Proton News

And the two new models could finally give new-car buyers a reason to return to a Proton showroom in 2012. The Exora people mover will headline for the Malaysian brand but it's an all-new Persona, traditionally the company's price leader but coming with a new name, that has the most potential beyond the new year. There will also be an update for the S16, called the FLX and pitched into the bottom end of the baby-car class, as well as an overdue commitment to safety. And Proton is going turbo, both with the Exora and a version of the Persona. "We've finally got a bit happening in the new year," says John Startari, managing director of Proton Australia. This past year we've done less than enough. We were hoping for 2100 sales but we'll probably do around 1600." The local operation has been hit heavily by delays in product updates from Malaysia, as well as the loss of its unique - but short on safety - Jumbuck ute. "We think the Exora could give us something to fill that Jumbuck niche. It's a smaller people mover and there aren't too many competitors," says Startarti. "It's a genuine seven-seater but about the size of a Toyota Avensis, as opposed to a Kia Carnival." The Exora is just starting to get traction in Malaysia and Startari says it will only come to Australia with the top-line mechanical package, a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine and automatic gearbox. The likely target price is less than $30,000, on the road. But - and it's a big one - both the Exora and Persona will be in the second half of the year. "Yes, Exora is delayed. It's scheduled for August," Startari says. "Exora is scheduled for August. It gives us a replacemtn for the Jumbuck niche. There are not too many competitors with a vehicle like it, as a smaller people people. It's a genuine seven-seater but about the size of a Toyota Avensis as opposed to a Kia Carnival. Before the heavier hitters, Proton will have an update of the current Persona Elegance and a S16 FLX to keep things ticking over. The objective is to hold a price line below $15,000 on the road. We'll have a starter car with dual airbags, ESP and ESC. We've already landed the first of the FLXs. Mass production starts in Malaysia in January and it will be here in March." Further into the future, and despite a battle that's raging over the ownership and direction in Malaysia, Startari says Proton has a plan to give it a solid future. "I think Proton will be at the cutting edge of safety, and we'll be using the Exora platform to leverage the Lotus ride and handling in all our cars," he says. "Proton is also aiming for five-star safety with all its future models."

And the VE Commodore was given just three stars. The latest Used Car Safety Ratings, taken from Monash University's Accident Research Centre (MUARC) crash survey awarded five stars to the Camry and Aurion on models built from 2006 until 2008. The results show that almost one in three vehicles have a "poor" or "very poor" crash test result. The worst result was for the 1990-96 Daihatsu Mira, while the 2004-07 VW Golf was the safest. The 1999-2002 Ford Fairlane/LTD, Holden's Statesman/Caprice and the 2003-5 Mitsubishi Magna/Verada line-ups all rated four stars.  Three-star ratings were also awarded to the 2002-08 BA/BF Ford Falcon, the Holden Statesman/Caprice range from 1994 to 1998 and the 2002-07 Holden Commodore VY/VZ range. The results also suggest smaller cars have improved in recent years, with the 1996-200 Volkswagen Polo scoring five stars and the 2005-2008 Holden Barina rating four stars. The ratings list showed that (excluding light-commercial utes) every vehicle class has at least one vehicle with an "excellent" five-star rating and of the 199 vehicles examined, more than a third scored either good or excellent. The survey rates occupant safety, as well as how other road users (cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists and other drivers) are affected in a crash, based on Australian and New Zealand injuries suffered by 5.4 million people from 1987-2008. FIVE STAR "excellent" Audi A4 01-08 BMW 5 Series 96-03 BMW X5 01-08 Chrysler Neon 96-99 Ford Explorer 01-05 Ford Transit 01-08 Mazda 6 02-07 Mazda MX5 Roadster 98-05 Mercedes Benz C-Class 00-07 Mercedes Benz M-Class 98-05 Mitsubishi Nimbus 99-03 Mitsubishi Pajero 00-06 Peugeot 307 01-08 Saab 900/9-3 94-02 Saab 9000 86-97 Subaru Liberty/Legacy/Outback 03-08 Subaru Forester 97-02 Toyota Aurion 06-08 Toyota Camry 06-08 Volkswagen Golf/Jetta 04-08 Volkswagen Polo 96-00 Volvo S40/V40 97-04 ONE STAR "very poor" Daewoo Espero 95-97 Daewoo Tacuma 00-04 Daihatsu Feroza/Rocky 89-97 Daihatsu Rocky/Rugger 85-98 Daihatsu Charade 93-00 Daihatsu Mira 90-96 Ford Festiva 94-01 Holden Commodore Ute VR/VS 94-00 Holden/Suzuki Scurry/Carry 82-00 Holden/Suzuki Drover/Sierra 82-99 Holden/Suzuki Barina/Swift 89-99 Hyundai Excel/Accent 95-00 Hyundai Getz/TB 02-08 Kia Ceres 92-00 Nissan Micra 95-97 Nissan NX/NX-R 91-96 Proton Wira 95-96 Subaru Impreza 93-00 Suzuki Vitara/Escudo 88-98 Toyota 4Runner/Hilux 89-97 Toyota Landcruiser 90-97

