Paul Tan on the Automotive Industry
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Proton dealers will be accepting official bookings for the new Proton Saga replacement known to us as the Proton BLM tomorrow. TV3 reports quoting official Proton sources that the 1.3 litre 4 door sedan will be sold at prices of between RM30,000 to RM35,000.
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New Lexus GS is coming soon – now open for bookingAbout the Author
After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.
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i’m so eager to see the new model…
Paul, Wishing you a Happy & Prosperous New Year 2008!
Proton BLM will be sold like HOT CAKE SOON! COngratulations!
Depending on this price range, i think is between m-line and basic-line.
What i want to see now is the real thing. Good luck Proton.
Hei G, is time to open this market since everything is going to expensive next year. Make the cars more cheaper pls…
European + Malaysian = Rojak
Nice car though, now Proton is responding to its customers. Hopefully they will produce better cars in the future.
SAGA VS VIVA ~ is time to adjust the price . can book one auto now ?
for my lao po ??
another one ka…. more soul wouldn’t R.I.P. after its launch!
congrat proton. hp nu yr to all readers, basher, supporters. hehe!
export is the way to go. asap. lateness is no business.i wonder if the proton management is looking at the bigger picture and not just ‘saga vs viva’.
Hmmm…
I have very good feeling that this replacement model for SAGA will become favourite model for malaysian after WIRA a few years ago . Honestly, i like the exterior design.
Lets think the name for this new model:) who knows, your guess come true:)
maybe SAGA Neo? ….
Anyway SYABAS proton:)
so early to booking.
hope this hot selling cake will be in top quality.
hepi new year everyone!
Wow… What a bargain for such a BIG car( compared to tiny Viva, Savvy and Myvi)
Congrat to PROTON..
i thing this car will be sold very fast…. emmm..how about the name?
SAGA Neo?
Bargain, rumour petrol increase another 20 sen.
cant wait……..and hepi new tahun everibodi………..
I hope to see this model bring up the spoilt image of proton and hope it’ll be very successful and hope they can get into american market…
#
BigFish said,
January 1, 2008 @ 12:09 am
Bargain, rumour petrol increase another 20 sen.
_____________________________________________________________________________
I heard people said increase 40cents
had flu tonite..
but i saw BLM TV ADS TONITE!!
it’s nice!.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU PAUL!!!!!
how many colours and trims this car comes in?
now tell me.. what the hell viva is..
True love? prthhhhhh
As normal, Prootn will have their booking projection. Maybe 10K units for the first month. But when come to car register on the road, it may be 50% of the booking only.
This car for sure will sale like “hot cake”, but it will affect other models sales within Proton portfolio! To have absolute increase in overall sales to turn around Proton is still “far and away”.
Although the design is kinda dated but then it’s a cheap car… Anyway the car is not ugly, just the design looks like some cars design in the early 2002 or 2004
the rear looks soo much like the ford focus sedan…specialy da rear lights…
congratz PROTON..
So this car will be renamed as Europestar SKR in China right?
SKR = SucKeR
congratz PROTON
the next pride n joy is coming…
Beginning to see many Personas on the road lately, so this model will be next..
http://utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=0101&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Korporat&pg=ko_01.htm
woaaa.
got to call proton agent up to have a look on this new hot baby….hope they will have the demo car ready for viewing…can’t wait to see it…price wise is very attractive…again…proudly to be Malaysian…it will be great if the design concept purely coming from us!
happy new year to paul and to all.
have to see the car interior before booking. by the way this car looks more similar to toyota altezza, if two cars side by side…..
BLM TV ad???
is time Perodua died and disappear ….. sad…..
….
wflo128 said,
January 1, 2008 @ 9:55 am
==don’t worry, perodua won’t die and disappear……..bcos lot’s of people do like 4door hatchback.
This car is unveilled today happy 2008!!
Now MyVi is OVER PRICED!
Hope Perodua take the hint for their own sake.
