Initially, relying heavily on Mitsubishi for technology/design as well as strategic government support on taxes and benefits, it had carved out a significant local market share but poor international representation.

It was only in 1996, with the acquisition of Lotus Technologies did Proton emerge as a serious international car maker. While Lotus did give them the edge in terms of vehicle design and ride and handling…the absence of a state-of-the-art engine-transmission technology has prevented the car (GEN2) to be a real serious contender in the international arena. I have personally tested the GEN2 (in the middle east where i had worked for some time) for almost 15,000 kms and the overall ownership experience is good (for the price, that is!). Where it falls short on expectation is the powertrain (engine and transmission). The engine is noisy (calling it a ‘sporty, hence noisy’ engine will not convince all of them. while the5 speed manual gearbox is a tad notchy and the gears sticky, at higher revs,.. the 4 speed auto box is an utter disgrace and less said about it, the better!...). While the others (not the Japanese machines) already have 6 speed and tiptronic gearboxes, this 5 speed and 4 speed transmissions are a glaring handicap and prevents anyone to consider the GEN2 a serious title contender in that segment…

Where it however, redeems itself is in the ride and handling department (this is where Lotus Technology comes in!).

It is common knowledge that one of the best handling cars currently in this segment internationally is the Ford Focus and I must admit that the Proton GEN2 beats the Focus hands down,……. no contest!!!!…it ‘corners, like on rails’ thanks to the intricately-designed front and rear suspension and the sharp and precise steering makes it an absolute scream to drive….(pity it doesn’t have the engine and the gearbox to go with it!...i would personally like to see a 2.0L turbo charged monster under the hood with a 6 speed, steering mounted paddle shift to justify and compliment the superb vehicle dynamics…)

To come up with a contemporary and complete hi quality, internationally competitive product, research and development (which could take anywhere between 2 to 3 years for engine-transmission technology upgrade alone, as is the case with the current CAMPRO engine in the GEN2) calls for a huge investment which Proton at this stage can hardly afford as the sales have been dropping quite rapidly and there is a need to prop up sales with price and additional owner benefit advantages(which means money needs to be spent in this area rather than on Product development).

A technical alliance partnership with a global manufacturer would have worked out perfectly for them, providing valuable engine-transmission tech. upgrades to match international standards but the Malaysian government is treating the company like yet another government department and have been averse to any shareholding arrangements with the various international manufacturers who have been on and off on the negotiating table with them.

On the same note, it will be interesting to see how they will fare in the indian market, who the indian partner will be and how they are going to compete with our own homegrown models as well as other international brands which have established themselves here, sans the government protection they currently enjoy in malaysia.