She is just like the Emperor who goes strutting in public without clothes, despite claims of an impressive new wardrobe, in the 1800s short story by Hans Christian Anderson.  In this case, the Prime Minister is wearing nothing for the election despite the impressive claims on her 'Cash for Clunkers' scheme.How? Why? The basics of the proposed car scrap scheme look good, with a $2000 bounty on any pre-1995 gross polluter turned in for crushing in favour of a green new car.  The government forecasts up to 200,000 trade-ins over four years on cars which have to meet either a six-star rating in the Green Vehicle Guide or emit less than 220 grams/kilometre of CO2. It is talking about lots of new cars, with safety benefits on the side, as Australians convert their rusty old hulks into something new in the driveway.  But as you drill deeper into the proposal you find flaws, and then one fatal error. It all looks simple for anyone who has a pre-'95 car in the family.  You bank the bounty, take the car to a dealership, then drive away in something shiny and new. But did you know the car must have been registered and insured for two years before the trade-in deal? Or that the paperwork must match the person doing the deal?  It's a way to ensure there are no $20 wrecker's specials rolled out by bounty hunters. Did you also know the cost of a new car against the valuation on a 1995 model?  The cheapest new cars in Australia today are the Suzuki Alto and Proton S16, which both sit at around $12,000 driveaway. But the Alto is tiny and the Proton is old, so the realistic new-car choices don't start until $15,000 and a new Commodore or Falcon is more like $40,000 on-the-road. Compare those numbers with the valuations for a '95 Commodore or Falcon.  Glass's Guide says the current figure is $2400 for an EF GLi or $3000 for a VR Executive in average condition. But what about the success of overseas schemes?  Yes, 'Cash for clunkers' schemes have worked well in other countries, but most have a bounty of at least $5000 against secondhand prices which are much lower than Australia. That's definitely true in Britain and France, where basic new-car prices are also lower. So now we come to The Big One.  Anyone doing the sums on a clunker deal is probably assuming they get $2000 cash from Canberra in addition to their trade-in. So the numbers don't look too bad. But the clunker is worth zero. Nothing. Not one dollar.  It will be going straight to the scrapyard, so there is not a single dealer in Australia who will give a single dollar for the car. That means the changeover price, which is what new-car deals are really about, goes way the wrong way.  And don't forget the Government is planning a $2000 bounty on cars which have a trade-in value above that figure.  That's why Emperor Gillard is wearing no clothes. Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

WILL Power and Ryan Briscoe will start second and eighth in this year's Indianapolis 500. The Team Penkse pair were not able to match   their team-mate Helio Castroneves, who took pole position, and Briscoe actually dropped from fourth in the provisional running by taking a second shot at the top spot.CHAD Reed returned to the top of American motocross with victory in the first round of the outdoor championship following an injury-  plagued season in the supercross series earlier this year. Reed rode his Monster Kawasaki to an easy win at Sacramento in California, leading from start to finish.CHRIS Atkinson has a onfirmed start in the IRC rally series - second only to the world championship - with Proton as part of the deal which sees him chasing the Asia-Pacific championship with the Malaysian maker. His first IRC start is in the Ypres Rally, an all-bitumen event   in Belgium next month, following an engine problem that took him out of contention in Rally Japan last weekend.DAVID Brabham has scored another big win in the ALMS sports car series in the USA, taking victory in a six-hour race at Laguna Seca in California. Brabham shared his Honda racer with Simon Pagenaud and Marino Franchitti and they had to drive from last to first after a   technical penalty.JASON Crump has dropped to fourth in the World Speedway Championship rankings after a mediocre meeting in Prague last weekend. The defending champion was only eighth on the night and admits to feeling "out of form" with his riding.MARCOS Ambrose finished a pacey fifth in the showdown race ahead of the Nascar All-Star race last weekend but is still only 28th in the Sprint Cup standings. He finish was not good enough to win a transfer place in the main event, as only the top two drivers from the showdown were promoted to the All-Star even won by Kurt Busch.AUDI swept the latest round of the German Touring Car championship series at Valencia in Spain, with Mattias Ekstrom winning from Bruno Spengler in a Mercedes. Martin Tomczyk was originally second in an Audi but was excluded when his team made a mistake on tyres.YVAN Muller continues to lead the World Touring Car championship after another win with Chevrolet at Monza in Italy. The Frenchman is confirmed for the Gold Coast 600 international later this year with Andy Priaulx, who is fourth in the WTCC pointscore after Monza, will also jump into a V8 Supercar.

