We were at the Proton’s Centre of Excellence in Shah Alam today to catch the company’s Alami Proton open day, an event aimed at giving the public a 360-degree experience of the brand.
Prospective customers will be able to test drive Proton, R3 and Lotus models, including the new Proton Iriz. The company’s latest B-segment hatchback can also be won through a lucky draw open to visitors, along with various bicycles and motorcycles. In addition, the company is showcasing the products and services of its vendors, which include Robert Bosch, TRW, Delloyd Industries and KYB-UMW Malaysia.
Proton is also opening the doors to its Research and Development (R&D) centre, where it designs and develops all its cars, as well as its Medium Volume Factory (MVF) that builds the Inspira and Exora. This is an extremely rare opportunity, as these facilities contain very sensitive assets, equipment and processes and thus are usually highly guarded and heavily restricted.
You’ll be able to watch designers bring their ideas to life and even try your hand at sculpting scaled-down clay models. Remember our two-part behind-the-scenes look at how a Proton is designed? Well, now you’ll be able to see it with your own eyes, and even take part in it! You’ll also be able to experience the company’s development and testing procedures and catch cars rolling down the assembly line.
Also on display in front of the R&D centre entrance are the Proton’s “Invention and Innovation” cars built by various departments within the company, as well as the Prevé REEV we showed you earlier.
To get around the sprawling Shah Alam complex, visitors can take the buses that trawl the roads that connect the various facilities, or they can be chauffeured in Proton’s fleet of shuttle cars – which even include its Saga EV and Exora REEV prototypes – for free.
If you’re interested but missed out on today, don’t fret – the Alami Proton event is also open tomorrow from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
I visited Proton today to look at the Iriz and was debating between the choice of the Myvi or this as my first car. I was impressed that they had done a few things right, including providing transport to those parked a distance from the showroom. But once I arrived, everything started to go wrong.
I lined up to register for a test drive but nobody bothered to assist me despite waiting in line for over an hour for a test drive. The staff there did not bother to see who was next in line, and that their answers to my questions on a few things are not consistent at all. After realizing that many who registered after me already had their test drives, I left feeling like a fool. Even their Grand prize lucky draw seems to be only limited to the people who have booked the car, and off limits to the general public, and having asked a few staff about this, their replies were seriously damaging to the brand and overall image of the company.
Today was a great day for Proton, and for many who enjoyed themselves at the event. I even went in optimistic about a lot of things, but it seems that the brand still has to attend to many problems that tarnishes it’s image as a company that is moving forward on various levels.
Damaging indeed. If they can’t organize this properly, can they make sure they can design and produce a very complex thing like a car..? Even big manufacturers like Honda, Toyota, VW and BMW slip up. Imagine Bolehland shenanigans..
Organizing events and designing a car are 2 very different things. One requires technical skills, the other requires management and people skills. We all know that a person can be good at one of these skills but totally suck at the other.
Haha… no wonder proton not going anywhere. Fail to plan is plan to fail. This rule applies to all. This proves how poor your management is.
Attended the event. Didn’t faced any problem there & managed to test drive the white Iriz 7. However think that the red one is more appealing for a young lady like me. Will book once decided to go for the highest spec or the 1.6 CVT Exec.
Think of getting the 1.3 Standard CVT for my parents to replace their 1st gen Kancil. For old timer like them the lowest spec is good enough as it is fully loaded with all the safety features.
I wouldn’t know. I’m not involved with them but it does sound like a lack of management expertise.
Lack of management for this event, at least.
Wow lots good feedback, so far how many bookings? Cant find it didn’t mention here, anyone know?
f1. Wayyyyy below 3 million if you asked me.
– sarcasm –
Ya ya.. so funny. . 3 millions is calculated by some idiots. ..
Corrections. . 13,500 on launch day
http://paultan.org/2014/09/16/perodua-axia-orders-13500-units/
So how’s Iriz.. before launch. . After launch.. still 17K??
Hahaha. Calculated by some idiots? Everybody can see that you are the only idiot coz only you claimed that 3000K & till today cannot differentiate between 3000k & 3000. And sometimes claimed 3000, 3500 & today 13500 pulak. So nyanyuk arrrr??
3 million calculated by idiot named Motorhead!
LOL
Even if a company has good technical staffs or background, w/o proper management, it ll fail eventually.
Management determines the path.
First thing, i dont feel any special about this car. I was so excited to get into the car, but once i get in, i was so disappointed. Is this the best proton can do? The shape on the dashboard looks fine, but the quality not as good as our Tun Dr Mahathir mentioned.
Especially the truck, the closing of truck was sound the closing a 70’s metal toilet door.
Shape looks good, but not as solid as it advertised.
Maybe still need to wait for another 10 years. but i bet everyone will drive China made car after 10 years.
What truck??
The truck that was sound the closing, what else..
Proton haven’t ventured in truck business as far as i know… -.-“
He was probably referring to the trunk, which is also known as the boot. That’s the only thing I can think of.
what to do, this was the same during their preve launch …..bunch of monkey’s standing around, cannot even explain to customer what is keyless entry but arguing to customer preve got full keyless entry.
Its like giving flowers to a monkey only thing protong takes a a few steps further, they give high positions to show their brand and image to bunch on monkeys all standing around during launch only to serve VVIP’s ….local people, go find yourself …after all their motto is still the same still today “Biasa lar …proton mah” apa you nak lagi !!
I feel sorry for you bro .
Hope proton improves its after sales service .
