Given the state protection Proton gets from UMNO politicians and the anti-Semitism of the PM that helped direct the founding of Proton (Mahathir Mohamad), there is no way in hell I’d own one or take a ride in one.
You are very courteous and open-minded. I do not know many foreigners who are willing to invest in Proton.[/quote]
Actually I meant only the small Japanese cars. I wouldn’t be interested in importing Proton.
I’ve been pretty successful in the past, predicting the market and offering my consultation to a couple of manufacturers here, which has boosted their sales massively. I don’t claim I’m the be all and end all of market predictions and trends, but I have a decent record of it until now at least.
There is a huge difference between the success of brands such as Hyundai and Kia. I know Korean cars may be easy to lump into a country category, but these two manufacturers alone have huge differences between them.
One huge issue with Kia has been there build quality and after sales service. I don’t know how many times I have been called up by my local Kia service repair centre to help them with diagnostics as all of their workshop manuals are in English only and they can’t make head nor tail of them.
The quality of Kias generally is just garbage too compared to rival Hyundai which has really managed to pull itself together over the past fifteen years to nearly resemble the quality of a budget Japanese car.
Kia on the other hand are still trying to figure out how to make an engine last more than a few tens of thousand kilometers. What an episode they had with the Carnival!
Proton is also a bit of a laugh compared to any of its competitors in Taiwan I think. I don’t knock Proton as a manufacturer trying to provide budget vehicles for people, but Taiwanese are once bitten, twice shy motorists and if Proton don’t make a successful entrance to a sensitive market such as Taiwan, which favors either reliable, frugal motors or fancy, expensive European cars, then it is going to go the same way as Formosa and Daewoo. That is unless its a “Taiwanese” car which caters to those nationalists who believe that even if they’re buying a second rate product, then it doesn’t matter as long as its in the national interest, whatever that means.
So, Aero7, you are some kind of marketing fellow for Proton, right? Really? The best you can do is “we’re shittier than even Hyundai! Buy from us!” Sorry. I’m unconvinced. 
FAIK Hyundai OWNS Kia .
I wouldn’t be so fast to knock the powers of persuasion. BMW and Merc have been producing shoddy quality products worse than even Proton IMO and getting away with it for years. The powers of marketing and brand placement are stronger than the power of normally sensible people to resist them.
[quote=“Durbanite”]Maybe they have improved, just told you my past experiences. To be honest with you, I think I would probably go for a more established brand if i did buy a car…
Once bitten, twice shy… Don’t mean to sound like a bad person, I had to go through months of fighting and even wrote an article into “Car Magazine” in South Africa before i got any result.[/quote]
But of course, I only intended to ‘‘update’’ your knowledge of Proton. You have the exclusive rights to choose, like and believe in what you see fit. Again, I’m sorry to hear about your misfortune.
Hmm, okay, I did not intentionally wish for the topic to be steered into the political end, but since you’ve brought that up, I believe that I’m forced to provide some sort of a reply; First and foremost, I do not wish to be associated with the current ruling government of Malaysia. I have no love for them either. Moving on, Proton was founded with the support of the Malaysian government, yes. True, it survives in part thanks to the taxes imposed on all foreign cars in Malaysia. However, Proton has taken many steps in the right direction (you’d only notice if you’ve been keeping up to date with the company for the past 10 years, which I’m guessing, you’ve probably not) and demonstrates some potential. I believe Hyundai and Kia had similarly ‘‘humble’’ beginnings. Yet they’re considered up to par with Japanese cars these days. All hope is not yet lost.
Anyway, I stand by on my enquiry. I have no intentions of changing your perception of the brand for that lay in your hands. Thanks for sharing nonetheless.
[quote=“sulavaca”] Actually I meant only the small Japanese cars. I wouldn’t be interested in importing Proton.
I’ve been pretty successful in the past, predicting the market and offering my consultation to a couple of manufacturers here, which has boosted their sales massively. I don’t claim I’m the be all and end all of market predictions and trends, but I have a decent record of it until now at least.[/quote]
Ahh, I knew it was too good to be true. 
I apologize for the misunderstanding.
[quote=“sulavaca”] There is a huge difference between the success of brands such as Hyundai and Kia. I know Korean cars may be easy to lump into a country category, but these two manufacturers alone have huge differences between them.
One huge issue with Kia has been there build quality and after sales service. I don’t know how many times I have been called up by my local Kia service repair centre to help them with diagnostics as all of their workshop manuals are in English only and they can’t make head nor tail of them.
The quality of Kias generally is just garbage too compared to rival Hyundai which has really managed to pull itself together over the past fifteen years to nearly resemble the quality of a budget Japanese car.[/quote]
This is quite interesting. Thanks for sharing, nice to hear first hand testimonial from a man with first hand experience. Personally, I consider Hyundai and Kia as one, big conglomerate. Not so much Daewoo and Ssangyong… and any other Korean manufacturer to that extent. I’m going to have to rewrite my ‘‘textbook’’ then.
Oh yes, the Carnival, well, just didn’t live up to it’s name. Personal experience. Thank goodness her successor did… somewhat. An improvement, to say the least.
I am well aware of how much Proton is lagging behind Kia, let alone the other established makes. I guess the same could be said about my home market. People aren’t willing to give an inch these days. I’ve been keeping up on the progress of Hyundai and Kia and they’ve rightfully gained my respect over the years (trust me, I was once a Hyundai and Kia hater). I wish more people could give the newer brands a chance… especially Hyundai. And your statement on the ‘‘national car’’; that’s quite the case here today. Proton survives because of this, among other factors.
It is quite unfortunate that I give an impression of a Proton representative. Sigh. I’m a curious college student, that’s all. ''We’re sh*ttier than even Hyundai. ‘’ ; that’s me being REALISTIC. I’m no fan of propaganda. I favour facts. And I’ve no intentions of convincing anyone here. It just pains me to see that most of the opinions presented here in this thread regarding Proton were drawn based on now obsolete and outdated facts. If anything, I’m only updating statements where necessary. I don’t get paid for promoting the brand.