Malaysian has always a top fan of automotive industry. Lately, one of most preferred car model, Proton Satria Neo has never been popular with the winning in the rally cup last time. It’s now our time to see the Malaysia modified Proton Satria Neo, the really sporty looking compact Malaysian car, good in performance, handling, and CPS engine.
Here we share with you all 2 good idea to customize your Proton Satria Neo:
Proton Satria Neo S2000 is somehow a good example on how you can customize the car. Although the real Satria Neo S2000 will cost almost RM1 million, for you as Proton Satria Neo owners, customization to bodykit, RIMs, and accessories should cost you only a little. Take it as a good example to mod and tweak your car. Proton Satria Neo S2000 looks fatter that the normal model after the effect of bodykit customization. However, the interior Proton Satria Neo S2000 has been already tweaked for rally purpose, which does not good for your custom modification idea.
Proton Satria Neo R3 is another alternative to customize your car to be looking different, yet simple and not-harsh looking modification. The R3 model is looking more stylish and better in term of luxury-looking while remaining the sporty look of the car. Dark or chrome RIMs may suit the car, with fully bodykit and skirting around the car. The Proton Satria Neo R3 looks more fury, isn’t it?
Analysts positive on Proton's hybrid car plan Malaysia Star PETALING JAYA: Proton Holdings Bhd's decision to embark on a mass production for hybrid cars is being met with a positive response from ... Hybrid cars , anyone? Malaysia Star all 2 news articles »
Proton Exora, Malaysian first MPV will be launched in Thailand market starting from next week. Read the full news from Bernama below.
BANGKOK, – With over 7,000 of its cars already on the road, Proton is set to launch its maiden multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) Exora in the Thai market at the Thailand International Motor Expo next week.
Based on initial feedback from the media and industry experts, Phranakorn Auto Sales general manager (operations) Apichart Wangsatorntanakhun said they were expecting a good response from Thai buyers.
“We took more than a dozen journalists to test the Exora in Malaysia. Exora received excellent reviews from the media, as well as those who came for discussion with us and saw the car at our showroom,” he said in an interview here.
The Nation daily, in its review Friday said that Exora, with good handling and ride balance for its class, combined with versatile interior, was a good value as a family-mover against the smaller Toyota Avanza and the pricey Honda Freed.
Proton made its entry into the Japanese manufacturers-dominated Thai market at the end of 2007 to take advantage of the low five per cent import duty imposed under the Asean Free Trade Area agreement. Phranakorn was appointed as its official distributor.
According to Apichart, Exora’s competitive pricing matched with quality, interior design and various accessories like leather seats and DVD player would enable it to compete with other MPVs in the market.
“It’s value for money…it’s similar to what Japanese manufacturers have been doing and is their secret for success. But now, their cars are a bit over priced,” he said, adding that Honda Freed launched here two weeks ago was priced at between 894,000 Baht and 1,074,500 Baht (RM1 = 10 Baht).
Apichart said the 1.6-litre engine with five-speed manual or four-speed automatic Exora in five colours would hit the market in the price range between 699,000 Baht to 799,000 Baht.
Launched on April 15 in Malaysia, the Exora model has received 26,000 bookings todate, and 17,000 units were already registered in the domestic market there, as well as making its debut in Indonesia and Singapore.
Apichart said since its entry into the highly-competive market, Proton had sold more than 7,000 cars, with the top model being Savvy.
Asked on Phranakorn’s sales target for Exora, Apichart said they had set a high target but declined to reveal.
“Overall, we hope to get about 900 bookings for all our models during the motor show.
“In fact, we are giving free insurance and free leather seats for Savvy buyers,” he said.
Last year, Proton, which has 35 dealers nationwide, received 863 bookings during the popular expo attended by more than 1.5 million people. There were 14,000 orders.
Other Proton models available here are Neo, Gen 2, Persona and Persona CNG.
He said the overall sales was good, considering the weak Thai automotive market where sales dropped by 20 per cent for passenger cars and 28 per cent for pick-ups.
Alister McRae came third in the Rally of Scotland driving a Proton Satria. This is a first ever podium finish for Proton in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
Now living in Perth Western Australia McRae recently returned to his native Perth shire in Scotland to race the Proton Satria Neo to its best ever result.
