Malaysian Achievement: The introduction of Proton Automobiles Bhd (PROTON)

As Malaysian, we are proud to state that Proton (Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sendirian Berhad) is our National car. However, how many of us really know whose idea it is to introduce Proton in our nation?

The first logo used by Proton

The new Proton logo

The answer lies with our former PM, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. He is the mastermind in generating idea about Malaysia owning it's own line of automobile, by looking at Japan's achievement in producing their own national car (eg. Mitsubishi, Honda to name a few). 

Tun first conceive the idea of producing national car in 1979, and after several years,  on 9 July 1985 the first ever Proton Saga was launched. The design of the first Proton Saga was based on the second generation 1983Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore 4-door, as they had done a joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors.

Proton Gen 2: A product of collaboration with Lotus

Now, Proton has launched several successful line of cars, such as the Satria Gti, Iswara, Wira, and not to mention those early 2000 models such as Satria Neo, Pesona, Inspira and also Preve.

Proton has been used not only in Malaysia, but it has also build its reputation outside of Malaysia. In addition, Proton has done a lot of collaboration with foreign car manufacturer, for instance Mitsubishi, Lotus, and also Honda. 

The 1st Generation of Proton Saga

Source used:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_(automobile)
• http://protoncar.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/history-of-proton-malaysia/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwC6fF3SR9w