Australia's star in the World Rally Championship has been sitting on the sidelines since Subaru pulled out of motorsport before the start of the 2009 season, apart from a one-off run to fifth in Ireland in a Citroen.Now Chris Atkinson has been signed by Proton to lead its attack on this year's Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, which could easily become a stepping stone back into the WRC with the Malaysia maker. Proton is competing in the new S2000 category with a Satria Neo developed in Britain by Mellors Motorsport and Atkinson's team mate is speedy Scot Alistair McRae.The pair will open their 2010 action in just over a week in the Malaysian Rally before competing in six other events including Rally Queensland on the Sunshine Coast from July 31 to August 1. Ironically, Atkinson drove the course car for the Queensland event last year during a break at home on the Gold Coast while he was searching for a drive."I've been out for a year and that was tough, but to be out of the sport for two years would have been way too much," Atkinson says. "I really appreciate this opportunity to work with Proton, it's going to be great to get behind the wheel and go racing again."His car has been quick in previous starts, although not as pacey as the latest S2000 Ford Fiesta and Skoda Fabia. It has had several podium finishes in Europe. But the Asia-Pacific series has been dominated in recent years by another Australia, Cody Crocker in a showroom-class Subaru Impreza, and he is not competing in the championship this year as he works towards a start in the world championship.Atkinson has already tested the Proton in Wales and will run again in Malaysia before the rally, after a break this week in Queensland."I'm really excited about the year ahead. I've tested the Satria Neo S2000 briefly in Britain and it's a very, very good car," he says.Atkinson should be the pace-setter in the Asia-Pacific series after 32 points-scoring results in his 67 starts in the world championship with Subaru. He was also a class champion in the regional series with Suzuki on his way up the rally ladder."To be honest, I can’t wait to get started," Atkinson says.

The tricked-up green and yellow hot hatch belongs to Proton. Called the R3, the track-ready car has been specifically developed by Lotus Racing. An initial batch of only 25 cars are being made for Malaysia in full Lotus Racing F1 livery. The car has reignited Proton Australia managing director, John Startari's appetite for a performance Proton in the local line-up. He says company executives agree that the R3 could be a much-needed ‘halo’ car for the brand. "This would be perfect but we have to work up a business case," he says. The hot Proton is being built by the company's R3 (race, rally, research) division. Three are going to the Formula 1 Lotus Racing team and two will be given to race drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. The R3 makes extensive use of racing technology to reduce weight and help performance. It has a carbon-fibre bonnet, custom light-weight wheels, R3 bodykit for enhanced aerodynamics, AP racing brakes and expensive Ohlins adjustable dampers. And the engineers have not stopped there. Stiffened rubber bushes and revised suspension geometry delivers racecar-like direct steering and improved cornering precision. Lotus has shaved 62kg out of the standard car's weight by using carbon fibre, delivering a better power to weight ratio. Power comes from worked version of Proton's CamPro 1.6-litre four-cylinder, which develops 108kW at 7000 revs and 168Nm at 5000 revs. The car reaches 100km/h in 9.2 seconds and has a top speed of 200km/h. Startari says the R3 costs the equivalent of $35,000 in Malaysia and this could work against its appeal locally. A similar car for Australia will need to be "in the mid-$20,000 range", he says. Electronic stability control, which is absent on the Malaysian car, would also need to be added. "And that calibration work can take up to eight months," he says. Apart from price, there are engineering hurdles to overcome before it's road ready. "We hope to get it but there is a lot of compliance work to be done in terms of emissions," Startari says. "Australia may not use the same identical car because there is a lot of expensive hardware on it." Startari is even considering a lower-cost R3-style car without the expensive modifications but sporting the Lotus body kit. "That could be an option," he says. He says the engine may need to deliver more power to compete with other local hot hatches. Proton is currently working on a turbo-charged four-cylinder which could be more suitable.

