The Proton Cars UK Story
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- Опубліковано 27 січ 2024
- How could Proton Cars, one of the fastest ever growing new car brands in the UK, fail? From Hero to Zero is a tail of success, failure and the audacious recovery plan that might just have saved them.
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I had a 1.5 N reg Proton SL Auto for 9 years. I bought it for £250 from a mate at work with a years MOT. In all that time, I think it only needed about 3 tyres, brake linings, cambelt change at 50000 and a the flexi exhaust joint. In the end, a rumbling from the front suggested a wheel or gearbox bearing. I took it to the scrap yard and got £125. It was a reliable car.
Thats value for money motoring isn’t it!
They were great cars & so underrated.......i worked for them in the late 90's.
As a child, I was confused by those first Protons. Back in 1988, Dad had bought a Mitsubishi Lancer. Which we lost to a crash about 6 months later. (Someone smashed into the back of us very fast)
But back then, I had no idea car companies could take a model from someone else, rebadge it and sell it as their own. So it confused me to see Protons that looked identical to my Dad's old Lancer when we came back to the UK (We'd been living in Germany since '85).
My friends didn't believe me at the time when I'd see a Proton and say it was a Mitsubishi Lancer. Not helped by the fact that around our area, Lancer's were not very common. Until one day, it happened. A Proton was parked up in the same street as a Lancer!
The (early) Lancers are a rare sight these-days whereas a surprising number of Protons still exist. The larger Galant was even imported badged as a “Lonsdale”, built in Australia to get around Japanese import restrictions in the UK during the 70s/80s.. now those are rare!
@@Lot76CARS After a Polish guy wrote our Lancer off, it was an 89 Galant we got to replace it. Magnificent car that. Had all the bells and whistles of the day.
Mitsubishi had the same arrangement with S-Korean company. Their "Galloper" was a MMC Pajero/Shogun. Japanese reliability with lower prices. Very popular in my country. Nice video reminding me of an interesting era. 👍
It looks like a ranault 19
They don't look the same.
The Satria GTI is a cool looking thing, can only remember seeing one on the road a couple of decades ago, must be pretty rare now.
I still have one now. Along side my fiesta st mk7 and GR yaris.
I bought a 6 mth old ex Lotus test Satria GTi for half price in the early 2000s. It was brilliant to drive & went like a rocket. The only downsides were the fuel consumption and small fuel tank. Would have kept it but I was rear-ended by white van man on the M6 and the car was written off. Because I bought it so cheap, my insurance company paid out almost what I paid for it.
51 licensed and 211 SORN are left.
I worked for Proton for some years.
You've missed the most significant issue - Proton Cars UK Ltd were the original importers of Protons, a private company founded and owned by the slightly dodgy but inspirational Manchester businessman David Brown - with clever marketing and co-locating the franchise with the Lada UK dealer network.
The marque did really well, quickly outselling many established manufacturers with great reliability ,value for money, warranties, finance deals etc.
However, after David Brown's untimely death, the company was taken back under the control of the Malaysian's who didn't understand the UK market and made a shite of the whole thing!
Hi Jerry, I mentioned him early on (but only briefly) but I totally agree they really worked smart to get the brand established from a standing start, few have managed this as well as he did, and to be fair, looking at the comments the cars weren’t bad and satisfied a lot of drivers motoring needs!
I had a 1.5 Aeroback and loved it! It did mountains of miles without a single hitch and carried innumerable strange loads in the back. Sadly the one problem in common with many cars was the Devilish Rust Bug which finally got me to replace it with, of all things, an Austin Montego! That rusted quicker than a bare metal plate in the North Sea!!!!
There’s a lot of love for Protons.. simply great reliable transport.
An old neighbour had a proton back in the nineties , used to wind him up by calling it a Scrotum, but I don’t think it ever let him down .
They were almost street furniture at one time, amazing how many people commented how they had one or someone on their street did. Just good reliable A to B transport!
Any chance on a Perodua UK story ? I loved this history of Proton UK , very well put together. Same for the Daewoo fail , thumbs up on that!
That sounds like an idea….
@@Lot76CARS looking forward to it , we had Proton for like 5-6 yrs but never Perodua. I saw that Proton has gone Chinese now with Geely.
@@Lot76CARS Perodua vehicles were made properly by people who knew what they were doing. Proton quickly became a Malay welfare project protected from all competition including Perodua.
A missed opportunity. Really reliable cars in fact.
Proton was a good reliable Brand -the Jumbuck and Gen 2 were especially good in their own niche way. I ran a Gen 2 for a year and it was a good style at a budget price.
I heard the Gen 2 drove really well with Lotus chassis input too.
I bought a 1.5 for fifty pounds with no MOT in the late 90's, it passed without any problem. It had done 200,000 miles and had every service mileage written on the inner wing.
we had 3 protons, a mpi1.3, a 1.5 and a 1.6, the only one to give us any trouble was the 1.6 i think all our cars were intended to go back to malaysia in the buyback scheme, we bought them so cheap, and the 1.5 lasted us at least 5 years trouble free motoring.
Sounds like they were a great buy!
I had two Protons, cheap reliable and did what it said on the tin
Exactly, reliable transport… I guess only Dacia comes close today!
Great video. Very informative and well researched. Looking forward to watching the rest of your videos.
Thanks, much appreciated!
Still have a Proton savvy as a daily runner! Great little car and fun to drive with its renault based running gear!
I got a Wira second hand for about £500 and it was hte most reliable car I've ever had. Despite a wimpy 1.3 litre engine that made it struggle to get up steep hills, it never failed an MOT. I did have to replace the exhaust and hte boot leaked like a sieve due to faulty seals. I was sad when I eventually scrapped it after being rear ended by a Land Rover. Rver had a light scuff on it's bumper nad my bonnet looked like a concertina.
Also the MG/ROVER group deal was very close to happening, my friend had his apprenticeship with them at the time and when he visited longbridge they already had a Gen-2 for training and he was told it would be the next generation Rover 45
Interesting, I did wonder how close it was… thanks!
I'm surprised Proton never considered entering the Canadian market when they entered the UK, as Canadians love cheap Asian vehicles. It's why when Hyundai entered North America, they came into Canada first and the Hyundai Pony sold in droves back in the early 80's, I'm sure Proton would have been as successful as Hyundai was back then if they did.
They just seem to have exactly the right product at the right time as the automotive industry was going through a difficult period in the UK. I agree, it is strange how they didn’t get a foothold in Canada given what the Koreans have now managed.
I agree with you@@Lot76CARS, But to be fair Proton was never sold in Canada at all. It defiantly was a missed opportunity for them as in 1985 when I kid, every 5th car on the Canadian roads was a Hyundai Pony, or the larger Steller sedan (Saloon) cars followed by their eventual replacements the Excel, and Sonata. But back then Hyundai sold the pony so cheaply they were often easily replaced with a new model year rather than fix the old ones.
The steering wheel is the wrong side for them in Canada. They stuck to RHD markets, Australia, UK etc.
I bought a couple of the Persona 1.3Si 10 year anniversary models. A metallic navy blue one in 2005, which was very low mileage (32k) and looked virtually brand new. Cost me a whopping £650 from BCA in Edinburgh. Second one was in silver and cost £425 but in average condition. I took the silver one over to the Netherlands for a couple of years (in 2008) and it was really reliable. Sold it to one of my Austrian colleagues, who was going to be working in Wales, for the next couple of years. The only thing that made me consider a Proton was that it was a Mitsubishi derived car (a cheaply built Lancer) but I wouldn't have thought about any of the non Japanese based vehicles. I replaced the silver Persona with a Hyundai Coupe. The Hyundai felt like a Lexus in comparison and was far more refined overall.
Looking at Autotrader there are not many Protons for sale - but given current second hand prices at the low end are still pretty high, some of them look very good value, particularly if you need a ULEZ compliant runabout with 2007 to 2011 cars all under £2,000, several nearer £1,000...
Proton Jumbucks were sold until 2010 here in Australia. They were everywhere for ages.
They have become kinda sought after now as it’s popular to swap Evo 1-3 drivetrains into them, converting them to AWD
I would love a Satria GTi though. Super hard to find in good condition now
I keep seeing a few Jumbucks for sale and they aren’t cheap here either. The Satria GTI are rarely up for sale and consequently making good prices.
Somehow there are 2 on my street now. Used to be one when I moved over 10 years ago.
Myself and one other tech built the very first jumbuck, and worked on it throughout its development and testing. It was the front half of a proton persona, with a fabricated rear end built in the fab shop at lotus.
Initial developments used a Ford escort van rear axle, and multi leaf springs. It was decided (by proton) that a single leaf was preferable. This made the unladen ride somewhat firm…
Later prototypes were fabricated by metalcrafters in Cali (iirc)
Worked on a few proton projects in my time there, including satria gti, coupe, gx41 (impian) and more.
Always enjoy seeing a jumbuck on the road after all this time. (They were never initially destined for uk market) 👍
@trisrush9155 that’s a great insight thanks and would make a video itself! They really spotted and exploited a market gap well.
A friend's parents had a string of Proton models and had no interest in buying anything else.
Perhaps the end of the 90's saw a more affluent Britain with aspirations of owning cars that were not budget brands, or at least the majority of car buyers
I'd forgotten about that coupe model and perhaps that was part of the issue, in a crowded market with oversupply of cars and deals to be had the proton was neither cheap enough not special enough to stand out. The Dates GTi did bring some excitement to the brand though but sadly Proton failed to capitalise on it.
Thanks Mark, you’re right, I think there was a time where just basic transport and having all the benefits of a new car, i.e. Lada and Proton were enough for many motorists.
I passed my driving test in a Proton Persona Compact in August 2001.
A few months ago I saw the new Peugeot badge and immediately thought that Proton had returned as it is quite similar to the old Proton badge.
I agree, I did think that too. I preferred the old badge to be honest
I've just sold a 1989 Proton 1300 Aeroback, one of the first to be sold in the UK. I was impressed by its build quality and the engine. A far better car than the mk4 Escort 1300 that was available in 1989.
From all the comments there is generally a lot of love for these cars. Cheap, reliable transport. 35 years is a huge amount of time to have any car so it must have served you well!
@@Lot76CARS I'm a dealer in Retro/Modern classic stuff so it was one that I had in stock. Quite enjoyed having it around and wasn't fazed about using it.
Difference is, in 1989 if you was seen in one of these by your mates you was the laughing stock for life where as an escort was one of the teenagers go to cars. The Proton was a slightly better option than a Skoda or Lada thats it. 🤣
It’s a niche car now but doing the research they really did make an impact in the early days.
@@cornovii3012 True, they never really caught on with younger buyers.
As a Malaysian, I'm telling abouts this SAGA not as a Malaysian, but as a driver's likes you and others driver's.
I've 1987 1.5l saga and still working greatly today's with twices major overhaul, replacing parts like bushing, absorber's, lower and upper arms, engine mountings, my saga still working smoothly and still can reaching 600km in one driving..
I've other proton model. Despite driving my old saga, I'm olso owned 2011 satria neo R3 1.6i as my daily car.
Very well built and durable cars, I can see why we bought them in large numbers.
They started out as a budget brand using old generation Mitsubishi cars. Later cars were self styled but woefully underwhelming in all areas. The company is now owned by Geely and has a better line up that could compete at Dacia’s level.
They were great cars & so underrated, i was amazed at the quality.......i worked for them in the late 90's. They were more reliable that those fiestas & escorts.
As a recycled Mitsubishi, the Proton Wira was ‘ok’…
I picked one up brand new from the factory in about 1992
A work colleague picked his up the same day,:and while driving back to our office - we discovered they hadn’t fixed all the fasteners in the gear linkage !
Whoops😮
Got a Proton Savvy sat on the drive. Good basic car, fun to drive. Could do with a bit more power though .The engine is a Renault one, and there is a turbo version used in the Clio and Twingo GT. That would liven it up a bit.
I’m sure that they had chassis input from Lotus didn’t they?
