Archive for Proton

Proton will be collaborating with automotive component suppliers who are involved in producing hybrid components like Bosch to develop its own hybrid cars, which could be ready for the market in 2 to 3 years time. Proton managing director Datuk Syed Zainal said this would enable Proton to avoid reinventing the wheel, plus it could learn from those who already have the technology.

Bosch is currently has a 50:50 joint venture company called SB LiMotive with Korea’s Samsung. SB LiMotive Co Ltd is based in South Korea and is involved in development and commercialization of lithium ion batteries for hybrid cars. As for the rest of the components related to a hybrid system, Bosch has that covered with electronics, battery management, and motors.

Source

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This is the MEM Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 Rally Car by Mellors Elliot Motorsport. The Super 2000 Rally was proposed by the FIA because of the rising costs of running World Rally Cars and competing in the World Rally Championship.

The following are the specs for a Super 2000 Rally Car:

• 3, 4 or 5-door models with length over 3900mm
• Generic 4X4 transmission without active differential from Sadev or Xtrac
• 2.0 liter normally aspirated engine from either a base engine used in any model from the manufacturer, or a engine licensed from another manufacturer with 2,500 units minimum production per year
• Engine must comply to BTCC/ETC specs with 8,500rpm rev limit
• Minimum weight - 1100kg tarmac, 1150kg gravel
• Maximum bodywork and wheel arch extension width 1800mm

The MEM Satria Neo S2000 complies to these specifications, measuring 3905mm long, 1800mm wide with a 2440mm wheelbase and a weight of 1150kg. Its chassis is based on the road-going Neo and has been strengthened to comply with FIA regulations and the components of a S2000 rally car. It is fitted with a rollcage built from 35 meters of Chrome-Moly Steel Tubing.

Its 4-cylinder 1998cc DOHC normally aspirated engine is based on the 1.8 liter Renault engine in the Waja. It produces 280hp at 7,800rpm and a massive 271Nm of torque at 7,000rpm, and is installed transversely at the front of the car. This engine is mated to an Xtrac 6-speed sequential transmission with Alcon clutch and 3 player LSD.

Brakes are also from Alcon, with 300mm discs with 4 piston calipers at the front and 300mm discs at the rear on gravel. For asphalt, the front brake discs are uprated to 350mm. Wheels are 18 inch alloys for tarmac and 15 inch alloys for gravel. The car’s electronics system runs on the GEMS Multiplex System with Power Management, Data Logging and a Glass Dash Display

Look after the jump for more hi-res photos.

Click here to read the rest of MEM Proton Satria Neo Super 2000

Proton celebrated its 3,000,000th car to roll off the assembly lines at the Proton Technology Week during the weekend. The 3 millionth car is a silver Proton Saga, and will not be sold. It was autographed by the PM and will be kept for memories in a museum.

The first car to roll off Proton’s assembly line was the first generation Proton Saga back in 1985. It’s been 23 years since. That means slightly over 130,000 cars per year.

View a video of the ceremony after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Proton produced 3,000,000 cars since 1985

Proton i.CARE is an initiative by Proton to rebrand its customer service, and uses the slogan “You can count on us”. It was launched over a year ago in July 2007.

You will find after the jump a TVC featuring nearly the whole Proton line-up, but for those who are Proton customers, have you experienced an increase in customer service level since the i.CARE initiative? Have you used the 24 hours breakdown service, or the i.CARE customer hotline? Do share in the comments area.

I personally have never went back to a Proton service center. It’s third party workshops for my V6, and a recent reconditoning of my gearbox only cost me less than RM1,500 instead of the RM23,000 that other parties have paid. I must be very lucky!

Click here to read the rest of Proton i.CARE TV Commercial

Proton exhibited a few of its proton|design concept cars during the Proton Technology Week at the CBU Logistics area of the Shah Alam plant. The cars looked really nice and the striking colours somehow helped them stand out in the midst of all the Lotus cars that were also on display there.

Continue reading the post after the jump for a hi-resolution photo gallery and a video of the Proton concepts at the event.

Click here to read the rest of Proton Design Concept Cars Photos and Video

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This is one of the exhibits at the Proton Technology Week, an open wheel single seater racer from the Proton Prototype Center powered by a Campro engine. We didn’t get to see it in action while we were there, so if you did see it running do share in the comments section. Plenty more photos and a video available after the jump.

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Proton brought in the Lotus EVE Hybrid for its Proton Technology Week this weekend, and all journalists got to see was Pak Lah driving it really slowly, parking it, turning off the engine and getting out of the car. That last part was the most important though as it meant the car was left empty for a photo session.

As a recap on what the Lotus EVE Hybrid is, you can read the linked post but here is a brief summary on what makes it a hybrid. The EVE Hybrid combines a 110hp 1.6 liter Proton Campro engine with a 30kW (40hp) electric motor. Instead of the 4-speed auto typically found in a GEN2, the EVE gets a CVT transmission.

The car is claimed to be able to only consume 4.6 liters per 100km. City driving should be a breeze with a massive 233Nm (equivalent to a 2.4 liter engine) at a low 1,500rpm thanks to the boost from the electric motor. Horsepower is up to a combined peak of 141hp, and 0 to 100km/h takes 9 seconds. The electric motor is powered by a 144V battery in the boot.

Look after the jump for more photos and a video of the EVE Hybrid.

Click here to read the rest of Lotus EVE Hybrid at the Proton Technology Week

I have some preliminary details on the Proton MPV due to be launched in the first half of 2009. According to a source in Proton, the Proton MPV is on schedule and one of the first chassis prototypes was shown at the Proton Technology Week.

14th October 2008 UPDATE: Proton MPV Spyshots - photos of the actual Proton MPV being tested on public roads!