AUSTRALIAN Formula 1 driver Mark Webber is on cloud nine after Red Bull's one-two finish at last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix. "It could have gone either way, but in the end Seb (Sebastian Vettel) did the job at the crucial stage and deserved the victory," he says. "A one-two finish for us as a team is sensational. The cars ran very well and it was a nice come back for us after a tough few races where we didn't finish as we wanted to. I'd like to be one spot further up, but its a great result for the team."V8 Supercars Australia is keeping its options open in the search for alternate engines for the V8 Car of the Future. The category estimates that a current high-end V8 Supercar engine costs a ludicrously high amount to run at almost $40 a kilometre. Mark Skaife, who heads the CoF committee, acknowledges that the biggest point of contention in CoF was the engine program. Under CoF, V8 Supercars plans to overhaul engine systems used from 2012.Today engines cost about $100,000. However CoF wants a lighter and longer-lasting engine for $50,000 with a 10,000km life cycle and the same output as today's cars.HAVING achieved two career milestones in an impressive performance at the recent Clipsal 500, Tony D'Alberto believes next week's Hamilton 400, New Zealand will be a good indicator of whether he can carry the form into the rest of the season. "I would love to think we could do that more often," D'Alberto says. "The car's very good at street circuits so we are looking forward to getting over there and seeing how we go."THE Hamilton 400 will be a big milestone for Steven Johnson. The No17 Jim Beam Racing driver celebrates his 150th ATCC/V8 Supercar event start in New Zealand, becoming just the 13th driver in history to achieve the feat. Since debuting at Oran Park in 1994 Johnson has notched up 337 starts, three wins, two poles, and 11 podiums. Johnson is downplaying the achievement. "It does make me feel old," he says. "I haven't thought about it too much but I'm pretty pleased to have been around for so long."THE International Rally of Queensland has received a huge boost with the signing of world rally star Chris Atkinson to contest the event for the Proton R3 team. Gold Coast-based Atkinson, 30, and fellow World Rally Championship driver Alister McRae, will line up in a pair of Proton Satria Neo S2000 cars for the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. The Queensland rally on July 30 is round four of the championship. Atkinson, McRae and the British-run Mellors Elliot Motorsport Proton team are expected to be strong contenders in Queensland, where Atkinson won in 2004 before joining Subaru for four years in the World Rally Championship.MORE rounds, more drivers in the feature races, the reconfirmation of the television package and a tweaking of the points structure have all been discussed at the first planning meeting for the 2010/11 World Series Sprintcars campaign. The World Series management group met in Adelaide recently to review last season and plan next season, which is says will be the biggest in the history of the national series. WSS group chairman Geoff Kendrick says there have been "a lot of expressions of interests from tracks". "The reaction has been positive with most of the tracks already indicating they will take a WSS round next year" he says.ASTON Martin will tackle this year's Nurburgring 24 hour endurance race in a Rapide. The Rapide endurance racer has very few modifications, apart from the removal of the luxury interior addition of mandatory safety gear and racing slicks. The brand has been quite successful in Le Mans-class racing and has performed well at the Ring in the SP8 category, which it has won the past two years running. Last year a V12 Vantage had a class win and came 21st overall. Apart from the Rapide, Aston is running a V12 Vantage in this year's event.IT has only just had its debut at the Geneva Motor Show but Volvo's new S60 is already track ready. The sedan debuts in the Belgian Touring Car Championship this weekend. The racecar put together by the Chinese-owned Swedish carmaker's Belgian S60 racing team. The liveried racecar shares little with the road-going S60. The Belgian Touring Car Championship is highly-regulated. Each car shares a tube chassis, extensive aerodynamic work and front and rear suspension. The S60 racer gets its power from a rear drive 305kW V6 mated to a six-speed manual

