The article posted by Shamsuddin B Jaafar in his posting Proton vs Malay in his blog Life's Remain somehow triggered my interest to share my personal point of view regarding this so-called the latest model coming out from Proton's oven. Moment pictures of the Proton Inspira were published publicly, I sat back and wonders what improvements have Proton made since its establishment in 1983 being the pioneer in National car maker. From the Saga down to the Persona, I can't seem to see what sort of improvements they have actually realized. I wonder, whether Proton is being over-protected or what that makes it difficult to compete amidst other brands in the market? Up till when are we going to rely on one particular models to sustain the survival of this National's bundle of joy? Proton has been relying too much on their best selling models like the Wira (thank God they have phased out the models and replaced it with Persona) and Waja (about to be changed with the Proton Lancer Inspira) but where is our identity?
Back in 1996 Proton acquired Lotus, a well-known brand amongst roadster lovers all over the world but then only I knew that the company was in a bad shape and about to shut down their business hence resulted with the acquisition. At first I was proud to see that finally a local product like Proton is heading towards its hall of fame by acquiring a well-known sports car brand and they pro-claimed that they have actually tuned the suspensions of their cars with the Lotus touched and it can be seen inside the Satria GTi, the first sports hatchback produced by Proton to use Lotus handling technology. However moments they claimed that Gen-2, Persona, Satria Neo and Saga are also using the same technology. In my personal point of view, by doing this, it makes world's brand no longer exclusive nor unique. If it is for a sports hatchback like the Satria Neo then it is one of the unique character of the car, for its capability in road handling. Other models like Persona, Saga etc, these models must have at least one or two character that makes it special for one to have it. I mean something that can be shouted as a core selling point for the models.
When Volkswagen AG came into the picture stating their interest to joint venture with Proton some 10 years back, I was not hoping of a Proton Perdana in a Phaeton shell nor a Proton Gen2 in a Golf shell but a rebranded version of Proton. What Volkswagen AG offered was they wanted to be a major shareholder in Proton, which on the brighter side I saw an extreme improvement on the quality of Proton cars as Germans are very particular over the total built quality of their products. But well, as usual, typical Malaysian's they said that we are going to lose the identity of our national cars, it is a form of imperialism and gone are the Malaysia Boleh spirit. Well, Volkswagen AG had proven to the world that they are capable in bringing the utmost sinking brand back on its track, they acquired Skoda; a Czechoslovakian car manufacturer and within a year or two the sinking brand made a dramatic come back with all new design and engineering derived from Volkswagen AG. The brand remained and the republic's national car status also remained but their popularity increased worldwide. I can see a tremendous improvement by having Volkswagen AG on board with Proton but however, due to the inferiority complex that we are losing our identity the dealing discussion was called off.
"........the protection did not teach Proton to be competitive. The protection taught Proton how to fish in an isolated serene pond, but not when the pond was open to the public. Proton does not know how to deal with the crowd pushing and shoving for the best spot, and found that the other fishermen have more info on the fishes and the environment of the pond than it did, despite "being there first"." (http://sbjaafar.blogspot.com/2010/10/proton-and-malays.html?spref=fb) From the point given by the blogger, I shared the same thought like him. Proton feels that they are the best amongst the best in the market by shouting that they have Lotus suspension, tough shell (errr that tough???) and improved quality (too good to be true). By having this kind of impression, Proton is and will never be able to compete or stand align with other car makers. The highest quality Proton is not sold in Malaysia but at the oversea markets hence giving Malaysians a second class treatment by giving cars that are not up to the Euro standards, I strongly disagree with this as we as the producer of this car, we are the one who should be given the first class cars; but again, cost is very high (typical excuses) hence we can only make do with the available specs given. Haaihhhh....
Wonder when will Proton wake up from its long dreams???
-Fadhil Zhafri-
TTDI Jaya
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