Only seven days earlier McRae almost won a place on the podium in the Rally of China in a similar Satria Neo S2000.
McRae has been impressed with the Mellors Elliott Motorsport Proton Satria Neo S2000 and would like to compete in more Rallies with the car in 2010.
The Satria Neo S2000 made its first appearance on the IRC in June this year at the Belgium Ypres Rally and has been quick to show off its potential.
Chris Mellors is the team principal and he confirmed that a full IRC campaign as well as the Asia Pacific series is being prepared for 2010.
“We’re looking at a four-car program for 2010 – two in the IRC and two in the FIA Asia-Pacific Championship,” he said.
“Alister has driven for us in the Asia-Pacific series this year and until this weekend that was what we were planning for 2010 as well, but I know he’s enjoying this weekend a great deal so it could be interesting sorting that out.”
McRae was pleased to record Proton’s first podium finish in the IRC.
“The Proton chassis is one of the best I have ever driven”.
“Yes we’re doing the full IRC next year. We are looking forward to coming back and fighting these guys again,” Alister said.
“Kris Meeke (rally winner) has christened me ‘old safe hands’ but I can assure you these old hands were working far quicker than the brain!” McRae added.
McRae’s father was very proud, he himself being a five times British rally champion, Jimmy McRae, has been working with organisers of the inaugural Rally of Scotland and was extremely proud of his son’s return from Australia and joked : “He’s still a McRae!”
The Proton Super 2000 has a two litre engine that is based on the 1.8 litre engine from the Waja model and produces 210kW at 7600rpm, its usable power band is from 5,500 to 8,500rpm and uses a six speed sequential Xtrac 4WD transmission.
The car has been fitted with an innovative quick-change fuel control cassette that includes all fuel pumps, filters and valves. This is attached to the safety fuel cell and helps with quick maintenance.
Ventilated discs with alloy four pot calipers combined with the Neo’s low weight of 1150kg gives it excellent braking performance. The size of the ventilated discs can be changed, depending on the size of the wheels used. 15 inch wheels are used on gravel and 18 inch on tarmac, the calipers remain the same only the discs are changed.
The suspension setup can be fine tuned for any surface with a variety of anti-roll bars available for both front and back.
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S national carmaker Proton announced on Monday an 87 per cent rise year on year in second-quarter net profit due to strong sales at home.
The results come as Prime Minister Najib Razak urges the company to seek a tie-up partner in a bid to ensure its survival as it faces mounting competition at home and abroad.
'The improvement in performance was achieved on the back of higher domestic sales volume and profit margins, which continued to strengthen through better product mix,' Proton said in a statement.
'Domestic sales volume grew by 11 per cent compared to the immediate preceding quarter primarily driven by increased sales of the top three models, the Saga, Persona and Exora,' it added.
For the three months ended September 30, net profit was RM82.1 million (S$33.23 million) compared with RM43.8 million at the same period last year, the company said.
Revenue rose to RM2.10 billion from RM1.85 billion but the firm added: 'Given that the outlook for global vehicle demand is still uncertain, the group remains cautious.' Proton was formed 25 years ago as part of an ambitious national industrialisation plan, but its market share has slumped in recent years. -- AFP
Proton is poised to announce 12 new dealer signings in the UK with the brand saying the majority are coming from Daihatsu's network.
According to Simon Park, Proton's general manager for sales and marketing, the brand has received a growing amount of interest from dealers representing Daihatsu.
New signings "About 80 per cent of our new signings are Daihatsu dealers.
"We're a smaller franchise in terms of requirements but we have a slightly broader range of cars and are placed at the right end of the value market," he said.
Sales fall Daihatsu has seen its UK sales plummet by over half (52 per cent) this year to 2,187.
Proton's decline has been less severe with year to date sales down by 38 per cent to 846 units.
Park said the cost of entering the franchise is just £2,000 which has generated renewed interest in the brand, especially from non-franchised dealers.
Drex Chan sent in these great photos of what appears to be the Proton Persona facelift that’s due next year. The Persona was first launched in 2007, so mid next year would be about the right time for a facelift if you follow a 5 year model lifecycle, though most of us probably feel like a replacement is due since the Persona is actually a GEN2 sedan, and the GEN2 has been around a long time.
