Nissan Almera (or Proton Preve?) tops Google Zeitgeist Malaysia 2012 trending searches for cars

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There’s always plenty to look forward to in December – year-end car sales, and the holidays. But for me personally, as someone in the internet business, I always eagerly await Google’s Zeitgeist Malaysia 2012, which reveals the search patterns of Malaysians using the Google search engine.

Lucky for us car enthusiasts, Google knows Malaysia is a car-loving nation, so our very own customised Zeitgeist list has a list of trending car model searches. So here’s the top trending car models searched by Malaysians on Google this year, according to Google.

  1. Nissan Almera
  2. Toyota 86
  3. Proton Prevé
  4. Hyundai Elantra
  5. Mitsubishi Mirage
  6. Toyota Prius c
  7. Mazda CX-5
  8. Toyota Avanza
  9. Honda Civic
  10. Proton Exora Bold

Yes, the new Nissan Almera B-segment sedan tops the list. Note this list is for the top trending car models. A brief explanation on what trending means – according to Google it means search queries with the highest amount of traffic over a sustained period in 2012 as compared to 2011. It does not mean the search queries with the largest volume of searches. So naturally a lot of new models will appear in this list.

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There seems to be an anomaly with the results though. The Almera is number 1 under the Car Models category with the Proton Prevé coming in at third place, but in the top overall trending searches category, Proton Preve (without the stylised é) comes in at number four, with no other car appearing in the top overall trending searches category. It probably means Google is counting the terms Proton Preve and Proton Prevé separately, and somehow did not identify the Preve as a car.

But it looks like between the battle of the non-national new models, the Almera wins. We think the factors that contributed to this is a well-executed pre-launch teaser campaign that started earlier in the year to get people curious about the car, thus prolonging the timespan in which people were looking for info about the car, as well as an affordable price to appeal to the mass market.

Certain cars in there like the Mirage are affordable too but since it’s hype only started late Q3 2012, there was less time for the Mirage to register a higher increase in search query volume over the time span measured.

Read the full Google Malaysia Zeitgeist 2012.

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Paul Tan

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.

 

Comments

  • rabakSey on Dec 13, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    Hidden due to lowcomment rating. Click here to see.

    Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 24 Thumb down 133
    • r u kidding or blind?..almera are so ugly, it’s like vios tapi x jadi..

      Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 128 Thumb down 21
      • rabakSey on Dec 13, 2012 at 4:08 pm

        that’s why it is oppa uncle style… almari…

        Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 77 Thumb down 9
      • sgt setuju. i don’t see any beauty in Almera’s design. paling tak tahan bila tgk rear lights yang mcm ‘meleleh’ ke depan. haha

        Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 74 Thumb down 12
      • nissan_Almera_BETTER_THAN_VIOS on Dec 14, 2012 at 7:41 pm

        wei aku bli almera…ok ja…
        vios pun ak ada G limited xp kualiti teruk la…

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 9
      • Hate you on May 26, 2013 at 2:45 pm

        i guess you’re the one kidding. you have no rights to say what it looks like. Can you design a car? Don’t be such a busy body O.K ?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 6
    • "great_job" on Dec 13, 2012 at 4:20 pm

      your eye got problem i think..or your brain failed to process data correctly

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 30 Thumb down 8
    • mazaroondhom on Dec 13, 2012 at 5:45 pm

      almera exterior: with impul mod would be sporty and nice!! interior: yucks! Proton Preve is better overall…hehehe

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 57 Thumb down 16
    • Both r ugly but Almera is normal looking…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 52
    • better check your eyes..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 2
  • Hadi75 on Dec 13, 2012 at 3:58 pm

    In terms of look between almera and preve…..i prefer preve….

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 93 Thumb down 19
  • Malaysian people will overlook brand 1st before the looks, even preve apperance are 100% beuti dan uncle look almera.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 77 Thumb down 10
    • The Preve may be better looking than the Almera, but compare it with some Koreans or Europeans B/C-segments, and you will realise is not ‘100%’beuti.

