring than driving.
Grand plans
Is BMW messing with people's minds? The German marque now has three completely different model lines, all bafflingly called 2-series. The rear-wheel-driven 2-series two-door coupe and front-wheel-driven 2-series Active Tourer/Gran Tourer people movers we already know, but there is now the car you see here - the 2-series Gran Coupe. The latest, a four-door sedan, which goes head on with Mercedes' CLA saloon, is based on the latest 1-series hatch.
Attention to detail
Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo, I suspect, had a hand in designing the fourth-generation Mazda 3. So obsessively clean and minimalist is the styling, inside and out, that some fanatical decluttering has obviously taken place. In fact, as the car's chief designer Yasutake Tsuchida told us at the South-east Asian preview here last week, "beauty through subtraction" was the watchword.
Eighth time's a charm
While the eighth-generation Porsche 911, known internally as the 992, may seem barely distinguishable at first glance from its seventh-generation predecessor, a closer look reveals quite a few significant changes. The fenders are more muscular, with the front pair slightly flared to conceal a front track that is 45mm wider than before. And at the back, all models in the range now sport the widebody rear (and wider rear track), which was previously reserved for the all-wheel-drive and GT versions.
Car fan's spicy Korean drive
At first glance, Paul Goh's shiny black Hyundai may pass off as an ordinary i30 hatchback. But do not be deceived. Visual clues such as subtle red piping on the front splitter and rear diffuser, 18-inch rims and lowered suspension are hints that this is not a 1.4-litre i30, but is instead its recently launched high-performance sibling, the turbocharged 2-litre 247bhp i30N, which is retailing for about $146,000.
Haute hatch
Hot hatches are back in fashion and Mercedes-Benz clearly wants a piece of the action. Its previous foray into this field - the AMG A45 from the previous-model A-class range - was wide off the mark, being too extreme (with 381bhp and rock-hard suspension) and too expensive (at close to $300,000), to be on the radar of someone considering, say, a VW Golf GTI or even a Golf R. The new A-class line-up therefore features an AMG A35, to slot in just below the yet-to-be-unveiled A45.
Spacious and cushy ride
As night follows day, so B follows A. Hot on the heels of the all-new A-class which Mercedes-Benz unveiled earlier this year is, predictably, an all-new B-class. The new iteration of Mercedes' five-seater mini-MPV looks like an A-class hatch that has ballooned in all directions. Still, it is sleeker than its utilitarian-looking predecessor, thanks to a 4mm lower roofline, a 26mm addition to body length and a wheelbase stretched by 30mm.
Porsche goes electric with Taycan
Everyone bends to the winds of change and most of the big car makers now feature, or will soon have, fully electric models. With increasing frequency, press releases are speaking of battery capacity instead of engine capacity, and of charging speeds and driving range instead of top speed and cylinder count. Even Porsche, the world's biggest sports-car maker, is not immune to the eco-conscious sentiment and legislation sweeping the industry.
Italian lover
Anyone asked to guess Jan Ralph's nationality from his car collection would probably say Italian. Not surprising, as his driveway is occupied by a 1989 Ferrari Testarossa, 1974 Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 and a Maserati Gran Cabrio. But despite his affinity with Italian cars, Mr Ralph is British.
Mummy in a hurry
Many people shun hand-me-downs, but one that Ms Pearl Teo does not mind at all is her trusty blue 2013 BMW M5. The sedan belonged to her husband, Mr Lim I-An, a lawyer in private practice and a hardcore car enthusiast. At the time, he chose the M5 for its rare combination of thundering performance and four-door comfort and practicality.
More than just a pretty face
The fourth-generation model looks like a grown-up version of its Kona sibling, with the same slim, high-set headlamps, supplemented by large combination lamps set into the extremities of the bumper. The prominent "Cascading Grille", as Hyundai calls it, sports a distinctive three-dimensional honeycomb design. The wheel arches now bulge purposefully and a crisp shoulder-level crease runs from nose to tail and continues into the tail lamp.
