To those guys asking why we bash Proton for rebadging the Lancer but not Perodua for rebadging the Passo/Boon, I think these are the reasons:
- Proton is like the "taikor" of the local automobile manufacture scene. With 25 years of experience and supposed R&D, we Malaysians put huge hopes on Proton to make us proud with a genuinely first class national car. So naturally we are disappointed when after all these years, despite acquiring Lotus and coming up with their own technology such as Campro, CPS etc, we are served up with yet another rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer with a Mivec engine. In a way, Proton symbolises Malaysia and like it or not, despite all the criticism we speak, we Malaysians do love and want to be proud of our own country. Yet, I don't think what Proton is doing is something we would be terribly proud of. I, for one, would be pretty embarrassed to tell a Japanese friend that this Proton Inspira is made by my country's largest car maker.
- Proton cars are somewhat overpriced yet lacking in quality. Despite national cars being supposedly taxed less, we are still forking out pretty huge sums for cars which have faulty power windows, damaged alarm systems after driving through heavy rain, and have to be sent for service more frequently than others. For the same sum, we might just be better off getting a Toyota or a Honda which although packs a smaller engine, might just be more reliable than the Proton of equivalent price. I think these things, coupled with many other reasons that would be too long for me to list, make us Malaysians feel cheated by our own car maker and have a bad impression on it. So when they come out with a rebadged car, we'd naturally start to think it's another overpriced, quality lacking copycat car without even giving it a chance.
- The Passo/Boon is not sold in Malaysia, but the Lancer GT is. I can only imagine how cheated those Lancer owners feel, seeing an Inspira pulling up next to their Lancer, and the driver gloating at them. Besides, not many people outside the automotive world were aware of the existence of Passo/Boon when Myvi was released, hence thinking the Myvi is a "true" Malaysia car; whereas the Lancer GT can easily be spotted on the road. Not mentioning, the Myvi was a huge success, sold damn well, so I guess we'd be "proud" telling people that the Myvi is a "Malaysian car" instead of condemning it. If the Inspira sells even half as well as the Myvi, I'm sure that'd help Proton shut our mouths up as well.
Anyway, enough with the serious stuff, here's something from facebook to lighten everyone up: