Wow. Just wow.

Okay - 1) that is one ugly car...I have to hunt that person down and give him or her a slap! 2) It just makes me want to hurl!!

I have been flying back and forth to Singapore for the last year. So, here is a quick explanation why the plates and cost of owning a car is expensive as hell.
The Singapore Government implemented a BID system.

1) Before buying a car, you have to put in a BID for Certificate of Entitlement (COE) for a vehicle that will last for 10 yrs. The minimum bid for a COE is SD$1000. If you win a COE it is non-refundable...oh, by the way it is Bank Check or Direct Deposit.
2) The catch when you win the COE? You pay the lowest amount...if your lucky, it will only cost you $5000.
3) Then you try to buy a car...ALL vehicles imported into SG are slapped with customs duty around 41%, then the Registration Fee I believe around $1K..
4) Then here is the kicker - there is something called the ARF (Additional Registration Fee) of hooollllldddd on to your stomachs...150% of the cars open market value...seriously that is not a typo...it's 1 5 0 percent.
5) This does not count the road tax.
In conclusion...you have to pay annual registration fee, import duty, road tax, registration fee and plate. A friend of mine that lives in SG has a BMW 328, do you know how much it cost him to have that car? around SD$240,000

Now are you lucky to just go to a dealership, pick out a car, pay for it and then drive off on the same day?

Because the lowest bid at that time for the plate was $100,000

That system is crazy. I have just checked the exchange rate and a SG$ is £0.50.

That means that your friend paid around 5x more his 328 than it would cost over here!