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Proton Exora Prime – CFE variant photos leaked!

December 12, 2011 at 6:07 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Proton

More on Proton’s upcoming turbocharged Exora MPV – leaked photos of the Prime variant have surfaced, courtesy of Funtastico, which picked them up from the original source blog, Kizz Kazz.

This follows on the example spotted on a trailer last week, bearing a “CFE Inside” decal on the driver’s door, which should be the turbocharged 1.6 litre Campro version expected to have 138 hp and 205 Nm for output figures. The Exora Bold, as the turbo variant is to be called, will feature smoked tail lamps, rear disc brakes plus a bodykit on the new items list.

Meanwhile, the Prime is said to be the more upmarket version, and the interior features wood-grain panel trim for the centre console, as well as what looks like a Bosch 2-DIN head-unit, according to Harvinder, who says the unit looks familiar!

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Khazanah selling Proton stake to DRB, says Tun Mahathir

December 12, 2011 at 12:26 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Of the parties bidding for a stake in national carmaker Proton, Khazanah Holdings will sell its 42.7% stake to DRB-Hicom, according to Proton adviser Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The ex-PM added that that Khazanah was selling because it wasn’t pumping more money into Proton, which needs funds for R&D work on new products such as hybrid cars, according to The Star.

“I worry about the buyer (DRB-Hicom) having enough money to inject into Proton. The shares it will be buying are above market price, which will make profitability difficult,” Tun said at the MIDF Investment Forum in Langkawi. “But I believe in DRB-Hicom’s capabilities,” he said, assuring that the status of Proton as a national car would remain after the ownership change.

It was previously reported that there were three parties bidding for the Government’s stake in Proton – DRB-Hicom, a management buyout led by Proton chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh and parties linked to the Naza Group. Today’s report reveals that Khazanah had been also approached Sime Darby Motors, Hyundai-Berjaya Sdn Bhd, and UMW Holdings Bhd.

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Proton mobile teams set out to install compulsory rear centre lap belts for Saga LMST and Gen.2

December 10, 2011 at 2:19 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Proton

Proton has begun a month-long campaign in which it is sending out mobile teams to install the mandatory rear centre lap belt in Saga LMST and Gen.2′s manufactured between 2004 and 2008. The teams are set to visit used car outlets in the Klang Valley, and will be targeting army and police stations nationwide as well as Government offices and public universities.

Installation of the belt is free, and takes approximately 30 minutes per vehicle. The exercise is part of the company’s Rear Centre Lap Belt Campaign to ensure that Proton car owners comply with the Government ruling that will make it compulsory for vehicles to be fitted with the safety device from January 1 next year.

The Proton mobile teams, consisting of eight teams of four personnel each, have installed rear centre lap belts in more than 700 cars since December 5. The exercise complements a series of road shows and other on-the-ground programmes around the country, which began in September.

So, if you own a Saga LMST and Gen.2 and haven’t yet had the belt fitted, you can do so at any authorised Proton service centres – there’s no need to go look for the mobile teams, though if you do spot them around your ‘hood that would be quite convenient.

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Proton Exora with turbocharged Campro CFE spotted!

December 9, 2011 at 5:41 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Local News, Proton

Say hello to this interesting looking Proton Exora! The thing that makes it interesting is of course the “CFE INSIDE” decal that can be seen on the driver’s door. We’ve been hearing the CFE term for quite a while now and it started way back in February this year when a test was carried out in the snow.

At this point, we’ve been told by a source that CFE stands for Charged Fuel Enhancement (and not the Campro Fuel Efficient term, as believed), and it’s a 1.6 litre Campro engine fitted with a turbocharger. This engine is also said to function with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) or a manual transmission, and is rumored to produce about 138 hp and 205 Nm of torque between 2,000 and 4,000 rpm.

If you look closer at the image above, you will notice smoked tail lamps and rear disc brakes. This might be the same model that was seen in June this year by reader Dg Hafidz, who said he had trouble keeping up with it on the highway. We are not sure how this Exora CFE will be positioned into the Exora line-up, but it could well be a range-topping variant of the upcoming Exora facelift.

