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.
We now have more details on the new Proton Saga SE, which is positioned as a premium variant of one of Proton’s cheapest cars right now. The Saga SE continues using the 1.3 liter Campro IAFM engine that’s found in the rest of the Saga range except for the taxi model, so what exactly does “SE” mean? Here are the full details:
Only two colours – brilliant red or solid white with a black finish roof top.
New front, rear (with faux diffuser design) and side skirts.
A new front grille with black finish.
Leather seats, door trim and steering wheel
Pearl white instrument cluster
Dark chrome air-conditioning vents
CD player with MP3 support
As previously mentioned, the Saga SE manual is priced at RM43,000 while the automatic transmission model is priced at RM45,500. It is available for booking now for RM500, but the cars will only be in the showrooms from the 15th of August 2009 onwards.
Look after the jump for more photos of the Saga SE.
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.