Proton of Malaysia is going hybrid, but doing it with baby cars and maximum flexibility in everything from plug-in power to fuel for a tiny petrol engine. It began the move by unveiling three concept cars at the Geneva Motor Show. They have silly names — EMAS, EMAS Country and EMAS3 — but show Proton is serious about greening its business and creating demand for cars which have yet to hit showrooms outside Malaysia. "The unveiling of the concept cars reflects the long-term strategy we have in matching global automotive standards as we expand and reinforce our presence worldwide," says Proton's managing director, Syed Zainal. "We strive to listen to our customers to ensure the development of a global car that meets customer's requirements and expectations. The aim is to produce the global car for world market in the future." The concept cars are also part of Proton's 25th birthday celebrations in Malaysia. EMAS — the world for gold in the Malay language — stands for Eco Mobility Advance Solution, and is a collaboration between Proton, its subsidiary Lotus, and the Italian design house, Italdesign Giugiaro. The key to the EMAS mechanical package is a plug-in, petrol-electric drive system fired by a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder engine that can run on petrol, ethanol, methanol or natural gas. It produces 35 kiloWatts. There is also an electric motor, good for 45kW and 240 Newton-metres of torque. The cars' performance is leisurely, with a 0-100km/h time of 14 seconds, but the top speed is 170km/h and they can travel for 50 kilometres on pure battery power. The EMAS cars are a three-door city car, a five-door, four-seater hatchback and a three-door, five-seat crossover. All are designed with maximum interior space, high-tech electronics in the cabin, low-drag bodies, and compact overall dimensions for easy parking. Proton is not making any sort of production commitment for the hybrid heroes but shows the brand is planning for a sustainable future.

Green is not just a theme at Geneva. Like chocolate and watches, the Swiss are turning an automotive fad into a phenomenon at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.It is one of the first international motor shows to dedicate a “green pavilion” that is allowing carmakers and specialist automotive environment companies to exhibit their wares under one roof.Production ready hybrids, electric concept cars, the electric Mini, the battery powered HydroGen 4 from Opel, a Kia hybrid electric and natural gas car and a city car powered by the latest generation batteries developed by Croatian company Doking are on display. Other companies and some Swiss universities are exhibiting high-tech refueling and recharging stations for tomorrow’s cars.It is the type of ingenuity that is attracting mainstream carmakers too.Two sportscars, the Twenty-4 Le Mans race developed by the same Swiss company, which built the GreenGT electric racer, and the 3.3-litre V6 Quaranta hybrid sportscar developed in 2008 by Italdesign-Giugiaro are also on show. The Twenty-4 Le Mans racer is powered by two electric motors with around 298kW and 2000Nm and weighs less than 900kg. It is expected to hit 100km/h in less than four seconds and has a top speed close to 300km/h.But the green theme is not isolated to one pavilion.Apart from its Quaranta, Italdesign Giugiaro has introduced a family of low environmental impact cars created with Malaysian carmaker Proton. The first Proton concept, uses a hybrid drive system. It is designed to maximise available interior space and ergonomics in a four-seater, five-door hatchback that is just 3.5m long.“This is the outcome of several years of study,” Italdesign chief Giorgetto Giugiaro says. “The solution allows interior spaciousness on a par with that of a D segment car despite maintaining the exterior dimensions of an A segment car.”Finnish electric carmaker Valmet is showing off its Eva 2+2, which it claims can travel up to 160km on one charge and Swiss specialist electric company, Protoscar has the Lampo 2 sportscar. Based on the General Motors Saturn Sky and Opel GT, the Lampo 2 uses two electric motors and a lithium-ion battery pack that deliver 300kW/640Nm that enable the light-weight two-seater to hit 100km/h in just 5 seconds and top speed of 200km/h. The car has a range of 200km.Apart from the Europeans, Japan is also showing off some quirky concepts.The Honda 3R-C is a revolutionary