The front bumper is derived from the GEN2 CPS. The rear end shows tail lamps that have been taped up to hide an updated design. It looks like Proton has incorporated the use of LED lighting in the updated Persona’s tail lamps.
Two more details – firstly the wing mirrors also appear to be taped up. The tape hides the use of turn signal indicators integrated in the wing mirrors. Secondly, in the engine bay we can see that the engine uses coil on plug ignition, which means it is a Campro IAFM engine. This means that Proton is continuing with the separation of the Campro into two different versions – the IAFM engine as an economy-skewed engine while the CPS engine is more for power. They should really just have one powerful and fuel efficient engine for the 1.6 liter size – I’m sure it will be better for economies of scale.
There are a few more photos that you can view at drexchan’s fotopic page. UPDATE: Drex has sent in the pix on his fotopic page to be hosted here instead, as his fotopic page has ran out of bandwidth. According to Drex, the test engineers informed him that the IAFM engine would get an improved ECU. Look after the jump for the rest of the pix.
Proton Satria Neo is one of the sportiest car in Malaysia made by our own national car maker, Proton as a two doors compact sports car. The Satria Neo has its own identity and has a really beautiful design of exterior that makes Malaysian youngsters crazy about this gorgeous car. Especially about its powerful latest campro CPS engine fitted in this Satria Neo that push the performance of this sports car to the maximum.
Here we would like to share some of the image rendering of modified Proton Satria Neo photoshoped version with various type of neo bodykit.
Picture of modified Satria Neo above is base on the Subaru Chargespeed bumper design with intercooler.. Custom hood for neo with air intake hole. So cool and fierce looking sports car.
A performance car built by Subaru, looks ok but can go from 0 - 100km/h in 5 seconds.
This is Proton Saga. An entry level sedan built by Proton, looks is also ok but can go from 0 - 100km/h in a million years.
However, someone in Malaysia decided to "transform" the Proton Saga into a performance machine by "upgrading" their front bumper, so that they can go as fast as the Subaru Impreza.
The new Impreza lookalike front bumper that can make your car go fast! Don't play play.
Yeah right...
Now the car looks fucking ugly and goes even slower with the added front bumper weight.
I wonder, what's wrong with an original looks of a Proton Saga?
If you buy a car, be proud of your own car, not transforming your car into another car so that you can let other people "think" that you have a another better car.
he Proton R3 Malaysia Rally Team’s Satria Neo Super 2000 was making decent progress at the Rally of China last weekend when it had the unfortune of a damaged suspension, forcing the team to retire half-way through the 2nd leg during the 13th stage. They managed to finish 4th overall in the first leg. Interestingly according to Proton over half the field of competitors had to retire due to similiar problems.
With the China Rally over and done with, Alister McRae and the Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 will continue on to the McRae homeland of Scotland, which Alister is really looking forward to. Look after the jump for some shots from the rally.
Saturday 14th November 2009, Longyou, China. Alister McRae put in an inspired drive for the Proton R3 Rally Team to finish 4th overall in Leg 1 of the rally today against stiff competition both from the Asia Pacific Rally and China National Rally Championship teams. Cody Crocker, 4 time Asia Pacific Rally Champion is leading with former British Rally Champion David Higgins in 2nd and former Australian Rally Champion Dean Herridge in 3rd.
The Rally of China has again lived up to its reputation as being one of the toughest rallies in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship with the tough conditions taking a large toll as 28 out of 81 competitors failed to finish the day’s stages. The tight and twisty stages in the mountainous region of Longyou County leaves little room for error although fine weather today has greatly improved stage conditions throughout.
Leg2 of the Rally of China will now move to the north of Longyou County with 99km of special stages.
Price - RM: 16000 Condition: Used - Good Condition
Hi.. I have a Proton Wira 1.8 (mt) GSR Turbo for sale/swap +RM. The engine endorsed by jpj already. Come with lancer dashboard,pioneer cd player,momo race,15" pcd 114 sportrims,gsr absorber and bucket seat. Can swap with any NA car plus topup with some money. Location at seri kembangan. Interested can call me at 0162065960. URGENT sale
(Malaysian Mirror) - Dr Mahathir Mohamad has come out in defence of the protectionist policies accorded to national automaker Proton, saying the government was emulating other vehicle manufacturing countries.