Dynamism without the visual drama
The Porsche 911 GT3 Touring boasts all of the regular 911 GT3's hardware, including its hand-built 4-litre flat-6 engine which revs to 9,000rpm, lowered and firmed-up suspension, all-wheel-steering, wider rear track and lightweight chassis and body components. But it comes without the GT3's most obvious identifying feature, a tall rear wing, so the Touring preserves the 911's classic slant-back silhouette and could easily pass for a base Carrera at first glance.
Lord of the Ring
In the invite to the press drive of Porsche's latest 911 GT3 RS, there was the thrilling promise - "test drive at the Nurburgring". Driving the legendary, fearsome 20.8km Northern Loop (Nordschleife) of the Nurburgring racetrack probably features on every petrolhead's bucket list and, to do it in the new GT3 RS no less, I thought Christmas had come early.
Quick lime
When a carmaker launches its latest model in as eye-popping a colour as lime green, you can bet that the car is a stunner. And so it proves with Aston Martin's new Vantage. If the looks are a bit familiar, it is probably because the one-off Aston DB10 that Daniel Craig drove into Italy's Tiber River in the 2014 Bond film, Spectre, was based on the Vantage prototype which was then still in its early development stages.
Lighter heavyweight
Bentley's sport utility vehicle (SUV), the Bentayga, is a big car with a small model range. Buyers so far have had only two choices - the flagship 600bhp 6-litre W12 or the more eco-friendly 429bhp 4-litre V8 diesel. With the introduction of a downsized V8 petrol engine, there is one more option.
Papa's Porsche , Motoring News & Top Stories - The Straits Times
One memorable day in May 1990, Mr Leonard McCully drove home a new Porsche 944 Turbo. Twenty-seven years later, the car is still in the family, an heirloom of sorts. The retired senior Singapore Airlines captain Leonard McCully, 73, passed the sports car over to his second son, Mr Alvin McCully, two years ago.
The luxe ride of a Bond villain, Motoring News & Top Stories - The Straits Times
Readers of a certain vintage book series may recall the burly manservant to the titular villain in the 1964 Bond film, Goldfinger. Apart from displaying surreal strength (he could crush a golf ball with his hand) and occasionally tossing his lethal steel-rimmed bowler hat at people, Oddjob also spent part of the movie driving his boss, the bullion-obsessed Auric Goldfinger, through the Swiss Alps, with 007 (actor Sean Connery) in pursuit.
Stinger missile, Lifestyle News & Top Stories - The Straits Times
To boldly go where no Kia has gone before. That is the mission of the Stinger, Kia's first sports saloon. Ambitiously, Kia has BMW in its sights, which is why the Stinger is rear-driven like most BMWs. But the Stinger is no BMW clone. Sitting low and wide, it has a feral face backed by old-school muscle-car proportions - a long bonnet, short front overhang, broad rear haunches, a fastback tail and a distinct cab-backwards stance.
Uber racer, Motoring News & Top Stories - The Straits Times
On most days, Mr James Ling plies the streets in a comfortable, fuelefficient Honda Shuttle Hybrid as an Uber driver. But once in a while, the 51-year-old straps himself into something quite different - a Proton Satria Neo race car, which he and two friends have co-owned since 2014. His involvement in motorsports stretches way back.
Million heir, Motoring News & Top Stories - The Straits Times
The dramatic vistas and vast, brooding landscape of western Scotland are breathtaking, no matter how many times you have visited. But early this week, the tranquility of this remote, windswept region was punctuated by the wail of flat-six engines as a convoy of Porsche 911s, old and new, howled through. The fleet of 27 911s was led by a special car - the one-millionth example of Porsche's rear-engined icon, fresh off the production line in Zuffenhausen, in Stuttgart, Germany.
