The revolution: Proton style

Based on technology and parts from Mitsubishi Motors, production of the first model, the Proton Saga began in September 1985 at its first manufacturing plant in Shah Alam, Selangor. Initially the components of the car were entirely manufactured by Mitsubishi but slowly local parts were being used as technologies were transferred and skills were gained.

The 100,000th Proton Saga was produced in January 1989. After that, Proton relased several model including Wira, Satria, Satria Neo, Putra, Perdana, Tiara, Juara, Waja, Arena, Gen-2, Savvy, Persona, Exora and the rally car PERT. As of 3 August 2008, Proton has produced 3 million cars since 1985, where the 3 millionth car is a second-generation Saga.

OLD PROTON SAGA

NEW PROTON SAGA

The Proton Saga was the first Proton model, . It rolled off the Shah Alam assembly line for the first time in September 1985. The 100,000th Proton Saga was produced in January 1989.

PROTON WIRA

This car was, and still is, very popular in Malaysia. The word Wira translates into English as "Hero" but instead of using this as the name in English-speaking countries, Proton chose to use the word Persona. The wira has variant models such as 1.3GLi A/M, 1.5GLi A/M, 1.6XLi A/M, 1.8XLi A/M and 2.0D M. Only the 1.8XLi Auto is marketed in the English-speaking country at first known as Persona. Persona is a hatch back model. However, from about 2001 onwards, the car has been sold as the Wira in the United Kingdom

PROTON SATRIA

The Proton Satria (also called the Proton Compact in the UK) is a sporty 3-door hatchback based on the Mitsubishi Mirage / [[Mitsubishi Colt]]. Proton gained a lot of valuable engineering knowledge from its takeover of Lotus which ultimately led to a special Lotus badged version of the Satria being produced.

The Proton Satria GTi is a 3-door sports hatchback. This was Proton's entry in the sport performance hatchback market. The Satria GTi is popular in Malaysia and has a large following in Australia. It is powered by a 4-cylinder 1,800 cc DOHC engine and featured Lotus-tuned suspension.

The Proton Satria R3 is a limited edition road-legal race-spec Satria with only 150 units in production. It features a double seam-welded lightened chassis and a tweaked engine with more aggressive cam timing.

The Proton Satria SE is the last batch of Proton Satrias to roll out. Featuring Proton Arena sports rims and grille, and many extras in the interior similar to the Proton Wira SE, this would be the last of the Satrias before the long-awaited SRM (Satria Replacement Model) rolls out

PROTON SATRIA NEO

The Proton Satria Neo is the replacement model of the previous Satria variants, using all-new design, chassis and powerplant. Launched on 16 June 2006, the Satria Neo is available in 1.6L and 1.3L variants, where both variants are powered by Campro engine

PROTON PUTRA

The Proton Putra (also sold in the United Kingdom and Australia as the Proton Coupe or Proton M21) is a 2-door sporty coupe based on the Mitsubishi Mirage. Considered by many as one of the better looking of the Mitsubishi-based models, the Putra was well-received and commands good second-hand value

PROTON PERDANA

The Proton Perdana, based on the Mitsubishi Eterna, was first produced in 1995, and was intended for the higher-end market. The Proton Perdana V6 was a facelifted version of the Perdana, featuring a more powerful V6 engine and new front and rear look. It was later facelifted to include the Alfa-Romeo-inspired grille that earned it the nickname Alfa-dana among enthusiasts

PROTON TIARA

The Proton Tiara was a supermini class 5 door compact car based on the Citroën AX. It was built under license from PSA Peugeot Citroën by Proton from 1996 to 2000. The Tiara was powered by a 1.1L engine and featured a different grille, tail lights and bumpers than the Citroën AX. Its successor is the Proton Savvy

PROTON JUARA

The Proton Juara was a microvan based on the Mitsubishi Town Box Wide. This model was the first batch being totally CKD models from Japan. The external appearance of the car, which was a modification of the original Town Box, was not popular with the Malaysian market and suffered poor sales. The Proton Juara was very economical in fuel consumption and was very versatile. It is also one of the best-equipped Mitsubishi-based models offered from Proton

PROTON WAJA

The Proton Waja (Proton Impian in Europe) is the first Proton to be designed and styled in-house. However, the car's chassis and engine were sourced and adapted from Mitsubishi (except for the 1,800 cc variant, which was powered by a Renault engine). The word Waja translates into English as "steel" while Impian translates into "dreams" or "ambition". The name Impian was chosen as it was considered to be a more pleasant sounding word for the international market.

