“Our service sucks”. Verbatim. When was the the last time you heard the CEO of a car company openly and publicly admit something like that? So unbelievable was that statement during his opening remarks, if ever an auditory double-take was required, this was it. I’m not kidding, another veteran motoring scribe actually learned over to me and asked ‘did he just say what I think he said?’, to which I replied wide-eyed, ‘yes’. In actual fact, he said it twice…
On the pretext of a simple and informal ‘meet-the-press’ session, Proton Hondings Berhad today instead gave us a sneak-preview of the all-new Proton Perdana – which has not had a successor since 2010 – in the presence of no less than Tun Mahathir, Protons most senior advisor, and ‘father’ to the very first one.
I have to admit, first-impressions are indeed favourable for Protons’ latest baby, and while it’s no secret the car shares Honda Accord underpinnings, there’s a lot of Proton input as well. We weren’t allowed to take photos of course, that’s reserved for the upcoming official launch, which Tun mentioned would possibly be within the first quarter of this year. And while prices for the Perdana 2.0 and 2.4 have not been revealed, Tun also coyly remarked that it would be somewhere between RM100-150k.
Now apart from previewing the new Perdana, Dato Harith, the CEO of Proton, also outlined a massive re-engineering exercise that Proton will be undertaking to not just improve itself, but also mend its less-than-perfect reputation and image in the country. After all by his own admission, currently, it sucks.
The revamp, nay, the REBIRTH of the Proton brand will be a multi-level attack starting from the ground-up, encompassing just about every aspect of the car business. From the dealership level to the end consumer, us. Dato Harith has promised a compete ‘resuscitation’ and revamp of the brand, on every level, but especially for the end consumer.
The gist of some of these new initiatives can be seen in the photos above and below, and the ones that follow.
However, as I’d mentioned many times in the past, one of Protons greatest failings is when it comes to the quality of components that are use for the car, to which Dato Harith replied that that was one of the key areas that they were looking into. I’m quite happy to report that the subsequent viewing of the new Perdana revealed that indeed the quality of components being used in the car has improved quite a lot.
Despite being a pre-production unit, the car looked very well put together, with definite input from Proton engineers and designers. In short, they didn’t just cover the ‘H’ logo with a Proton badge like many thought they would. In actual fact Proton spent RM200 million on developing the new Perdana.
So after 30 years, 4.16 million cars sold worldwide, 3.7 million Protons registered locally, 3 million of which still ply our roads daily, is our First National carmaker finally stepping out of the shadows and seeing the light? While it’s very gratifying to hear that they admit the error of their ways finally, only time will tell.
Dato Harith mentioned that “the proof in the pudding will be in the eating” in regards to the new Perdana, as well as this massive re-engineering exercise, and I for one will be getting ready to take a huge bite. Stay tuned folks, exciting times lie ahead. – CW.
PS: Yes, the new new Perdana is open for bookings at all Proton showrooms nationwide NOW!
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