Good product with bad aftersales service is worst then average product with awesome aftersales service . ( vios vs Preve anyone?) Hope proton learn this time . I sincerely love to watch proton grow into a global company and right its wrong in the past .
so what is the final answer for your debate of iriz against myvi?
anyway… REEV has been around for years already, i wonder when exactly it will be put in production. looking at preve REEV looks like it is more refined but not yet 100%. very nice meter panel using lcd screen. just like newer model of mercedes benz.
maybe they want to wait for Electric charger infrastruture to be build first.. since proton is not a provider of those charger around this country, might be a petrol station can provide it..
went there n saw alot of rakyat were asking about safety features, how does it works etc
cudbt see stupid pprt question like
” ini kereta berapa org boleh masuk, kalau bawak laju jimat minyak tak bla bla”
that means…. rskyat smart orediiiiii
It’s a free world. With lot of opportunity that you must grab. If you are slow and wait for things to come to you, you’ll be left out.
Same story with me when Perodua Axia launch, nobody bother to attend me. So I went to the Axia Advance and slam the door pretty hard.
Worse story with Toyota Showroom, when there but nobody attend me. There was no customer at the moment. Standing for 10 minutes but no sell person attend me. All of them make a buzy face (maybe playing candy crush) at look at me like I was someone that cant afford to buy a Toyota. Maybe my appearrence that make they think i çould not afford a Toyota. Yes, I went there with a bike. Was looking for my 1st car at that moment. Alot of my friends facing the same treatment at Toyota Showroom. What do you think?
You must be wearing shorts and brandless T-Shirt and slippers at that time. Argh.. those sales reps with “dog’s eyes”..
Ya ya ya … not only proton or perodua or toyota…maybe all la..that is malaysian style la… Who care you customer or what??
Kah kah kah…
LOL on the other hand when I went to the Sg Besi BMW showroom dressed casually, the staff were very responsive and even let me test drive the 320d and 328i, and were very helpful. I guess the larger marques have sales people who have learned not to underestimate people by the way they look while the smaller marques are staffed by people with smaller narrower minds
“This Ah Pek could be a low-profile billionaire! Show him the best.”
There were 2 types of box for lucky draw.
1 for test drive session under edar
1 for the event itself which is an iriz as the grand prize.
If you didnt test drive yet of course you cant enter the first box which requires VSO slip.
About the reply from the staff, i think he/she missed the point in briefing or temporarily lost because of so many people at coe. But you see priority is given to person who already booked. No matter they arrive before or after u, they will be prioritize.
Just because of your bad experience which is not related to driving experience or the car itself, is it considered proton fail? Everybody wants their guest happy but it is surely impossible to do so if we expect them to entertain us above from others at all aspects
“But you see priority is given to person who already booked. No matter they arrive before or after u, they will be prioritize.”
So everyone else that goes there to find out how P1 have improved is basically not important? How you gonna convert the nay sayers to yes then? At least have a few test cars that’s really dedicated for non-booked people.
And I assume that you are one of the supervisor or managerial ppl at the event. No?
From your answer it’s obvious you’re not from sales or management. If you are, you must be from a Chinaman company that doesn’t know how to treat paying customers and have the attitude of “get money already maa, what for we care, time to find more money maa”
aiya. so cheapskate. buy ur own lah. no need the lucky draw one lah. kiasu
Agreed.
Yesterday,27.9.2014 I managed to test drove Citrus Green Iriz 1.3 Std Manual.
Today,28.9.2014 I managed to test drive Fire Red Iriz 1.6 Exec CVT.
And I didnt made any booking of Iriz :-)
i beg to differ. sorry if you had a bad time there. my test drives (suprima and iriz) went smoothly. my queries were answered promptly, and despite the long queue i waited patiently and was happy to be able to test-drive the car.
my advice to the disappointed ones:
1. help yourself by asking around, waiting in line gets you nowhere if you don’t know what you are doing.
2. once registered, ask (again, ask) for your number. from there, you can figure out how long you have to wait.
3. they will call out your name when your turn is up, so stay around. and if you are not there when your name is called, no harm in asking again (again…. ask)
hope this helps… customer is always right, but they also have to be smart =p
A very good advice to a naive people like him.
I can’t give u free car, but I can give u free advice seeing that u r buying ur first car. Which car is better between Iriz vs MyVi is a moot point, the specs are all out to see which ur test drive won’t reveal much. Ur test drive will tell ur heart which car u feel better inside. If safety is ur priority, then even MyVi should not be in the list as Axia is better.
I’m old-school so anyone’s first car should be a manual. The cheaper the better, so the Axia Standard E fit the bill for u, other than u need to fit ur own radio and for one whole year u will need to take the bus or a bicycle. The better option should be buying a used car. Then a used manual MyVi would put u in good stead. U can prove to urself how good the MyVi is (and used MyVis can be found very cheap very soon).
Get ur cheap manual used MyVi, and find a girlfriend who wouldn’t mind being driven around in that. Marry her. You can achieve this earlier than if u buy the shiny relatively expensive new car. Unless ur girlfriend is high maintenance; not a good wife material anyway. With a two income household, you will soon be able to afford an automatic C-segment sedan for your growing family.
Then u will look back and wonder; why did u ever need to go to ‘Alami Proton’ and kick up a fuss over nothing…..
Hahaha, leave it to paultanians to give life advice in a car forum. Not saying it’s bad, just remarking how interesting this part of the post can become.
That’s a good advice, you gotta admit. Many people will spend more than one-third their salary on a car just to feed their ego, but still can’t own a decent property when they’re in their mid-30s and still stuck with a job that doesn’t pay 5 figures. I know of a few people who are regional managers but they just drive simple cars like Exora and Inspira because they’re out of the country most of the time so they don’t bother impressing people with what they drive, they just get what is good enough for their household.
And you are giving a good advice too.
