Somewhere in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur a group of think that the faith of muslims will be threatened by the mere sight of a cross and a church in their area. Aside from the conspiracy theory that this is to divert attention from what ex-Prime Minister and car guy, Tun Mahathir's scathing attacks on the current Prime Minister (who to me seems oblivious to what the heck is actually going on in our country) it goes to show that there are people who sit around with nothing better to do than to complain about normal things that we see in Malaysia. 

We have mosques everywhere, so why isn't the faith of so many non-muslims affected? I think that these people have too much time on their hands. They actually need to have proper jobs and then a hobby...like racing cars on weekends. Take a look at Yours Truly over here. My kindergarten was behind the largest church in Taiping. I went to two different La Salle schools - St. George's Institution in Taiping and St. John's Institution in Kuala Lumpur. I am still who I am and not suddenly Padre Rig from Nacho Libre.




You know, we are so used to seeing the Proton Gen 2, Proton Persona and the Satria Neo on the roads of Malaysia as they have been around in one form or the other since 2004. The Gen2 came in 2004, followed by a heavily modified, shortened chassis variant called the Satria Neo and finally the Persona sedan in 2007. The Gen2 is still on sale in China as a Youngman Europestar-Lotus (but in car production lifespan terms, should already be called Oldman Lotus). The Persona and Satria Neo soldiers on with some changes here and extra equipment there. 

So it would seem that the same chassis platform has been on sale for over a decade. As I mentioned, in terms of car production lifespan average, it is about three to four years older than the industry average of between five to eight years for a platform. But bear in mind that this isn't as bad as the original Proton Saga. Based on the 1982 Mitsubishi Lancer, it first appeared in 1985 and continued on till 2008. So what the heck is eleven or so years.

Anyway, Mitsibishi also stated that their current Mitsubishi Lancer is carrying on until 2018 or more at the very least making that model, which was launched in 2007 into something that the Proton Persona is right now - a platform that has been around for over a decade.


But we are not so bad. Proton does not sell us the Gen2 variant anymore. They still sell it in China though but we in Malaysia have the Satria Neo and Persona taking the trophy for the longest production cars in the Malaysian market. Now the longest selling production vehicle with the same chassis that has been selling here in Malaysia is actually the Land Rover Defender. That has been around with some modification since the 1940s and its latest Defender form since the 1980s. But in the case of the Landie, no one wants it to change. In the case of cars, somehow we do.

We want our cars to be refined. Some older chassis do not have the structural rigidity to ensure safety and good handling. This is why manufacturers replace them with better platforms every seven years or so. The usual sales blurb is that the newer chassis is 100% stiffer than the old one, safer, handles better and more refined. It usually is the case. But I believe that car platforms have actually arrived at such a point that cars are rigid enough to be safe, refined and handle well. This is quite true as in most new cars I have been in, the levels of refinement and how it drives are pretty good compared to those in the late 1990s. Even a Persona is actually quite nice to drive compared to a 1990s Wira. It is quieter, more stable at speed and safer too.

Maybe it is this level of progress that we will see longer lifespans of the cars we see on our roads today. Another good example of a car that is destined to have a long life is the current Ford Fiesta. It was launched in 2008 (as a 09 model) and was facelifted in 2013. A facelift is usually done mid-life, so I predict the Fiesta will be around to at least 2017-2018.  I think the era for long lasting production cars is coming back as manufacturers feel that it is economical to do so and that consumers do not actually mind if the price is right.

So what Proton is doing may not be a bad thing then. And even I do not think the Persona is a bad car to drive around in. In fact, as a car producing country, I am glad that we are not Iran or Egypt. Imaging driving around in a modified Peugeot 405 (1987-1997)  platform like the Iran Khodro Samand or worse still, in Egypt where the Fiat 124 from 1966, under license as the Lada Riva/2107 variant is still sold in egypt.


Seriously. A car from 1966 is still around with new bumpers, lights, a bigger grille and a new dashboard. How's that for progress? So the moral of this story is that do not be Egypt, or Iran. Or for that matter any country in the Middle East for everyone's sake. This is what forsaking actual progress actually brings. Really terrible (by today's standards) cars that you can buy brand new as well as an overall lack of progress (Hello, Iran's nuclear technology does not help the actual citizens does it? Many are out of the country seeking income. Like here in Malaysia).

An idle mind is the Devil's workshop. If you don't really create anything, don't work hard, don't have a hobby or don't have a life and then suddenly think that shit is going to happen because of other people's religious symbols, you may be bringing our country down and on par with countries like I mentioned above.

Do take note people.

I did an article way back in 2007 on the Mitsubishi Lancer GT when it was launched. I think it would make a compelling read to those who want to know more about the original version of the Inspira. Of course, the facelifted version of the Lancer GT with that chrome strip around the wide-mouthed grille has some better plastic than this first batch model. I really felt the plastic in this 2008 model was really, really crappy.

It reminded me why Proton interiors were so crappy as their 'sifu' or master, Mitsubishi, also uses crappy plastic too. How can you learn to walk straight from a crab in the first place?

A friend of mine recently sold of his GT as soon as he heard the Inspira was being launched so I had first hand news on the car as well as sitting in it quite often before he let it go at 30,000km or two whole years of use.

Nowadays, after sitting in one quite often, I still think the Lancer GT is a decent car, but it still does not live up to the the 'GT' badging. It needs at least 20 more horses to feel competently fast due to its weight and CVT gearbox feel (although it is possible for it to out drive a Honda Civic 2.0 on the highways most of the time). The CVT is too rubber band like although it one of the better ones as the gear ratios seem spot on if you were shifting manually.

It had tons of cornering grip. The front end would just grip, grip and grip. The rear was pretty competent too...quietly assisting the front end into a corner. It was a competent long distance cruiser (maybe this is what the GT stands for) although the ride was actually too harsh for our B-roads, kampung and pot holed city roads. It was bordering on jarring sometimes. You get the feeling that at high speeds, a large mid-corner bump may put you into low orbit or over the nearest cliff. The GLS or later EX versions, which I had a ride in a few occasions were much better riding cars than the GT. Smaller brakes and a smaller anti-roll bar helped the ride a lot.

The interior also wore decently well after two whole years and I still thought the door grip was pretty cheap feeling after a while. The car looked good, drove good (CVT feel aside) but was let down by the interior materials. I suppose you can't win 'em all sometimes.

Here are some photos of the exact car, two of it were at a used car lot after he sold it. The rims were the only mod the owner did to the car.
For a read of the earlier article posted sometime circa 2007, click here.