Passed my test 30 years ago in a 1.5 gl aerodeck 😊
had one from the phillog garage in Abardare south wales in the 80s i had the Aero back
Now Proton is only doing Geely rebadge models for RHD market. However, Proton is already struggling at Pakistan market due to challenging markets and etc. Then people in Malaysia is already questioning how Proton handling after-sale services due to lack of adequate part stocks for fixing their Geely-rebadged cars.
Although Proton would unlikely to set the sail again in UK, there's still a few racing teams that still using Proton as their main machine and the most notably, Mellors Elliot racing team.
My late dad had a 1990 1.3 proton saloon it was very inexpensive to buy he bought it when he retired, coincidentally I had a Honda Civic 1.3 dx at the same time, The Proton gearbox impressed me massively the gears shift was slicker than my Civic you could change gear on the proton with one finger it clicked into place beautifully, I don't think they were bad cars the only issue he had was the basic glass pop up sunroof it always dripped water in the rain, he kept the car until the late 90s I think from memory it had done 75,000 trouble free miles.
So many people have fond memories of Proton, they certainly satisfied a lot of motorists!
Those sunroofs were in fact fitted by the UK importers upon entry into this country, they were not a factory item and were Webasto 'top slider' units. I don't think the cars would have had 'A' post drainage channels.
Bought one of these like 7 years old outta universal salvage auctions Chester on a M Reg in like 2002 for £200 plus fees of about a tenner , could not believe I bought a 7 year old driving car for £200 and all it needed was a headlight glass and a dent pushing outta the wing as the wing was repairable .
Sold it for a grand to a taxi driver see ya later but brilliant engines just looked nerdy as expensive parts but supacheep lol 🇬🇧
Old biddies drove the Proton Saga. A good friend of mine inherited one as his first car because of course the 103 year old he got it from died of disappointment. I remember very well him driving like a maniac down B roads as I sat in the passenger seat, clinging on as the bouncy suspension and wobbly ride was tested on every corner like it had never been before in its life. Few weeks later he drove over the top of a bin on some farm land to smash it out the way but unknowingly it was sat on top of a concrete foundation sticking up out of the ground. It tore the bottom of the engine to pieces. He replaced it with a Fiat Cinquecento which we would park nose in and then get out to lift it up from the rear and swivel it into the space as a joke while people watched. Good times.
Brilliant 😂
RIP Jim Bowen. Bullseye is still on telly most days. I heard that it is the longest running gameshow on TV!
Nope, not even close, google is your friend, try it before you post.
Don't worry, Proton will come back to the UK stronger, since their partnership with Geely & Volvo
The latest model Proton S70 can now compete with Honda & Nissan in Malaysia
Indeed, never say never and at least it’s a brand customers have heard of!
Just want to say that Proton is still available and maybe with the new partner Geely that owns Volvo and Lotus, Proton will make a comeback in the UK. The latest product that Proton just launched was the Proton S70, and it was a perfect Segmen C saloon sedan that could compete with other Automakers such as Honda and Toyota. Proton is now planning to make their first EV after they launch their New energy vehicle back in 2023, the Proton X90. The new vehicles of Proton now are, X70, X50, X90, and S70. The rest is the 2022 Persona, 2022 Iriz, and 2022 Saga, the old model of Proton cars that being facelifted and still currently available for sale in Malaysia
Indeed, never say never, they could return
my parents bought a new 1.5 se aeroback in 91, kept it for 10 years, never had an issue.
Incredible how many people bought Protons and did have a minutes bother with them. There must be a gap for these type of no frills cars even today.
I've owned my 2005 Jumbuck ute for 8yrs, it's done 220,000km & still going strong. Oh & it's worth more now than what I paid for it...
Proton is crap bro
You just can't afford a real truck like a GMC suburban 2500 with a 454 Big block
258000 MILES not kilometers going strong
@@samholdsworth420 fuel was $2.33 /litre here last week, a V8 is the last thing I need. That's US$ 9 per US gallon, or $370 to fill up your tank's tank.