"I am not going to deny that in my time Proton was protected ... The protection for Proton cars had been there all along," said Mahathir in his blog.
"Britain had Imperial Preference, Japan and Korea ensured no foreign cars could be imported, even America insists on Japanese, Korean and Germans producing their cars in America, employing Americans and paying high salaries," he added.
mahathir-9.jpgMahathir also said that without such policies, Malaysia would not have a car industry, admitting that Proton had gained 80 percent market share "benefitting from protectionism."
He also defended the import system of Approved Permits (APs), saying Proton would not have been able to penetrate foreign markets due to the economies of scale: "Proton lost money, the foreigners made a lot of money with the lower price of their cars sold in Malaysia. Their lower price is due to volume. We could not achieve this because of their protected car market."
Not involved in NAP
"Now Proton is fighting back despite imports of foreign cars. I was making a comparison only between Proton under the previous management and the present management. The present management is definitely more capable even though foreign cars are still coming in," he added.
Mahathir also said he was not involved in the formation of the new National Automotive Policy: "I am not in the government now. Please make your complaints to the government."
Mahathir was responding to a commentator who blamed protectionist policies for Proton's stagnating performance.
"Many thanks to NAP and Proton, Malaysian are forced to buy overpriced Tin Milo Proton," said the blogger who went under the pseudonym Syahrizan. "This is no longer about “National Car Protection”, its all about protecting your cronies! Am I right Tun?" added the blogger.
NORWICH, Oct 3 — National carmaker Proton, whose Lotus division is providing the chassis for the 1 Malaysia F1 team next year, expects its new Lotus-engineered high-torque pressure-charged performance 1,600cc engine to be ready by 2011.
Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd's (Proton) engineering division director Tajul Zahari Abu Bakar said the carmaker was developing the engine in collaboration with Lotus Engineering with the active involvement of some 70 Malaysian engineers and vendors.
"Fifty per cent of the special components of the engine is supplied and developed together with Malaysian suppliers," he told Malaysian reporters here yesterday during a royal visit by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong.
State news agency Bernama quoted him as saying that the performance of the 1,600cc engine was equivalent to that of a 2,000cc engine.
The engine promises a high torque for enhanced driveability with improved economy, performance and emissions, he added.
Tajul Zahari said the engine, which was launched by Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin here yesterday, has been tested under all weather conditions and is compatible with the RON 95 and RON 97 fuel.
He said the engine, designed to have reduced emission levels, low maintenance as well as better service ability, would be fitted in Proton's export models.
JUNE 2 – Proton Holdings Berhad, at group level, made a loss of RM338 million for the financial year ended 31.3.2009. That means, from April Fool’s day in 2008 till the eve of April Fool’s day this year, Proton lost RM338 million. The full report can be read at The Malaysian Insider.
Proton raked in a total of RM6.49 billion in that period. That is an increase of RM865 million over its took in for the previous financial year (2007/08). Although Proton had a lower turnover in 2007/08, it managed to post a profit of RM144 million in the same period.
Quite obviously, Proton’s operating costs have gone up in 2008/09 compared to 2007/08.
In addition, Proton sold more cars in 2008/09 than in 2007/08. In 2008/09, Proton sold 156,845 cars while in 2007/08, it only sold 139,952 cars.
Let’s crunch the numbers.
In 2007/08, Proton’s total earning was RM5.625 billion. It sold 139,952 cars. What that means is, Proton’s average earning per sale was RM40,192.35 (5,625,000,000 divided by 139,952). In that same period, Proton made a profit of RM144 million.
Which means, for every car sold, Proton made a profit of RM918.00 (144 million divided by 139,952). Therefore, in 2007/08, the break-even point for Proton was RM39,274.35 per sale (RM40,192.35 minus RM918.00).
In 2008/9, using the same methodology, Proton’s average earning per sale was RM41,378.00, representing an increase of RM1,186.00 than the average earning per sale in 2007/08. Proton however made a loss of RM338 million.