Yes, it’s good advice. I agree with it and your advice as well. There should be more good advice on these sections.
Kereta memang tip top. Saya dah check dah. Hari tu ramai sgt org tu la yang duk berbaris tuh. Tgh tunggu my turn to test drive. :3
Nice. Not bad eh. Menyesal tak pegi. Tengah tunggu chance nak test drive :/
wow this guy so fast to respond, i bet u already prepare your speech and just waiting paultan to come out with this article haha! p2 salesman spotted here! haha!!
Bashing from so called car enthusiasts a.k.a bashers in 3…2….1…..
number of proton basher aka p2 umw macai n salesman is reducing
now we hv more p2 umw basher… cozz
rakyat smart orediii
some rakyat 6 uears in japan
soma rakyat drive real jdm
so they know better about japanese n japan dna that p2 umw salesman.. they just selling p2 umw but know nuts abiut japan dna all about
Ya ya.. P2 BN crony. . Tun M is not..
P2 copy JDM.. Inspira & Accordana is not.. . P2 hiding under Japanese name.. Plotong was not… bla bla. .
Your mentality shows you know nothing. .
And your mentality shows you don’t know maths.
What you got for your math then?
I was referring to 3000++ up to date order even before the launch.. it was in Axia archives.
& misleading out of proportion for some idiots & math genius like you.
Yes you are referring to 3000++ but you did wrote 3000K earlier and it seems till now you won’t admit that you don’t know that 3000 & 3000K are two different numbers altogether. Confirmed moron.
No la, last time you said 3000K!
LOL
Guys, please stop harassing Motorhead over the 3000k thing. It was obviously just a mistake. How long do you want to rub it in before you get tired of it?
I don’t agree with everything Motorhead says but flaming him like this in every post doesn’t solve anything nor does it prove anything.
Yep.. only low mentality joke on typo.. it’s ok Obviously. .
The fact is plotong never ve the real figure on actual orders figures.
Soon we ll know..
And now you admitted your mistake. Good boy.
it is no a typo,
motorhead really clueless about the ‘k’ thingy until paultanian clear it up.
:p
i wonder how u made those mistake..u dont have to be a genius at math ….
but u still got my praise..despite all those calculation failed but motorhead still able to pull off 250K deal for his company in one day just by spending his time commenting in PT.. WOW.. :O
You didn’t even know how to differentiate between 3000 and 3000k,and now you want to talk about automotive industry??are you kidding??you better re-seat your math paper for UPSR first before you come to this thread…
You are wrong peyno. There are less P1 bashers now because P2, Toyota, VW and Honda customers have all left this website and started buying cars instead of talking co*k here.
Tekorokmu!
Yep.. bunch of idiots lost 1 billions making fun of those making profit & doing well.
I just add salt on the wounds.
@ deli man..
U are wrong!!!
Motorhead is still here…
Japan DNA? LOL. Please go ahead and pretend that Japanese brands do not cut corners and make compromises. Ignorant fool.
Some do bash Proton for nothing, but some have genuine reasons, I had owned a few Proton cars before and the bitter experience with manufacturing defects and sub-standards parts and also the so so service centers response to my complains make me want to bash them kau-kau, I had since ‘migrated’ to P2 cars, to be honest P2 really fare better than P1.
Now a days I do not bash Proton anymore since they have improve on the quality some what but still Proton needs more improvement to convince the potential car buyers.
own old wira n changed to myvi u said migrate???
now era or preve iriz… change wira to myvi is nit called migrate laa
Proton and Proton car itself is not the REAL problem. The problem is the MENTALITY of Human in Proton, be it management or front line staffs (not all bad, but bad apple also plenty)! I can see Proton has improve after the era of Wira, with Preve fire the first “improved” mode, but I guess the same old “cari makan” staffs are still around. If I’m the management, that’s the first I tackle, put the known bad apple in “Performance Improvement Program” for 3 months with clear KPI, you failed to achieved, get your last cheque in HR. Then the car and the service will improve as time goes… (hope the “cronies vendor” mentality gone too).
Nice, at least Proton is looking into EEV technology. Hopefully they’ll use some of Tesla’s patents to improve it.
But hey, where’s the hybrid? Electric vehicles might be close, but hybrid is the bridge to bring us to there. No way we can suddenly jump from gasoline to full electric vehicle.
Oh, Sam Loo the Ignorant is gonna bash Proton and promote Prius again.
Last time i heard Proton has hybrid, EV, and REEV. I think there’s no problem if Proton skip hybrid altogether. Proton has been working on REEV, it’s a combination of petrol engine and electric motor but not exactly a hybrid. The engine is used to charge the battery only. 1 of the major issue with electric car is distance it can travel and charging facilities. It is also a problem for those staying in highrise building to charge their car. For me, REEV is definitely a smart way to overcome this issue. It is costly to develop, so Proton probably is looking at ways to reduce the price if there’s no incentives given by gov. Remember, Japan, UK and few other developed countries gave rebates or discounts for hybrid and electric cars during their early stage of introduction. Perhaps gov will also give more incentives here.
Mitsubishi skipped the petrol-electric (petrol engine dominant) hybrid altogether and went straight to make an electric vehicle (iMiEV) and later an electric-petrol (electric motor dominant) plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (Outlander PHEV). REEV is basically another name for a PHEV, being driven by electric motors with an engine recharging the traction batteries as well as helping move the car when the driver needs to go FAST.
Reason? Rather than come up with a petrol-electric hybrid and compete against the established Toyota Prius and Honda’s hybrids, they can gain new ground in more advanced fields. Toyota and many other manufacturers are also moving in the PHEV direction.