In the late 90s I needed a cheap car and didn’t want an old car so I bought a nearly new Proton Persona, it was a fabulous little car but as my finances improved by 2000 I had bought an Audi A4. Then I emigrated to Asia and stated to spend a bit of time in Malaysia, in 2002 it seemed like virtually every car in KL was a Proton and speaking to locals I was very impressed with the loyalty to the national brand, for sure workers at the factory took immense pride in their product. Later in 2010 I bought a new Proton Neo as a second family car, it was in Burnt Orange with the turbine alloys and it was beautiful and had incredible handling, which is unusual in cars sold in Asia. I was in Thailand at the time and frequently drove from Bangkok up to Chiang Mai (10 hour drive) in comfort, that Lotus derived twin cam engine was nice and really the thing that let it down was the upholstery and some cheap plastics inside. I sold it after a couple of years when Proton exited the country and service became an issue, but I always have a soft spot for Proton. Now I live in Ireland and I can5 remember the last time I even saw a Proton here!
There was much to like about Perodua, worry free motoring with tested Japanese technology and easy to drive!
Had two of these one automatic and it lasted by a owner who drove it like he stole it, i floored that auto and it lasted a hammering. I brought a newer one, it couldn't with stand a hammering. Old proton against newer proton.
The Mitsubishi derived cars do seem to have been tough.
I considered buying a Satria GTI back in the day. Ended up buying a Seat Ibiza Cupra sport.
I can totally understand that, I saw one advertised just before Christmas on eBay and I was sorely tempted having seen the men and motors review of the car back in the day… however I’m sure the Seat was also a lot of fun!
When I worked at a petrol station bought a light green 1993 Proton saloon for £5. He'd just put £2 fuel in it as "it was going to the scrapyard because it has a broken rear quarter glass". I had the glass replaced (£37!) and ran the car reliably for a while before selling it to someone who also ran it for a year or two with no problems. Great little car, bit boring, but really easy to drive. And after the glass was fixed it cleaned up to look immaculate!
Brilliant story, value for money motoring!
The scrap value must have been much higher than £5
@@Rickenbacker451 probably around 2004 when times were different. Yes today probably £150 to weigh in.
the most I knew about Proton was that in the late 90's and early 2000's they ran rebadged Mitsubishi Evos in the PWRC and other Group N rally championships under the "Proton PERT" banner.
I took that photo of David Burton who thought he was to be the next Doctor Who and it all went pearshaped. I was Group Sales Manager for Shield Motor Group. You can see our Redhill branch behind in the shot.
Thanks for commenting, that’s absolutely brilliant!! I did wonder how he managed to pull it off!!
@@Lot76CARS He managed to get a car from us for a few months after which we reclaimed it from outside his house. Think he honestly thought he was getting the role but others at the BBC thought different.
I wish they would remake 80s cars design exterior and interior but with modern safety and amenities. Though keeping the design and improve safety would prove hard with those thin pillars I imagine.
The one I had failed it’s mot on loose headlights, puzzled by this it turned out the crappy plastic mounting lugs had sheared on both headlights, none at the scrapyard and new ones were silly so had to use screws, epoxy and fibreglass
… and it passed then?👍
@@Lot76CARS yes, they outlived the car 😆
My granny drove a 1992 1.5 GLS she paid £80 for in 2005, drove it till she passed in 2017 at 97 years old, it currently sits in my uncles garage collecting dust
£80! Wow, it’s probably start first time with a new battery and fresh fuel!
@@Lot76CARS That little Proton did everything, even with it's radiator being non existent, it'd tow our trailer tent for goin on holiday, my uncles boat, it's been down to England and up the highlands countless times, real trooper
@woolly3603 you have to resurrect it, may a trip to Festival of the Unexceptional?
@@Lot76CARS I'd love to but it's main reason for staying off the road is it's shattered drivers door window which would always come out to the side when down, and going up it didn't slot into place and shattered, hard to find a window or new door for it
Proton also had a stillborn WRC project developed by Prodrive, the same people behind Subaru's successful WRC program.
I'm sure it was killed off because it was it would have been basically a Mitsubishi competitor using their own chassis & engine.