Which means, for every sale, Proton loss RM2,155.00. Proton’s break-even point had, in fact, risen to RM43,533.00, a rise in cost of a whopping RM4,259.00 per sale!
At this juncture, I must say that an average profit of RM918.00 per sale in 2007/8 was disappointing. In fact, “disappointing” is an understatement. Embarrassing is more like it.
And, for the average cost per sale to have risen by RM4,259.00 in the following year (2008/09) requires a lot of explaining.
The thing is, Proton is the darling of the Mahathir Government. It “darling” status continued under the Badawi administration. It is exempted from import duties in respect of its imported components.
That results in hundreds of millions of ringgit in revenue loss for the country. Consequently, it is us, the people, who are subsidising Proton.
In addition, the Government subsidises the production by giving grants and further exemptions.
To top it up, the Government protects Proton and its products by imposing high import duties on other imported cars. Approved permits are also required for imported cars just to protect Proton’s business. One AP costs about RM25,000 (there are instances where APs are sold at RM30,000!).
Ultimately, it is us, the people, who are paying all these hidden costs.
As a road user who does not buy a Proton, I am, in fact, subsidising Proton through the following:
a) the loss in revenue through exemptions from duties and taxes given to Proton
b) the grants given to Proton
c) the amount I have to pay for the AP for my imported car
d) the high import duties imposed on my imported cars
Added to that, the manhour costs which every Proton owner wastes in the workshop because of the frequent problems he or she encounters with his or her Proton. The time to get there. The time spent on waiting. The money spent on repairs (just bear in mind the famous Perdana gearbox problems and the famous power window problems in the Waja and Gen-2, for instance). The stress suffered in arguing with the Proton people.
All these are losses suffered by us, the people. All in the name of protecting Proton and pursuing a lost dream.
After almost 25 years, Proton makes an average RM918.00 profit in 2007/08 for every sale! Look at Honda. Within 20 years of the ubiquitous Honda Life, it managed to introduce a ground breaking Honda NSX with the now industry standard variable valve timing (V-tec) system.
Within 15 or 16 years of Honda Life, Honda was F1 champion, during the turbo days with its 1.5 litre engine! It was such a fast and capable car in F1, so much so that turbo engines had to be banned from F1 at the risk of Honda winning F1 championship non-stop for the next 15 years!
What has Proton won? The MME at Sepang? The Malaysian Super Series?
What ground-breaking technology has Proton managed to come out with in its 25 years? The truth is Proton can’t even build a trouble-free power window, let alone a ground-breaking gearbox or ECU.
The question is, then, what has gone wrong? Who is responsible for this auto debacle called Proton? Why is it not fixed? How long more are we, the people of Malaysia, are going to suffer losses, notional or otherwise, because of Proton? Why must we, the people of Malaysia, continue to assist Proton?
Various accounting-babbles were blurted by the Chairman in trying to explain the losses. Apparently, it was mainly due “to Proton’s decision for the impairment of PPE and inventory write-down for certain models impacted by volume contraction.”
Big words, indeed, Mr Chairman, Sir.
What it simply means is that Proton had to reduce the book value of some of its cars and plants. Why, you may ask? Well, it is because cars of these models cannot sell.
And, therefore, the plants or production lines for these models lost their book value. Why don’t the wise Chairman tell us what PPE had been impaired and which models have to be written down?
My guess is the Savvy. An absolute wonker of a car. “Your first Lotus”, as it was spun in Great Britain, to much ridicule by Top Gear (you can watch it on You-tube, where Clarkson made a hell of an embarrassing joke about that marketing spin!). Excuse me. The Savvy is my first Lotus? Good God! How about the Waja then. My first Lexus?
Which begs the question, who is to be held responsible for the impairment and write-downs? You don’t just impair or write down for fun. It was done for a reason. And the reason is the abject failure of the relevant model and consequently, the PPE in respect of that particular model.
Who was behind the model? Who was responsible for the design and production? Who was responsible for the marketing aspect of it? It was obvious that the Myvi killed the Savvy even before it was launched. It was a debacle. Now, are heads to roll because of this?
Well, you and I know the answer. No head is going to roll. Nobody is going to be held responsible, let alone, accountable.