The chassis reveals quite a bit about the car. There is also a model of the interior hidden in a box with holes cut into it, much like the peekaboo promo that Proton did for its previous two models. The following are what I gathered on the MPV:

Exterior

• Overall shape is like the Toyota Wish but the rear section of the roof does not slope down slightly like the Wish to improve headroom for the third row.
• Tail lamps use LEDs and have a vertical design extending from the top to down, unlike the Wish’s which do not extend into the D pillar. The tail lamps are slimmer at the top but curve out a little at the bottom, similiar to the Volvo XC90’s design. The signal lamps in the light cluster are positioned towards the top for better visibility. You can actually see this in the previously revealed sketch and the teaser video above.
• There is a swage line on the side profile of the MPV.
• Regular swing doors instead of sliding doors.
• The spare tyre is installed outside under the chassis instead of kept in the car so that you can get access to it easily when the luggage space is occupied.

Interior

• The peekaboo box revealed a two-tone beige interior, but sources in Proton say the colour of the interior has not been finalised. It may be either beige or grey.
• Luggage space is not that great with the third row of seats in place, but can fit one large golf bag. This means balik kampung with 7 people loaded and luggage for 7 will be a challenge.
• Second row splits 60:40 while the third row is a 50:50 split. The seats fold flat.
• Interior roof height is designed to be quite decent to accomodate people who want to ride with songkoks and turbans.
• The shifter uses a gated shift and is dashboard-mounted rather than mounted between the front two seats, a common modern trend with MPV-like vehicles.
• The in-car entertainment is a 2-DIN unit. There are options for a DVD player with an LCD display for the movie mounted at the second row roof area. There is also an option in the future for GPS navigation.
• The 2-DIN head unit is at the top of the center dash area below the aircond vents, and below it comes the air conditioning controls which are three knobs arranged in a triangle shape. Below that is the shifter.
• There are aircond blowers for the second and third row situation at the top left and right of the cabin roof (near the grip handles). Proton source says after testing this produced the best airflow.
• There is no armrest between the front two seats but the armrest is instead a fold-down type integrated into the seat itself.

Chassis

• The wheelbase of the chassis is estimated to be more than 2,700mm but less than 2,800mm. In comparison, the Honda Stream has a wheelbase of 2740mm, the Wish is 2,750mm, the Innova 2,750mm, the Livina 2600mm, and the Mazda5 2750mm.
• The front suspension design uses MacPherson struts and the rear design uses a torsion beam to minimize suspension system intrusion into cabin.
• The front end is designed, supplied and assembled as a single module for weight reduction and ease of installation to minimize QC problems.
• The MPV is said to have very good crash safety design from Proton internal crash tests. A few MPVs will be sent for official crash testing and rating soon.

So there you have it. If you want to look at the interior and chassis for yourself you can head to the Proton Technology Week event tomorrow. The event is happening at the Proton plant in Shah Alam. On the KESAS highway heading towards Klang, turn left after the Center of Excellence and then turn left into the Proton plant.

An initial concept sketch of the Proton MPV interior, but the production version will be tamed down.

Proton MPV teaser video gets attention…

Day 1 visitors having a peek at the new MPV’s interior.

Click here to read the rest of Proton MPV exclusive initial details revealed!

Proton is currently having a promotion for the Proton Savvy where if you book one between the 25th July 2008 to the 25th August 2008, you will get a special package with the car that Proton calls the Savvy Unbelievable Deal at no extra cost over the OTR price.

The special package is worth RM4,500 and includes an Extended Warranty program which extends the car’s standard 2 year warranty to 5 years or 175,000km, free service for 2 years or the first 50,000km, a bodykit consisting of a front lip, rear bumper and side skirts, and a RM1,000 prepaid petrol card.

For this promotion, Proton will be organizing a “Savvy Fun Ride” convoy, where 10 pimped up Proton Savvys will be going around the Peninsular Malaysia to promote this 2-month deal. The pimped up Savvys have been given names according to its theme: Performance, Urban, Gizmo, Angel, 50th Anniversary, Stylo, Fun O Fun, X-Treme, Mr. DJ and i-Care (shown above).

Check out the other pimped up Savvys after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Proton Savvy Unbelievable Deal worth RM4,500

Proton will be opening its doors to the public at the Proton Technology Week this weekend. Members of the public will be able to have a look at some of Proton’s R&D facilities and future initiatives at Proton’s plant in the Hicom Industrial Estate, Section 26 Shah Alam.

- 2nd August 2008 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
- 3rd August 2008 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

In the technology area members of the public will be able to get a glimpse of Proton’s upcoming 2009 Proton MPV as well as R&D facilities like styling studios, safety labs, VR rooms, prototype studios, noise labs and others. I’ll most definitely be there to share with you what can be seen on Saturday night. Then you can decide if its worth checking out on Sunday which has longer opening hours.

UPDATE: Sheikh Muszaphar will be there on the 2nd of August, so this may be one chance for you to meet him in person for whatever reason you want.

In the carnival area there will be free go-kart rides, a precision driving showcase by Proton’s R3 team, a remote control car championship, a drifting demo, show cars and a demo of a driverless Lotus. It should be quite interesting as the driverless Lotus has been flown in all the way from the US.

The Lotus Autonomous Vehicle is based off the Lotus Elise and was an entry to the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007. It was developed by the North Carolina State University, Insight Technologies, Advanced Vehicle Research Center and Lotus Engineering. It uses laser measurements sensors, high accuracy GPS, and radar.

For those who have children there’s also a children’s fun area. Look after the jump for videos of the autonomous Lotus Elise.

Click here to read the rest of Proton MPV sneak peek at Proton Technology Week