Thanks, I missed that one! I agree probably Mitsubishi pushed to kill it, what a pity.
Janet Ellis there. She looked lovely.
On that point I can’t argue with you😉
Circa 1982, I did a brief stint at Proton's PDI base out in Whythall, Bham. The cars needed to be run for ten minutes before turning a wheel, or they'd cut out, then they'd come inside for a wash & then to have various bits of minor trim fixed to them. I had the job of trimming down originally round plastic washers into oblong shapes, before pushing them into two holes in the front bumper to hold the not very sticky 'chrome' from falling off. It was a joke. Most of the washers ended up lopsided too.
Great video thank you.
Glad you liked it!
I had a 1990 1500 GL saloon in 1992 with only 3000 miles great car had it for 6 years with over 66000 trouble free miles when I sold it. Even got nick on the M25 at 2am doing 106 mph with loss of licence in court
😮106!!! In a proton👍🤣🤣
To be fair I would frame that summons!
Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching!
Man I thought Malaysia and Brunei only had proton idk if Perodua exist in UK too but I have a proton waja cps
My mum bought a brand new Proton Savvy in around 06, it was awful. Probably the worst car we'd ever had, and I was well into my teens at that point. It was virtually worthless 3 years later.
To be fair there seems to be more love for the earlier Mitsubishi based cars.
As someone who grew up in the US, it's crazy to me how some countries used small 4cyl sedans as police cars.
You dont even need a sports car to outrun one of those.
But here's the thing, in the brokeass countries like where I'm from, most people can only afford painfully slow econoboxes and there are barely any quick cars, let alone truly fast cars on our roads for criminals to steal and use as their getaway car, so 4 cylinder economy cars are usually more than enough for cops to chase down criminals
@@aaronbryan5095 In a country where everyone has 90HP cars, someone with a 150HP car is king lol.
You'd think a car backed by Lotus could succeed in the UK.
Good to see proper Top Gear
Glad you like it
I had one years ago, it was cheap reliable bought second hand never had a problem really
A friend of mine had a proton, god knows which one, all I remember is that it looked like a Subaru
I had a earoback 1.5 mpv was bullet proof. But very much a good runner. Pile of crap when I look back but wasn't the engine a mitz
In malaysia do they sell this proton at same levels of tax wt other cars assembled in malaysia?
I worked with a chap who had one them. He bought one because he was skint all the time.
Am I the only one tbat picked up on how you pronounced "Phoenix Consortium"? Very sly, very good. 👍
😉
they should expand into the USA market
I remember when Humberside 'police' drove these buckets, the local criminals were outrunning them in base model Fiestas.
Funny enough I came across 2 different protons in someone’s garden the other week when I was delivering just sitting there
Spares cars? Maybe there’s another they’re keeping on the road!
David was my cousin,generous and kind man
I’m really glad it brought back some good memories for you.
Persona was a pretty thing.
As was the Putra
Who do, we do, voodoo that’ll be the Daewoo !!
(At time 1:46) What a bell end, spoiling the filming like that.
Was probably Clarkson! 🚗💨 😂
I thought that when I was putting the video together. Strange they didn’t record it again…
passed my car test in one in 1994
12 valve. Four in the tyres and eight in the radio🤣
i remember these horrors they were just slightly one foot up the ladder better than the skodas and ladas at the time ! Hehe
Ladas… apart from the Niva they were awful but a brand new car!
@@Lot76CARS true ! I had a Niva , I loved it ! My friends dad's lada had a cranking handle , hehe we were posh my dad had a triumph and my mam had a Datsun 120y !
You don't know what your talking about probably never been in one ....
They were a bargain in 1989/90/91. Positioned in the market just above Lada's but a better car than the equivilent offerings from Ford and Austin Rover at the time. How could they be rubbish if they're based on Mitsubishi's? They failed to keep up with the opposition in the mid 90's though.