The sketch as shown in the screen (right side, black background) looks awesome. It looks stylish and modern. Proton should proceed with this design cues.
For the first time in one heck of a while, I’m actually impressed by the Iriz. Brand image aside.
Managed to have a test drive with the 1.6 premium CVT yesterday, everything was good except its drivability and performance.
The CVT is not as smooth as Honda City’s and the power of 1.6 VVT engine imo is not delivered well and sometimes it was felt under power for such a small car, which is a waste.
I heard that tomorrow proton will unveil their iriz prototype..is that right?
I beg to differ on the experience of Mr “Disappointed Customer” above; if ever he was even one. If everyone comes and expect to be treated like a VIP like u did, there won’t be enough staff to layan u and the thousands of ppl who thronged the event.
What I saw was the event was handled by an event management company with support from P1’s staff each handling a specific task (including as chauffeurs for the EVs and REEVs). The PR tasks evidently is not their everyday job, but they tried their best anyway.
I realized some of the visitors were even off-duty staffs taking their family to visit their workplace. My “chauffeur” even explained that on a day-to-day basis, many areas were off limits even to themselves. I am guessing that some of the ppl u thought were jumping the test drive queue, was their own staff who wanted to try Iriz first hand and had booked their slot much earlier. They didn’t have the privilege before lah. The production is not even in Shah Alam but Tg Malim. And the rest was ppl more patient than u could ever be.
If ur intent was only to test drive the cars, u were at the wrong place anyway. I have been advised by the Puchong Jaya dealership to do my test drive with them, as there would be too many ppl like u had seen urself. I could test my heart out and be treated like the VIP u expected by the salesman. If what u want is just to win a free car from a lucky draw, then u r too much of a gambler.
My 5-year old enjoyed the visit so much that he even remarked that it was so much better than his favourite shopping trips and asks to go again on Sunday.
Proton still dont learn their lesson. Instead of apologising, they slam the visitor, their potential customer. Company is dying but still arrogant asking how much people know about car & scolding ppl for not buying their product.
This is why people want to see they close shop.
Only idiots want to see Proton close shop. The same type of idiots that want to see every local industry close shop, want everything to be imported and sold without tax, and want our GDP and PPP to go up. Economic geniuses, all of you. Most of these morons are also those that believe changing the government will transform everything overnight
You are very right Garfield.
sam loo..fast fast promote me.. aircon on without burning fuel..
I knew this day would come eventually, but I did not expect it to arrive THIS early ! Proton promised a ‘surprise’ for me today at Alami Proton on 27 September, and what a surprise it was !
Here’s what happened;
I drove to Proton’s Centre of Excellence Showroom / Shah Alam Plant in the morning, reached around 11am.
Met Shafiq Ayub (Senior Executive,
Group Marketing, Branding and Motorsports) in person, at the main lobby, which was packed with several all-new Proton Iriz show cars. Shafiq reserved a place for me on the very first Proton R&D tour of the day. I was treated as part of the media, and there were little carts which ferried us around the (quite impressive) Shah Alam plant. On the first cart, I was seated behind En Shamsul Yunos, (Editor at Funtasticko.net). I told him that I saw his Astro Awani interview on the Proton Iriz, and gave him a handshake.
When I reached the R&D centre with the entourage, we were greeted by En Abdul Rashid Bin Musa (Chief Technical Officer, Group Engineering). He gave a short introductory speech on the Iriz and its class-leading safety technology. The tour was then taken over by En Azlan Othman (Head of Design). However, during En Musa’s speech, I took the opportunity to formally introduce myself to En Azlan, and took a photo with him.
En Azlan took us through Proton Design’s halls, where I saw pre-production clay models, never before seen concepts and more. (I couldn’t take photos at this point due to restrictions, unfortunately.) At the end of the hall, there was an even bigger hall. The moment I stepped in, I was lost for words. The main hall at Proton Design is incredible ! It was futuristic, and full of advanced and expensive looking design tools. The hardware and software Proton uses to design and digitally render their cars…. is far beyond anything I’ve ever seen. Gran Turismo / Forza graphics are child’s play compared to the graphics on the program Proton uses. I also saw the kind of materials and paint Proton uses for their cars. To most people, paint is not taken as seriously enough, because really, so much thought and preparation has been dedicated to the kind of paint used. Then there were two pre-production, almost launch-ready Proton P2-30A clay models. One for the exterior and one for the interior. Both clay models look almost the same as the post-production models, bar the headlight design and a few other smaller details.
After the Proton Design tour, we received a more in-depth speech on the safety aspects of the newer Protons. The body structure of the Prevé and the actual Iriz ASEAN NCAP crash test unit was also shown. We were then guided by En Musa through another part of the R&D facility, which housed the more technical and often less-appreciated components in a car; the true engineering excellence behind every Proton. Everything from the suspension systems, where there was a machine which simulated real world road conditions on a stationary platform, on which a Proton Iriz stood. The car was jiggling and bouncing all over, but somehow, it kept its composure. This supplements the quality testing for each car, where the car will go through an artificial wear and tear process with an equivalent 10,000km per day schedule. Each Iriz is tested up to 200,000km. If an average of 20,000km travelled is assumed for a year, this would mean every Iriz is quality tested for 10 years. Then we saw the crash test dummies used in well, crash tests. Each dummy costs RM300,000. But that is nothing, because human lives are worth much more than a number of digits on paper. After that, we saw even more quality testing for the Iriz. Door slam tests, hood slam tests, lighting and electronic/electrical components tests, paint tests, pretty much every test you can imagine !