In January 2006, the car was fitted with a CamPro engine which has been re-tuned to boost the horsepower to 86 kW (115 bhp) and 155 N-m of torque. This made it go full-circle, as the CamPro was originally developed for the Waja, but was deemed not ready for production when the Waja was launched, hence debuting in the Proton Gen-2. The facelifted 2007 Proton Waja was launched on 19 January 2007 with the new grille nearly identical to the Proton Savvy. Although Proton Waja was designed as a premium product of Proton, it was termed as one of the worst cars of Proton.

The Waja was also released as the Proton Chancellor in late 2005, a variant for the executive market with a 250mm wheelbase stretch and luxury fittings and accessories, including a space-robbing rear centre console that restricts seating to four persons. It is fitted with powertrain from the Proton Perdana V6. With a selling price of about twice that of a Waja, the Chancellor is a very rare sight on Malaysian roads.

PROTON ARENA

The Proton Arena (called Proton Jumbuck in the United Kingdom and Australia), a coupe utility vehicle. Based on the Wira platform, Proton engineers managed to develop a vehicle that would cater for those who have an active lifestyle and also those who need a small and economical utility vehicle as opposed to a commercial truck. 1200 units were sold in Australia in its first year. The Arena comes in 3 bodystyles

PROTON GEN-2

The Proton Gen-2 is the first fully Malaysian-developed (including chassis and engine) Proton car and the replacement model for the Proton Wira; launched on February 8, 2004. Proton still continued to sell the Wira after the Gen.2 was launched, due primarily to the popularity of sedan/saloon vehicles in the target market. The Gen.2, a hatchback design, is considered by many to be the best-looking Proton. It has a minimalist and modern interior with design cues from the Lotus subsidiary.

However, very low quality of materials and fit and finish of interior components seriously hurt the public's perception of the quality of the vehicle at launch. Later models used improved quality materials and assistance from the TUV of Germany to help maintain the quality improvements. The Gen.2 was the first Proton to receive the (inappropriately) named CamPro engine, which at launch was widely criticised for the lack of low- to mid-range torque (pulling puwer), due to a late decision to drop Camshaft Profiling from the engine feature-list in production models.

Attempts to improve this torque deficit by adjusting ECU parameters have largely been unsuccessful. Published engine torque curves still show a pronounced dip in torque output in the crucial 2000-3000 RPM engine speed region, presumably due to the missing engine feature. The version with Campro CPS engine was previewed during the 24th Thailand International Motor Expo 2007 in Bangkok.

The Proton Gen-2 was also released in the form of two other variants:

• The Proton Gen-2 R3 MME Edition
• The Proton Gen-2 EVE Hybrid (a hybrid concept version of the Gen-2, revealed during the 2007 Geneva Auto Show. It retains the S45MPH Campro engine coupled together with a 30 kW, 144 V electric motor)

PROTON SAVVY

The Proton Savvy was launched on June 8, 2005. The 1,200 cc 5-door supermini car . The car is fitted with an engine and a gearbox sourced from Renault. In an official on-road test made by Proton in mid-2006, Proton Savvy recorded the fuel consumption rate of about 24 km/L at constant speed of 90km/h (or about RM0.08/km of fuel), making the car as the most fuel-efficient Malaysian car as verified by Malaysian Book of Records.

Even with very good fuel efficiency the car maintenance were reportly to be very high even surpassing the Proton Waja. This because of the use of the European Renault engine. The Proton Savvy R3 Zerokit was based on the Proton Savvy R3 prototype and could be added to a Savvy purchase for an additional RM3000. It featured a roof spoiler, front and rear lips and side skirting

PROTON PERSONA

The Proton Persona was launched on 15 August 2007. The 1.6 liter sedan is based on the Proton Gen-2 and features a sedan body instead of the Gen-2's hatchback body. It retains the same 82kW Campro engine. The Persona is rebadged as the Proton Gen-2 Persona in the UK market

PROTON EXORA

The Proton Exora was launched on 15 April 2009. It is powered by the 1.6L Campro CPS I4 engine producing 125 horsepower and 150Nm of torque, resulting the top speed of 165 km/h (103 mph) and the average fuel consumption of 7.2 L/100 km (39 mpg-imp; 33 mpg-US).The Exora will feature a Body Control module which allows automatic activation and configuration of various vehicle functions such as door locking/unlocking, interior lamps, headlamps, brake lamps and wipers. The result has been announced on 17th February 2009.

The name Proton Exora",was picked from the Name The Proton MPV competition grand prize winner Norsholihan Bt Abdul Eanich. Some says that it was taken from the name of a flower, (Ixora) but according to compettion terms and conditions the name should not based on any kind of flowers, animals etc

PROTON PERT (PROTON RALLY CAR)

The Proton PERT (Petronas-EON Racing Team) is an identical copy of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. The latest model resembles the Evolution VII and participated in the production class of the World Rally Championship. The PERT rally programme officially ended in 2006

edited from wikipedia: List of Proton car models