30 – 40K ?
that’s amazing ! ! quality is still the main form factor
all plasticky makes it lousy wor…
Please work on it.
protong…uh how about the quality?very bad experience with their product.
good pricing wei…
beat myvi flat wei…
hey.go to proton’s website.there’s a teaser trailer for the new saga. and yeah, it does looks like they’re going to call it saga. the tagline for the car…’a new saga begins’..hehe
btw.heard rumors that there are still some nagging problems about the new sagas’ electronic systems.do hope that they will be able to sort it out before the launch. if the first batch of the cars have problems, then it will be another big problem for proton. first impressions do count, right?hope they’ll get it right in time. good luck proton!!
zane said,
January 1, 2008 @ 12:33 pm
hey.go to proton’s website.there’s a teaser trailer for the new saga. and yeah, it does looks like they’re going to call it saga. the tagline for the car…’a new saga begins’..hehe
btw.heard rumors that there are…
____
So you’re the bashers those make fake story right?
wait for the proton’s lawyer bring you to court.
—-
I bit dislike with the small type slop. It should be larger than that.
At least can fit easily 16″ sportrim. (well.. knew that was only 1.3) but ah beng can change to 1.6 engine as well..
btw.happy new year 2008 to paul tan and all other readers. may all of us have a great year ahead of us.cheers!!!
me a basher??never!!!i want proton to succeed. I’ve been all around the world and whenever I see a proton or any other malaysian related products for that matter, I beam with pride. But it does saddens me that the people who buys proton overseas are only the middle/ lower class people. I want to see proton names to be as great as bmw/merc/audi/or wutever manufacturers that you guys adores. I’m a MALAYSIAN and PROUD to be one!!!!!
At least they (Proton) stay keep their word to sell the car from RM30,000, although the size is bigger than Savvy…. I wonder if they are going to revamp the pricing of their other model range..
i read the newspaper this morning and saw the advertisement of the proton blm. it says “Bermulanya SAGA baru”(utusan malaysia). the word saga typed in a cool font. maybe proton has decided to keep up the saga name.
Okay, the car is better than the Persona (Unfortunately), so I hope after this we as the service workshop personnel do not need to hear hyper many complaints like the bloody Gen-2…
Maybe they will named it as Proton Saga Neo? Like they did it on the Satria Neo.
BLM = Boleh Land Model ?
saw the teaser at proton website..it have sporty bumper..its kinda cool..
also notice that the rear signal light is yellow, instead of white from the model above..
hmm already poisoning my father heehe to take this car..since it 33k sumthing..time to sell my old iswara..anybody??
MyviKiller
i read other forum they put..
BLM = Boleh Lawan Myvi ….
This gotta be a hit for sure… =)
So you’re the bashers those make fake story right?
wait for the proton’s lawyer bring you to court.
————–
Blind defender flame other as basher, pathetic!
Look at Proton’s website:
http://www.proton.com/
looks good the rear looks like old c-class
think before buying…
http://www.proton.com/
The appproach of the teaser is different from previous Persona or Satria Neo model as it is “clear-cut”
cecibo, you mean “waite and see” attitude!
tec96248 said,
January 1, 2008 @ 10:01 am
==don’t worry, perodua won’t die and disappear……..bcos lot’s of people do like 4door hatchback.
>>> but the price scared out a lot ppl away from perodua to PROTON !!!!!!!!!!!
Guys..did you realise that since 1984, PROTON employ many malaysian to become their engineer, technician etc…
Without PROTON, Perodua, Naza and others will not have the EXPERT automotive engineer… because many of them work with PROTON before they join Perodua and Naza…
So, we need to support PROTON, because some of the workers in PROTON maybe our relatives and friends..and if something bad happen to PROTON… it will effect their workers too..
in term of Quality, i can see PROTON have done a lot of improvement. Do not think that everything is 100% perfect, since we also not 100% perfect.
I believe that 2008 will be the bench mark for PROTON to success in automotive industry…
If the “SAGA Neo” dominant the market, i believe that Perodua and Naza also will create their “new clone model” with lower price,and at that time, everybody can buy new car… So..lets think about that:)
#
BigFish said,
January 1, 2008 @ 2:38 pm
cecibo, you mean “waite and see†attitude!
—————–
if it’s necessary
wflo128 said,
January 1, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
price won’t scare people away, savvy is cheaper than myvi so? what about wira? viva? vios and avanza also can outsell waja even though vios is far more expensive. but quality problems can scare away car owners. nowadays consumer are capable and smart too.