Since Proton isn’t making any attempt to camouflage the vehicle, an official announcement could well be around the corner. Stay tuned! And, a tip of the hat to reader Yus, who snapped the photo. On another note, the Campro CFE engine should make its way into other models in Proton’s stable, such as the new Persona or Satria :)

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My Proton Makeover – work in progress pics of the Wira

December 9, 2011 at 3:18 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Proton

Work has been progressing steadily on Sashideran Radha Krishnan’s 17-year-old Proton Wira, which is the second vehicle chosen to undergo the ‘My Proton Makeover’ treatment, and on December 14, he’s set to get his beloved ride back, all dressed up and ready to go.

We were invited to have a look at the car yesterday, with things moving into the final stages of the rebuild. The original white of the car has been replaced with a metallic blue shade, which Proton motorsports division head honcho Tengku Djan Ley says was chosen to best complement the silver wheels set to be tricked out for the car.

New to the car will be a rear wing, which it never had, and the front bumper now gets a lip, highlighted in silver. The car will also go back to Sashideran as a lowered ride, courtesy of a new APM suspension specified by the R3 boys.

Inside, the original brown interior has been replaced with a black theme, with blue highlights. Leather is the choice of wrap, and is to be found on the seats and door cards, and the stuff covers the dashboard as well, all replete with blue stitching.

The centre console trim hasn’t yet been painted, but is set to be blue, like the Satria GTI gearshift console cover that finds its way onto the car. Elsewhere, the roof lining also goes the black route, with an Alcantara-esque feel at that.

Mechanically, Djan says that they’re toying with the idea of changing the 1.5′s rear drums to discs, which might or might not happen, but otherwise, most of the mechanical work is pretty much complete – engine rebuilt and everything remounted. Sashideran, who was also present yesterday, looked thrilled, and is eager to get his “darling Wira” back. Next week, then!

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DRB-Hicom’s bid for Proton – does it include the introduction of Volkswagen at some point in the future?

December 8, 2011 at 2:44 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Well, the wheels on this one are set to keep on turning. The talk is of course about the three-way bid that’s reputably shaping up for a controlling stake in Proton, with the players being DRB-Hicom, Proton chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh and parties linked to the Naza Group. Each party has apparently submitted a bid to Khazanah Holdings, which has a 42.7% stake in Proton, to seek control of the national carmaker.

Each will undoubtedly have its own game plan, and supposedly, DRB-Hicom’s is thought to include the presence of Volkswagen at some point in the future. The Star reports that a reliable source says that if DRB is successful, it will at a later stage introduce some of its equity to VW, with the view that both parties are to share control and management in Proton.

The report adds that this line of thought could make the bid more desirable, given that the carmaker wouldn’t be under the direct control of a foreign party, which was likely one of the reasons why the negotiations with Volkswagen four years ago never went to ink. VW is keeping mum on the whole affair, it seems, and so is DRB-Hicom, for now.

Not that it’s all done and dusted, of course. Another source with intimate knowledge of proceedings said Khazanah had yet to make a decision on things, and that a round of meetings are set to take place this week between key stakeholders regarding the matter – there’s every possibility that the sale of the stake in Proton might be called off temporarily, at that.

And so it continues to roll.

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Three-way fight for Proton stake shaping up – DRB-Hicom, Naza and Proton chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi involved?

December 6, 2011 at 7:18 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

The marketplace is buzzing with news of a three-way tussle for a stake in Proton that’s currently owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

The three parties are said to be DRB-Hicom, which is controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary, parties linked to the Naza Group and a management buyout lead by Proton Chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh. All three parties have been previously linked with the national carmaker.

Currently, Khazanah has a 42.7% stake in Proton, and should a party succeed in buying over the Government’s stake, it will trigger a general offer. Business Times quotes a source involved in the bidding process as saying that the bids were in the range of between RM6 and RM7 per share. The same source added that “whoever is buying Proton is getting the company on the cheap” based on Proton’s March 2011 book value per share of RM9.84.

This development is drawing in the speculators, and Proton’s share price went up by another 89 sen yesterday to close at RM4.50, with over 20 million shares changing hands. DRB-Hicom, thought to be the front runner in the bid, also saw its shares rise. The counter gained 20 sen to end the day at RM2.20, the highest point since August. DRB-Hicom is of course the company that is assembling Volkswagen cars at its Pekan plant.

Proton’s share price might still rise, since OSK Holdings Bhd and RHB Capital Bhd have upgraded the stock to a “buy” with a fair value of RM5 per share. It will be interesting to know more about the plans each of the bidders have for Proton. Nothing is out at the moment, but we will keep tabs on this.