      The Preve to me looks like an half-done job, The front end looks like a proper designed car but the rear looks like the design team just rushed over it so they can have an early dinner.

      BTW, I’ve seen the Almera recently next to the Vios and a Preve ,because it was from a distance, it looks like a whole bigger car. Maybe it’s the perspective but can anyone comment on this?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 43 Thumb down 12
  • An honor goes to Exora Bold as its the eldest model of other cars in the list but still there. Still in a list of choice.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 26 Thumb down 10
  • preve still the best..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 59 Thumb down 32
  • Black Dog on Dec 13, 2012 at 4:51 pm

    How to type the stylized e?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 5
  • NotAboutBranding on Dec 13, 2012 at 5:16 pm

    If local car got the quality to compete with foreign car, why don’t the government lower down the tax on foreign car to where its equal with the local car?

    Almera from US if convert directly its lower than RM40k.

    If lets say this 2 car is from a same company, the price wold be reasonable. RM40k below for a car with almera spec, and Preve with its price.

    We can even harshly saw a Singaporean driving a Malaysia car on the road. Its not about the look or what.. Its about the worth of money.

    If local car company was not protected as what we see today, I believe that they would be doing better than today trying to be better in order to compete with foreign company.

    Current competition is so handy-cap. Hope the government will realize that and doing better after the coming election.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 36
    • armandd on Dec 13, 2012 at 11:29 pm

      Mind to share where you got that ‘RM40k’ figure? Pluck it from thin air kah?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 5
    • TaylorSwift on Dec 28, 2012 at 3:56 pm

      WAU!!!it can compete with Saga FLX oredi…if that be real….it must the MOST famous car….even uncle or youth….

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Jimmy on Dec 13, 2012 at 5:55 pm

    Will be the best value for money car if 70k with 2 airbags + ESP with almost the size of a Civic and it is from Japan.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 11
  • frenzy on Dec 13, 2012 at 7:10 pm

    Look at the front, preve is much more nicer than the almari.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 42 Thumb down 15
    • TaylorSwift on Dec 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm

      Off corse, but u see the almera back is muck better than preve LOL….the tail light using the light like Proton Iswara 95 but not the popular LED….OMG

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 26
  • if wanna compare, lets wait for KIA K3…
    (and don compare and never talk about the RV)

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 33 Thumb down 8
  • McNapi's on Dec 13, 2012 at 9:19 pm

    i like almera..super space,value 4 money,nice impul kit n….handsome onde road…ish3!!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 25
  • first drive the almera,
    after that jump in the preve.

    drive on the B road,

    youll get answer

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 29 Thumb down 4
  • Preve looks premium if compare to Almera that looks ugly as dugong! or it could be Dugongs sister?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 45 Thumb down 8
    • TaylorSwift on Dec 28, 2012 at 4:03 pm

      YUCK…The almera performance is better than Preve(coz it a foreign car)…preve is so disgusting….(Especially its back…)like a SH*T

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 35
  • dugong on Dec 13, 2012 at 10:41 pm

    Toyota Avanza at No.7? Can’t believe ppl are still into this junk! SMH

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 23 Thumb down 7
  • copycat on Dec 13, 2012 at 11:20 pm

    Isn’t it that Almera front look similar to vios? Such a shame. Especially the highest spec that looks like vios trd.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 4
  • armandd on Dec 13, 2012 at 11:31 pm

    I would rather be seen driving a Preve rather than Almera…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 18 Thumb down 6
  • Rakyat on Dec 14, 2012 at 1:11 am

    Malaysian like dugong.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 5
  • Rakyat on Dec 14, 2012 at 1:21 am

    Even Google knows Malaysian have bad taste for cars.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 7
  • Rakyat on Dec 14, 2012 at 1:30 am

    Malaysian only search car model on the internet, not drive it?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 2
  • Rakyat on Dec 14, 2012 at 1:33 am

    Those who actually drive car do not bother to search, that’s why you see so few Almari on the road!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 5
  • Rakyat on Dec 14, 2012 at 1:37 am

    “Google… somehow did not identify the Preve as a car.”