They were terrible 😳 😁 ! the gearboxes were all over , the engine couldn't pull the skin off a bowl of rice pudding and the older ones reliability was an issue ! anything ford at the time even the rotbox escorts were much nicer to drive , faster , handled better , they sold ten times as fast and didn't look like a badly designed door wedge ! Whenever we would get a proton as a part ex , it would sit for a while if the right sort of character came in they would sell ! , usually the protons and scodas we would put straight through the auction sales , it wasn't worth selling them on the pitch for the crap that would ensue afterwards ! I knew a man he would pay decent money for ladas at the time he was exporting them tho !
8000 1988 pounds is the equivalent of about 21000 in 2023. If someone launched a rebadged mundane japanese car from a few years ago today, would it be 21k? And, if it were, would anyone buy one?
You’re right, doesn’t look so appealing at 2023 prices but the big selling point then was having a new car rather than a 3-4 year old used car from a more well known brand. I think customers expectations are now far more.
@@Lot76CARS well, it was a different proposition in one very important respect. Cars today are vastly more durable than they were in the 80's. A five year old car today is usually still reliable, serviceable and rust free. Back then they were often getting tired and corroded by five, especially the cheaper ones.
1:24 - Is that Jimmy Saville? LOL That didn't age well
Not a look we’d want to emulate now… whoops
See you have gone to a lot of effort putting it his video together Simon. The UK never took to Proton in their masses which was interesting considering how the Japanese brands went from strength to strength. I don't think there was enough "want" for their range. I like my cars but before I watched this I couldn't think of one Proton model I could name. So my one word summary of Proton would be " unmemorable".
Thanks Kevin, what fascinated me was the massive amount of commercial success they had with well priced, one generation behind, Japanese technology. It was a formula that worked for a while, but you have to keep moving in automotive not to get left behind.
they still exist
Yes, they do but unfortunately not in the UK sadly. Product range seems to have improved a lot too.
Now becoming a copy-paste Geely models for RHD markets.
how the malaysian car managed to get in british market? i mean what?
Right product, right price, right timing. Japanese quality at a bargain price appealed to a lot of buyers who prioritised A to B transport over having a used car from a mainstream brand.
@@Lot76CARS what a brave move by malaysia but it only in 90's...
Satria GTi
That’s the enthusiast one to own, engineered by Lotus!
@@Lot76CARS had a tired one in trade. Was good. Gen2 even handles fine. All shockers interior trim
Very underestimated lotus tuned body.
I remember those fastest growing car brand. Smoke and mirrors!
If you sell one car this year and you sell two next year... You have doubled your sales!
Not lies, but a misleading statement.
Protons were aboiut as exciting as eating flour.I certainly will not miss them.Even as bad as Protons did look at least they were not an SUV.They are even more tedious and dull.
A Proton SUV…….
@@Lot76CARS can you imagine !
The current models line of Proton are much better now. The current gen Saga, Persona and the new Iriz are all very good cars.
strangely, proton made it to south america, and at least where i am from, chile: they did well until the asian crisis made them withdraw. they tried once again a couple years ago with the prevé (LHD) but failed miserably, who tf would buy a proton for the money that buys you a focus titanium?
The engine is Mitsubhis, engine still comes from Japan. Mahathir forced all government servants can only buy proton. You are not allowed to buy other cars. No freedom during his rule.
Thanks, I didn’t know they still used Mitsubishi engines.
Wait....what's a 10 door family car? 😂
I am from malaysia and proton from the begining totally a scrap car....
I’ve never disliked any car brand - as a kid even FSO and Yugo had their rare charms, but as a car loving teenager, God I hated Protons. Everything about them style wise just seemed so unappealing. The fact they were driven by beige wearing old folks only deepened my lack of interest!
They did appeal to a certain type of customer…
Usually bought buy the unknowing buyer ..
like the daewhoo stuff
Cheap … and that’s about it
I worked on FSO's in the late 80s early 90s, they were dreadful
Ah yes he got a new proton for claiming he was "the new doctor who"
Nice little con for a stage actor wanting some publicity, he never proved anything about that story
Brilliant! I did wonder as I’d never heard of him!
If your interested take read this website by a doctor who fan, hes been called out about it since the 90s @@Lot76CARS