We were then shown prototypes of an electric Proton Exora and Saga. Proton has plans to introduce electric cars in 2015. Throughout the event, electric Proton Exora and Saga ferry cars were also used. The sound they emit is very, very strange, it’s like a somewhat loud whirring, buzzing, or spooling sound, almost jet engine-like. I’m assuming that production units wont emit this sound, because it is just too loud and unrefined.
We were then ferried on the carts to a different hall, which housed every current Proton engine, and future prototypes. There was a 3.0 litre (V6?) engine as well ! Proton acquired some of the engines from Petronas. It was here that I managed to formally introduce myself to En Abdul Rashid Bin Musa (Chief Technical Officer, Group Engineering). What a cool guy ! So welcoming and hospitable, even to a completely unknown person like me. He was also really nice to all of the other guests in the media entourage. I managed to have a brief chat with him, and he was very happy to know that I’ve been a loyal supporter of Proton. At one point, he said (not his exact words though, but rather a sum of) ”It’s good that you can ‘understand’ (Proton’s dilemma / Proton’s national responsibility). Normally, most young people won’t ‘understand’ it.” It was a real honour and pleasure speaking to him, I can tell that he’s very passionate about Proton, a great man. I also took a photo with him.
After the engine showcase, we were given another cart ride back to the main lobby of the Proton COE showroom. This marked the end of our Proton R&D tour.
After the tour, Shafiq insisted that I met his Boss, who was unfortunately busy and away at that time, so we thought of having lunch first. On the way to the cafeteria (or Garden), we saw Dato’ Abdul Harith Bin Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Proton ! I took the opportunity to introduce myself to him. Shafiq told Dato’ Harith that I’m a ‘die hard fan of Proton’, to which he responded positively. He asked me where I was studying, and I answered, along with my intentions to consider working at Proton upon graduation in 2017/18, to which he responded positively again. He was busy, and I couldn’t ask many questions, but I managed to snap a photo with him too.
I had lunch with Shafiq and a guy named Aish from cbt.com.my, who is responsible for the technical elements of the website. Really cool guy, we had a little chat over lunch, and he asked whether I could send in an article or ‘piece’ to his Editor, to which I had to reluctantly decline, due to myself not being in a good position at the moment (studies and lack of free time).
After lunch, I was told to wait for Shafiq’s Boss to return. I filled in the time by taking photos of all the (well preserved) historical Protons, everything from the 1985 Saga to the Wira which scaled the North Pole. It was amazing to see how far Proton has come over the 29 years since birth.
After meeting Shafiq’s Boss and having a little chat, I was pretty much ‘free’, and the ‘surprise’ was over for the day. I spent the last two hours there taking photos of all the Proton cars on display…. until it rained around 5pm. After which I drove back, totally drenched but totally happy nonetheless.
Today (27 Sep) was amazing. Definitely one of the best days in my 20 years of life so far. I really appreciate Proton going through all the trouble and treating me to such an incredible experience. They gave me the priceless opportunity to meet several high ranking men and women from Proton. I did not expect anything from Proton, but after today, I feel that Proton now expects something from ME.
Thanks for reading !
Thanks for writing. I found it to be a good read.
Congratulations, Aero :)
You deserve to see what you saw in the depths of Proton’s R&D because of your undying support for Proton. Wish I could have seen it too because it sounded absolutely amazing.
Agreed. Aero. It was such a good experience of a tour into a car factory & nicely translated into a black and white.
@Old Beetle Man
Thanks for reading my rather long ‘karangan’ ! :D I appreciate it.
@Obviously
Awww man, thank you so much for your kind words ! I really appreciate it. :]
Well, most of what I experienced was on offer to the general public too ! The only difference was that I had a representative from Proton who guided me through the whole experience. And only the first R&D tour was officiated by all of the Proton executives, including En Azlan and En Rashid.
All this time, I’ve only been doing what I like, what made me happy; that is justifying the need for Proton’s existence and supporting their renaissance/ turn-around plan. I didn’t think Proton actually cared about what some guy called Aero was writing about them online… so all of this came as a huge, pleasant surprise for me. All-in-all, it was very sweet of them to have me, and sure, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing…. it’s not like I can stop anyway ! haha
I was thinking of the availability of most of the tour to the general public as well, after I have posted the reply but, oh well. It’s still different from others because you saw and got acquainted with Proton’s big shots. These people don’t just make their time for anybody, really.
@Obviously
By the way, I’d like to apologize for not responding to some of your earlier comments. I do read them ! :] But I never get enough free time to comment these days, unlike last year before I started by degree… my time on paultan.org’s comments section is quite limited now. :(
Same goes for everyone else’s replies to my comments. I’ll try my best to reply to your comments as much as possible !
I think we all understand (at least, I hope we all understand) that real life should come first. It’s good that you’re focused on it as that’s your future, after all.
All the best in your upcoming exams then! It’s almost that time of the year already. Looking forward to more interesting posts coming from you.
Dato’ Harith is genuinely a good boss, back in Auto & Defence, he’s very involved in every single thing, even beyond Automotive. He was from Modenas, Deftech & DRB-HICOM, so he’s got a lot of experience & knowledge and the public didn’t know him well just yet. His passion in design is still strong, and it’s good that person like you understand & appreciates what PROTON actually does that nobody else failed to notice. Worked with them before and all your description sounds right.
One more thing, people kinda have this perception that PROTON produces substandard quality cars and the workforce behind them is incompetent, they don’t realise how strict it is to even get selected into PROTON R&D, last time I heard they only recruit high achievers (extra-curricular & academic excellence), that’s very fluent in English and intelligent regardless in any field of work, have to go through strict interview session, I mean those people working in there, they’re not your average graduates, those are the cream of the crop.