Proton had really done well this time, improved its R&D, design, etc. However, sad to say at this price of RM30K to RM40K, the raw material used in this car must be cheap, with total cost estimated at RM17K to RM20K(High line) before all other tax applies. It’s common SENSE that building a car at this cost will give the kind of quality. I am a proton owner, and I can even quote you the price of a component in a car, ie: A denso compressor would already cost RM1200-00. Therefore, the areas which Proton can save is its accesories; such as power windows, door handles, ICE, interior body, etc. I would not say that the quality will be bad but just not reliable. What more the SC for proton are not really professional in giving good QUALITY services. Ever since I brought a proton car, I swear that I would never buy a SECOND. I prefer that M’sians would buy PERODUA vehicles as most of the parts are outsource(Toyota/Daihatsu) or has been used in imported cars. I believe most of you would agree with me on this matter. Just take a look between these vehicles produced by Proton and Perodua. You decide!!
the problem that is still surrounding proton right now is with their vendor, they doesn’t seem to produce good quality parts.
I just remember 1 funny story from my friend, he used to worked at proton factory (just now he quit), some of the parts are hardly to fit in (tak brapa ngam) but they have to push it coz there’s no spare and sometimes bile dh bengang they violently throw the things and then take it and put it back.
well don’t blame them heheh…
funny but sad…
hope proton had overcome with this vendor problem
forgive me… i’m not campaign “dont buy proton” but i have to share this fact so you could know the quality of your future proton car. try to inspect of any parts faulty, make sure there in good condition before you bring it home, be a wise consumer.
yeah2!!!
love SAGA @ My ISWARA!!!!
love it!!!!
Cecibo
The vendors have to skip their quality test for the Waja components because of the unexpected demand, that’s why our Waja is soo teruk. This source is from Wikipedia.
MyviKiller said,
January 1, 2008 @ 9:31 pm
Cecibo
The vendors have to skip their quality test to meet the unexpected demand, that’s why our Waja is soo teruk. This source is from Wikipedia.
if that the case then mati lah BLM.
anyway, lets give proton a change to show Malaysian what they can produce.
good luck Proton
I don’t think we should trust what Wikipedia says 100%
what ever is…SAGA nama yg telah GAH since 1985 until 2007 with the ISWARA kereta kebal…now we come with SAGA 2008 model….so….support our SAGA n other Proton cars!!!
actually the car with this type of shape have nothing to do with the word like ‘look nice’, ‘cool’, or ‘beautiful’, to me it looks ‘odd’…overall body line out of proportion.
saw Buletin TV3 last night about BLM,
Guess what? this Paul Tan website appeared with registered plate no. black undisguised BLM pictures!!
Guess what again? NO credit for you, Paul Tan!
Poor you!
look good for rm35k.
price list:-
33k, 35k, 37k, 40k
details….coming soon
wait guys…although Proton brand wasn’t so successful since launched…don’t you think that we should give Proton another chance to prove itself? Way to go Proton!
Been planning to get meself a myvi but this is gonna really make me decision hard… me thinks me need to check blm first… please do review blm so me can make me purchasing decision well. me thank all.
Today i just ask the proton agent, the most lowest spec Manual Saga is selling RM31599. and for Auto the chepest price is RM37899. I duno why there is such a big gap between auto and manual transmission.
for N-LINE manual w/out sport rims price is OTR RM31,500, for B-LINE manual and auto w/out sport rims price start from 34,548 to 37,998 and for M-LINE with rims start from 37,048 to 39,998……hot selling cake!!!
I QUOTE FROM:
“enginerd_2008 said, January 1, 2008 @ 4:17 pm,
we need to support PROTON, because some of the workers in PROTON maybe our relatives and friends..and if something bad happen to PROTON… it will effect their workers too..”
My dear fellow Malaysian, as far as I’m concerned, I do not have any close or long distance relatives working with Proton, so I don’t give a damn of supporting it. Furthermore, when it comes to money, it is strictly business and there’s no such thing as “family business intervention or whatsoever” that will affect my power of judgment as a meticulous consumer, in which I have sweat day and night just to earn few Malaysian Ringgit.