DB11 close to perfect 10, Motoring News & Top Stories - The Straits Times
Among sportscar marques, Aston Martin has always been the low-key one, the discerning rather than the showy choice. But the same cannot be said of the new DB11. I have been reviewing cars for more than 20 years and I have not driven a vehicle that has attracted so many stares. Even as I snarled away from the Wearnes showroom in Leng Kee Road, an over-enthusiastic fan chased me on foot, no doubt trying to get that precious shot for his car-spotting blog.
Bull run, Motoring News & Top Stories - The Straits Times
Just over 50 years ago, an Italian company better known then for building tractors than cars stunned the world with a radical racer. Named after Spain's most renowned fighting-bull breeder, the Miura, Lamborghini's first attempt at a sportscar, was launched to an awe-struck world in 1966 and rocked the establishment. One of the earliest creations of design maestro Marcello Gandini, the Miura was extraordinary - unbelievably lithe and low, and using a hitherto unheard-of layout for a road car.
Old Five keeps legal eagle on high, Motoring News & Top Stories - The Straits Times
Long-time friends of Leslie Tham would be familiar with his pristine 1991 BMW 520i. The car has been the legal counsel's pride and joy since he bought it in 2001. Mr Tham, 44, had his heart set on this third-generation of the BMW 5-series (known as the E34) as it was a model he had always admired. It did not help that when he was studying in the United Kingdom, a neighbour owned a gorgeous blue E34 M5. "I salivated over the car every day as I walked by," he says.
A tech geek's dream car, Motoring News & Top Stories - The Straits Times
BMW may well have unearthed a new target audience for the brand - the geek market. Its latest 5-series, the seventh generation of the marque's longest-running model line, is so packed with electronic technology that you wonder if it needs its own substation to power it. It has the now-familiar driver aids such as lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, collision warnings and active cruise control. Essentially, it can drive you down the motorway on its own.
WRX built to race
Two decades ago, Mr Tan Wah Kum was an avid racer of radio-controlled scale-model cars. He enjoyed tinkering with the suspension and engines, and revelled in the thrill of competing against fellow enthusiasts. He was so good at his craft that he even participated in international radio- controlled-car races in Malaysia. These days, the mild-mannered 44-year-old civil servant races a full-scale car - his trusty blue Subaru WRX.
The Straits Times
Ferrari has released a Handling Speciale (HS) package for its California T. This package, Ferrari is quick to emphasise, is not a new model variant. Rather, it is an optional add-on, for those who prefer their California T with a harder edge. As with the HS package on the pre-facelift California, the suspension is firmed up, with 16 per cent stiffer springs in front and 19 per cent stiffer ones at the rear. Its magnetic dampers are retuned as well.
Porsche's Boxster gets engine boost
Porsche is marking the 20th anniversary of its hugely popular Boxster with a comprehensive mid-term update of the roadster, naming it the 718 Boxster. That prefix pays homage to the mid-engined 718 sports car which won Porsche many trophies in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Therein lies a clue to the biggest change in the revised Boxster. Like the old 718, it is now powered by a four-cylinder Boxer engine instead of the six-pot that has driven every Boxster to date. Engine size is reduced too.
The Straits Times
Porsche is marking the 20th anniversary of its hugely popular Boxster with a comprehensive mid-term update of the roadster, naming it the 718 Boxster. That prefix pays homage to the mid-engined 718 sports car which won Porsche many trophies in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Therein lies a clue to the biggest change in the revised Boxster. Like the old 718, it is now powered by a four-cylinder Boxer engine instead of the six-pot that has driven every Boxster to date. Engine size is reduced too.
Porsche's Cayman GT4 is a brute that shows no respect to 911 big brother
The earth has moved at Porsche. For the first time ever, there is a model in its entry-level range which outpunches its standard flag-bearing 911. Enter the new Cayman GT4, the most focused and hardcore Cayman of all. While every Cayman model to date has had its output reined in so that it remained in the shadow of the iconic 911, the GT4 has no such qualms about stepping on its big brother's toes. It swipes the 3.8-litre flat-six from the 911 Carrera S.
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