It’s not so much the individuals that are to blame as the laws that make this kind of thing a “viable solution”.

“None at all” is already the case. In HK most people don’t own cars and wouldn’t have anywhere to park one if they did. Over 90% of trips are with public transport, which is ubiquitous, affordable, efficient and clean. In most areas population density is very high.

You’d still need to find the owner. I don’t think you’d be able to export a car without paperwork. For use in HK you’d need to register it.

Apart from property, buying on credit is definitely not as common in HK as in the US. You can get financing for a car, but the rates aren’t that good. In any case the kind of person who buys a car here typically has enough cash lying around to just buy it outright.

Certainly possible to wrench away in your private parking spot if you’re in a village house. In an apartment complex you’re more likely to get a “cannot” from management.

So true about property. When we first moved to HK we were wondering why many of the apartments looked like crack dens. We soon learned that once you’ve signed the lease, the landlord will arrange for a complete renovation before you move in.

No CoE in HK, which to be honest is a problem. In the past decade there has been significant growth in vehicle numbers, leading to much more congestion. It’s all pretty silly given the fact that HK has one of the most densest, pleasant and efficient public transport systems in the world. Over 90% of trips are made…

They are. However consultants “don’t count” since they are not permanent employees. Loophole when you’re budgeting. :)

a culture that values newness and sees cars as status symbols, and part of that has to do with the fact that, in general, people who can afford cars in Hong Kong tend to be well-off enough to get new ones every couple of years.

The taxis in HK are almost all Toyota Crown Comforts, same as in Tokyo. While the model itself is old, they’re still being made. I rode in a brand new one as late as yesterday.

While Hong Kong is part of the People’s Republic of China, for most practical purposes HK is a separate entity. There are border controls between HK and the Mainland just as between two different countries.

The further north you go in Sweden, the more “Finnish” the character of the locals. :)

You should say neither. ;)

Pulse-jet! Awesome! That’s old school! I’m guessing he had to get it up to speed before starting the jet?

The all-encompassing bidding systems so pervasive in the US are less common, or at least less important, in the rest of the world. The narrowbody to widebody divide is much less apparent

CPL can indeed be done for less. However if you include travel and accommodation costs for those of us who don’t have affordable training in our home countries, the equation changes. Either way it isn’t a cheap endeavour

Don’t believe the hype about that accident. The pilots put the plane in an untenable low energy situation close to the ground. The outcome was inevitable regardless of type. They definitely did not do a proper job

Certainly this is an one option. However the major energy expenditure for an orbital launcher is accelerating to orbital speed, not getting up to orbital altitude. A subsonic aircraft only does 500knots or so. Not that big a dent in the grand scheme of things.

Very country dependent. The 1500 hour rule is a US thing. I was hired by a major airline with a CPL and 275 hours.

Fair dinkum. Then again if you take reasonable precautions to avoid the “piss everywhere” you shouldn’t contract anything nasty.