If Proton wants my money (or the consumers’ money) then Proton should work hard for it by providing us good quality products as well as competitive price. I don’t believe in supporting people or product blindly and worst still losing my money to a very low quality product (I have a lot of bad experience with Proton models). So I’d really hope Proton’s Crony Supplier, Proton’s Salesman, Proton’s Engineer Kampung (everybody knows Proton is famous outsourcing its design and engineering to overseas) and all those Datuk-Datuk Crony, just shut the f*** up and wait until BLM comes out officially and let us CONSUMERS judge it from top to bottom. Enough said.
The Evil Decepticon SY0H.
wow!
Saga old and new, Iswara, Kelisa, Myvi, Viva, Kembara, Alza…whatever. I am happy driving my well maintained 30 year old Suzuki jeep. It is light, agile and very rarely got stuck. True enough it is slower than all national cars on sealed road but I don't enjoy speeding anyway. And the prices of our national MPV? Wow, I am looking for a used short wheelbase Toyota Mark II.
I bought a Proton Saga (BLM) 1.3 Auto for my wife last year (Dec 2009). We were happy to receive the car as our impression is that Proton has finally trying to improve their product and service, and we were reading articles claiming how economical it is to drive the Saga (fuel saving). Me and my wife have driven 2 different type of Proton Saga 1.5(A) before. I sold mine after replacing the gearbox and have enough of the rattling sound of the dashboard, and bought a new car of different manufacturer. My wife gave her proton to her sister. We were shocked after using the new saga BLM for 3 months, it is not even fuel economical as it claimed and things got worst lately. From RM0.12/km to RM0.16/km. already exceeded 7000km. told the service center but they just keep quiet and smile.
Our other problems are loose rubber seal on the door and we can hear the wind as we drive. the guy at the service center just put a double sided tape on the rubber (what kind of service is this???) the service center told me i’m not the only facing this problem and mentioned this must have happened during installation of the seal at the factory. what kind of quality control is that?
Door handles are hard to pull – very tight even after adjust at service center TWICE!!! I’m not the only one here. a close friend of mine also bought the same car and also have the same problem.
Trunk (bonet) can’t stay open – it keeps falling. fixed but can’t close properly. so, one problem after another….sick.
Clarion Radio – after turning the radio ON and listen to the station for a few minutes, it automatically search and then it stop…..after few minutes….search again and then it stop….and it keeps repeating….
Lastly (I hope), 2 days ago, I warmed up the engine in the morning for my wife as she was about to go to work. As I close the door, it automatically lock with the engine still runing and nobody was inside the car. I had to get a spare key to open the door. Then my wife tried to open and close. It locked automatically. Luckily my baby is not inside the car. how do you expect me to open the door if i don’t have the spare key and if my baby is inside the car??? what kind of quality is Proton heading to?
I have to give up again on Proton. Don’t say I never give Proton a chance to prove its worth. and now I promise not to buy another proton next time. My father’s Myvi after 4 years still good…without any significant issues.
saya ada experience car lock sendiri tu. cuma biasanya masa enjin tak start lagi.. dari jauh saya unlock.. tapi bila dah dekat kereta (ambil masa yang lama untuk buka pintu kereta setelah di unlock dari jauh), ia akan auto lock sendiri.. time dah hidup enjin mmg saya xpernah tutup pintu kereta. saya pastikan ada org dalam kereta ( org dewasa la).
Saya beli kereta saga blm auto pada feb 2009.. so far pakai dah setahun setengah. boleh dikatakan tak de masalah langsung. cuma bateri kereta ditukar pada bulan may 2009. tu pun tukar free je kat SC. masalah enjin takde. masalah power window takde. masalah material pun takde. saya tukar sport rim size 16′ dgn tayar 205/45. masalah spring suspension tayar belakang saja yg tak selesai lagi sekarang. bila kereta full load (4 penumpang + pemandu + barang penuh untuk balik kampung), tayar akan bergesel dgn body bila pass through jalan yang beralun (eg; jln bentung ke raub). terpaksa bwk 70 ke 80 km/h je. tp kalo jln yang baik.. pemanduan ok walaupun full load. syabas kepada proton kerana saya puas hati pakai kereta ni kerana mmg berbaloi-baloi dengan valuenya.. minyak pun jimat la jgk. rm 55 boleh jln sejauh 345-350km. ok la.. xde la mahal sgt..