one-person battery electric vehicle concept that is making its world debut alongside the EV-N concept, being displayed for the first time in Europe. The three-wheeled 3R-C concept looks to a future when consumers want commuter vehicle for one with zero emissions. The 3R-C uses a battery electric drivetrain mounted low in the three-wheeled chassis. Honda says this allows a low centre of gravity and improved stability.It has a clear canopy that covers the driver’s seat while it is parked and not in use. On the road, the canopy becomes a wind-blocker to protect the driver. The design has a high sided safety shell that provides excellent crash safety as well as protection from the weather. In front of the driver is a lockable boot area, which gives significant secure storage for luggage or other items. The 3R-C study was created by European designers working at Honda’s Research and Design facility in Milan.Despite the green tinge to Geneva, petrol power still reins.Porsche’s new Cayenne made its world debut, along with a hybrid version boasting a V8 with the economy of a V6. The car has a parallel hybrid drive system that can deliver fuel economy of 8.2 litres/100km and CO2 emissions of 193g/km, making it the cleanest Porsche in history. Apart from the hybrid, the new petrol Cayennes are expected to be more than 20 per cent more fuel-efficient than the previous model.BMW and Lotus are also showing off hybrid models, the ActiveHybrid 5 hybrid  - essentially a very lightly disguised new 5-Series - and Evora 414E hybrid. The Evora shares its 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine with the Proton concept. The sportscar also gets two electric motors to drive the rear wheels, delivering 304kW and 800Nm via a single-speed transmission that can mimic upshifts and downshifts of a seven-speed dual clutch transmission. The BMW ActiveHybrid 5 is the third hybrid model unveiled. It follows the ActiveHybrid versions of the X6 and luxury 7 Series sedan.Opel, the European division of General Motors, is showing off its number one prototype of its version of the Chevrolet Volt, called the Opel Ampera.

The current benchmark is the Proton S16, which will be priced from $10,990 in June, but the first Chinese imports are more likely to be priced against the Hyundai Getz in the $13,990 zone.Baby cars from Great Wall and Chery are expected first from China, followed by Geely, and the man leading the push says he is more worried about value than a rock-bottom price.  "We're not even trying to get to $10,990. Absolutely not. We don't see Proton as a big deal, to be honest," says Neville Crichton, boss of the Great Wall and Chery importer, Ateco."We'd like to stay, probably, dollar-for-dollar, where Hyundai is. But with better specced cars."  Crichton plans to have a 1.4-litre Great Wall car in showrooms in July, alongside a RAV4-size SUV, with the first Chery just a month later, and he is pushing value ahead of a rock-bottom price."We'll have better value in the cars. We will launch with a small SUV, the same size as a RAV4, which we will put in the market under $20,000, drive-away. It will be very competitive.  "I think it's just good-value motor cars. That's exactly what we're selling - good, reliable, economic transport."Great Wall is already underway with an SUV and ute and, despite a poor two-star ANCAP safety rating and a recall for the ute, Crichton predicts sales of around 8000 vehicles through 2010.  But he has much bigger plans when Chery and Great Wall get into gear."We certainly see that within three years we'll be selling in excess of 20,000 Chinese vehicles, between the two brands."  Ateco has huge experience as an independent importer, currently holding franchises from Ferrari to Citroen and Fiat, but its biggest volume success was with Kia. It took the brand to a major presence in Australia before Kia decided to buy the business back and Crichton says there is no reason he cannot do it again."We had a huge success with Kia, taking it to 26,000. They've had three years and they still haven't got back to that."  Crichton knows the safety concerns surrounding the Chinese cars but says his brands are moving rapidly away from their copycat roots, tweaking existing designs from western brands, and are capable of doing better than the two-star score for the Great Wall pickup."We would like a minimum of three stars. I think thtat's a good start.    With two airbags," he says.