    Google is right. Preve is not a car but a product of jaguh kampung.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 67
  • Almera is more for family oriented car while Preve combine it with a driver oriented, means more fun to the driver while tranporting passengers (wife n kids or even in laws). what i’m saying is Preve handles much better than Almera. I have tested both

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 40 Thumb down 5
  • bonbon on Dec 14, 2012 at 10:55 am

    why so

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • someoneelse on Dec 14, 2012 at 7:25 pm

    imagine Almera and Prevé with extra inches of black rims, base from the picture above, then you tell me which one looks more sportier.

    not to be a pro-national car, but we have brain to think.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 22 Thumb down 2
  • lccmodeldeveloper on Dec 16, 2012 at 12:32 am

    even preve price cheaper by rm10k± but:

    1. almera cheaper maintenance cost
    2. almera less fuel consumption l/100 km or more fuel economy mpg
    3. nissan car slower depreciation rate than proton car or higher resale value (except for nissan teana very fast depreciation rate so very low resale value)

    so in term of cost of ownership over its service life, almera is better

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 16 Thumb down 15
    • based on your comment , preve is cheaper somemore given better spec .Almera ‘s spec with just like nothing .

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 24 Thumb down 5
    • comrade on Dec 16, 2012 at 1:11 pm

      still too early to judge for almera RV… especially after what happen to Teana RV…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 2
  • OsemTV on Dec 16, 2012 at 3:22 pm

    lol… almera ??? T_T

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • pandab on Dec 17, 2012 at 11:23 am

    lol…the war of overpriced baselines…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • says says on Dec 19, 2012 at 9:39 pm

    best thing about ALMERA is that its steering is very very very light….Ladies will dump MyVi for this! Believe me!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • TaylorSwift on Dec 28, 2012 at 4:06 pm

    Sure?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 5
    • bonbon on Nov 21, 2013 at 4:28 pm

      true,his correct,you can feel it when you have a test drive over almera

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • busto on Jan 09, 2013 at 1:51 am

    Honestly almeera is ugly car in the world.bad design inside n outside..not sporty….jika saya silap panndang tolong jgn perbetulkan sbb memang saya gak silap pandang pun.tiap Kali terpandang kereta ni hati says berkata own…ni la kereta antara yg terhodoh d dunia…huk huk

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 6
  • busto on Jan 09, 2013 at 1:58 am

    My sylphy is too many problem one by one after two year…now I now what a Nissan brand……indah kabar dari rupa…nyesal beli bro!!!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 3
  • Salop on Feb 05, 2013 at 3:37 am

    Bolehland ppl are majoriti brand concious fagot, they really dont noe how to choose wisely and wiling to pay more for the thing that if you look closely is totally the same or worse hideous then the cheaper brands, u can aplly this fettish to all sort of thing that ppl buy ie cloth, Phone and etc etc, so if someone say that ooh proton car is junk etc etc etc, well he is just one of many many mindless brand concious fagot in this bolehland, so ppl stop taking words from other ppl, this no gud la, this one better la, cmon use your brain and compare. All the thing in avery aspect, and you Will end up buying goods worth every penny.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 3
  • my almera odo 5000km was the ugliest car i ever had, handling lose to waja, but as i drove it day by day, i realise this car really a convenience, comfort creature for travelling, steering much lighter than myvi(old car) even camry (borrow fren),easy to manouver, parking, no engine sound at all inside cabin,no back ache after driving for 8 hours(not like waja),no rattling sound like myvi.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 0
    • Expert on Nov 21, 2013 at 4:30 pm

      I must disagree with your parking statement.Its a long wheel based car,easy to park?not really.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Ultraman GinGa on Mar 05, 2014 at 6:59 am

    Almera and Preve looks best in their own class. I will support proton and nissan.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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