So I hope you will one day be able to work with the finest Malaysian Engineers & designers in there, GOD’s willing and prove the public wrong about PROTON.
Even all the previous CEOs Tan Sri Mahaleel, Dato’ Sri Syed Zainal have done tremendous job in putting where PROTON is today, in their own unique way, everybody has their own way, and now it’s Dato’ Abdul Harith time to put the shine back in PROTON.
I remember Tan Sri Mahaleel once said to me during a speech, “We(PROTON) have prepared for you the tracks(pathway), it’s up to you (younger generation) to continue the legacy”
@betul2 onz
Thanks for your kind comments ! :D Yeah man, I really think Dato’ Harith is a good candidate for Proton’s CEO. I can sense that he’s a man of few words… when I spoke to him, he didn’t say much, but what he did say, were only what needed saying.
I agree too that the core team of Proton’s top brass are not your usual Malaysians. They are all unique, eccentric and passionate in their own ways. My personal favourite though, will probably always be Dato’ Seri Syed Zainal Abidin. If not for his efforts, Proton wouldn’t be here today.
Well, I’m studying Telecommunications Engineering, so who knows, I may or may not join Proton after I graduate. Only time will tell ! But if I do, then I’d give it my all of course. :]
It’s still too early to say, but so far, Proton’s DRB-HICOM era is shaping up nicely.
From the looks of it, yes, Proton’s future is looking bright for once. I noticed that some people expected really fast change when DRB-HICOM took over but it doesn’t really work that way. The automotive industry might be a happening sector but changes take time, effort and a lot of resources. The existing way of doing things might have gotten in the way as well. Who knows what else they had to deal with and their biggest work is still ahead of them:
Training their staff properly and upgrading their service quality. Their frontline services still seems to have some problems, from the looks of it. It’s ok as long as they’re willing to improve. It’s a lost cause to support a company that’s not willing to improve.
Hi all..especially Aero..ni pengalaman aku selama 3 tahun bekerja dalam bidg automotif di Malaysia..aku pernah bekerja di dua buah vendor utk proton dan produa..Ingress dan Suria Component..mmg cita2 dr kecik nk buat kereta..Alhamdulillah..habis diploma ak dpt keje dlm bidg ni..duduk dlm bidabg Die Making sgt mncabar..tak balik rumah 3 hari..kena kejar dgn customer…kejar supplier..dh jd asam garam..tp seronok bila part yg kita hasilkan dipakai semua org..ak dh pin terlibat dlm project P3 (Preve), P3 Hatchback (Suprima S), Alza NCAP, Axia dan Iriz..tp terus terang aku nk bgtau realitinya..gaji dlm bidang ni tak selumayan bidg2 engineering yg lain spt oil n gas dan civil..tak tahu mana silapnya..rata2 tangga gaji company automotif di Malaysia x setaraf dgn bidgnya..mcm aku sbg Tooling Designer dibayar RM1500 gaji pokok..engineer fresh graduate RM1800 gaji pokok..itula realiti sebenarnya..kerja seronok, mencabar tapi gaji x setimpal..mmg rakan2 sperjuangan ak pon bgtau..hanya sape yg de minat yg mndalam je boleh tahan dgn bidg ni..gaji nombor 2..sedih mngenangkn relaiti sebenar ni..buln 6 lpas ak tggalkn dunia automotif dek kerana desakan hidyp yg memerlukan pendapatan yg lebih..ikutkn hati..mmg ak nk keje spnjg hidup dlm bidg ni..tp sebabkn gaji..generasi muda mcm ak dh mula tggalkn bidg ni..takutknya bidang ni tiada pelapis dlm masa 10 tahun lagi..bila pergi karnival Alami proton smalam..rasa terharu tgk hasil air tgn sendiri..MAI dtubuhkn untk meningkatkan dn mengukuhkn industri automotif di Malaysia..tp sygnya tangga gaji dlm bidg ni bukan slaah satu agenda MAI bg memmertabatkn bidg ni sama aras dgn bidg engineering lain di Malaysia..harao Aero boleh faham hakikat sebenar situasi dunia automotifdi Malaysia ni..mungkin mana tahu pihak MAI baca komen aku ni..boleh buka mata dan tarik pelapis muda untuk naikkqn semula bidg automotif di Malaysia ni..bukn dlm bidg pengurusan sahaja..tp level executive ke bawah seperti Jig Maker, Die Maker, Finishing Technician, CNC Machinist, QA &QC inspector, MPP dan banyak lgi position level non exect yg dicari penggantinya..
cantik bro .
d u have any blogs or fliker or any image hosting u can share the pics and story with us.?
@eims perfume
Thank you ! :]
Errr, I do have a blog website, but I haven’t updated it ever since I started editing Wikipedia.
But I do have a Flickr account. I haven’t sorted all the photos yet (I took almost 600 photos at Alami Proton !) but if you like ‘people cars’, then you’ll probably like my photos (I hope ! :x)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/aero7my/
Haha… bodek kat launching tak cukup… ni sampai ke paultan. Essay written by which agency?
One word.
Doublestandard.
double standard are 2 words, which you tried stupidly combine them to become 1 word just to look “cool”. I have 2 words for you: MoronHead.
Very true.
I have one word for Motorhead:
PARIAH!!!!
LOL
err.. motorhead seems to have difficulties with figure!!
3000k bookings + Doublestandard is ‘one’ word = lol
@ioma
I can assure you that no acts of bodek-ism was committed in my comments. My words come from my heart. I wrote the whole thing in an hour and a half.
A wonderful experience worth sharing. These sort of thungs should appear more often on paultan comments. Thanks!
I agree. Too bad these experiences are few and far in between.
