The last time we heard about Proton, our own Jack Baruth was flying nearly 23,000 miles to go drive a diminutive, Mitsubishi-based Proton hatchback in a Malaysian time-trial series. Proton may be best associated with their Mitsubishi partnership, but the two parties went their separate ways long ago.
Today’s news bulletins saw Proton and Honda announce a possible partnership. What this means is that Honda vehicles would be assembled in Malaysian by the state-owned auto maker and sold at rock bottom prices, free of the onerous levies that “imported” cars face in the country.
But if you’re a Malaysian civil servant, you don’t have to wait. The Proton Perdana is a last-generation Accord that is available only to government bigwigs. The Malaysian Prime Minister is chauffeured around in a long-wheelbase version.
Government officials get to enjoy 2.0L and 2.4L engines, which are positively enormous by Malaysia’s taxation standards. When the car is approved for sale to the general public, it will likely have to make due with smaller displacement units designed by Petronas, Malaysia’s state energy company.
I can’t imagine living in a country where a nice, meaty V8 is priced out of my league (and almost everyone else’s, for that matter).
Yeah, that would really suck.
Says a lot about your country when the President has to ride around in a 2.4L Accord. Next thing you know their airliners will dissappear into thin air, oh wait…
Not funny.
That would really suck. Says a lot about a country when the President has to ride around in a 2.4L Accord. Air travel isn’t any improvement either.
Then pretty much your only choices on earth are the U.S., Canada, and a few Middle Eastern oil states.
Yep, and we all seem to get around just fine….
Gosh. A 2.4-liter engine is enormous there? Wow.
As for the car itself, it’s like a mishmash of Honda and Volkswagen styling at the front…which is to say that it doesn’t look good.
The 2.4L is the common man’s engine for most imports.
From the new Camries on across the board.
Way back when, I had a Galant with that stinkin’ 4G64 engine. Come to think of it, IT too was a 2.4L.
Blech!
Interesting you mention the Galant.
The 7th Generation Galant (’94-98 in the US) was previously what masqueraded as the Proton Perdana.
They got the sweet 2.0 V6, in addition to smaller four-cylinders.
I was thinking it looked more like a Citroen.
A car the size of an 8th-gen U.S. Accord is *enormous* in almost every market in the world. The standard “midsize” car in most world markets is something the size of a Golf or Focus.
I was just considering after your comment this quandry: Which foreign market most closely mirrors the US market (outside of NA) as far as size (physical and engine) and scale of cars?
I think it’s gotta be South Korea.
Just there? Here, there and everywhere…What amazes me is how all you guys think a 3.0L is normal. Some envy? Sure. But, whatever, being smaller, some of us learn to drive much better. A small engine is much more unforgiving and won’t make up for mistakes. In the hands of a good driver, even 1.0 is plenty fast (within some rel, physics type limits). Driving a 2.4 is so effortless it is almost not engaging.
Effortless is cruising 80mph =135kmph @ 1500rpm.
Driving a 2.4L Civic/Accent/Altima, expecting it to reach 100kmph 6~8 seconds with your foot down, not calculating the elevation rate, then thinking and focusing to adjust to the elevation and then…..then turn on your blinker look over your shoulder…….
I wonder how many E550’s and 4.2 Audis Rome the streets of Germany and the rest of Europe.
Hyundai started selling the N.A. Market only V8 Genesis to the S.Korean market 2015.
V6 Turbo = Fun
V8 NA = Comfort
It would be such a happy day for me if Honda, as a condition of their alliance with Proton, would take Lotus off their hands.
Imagine what would happen if the Lotus engineers got their hands on the CR-Z and could simplify it and add some lightness. Not to mention the NSX. Or Accord Sport. Or Civic Si…
Honda IS one of those companies who often admits to needing help with things ;)
I think that’s great, maybe they could sell it here, and we’d get an imported Proton Petronas Perdana.
One of those should be enough to banish a boggart.
the lack of economies of scale must be staggering, as it pretty much is with anything government.
Hate to bring bad news to you fellers, but in most of those countries, regular folk get to ride scooters, only “middle class” get to have more than 2 wheels.
True. I haven’t been to Malaysia, but in Thailand, right next door, the most popular cars are B-class cars like the Fiesta and the Mazda2. Not Accord-sized sedans. And Thailand is a wealthier country than Malaysia.
And Brazil is wealthier than either, but here the Fiesta is a premium offering. Non too worried about that.
The stupid thing about this is, Thailand also makes American-style Accords, and it’s right next door.
Thai cars are apparently good enough to be sold in the US by Ford and Mitsubishi, but Malaysians would rather have a product from an industry just getting off the ground.
So you must have skipped over reading the bit about the fees/taxes imposed upon imported goods?
I’ve only read a bit about Proton but it strikes me as the next Holden in that its existence is heavily supported by import tarrifs.
Sure didn’t! Which is precisely my point: they seem happier taxing themselves out of the opportunity to purchase superior goods. Sometimes fair and free trade is the better plan.
Look at you with your crazy small government ideas!
I’m as shocked as you are, because I don’t like to get political in car forums. Just trying to put myself in their place, I would rather have a Thai Accord than a Malaysian one. Even corrupt officials should be able to get behind that, because they’ll get chauffeured around in a nicer car.
A stretch accord might be interesting.
It’s coming with length!
I have a feeling Cadillac’s never going to live that motto down.
Earth’s circumference is approximately 24,900 miles depending on where it is measured. If Jack Baruth flew nearly 23,000 miles, he should get a new travel agent.