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Proton P3-21A high speed Karak test caught on camera

December 6, 2011 at 3:19 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Spyshots

It has been awhile since we had updates on the Proton P3-21A sedan. The last was when a pic of an undisguised yellow example made its way to the Internet, showing us a front end design that has been modified from the Tuah concept paraded at KLIMS 2010. If the final product stays true, the C-segment contender will have projector headlamps, LED DRLs and a wide “mask style” grille.

Anyway, reader Bay MH recently spotted something interesting when driving down the Karak highway to KL. He saw two taped up test mules of the P3-21A and whipped out his camera for some decent shots.

According to our car paparazzi, he was in a Vios and the Protons were doing over 140 km/h, with a Ford Fiesta chasing them (naughty fella!). He observed that both mules had four passengers onboard, and one unit sat lower at the back than the other, probably because it had cargo in the boot.

And just like in a Michael Bay movie, there were action scenes – Bay said that he had to slow down in the corners but had enough to catch up on the straights and both Protons were “cornering nicely at speed”.

Here are the shots that Bay (MH not Michael) managed to snap, bad black Fiesta included :) Click here to view our previous post featuring the abovementioned yellow undisguised pic.

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Proton Saga FLX SE launched – RM49,899 OTR!

November 30, 2011 at 4:06 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Ah, while all the action seems to be in Tokyo, along pops up something more relevant and closer to home. Proton has announced the introduction of the Saga FLX SE, which we “previewed” last week, all thanks to an erstwhile reader and a leaked brochure.

Danny’s story already carries most of the tech details, so the big news is really about the photos of the car and the price – the 1.6 litre Campro and CVT-equipped vehicle rolls in at RM49,899 (metallic) and RM49,449 (solid). There are only two shades, the Fire Red as seen in the photos (which is the metallic), and Solid White.

Priced RM2,900 above the current selling 1.6 litre automatic Saga FL, the Saga FLX SE features eight exterior and three interior changes. It’s fitted with 15-inch alloy wheels, an complete factory-fitted body kit in contrasting grey, fog lamps and smoked-finished combination rear lamps.

Meanwhile, the 108 hp and 150 Nm vehicle’s interior gets a healthy dollop of leather; hide is to be found on the seats, steering wheel, door ornament as well as the parking brake and gearshift levers.

The company is hoping to shift around 500 units of the Saga FLX SE per month. Oh, and customers who have ordered a Saga and are still waiting for their car to be delivered can opt to change their booking to the FLX SE at the respective showroom in which the booking was originally made.

If you’re thinking of viewing the FLX SE, don’t rush out just yet, because the car will only be at all Proton showrooms from tomorrow, December 1.

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Proton-Mitsubishi strategic collaboration – Proton expects to ink deal by year-end to build Mitsubishi sedan models

November 30, 2011 at 6:35 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Mitsubishi, Proton

Following the news in September about Proton and Mitsubishi discussing a broad ranging collaboration, Bernama reports that Proton expects to seal a JV agreement with Mitsubishi Motors by year-end to build Mitsubishi sedan models at its Tanjung Malim plant.

The agreement will see the manufacture of 60,000 Mitsubishi units annually, which is about 90% of the plant’s production capacity, Proton MD Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin said, adding that the plant is currently operating at between 56% and 58% capacity.

Syed Zainal was briefing reporters after the announcement of the company’s Q2 2011/2012 financial year results yesterday, which saw the Group recording a lower pre-tax profit of RM47.524 million for the six months ended September 30, 2011, compared to RM185.914 million made in the corresponding period last year.

The lower profit was largely attributed to higher spending by Lotus Group International Limited, mainly on capability enhancement, infrastructure development and marketing costs, in line with its five-year business transformation plan.

Meanwhile, despite a second-half downtrend forecast by the Malaysian Automotive Association, Syed Zainal said that Proton would overcome it with the introduction of its Saga FLX Special Edition in December, the report added.

He said that 2012 was set to be an exciting year for the company, with the introduction of four models, the Exora Bold and Exora Prime, Inspira R3 and the P3-21A sedan.

Syed Zainal also said that Proton is set to expand its presence in the Chinese market – under a memorandum of understanding it has signed with Hawtai Motor Group, it is slated to sell four Proton models under the Hawtai badge.

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