In my entire life of living (more than 30 full years of them) I have owned two cars, one a basic Proton Iswara 1.3 (manual) model, and a Proton Wira 1.5GL (auto). Both cars served me well. They does the job well. 4 wheels, roof over my head (although the Iswara has already developed holes by the time I sold it), air-conditioned (always spoilt), and it gets me from point A to point B. No complains on that.
But Proton, being a Proton that we all know, has never really “grown up”. I liken this to a baby, suckling from his mother from birth, right up till he has come of age, when he can do things on his own and earn a living independently from his mother. Imagine, a 20-year-old baby still suckling from his mother?! His younger brother Perodua has already matured by leaps and bounds and has recently overtaken Proton to become to number 1 car maker since the year 2006!
Is that standard accessory with the Proton?
The very existence of this Proton raised serious doubts, especially seeing that 2 decades on, the very purpose of the national car project got seriously derailed. If I know my history well enough, the reason Dr M created the project was to enrich the lives of the rakyat, to raise the living standard of the rural kampungs, and to spur Malaysia’s economy into the 21st century. It succeed, in the first decade or so. It went on to capture a hefty 73% of the passenger car market in 1988! But in retrospect, Proton existed nowadays to benefit the select few who are holding top position in the Malaysian government. The higher taxes imposed on foreign cars (up to 150% in taxes!) and the AP system meant that a few people at the top are getting fatter by the minute! The government is also not making good on their promise to abolish the AP by December 2010. WTF??!!!
As recent as last month, I’ve heard news that the government is sponsoring RM5000 for those who wishes to scrap their old (more than 10 years) cars, …… to buy another Proton! What a rip off! They are just forcing us to repeat the cycle again!
Well, not all are bad. Sometimes driving a Proton is good because:
- You just don’t need to care about how you drive your car. It’s already in such a lousy condition, nothing else can make it worse! Wait, is that a pothole on the ground? Let’s drive over it!
- You drive a Proton, so you can appreciate a good car when you drive one. You have power window in your Toyota? You are so blessed!
- It’s dirt cheap to maintain ……. with all the Taiwan imitation spare parts around. Ah Beng exhaust pipe anyone?
Oh wait, they are all bad points, aren’t they? My bad! 😛
I read with amusement one particular forumer who had this to say:
I owned proton for the earlier half of my life, from the 87s saga, knight aeroback, wira, waja and perdana.
I admit I am patriotic or simply plain stupid then and spent decades in repaying loan.
None of the rides makes me proud.I would not want to touch a proton again even if they come out with proton 911 based on porsche at 50K!!
From my years of experience, people buy proton only because they have no choice.
Yes, proton might have improve but I am not getting younger.
If one is lucky, he might have a chance to own 10 cars in his lifetime (5years loan X 10 cars = 50years)
Enough is enough.A lifetime of proton is pathetic and I will die a miserable man with regrets.
I’d rather buy a honda city/toyota vios and die a happy man.
(original post here)
That guy has pretty much summed it all up for me. Let’s cheer it for Proton!
Hey, these guys has come up with an MPV! Let’s see what they can do with them.