That’s because Paultan comment sections are these days flooded by uneducated tokkok trolls like Peyno and Motorhead that drags down the quality of discussions
@holofanboi
Thank you for your kind comments ! :D
I agree, Malaysians shouldn’t feel ashamed or shy to commend, give credit and/or positive feedback where its due. Malaysian mentality has accepted condemning / bashing / complaining about our local companies / products as a norm. It is ‘cool’ to bash and talk bad about our local companies, it is ‘cool’ to complain. Those who want to say nice things are unwilling to voice them out because of the fear of being judged by others. So sad.
In Proton’s case; if you like Proton, people will say you’re pro-BN. Like really ? -__-
But how come after 30 years Potong is still so far behind and needing government’s money>?
Again. The same old karaoke song.
30 years? They’ve only been designing cars for the past decade or so.
See how Hyundai/Kia took 40+ years before they can design good cars, and that’s with foreign talent at the design helm.
Damn ! i wish i were there .
‘ Then we saw the crash test dummies used in well, crash tests. Each dummy costs RM300,000. But that is nothing, because human lives are worth much more than a number of digits on paper. ‘
Did you know how amazed i was reading that section of your writeup? I may not share the majority of malaysians way of thinking ( Performance,RV first and safety later ) . But as someone who was involved in an accident before , i believe safety features is A MUST . Nevertheless , no safety features can save you if you drive recklessly . Drive safe everybody:) May god protect you on the road .
@Eyo
Thanks man for the kind words ! :]
It’s okay, I’m sure Proton will have another similar event next year for the new 2015 Saga launch. :]
Yes, ever since I discovered the importance of in-car safety, it’s been hard looking back. Nowadays, everyone seems to care a lot more about safety, and that’s great ! People must understand that no matter how good they think they are at driving, there will still be other, less skilled and less courteous drivers who could very much take their life, or the life of a loved one.
For the average working man/woman, their life is at its highest risk during the morning drive to work, and evening drive back. It is statistically more likely for someone to die in a car crash, than to die from a shark attack, lightning strike, earthquake, tsunami, armed assault and whole lot more.
Of course, ultimately, all that safety technology can only reduce the risk of death. It will never eliminate the risk of death permanently, because Murphy’s Law states that whatever could go wrong, will go wrong. It’s all a game of statistics. So yes, ultimately, we must always try to drive safely, courteously and responsibly. If not for yourself, do it for those who love you.
proton just like iphone
so many ppl jelly on proton n iphone
so if they can find small error or mistake ( bending problem on iphone) they will spread like hell on the net
Dun syok sendiri la. Ppl dying to buy iphone. Proton scold ppl for not buying their car. Iphone high profit. Saga profit rm500.
p2 macai just like samsung android fags
low class
P1 is like usahawan sauce cili kampung. Forever depend on skim bantuan kerajaan. When ppl dun buy their product, they blame the people.
yeahh same goes to p2
without protection NAP n privilage nationL car
p2 will die
proton still can design n make own car
p2 .. if daihatsu concentrate in indonesia
p2 malaysia will die… thanks BN gomen for the national car privilage n incentives
This is all the more Proton should strive for zero defect products.
Free car again? ?
Well.. free cars good.. so easily can get 17K.
Hehe..
Tested in europe.. but can’t sell in Europe. .
Tada enjin. . Kita beli enjin.
Tahniah.
sekarang proton pakai vvt pon dah butthurt
lepas mi pakai engine brio jazz jonda makin sakit hati la p2 salwsman
dah tak boleh kencing jepun dna japan tech lagi kat makcik2 kampung
prrrfthhhhh
Tahniah. . Org lain dah guna VVT dekat 20 thn..
Sblm ni ko & the gang mcm sial kutuk org lain guna VVT.. bangga sgt IAFM ko tu..
Dah kenapa pulak ko bangga sgt dgn VVT skrg? Kutuk la sekali.
P2 BN crony. . Tun M is not..
Your mentality is basted.. eh.. busted.
org pakai vvt turbo macai p2 dah butthurt
p2 lak gigih buang vvt n buat 3
cylinder sebab nak bagi jimat minyak
ye laa nak dot tech hybrid n ev.. jepun tak bagi
hahhaha
Org buang VVT.. dpt gak jimat minyak.. ko pakai iafm makan minyak??
VVT campro turbo?? Eh dah bikin ke? Bila masa Iriz 1.6 vvt tu ada turbo?
Ko nak kencing pon agak2 la.. ke ko x reti psl produk sendiri??
Cepat.. kencing lg.. seronok aku baca.
dpt jimat minyak??? mitsu attrage 1.2l 80 hp jimat minyak
.. p2 hasilnya engine vibrate under power 60hp
jee
preve turbo 1.6l 203nm.. pejhhhh
org yg tak pwrnah pi jepun mesti sentap laa
prrrthhhh
Bila masa pulak Preve 1.6L turbo VVT mangkuk?.. ko reti x tak reti?
Axia 1.0 66hp.. Mirage.. 1.2L la mangkuk? Kenapa pulak ko x kira harga Mirage? Beli satu Mirage dpt dua Axia.
Dah apehal dgn pergi jepun kalu otak ko sengal?
Cepat kencing lagi. Serlahkan kebodohan ko tu.
bila masa lak peyno kata turbo tu vvt wahai caprut kemaruk jepun tapi tak pernah duduk jepun n pakai real jdm cam peyno
peyno cakap proton ada engine cvt dan engine turbo
turbo engine 1.6 preve can go up to 203nm
vvt NA 1.6 can go 160nm
engine cvt= engine vvt
mitsu
arrtage mmg 1.2l tapi fc 22km/l
aziah 1l hanya 20/l??
nak kencing makcik2 kampung boleh laa
Eh.. ko nak tuko topic plak.. dah td dok bangga sgt dgn VVT ko tu.. skrg psl tork pulak? Kenapa ko x banding dgn tork 1.4TSI VW.