That is precisely the malady which infests Proton. And that is part of the problems that beset it. Add to that a vendor system which is not transparent and is so full of mediocrity, below-industry-standard quality and probably, cronyism. All these contribute to this great Malaysian failure, Proton.
LATEST UPDATE: Find out more about the fully undisguised photos you see here, read our story on Proton MPV 100% fully uncovered!
I have some preliminary details on the Proton MPV due to be launched in the first half of 2009. According to a source in Proton, the Proton MPV is on schedule and one of the first chassis prototypes was shown at the Proton Technology Week.
2nd December 2008 UPDATE: Proton MPV Spyshots – photos of the actual Proton MPV being tested on public roads!
The chassis reveals quite a bit about the car. There is also a model of the interior hidden in a box with holes cut into it, much like the peekaboo promo that Proton did for its previous two models. The following are what I gathered on the MPV:
Exterior
Overall shape is like the Toyota Wish but the rear section of the roof does not slope down slightly like the Wish to improve headroom for the third row.
Tail lamps use LEDs and have a vertical design extending from the top to down, unlike the Wish’s which do not extend into the D pillar. The tail lamps are slimmer at the top but curve out a little at the bottom, similiar to the Volvo XC90’s design. The signal lamps in the light cluster are positioned towards the top for better visibility. You can actually see this in the previously revealed sketch and the teaser video above.
There is a swage line on the side profile of the MPV.
Regular swing doors instead of sliding doors.
The spare tyre is installed outside under the chassis instead of kept in the car so that you can get access to it easily when the luggage space is occupied.
Interior
The peekaboo box revealed a two-tone beige interior, but sources in Proton say the colour of the interior has not been finalised. It may be either beige or grey.
Luggage space is not that great with the third row of seats in place, but can fit one large golf bag. This means balik kampung with 7 people loaded and luggage for 7 will be a challenge.
Second row splits 60:40 while the third row is a 50:50 split. The seats fold flat.
Interior roof height is designed to be quite decent to accomodate people who want to ride with songkoks and turbans.
The shifter uses a gated shift and is dashboard-mounted rather than mounted between the front two seats, a common modern trend with MPV-like vehicles.
The in-car entertainment is a 2-DIN unit. There are options for a DVD player with an LCD display for the movie mounted at the second row roof area. There is also an option in the future for GPS navigation.
The 2-DIN head unit is at the top of the center dash area below the aircond vents, and below it comes the air conditioning controls which are three knobs arranged in a triangle shape. Below that is the shifter.
There are aircond blowers for the second and third row situation at the top left and right of the cabin roof (near the grip handles). Proton source says after testing this produced the best airflow.
There is no armrest between the front two seats but the armrest is instead a fold-down type integrated into the seat itself.
Chassis
The wheelbase of the chassis is estimated to be more than 2,700mm but less than 2,800mm. In comparison, the Honda Stream has a wheelbase of 2740mm, the Wish is 2,750mm, the Innova 2,750mm, the Livina 2600mm, and the Mazda5 2750mm.
The front suspension design uses MacPherson struts and the rear design uses a torsion beam to minimize suspension system intrusion into cabin.
The front end is designed, supplied and assembled as a single module for weight reduction and ease of installation to minimize QC problems.
The MPV is said to have very good crash safety design from Proton internal crash tests. A few MPVs will be sent for official crash testing and rating soon.
So there you have it. If you want to look at the interior and chassis for yourself you can head to the Proton Technology Week event tomorrow. The event is happening at the Proton plant in Shah Alam. On the KESAS highway heading towards Klang, turn left after the Center of Excellence and then turn left into the Proton plant.
An initial concept sketch of the Proton MPV interior, but the production version will be tamed down.
Proton MPV teaser video gets attention…
Day 1 visitors having a peek at the new MPV’s interior.
NORWICH, Oct 3 — National carmaker Proton, whose Lotus division is providing the chassis for the 1 Malaysia F1 team next year, expects its new Lotus-engineered high-torque pressure-charged performance 1,600cc engine to be ready by 2011.
I have some preliminary details on the Proton MPV due to be launched in the first half of 2009. According to a source in Proton, the Proton MPV is on schedule and one of the first chassis prototypes was shown at the Proton Technology Week.