Bile masa aku kata CVT engine ko check blk sape cakap?
Apsal pulak ko nak banding dgn Mirage? Dah ko kemaruk jepun juga ke?
17K is small, you asid Axia got 3000K orders on first day launch!!!
Tahniah. LOL
Abah rasa motorhead ni hatinya busuk, kutuk x abis2.. sudah2 la tu.. muhasabah diri tu ya..
25432 booking at the carnival itself(up to 4 o’clock, sunday). SO?
amacam?
Sooooo goooooood!
semua tu booking sebab nak masuk cabutan bertuah je.. kalau tak booking tak boleh masuk cabutan bertuah hadiah iriz sebijik tu.
Nak pegi, tapi, tak de kawan.. :(
Kawan2 awak semua dah pergi awal2 lagi. Kesian awak. Tapi kalau nak pergi hari ni sempat lagi tu.
Jenuh dah ajak, tapi, semua tak nak pergi.. aishh.. tak patriotik langsung..
i worry about new (EPS)Electronic power steering system on IRIZ. Many big company failed on this new stuff…Daihatsu, toyota hyundai and even mercedes also got problem when EPS suddenly pull itself to left or right or others defect. Also not to forget perodua mass market call to all myvi EPS. But when its happen to Proton soon “If happen” sure it will be a big failure to all malaysian eyes…. hope you success proton
What do you thing?
I like the picture of the girl carving the design clay. Maybe she can design the Preve/Suprima’s rear…..
I’ve spent time at both P2 and P1 shorum yesterday 27Sept. I can conclude that Axia is alot better car than Viva.. and wonder P2 must be making more money selling Myvi than Axia. Reason is with 4* safety rating for the most basic Axia and with quite a contemporary engine tech, P2 must be making less profit selling it. One thing.. how would the integrated exhaust manifold in engine block would fare in case of coolant dry out? Then I went to P1 and YES I agree this car can go international.. for its design, its body and trim fitting quality. Iriz is P1 best in this category. Minor defects are curlings in all doors handle forming line. Minor but principle recurring weakness in die making. Even cheapest Peroduas don’t have this. BUT fr my bare eyes, biggest weakness of Iriz is its powertrain, even the 1.6l version sprint to 100kmh in 11.1s! That’s pretty slow for a supermini! No2, gross weight of this car is 1555 kg. A one-and-half over tonne for a supermini folk? Wonder how this car is going to compete in open market?
Use kerb weight, bro. Gross weight roughly refers to the maximum weight a car can take. Kerb weight is the production car without any load (passengers and cargo) with a full tank of fuel.
*Gross weight is the maximum a car can be loaded up to.
bro.. u need to get use of CVT character
it feels slow coz has no shifting jerk like conversional AT….but look at the speedometer.. it is fast
Pug 208 get 14sec century sprint
but that’s not HDi engine
Crazy about 0-100kmh? Then this segment is not for u bro. Understandably P2 marketed the MyVi Extreme as the car that could sprint to century under 10secs. I don’t know if it’s only me, but does it look like most MyVi drivers dart around in traffic and highways thinking their cars are safe enough because P2 tell them their cars are sports cars?
Defensive driving should tell you that u must learn the limitations of your car, not just to endanger yourself but also other motorists and especially ur passengers who most of the time are ur loved ones.
Pls accept that physics work around u, and a car that can speed in a straight line is not necessarily as adept at going round bends and corners.
You meant think?
Well I think better tapau soon.. the sooner the better. . No time to make engines dy.. beli sajalah. Tapau sajalah.
It’s ok with your typo.. higher mentality can understand what you meant. No problem.
Just booked mine, 1.6 exec. It is a good car for someone not crazy about 0-100kmh time. The car is slow but so easy to drive and the build quality I dare say equal to a fiesta. Thinking of snapping the manual version for a future BOT addition but wifey insisted on the CVT.
Sometimes i get sore eyes from reading comments here in this very informative website. Constructive critism is good , opinions ( even negative one ) is ok . But why must some people insult each other . Why must ‘ kampung people ‘ and ‘ low income ‘ people be looked down . Come on guys , We’re all Malaysian . Respect each other please .
Drive safe everyone
again P1 shooting themselves in the foot by focusing on the wrong model..first the Preve, than Supima price range touching the lower end of jap mmodels, also teribble design, and now trying to fight P2 MIvi but at the same time pitting the IRIZ against their OWN SAGA and EVEN the PERSONA…they are NEGLECTING their two BEST SELLING MODELS while WASTING HUNDREDS MILLIONS OF RINNGIT on the PREVE, SUPIMA AND NOW TIS
My Mum’s and Dad’s Preves is the best in its class. 7 CVT gears, Traction control, VSC, Paddle shift, High Tensile steel, 5 star crash test.
Already test drive Iriz yesterday at Alami Proton Carnival. Material & finishing better than SAGA & Persona/Gen.2. No more bunyi kosong & keras bila ketuk dengan jari. Handling and steering was nice, a trademark of Proton. But CVT tranny was not smooth as City. Iriz cabin looks smaller than Aziah.
tambah2 tempat duduk belakang …kenapa nampak sempit sgt… kalau pun boleh duduk selesa tapi kalau mata nampak sempit tetap akan rasa sempit jugak.
It was a successful event.
Hmm, wonder when will Perodua organize such events?
Looking forward to this :)