Proton's New Car Open For Booking Tuesday


KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- Proton's new sedan, codenamed BLM, is open for booking at all its showrooms and authorised dealers nationwide beginning Tuesday.

The model is scheduled to be unveiled in mid-January and is set to be a hit with Malaysians, the national carmaker said in a statement here Monday.

BLM will become the sixth vehicle fully developed and built ground-up by Proton after Waja (2000), Gen.2 (2004), Savvy (2005), Satria Neo (2006) and Persona (2007).

The new car is the second new model introduced by the national carmaker in less than six months.

Proton Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the national carmaker considered it apt to make it a truly Malaysian celebration of the New Year by opening for booking a car built for the people.

"We are confident that the BLM will be the ideal New Year's gift to the nation. The model combines simple, contemporary design with dynamic driving performance, practical features, affordable price and economical ownership costs, which we strongly believe will be the right car for the right market, at the right price and time," Syed Zainal said.

Syed Zainal also expressed his confidence that the new car would attract much interest that will subsequently be translated into bookings even before it is unveiled at its official launch.

The 1.3-litre BLM will be priced between RM30,000 and RM35,000, with the variants available in seven colours - Zircon Green, Metallic Black, Solid White, Mountain Blue, Genetic Silver, Chilli Red and Granite Gray.

"We are very excited. Just like the very first car that rolled out from the Proton factory in 1985, this will mark a very momentous occasion for Proton," he said.

Syed Zainal also pointed out that it will be the beginning of a new saga, with the car being another source of national pride and an icon that every Malaysian will be proud to own or be in one.

-- BERNAMA

Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=305321

Can't wait for tomorrow... My friend is asking me to join him at his uncle's Proton Edar launch in Seremban, but unfortunately I will not be free tomorrow... :-(

Can watch live launch at 5.30pm on RTM1.

I booked my Saga on the first day of the launch. I didn't get to test drive it until today, about few hours ago.

I am not an expert in cars, neither have I driven more than 4 types of car. I have only driven City, old Saga, Kancil and Viva. So I may not be able to give you good comparison, but here is my view:

I drove the M-line auto version. The engine started smoothly with nice start up sound. When I pressed on the pedal to start going out to the street, I thought I didn't engage on the right gear because the car wasn't really moving. But when I stepped the pedal further in, I could feel the power coming in slowly. It's good in a way because the power didn't come all of a sudden, and it came very smoothly.

The ride was comfortable with good sound insulation, probably because I didn't dare to go too fast.

I didn't really test the power of the car, but what I liked the most was that the car went on a sail, very smooth sail. I had a very comfortable ride, but it's too short a ride to judge whether it will be comfortable for longer drives. I would want to bet that it's going to be comfortable for longer rides as well. The seats are very comfortable as compared to the old Saga and Kancil.

The handling is just superb. It's a joy driving the car. It's spacious and is certainly a good choice for young families out there.

As I said, it's just a very short test drive. It's good to hear from those already owning the cars and driving them every day.

Oh, just to share with you. I am dealing with a salesgirl whom I think is kinda weird. She asked her colleague, "In a test drive for customers, who will be driving the car? Do we drive the car or the customer?"

[quote=Suave,Feb 1 2008, 03:27 PM]
Oh, just to share with you. I am dealing with a salesgirl whom I think is kinda weird. She asked her colleague, "In a test drive for customers, who will be driving the car? Do we drive the car or the customer?"

[/quote]

I think that's probably not a permanent staff. During the launch, the proton show rooms were overcrowded, so i believe they would have taken in plenty of temporary staff, most maybe college students just to work 1 or 2 days to make up numbers, that's probably why she wasn't sure.

[/quote]

Not exactly. She is a full time staff! She was supposed to accompany me for the test drive because I booked my car with her. Instead, she asked another salesman to go. Maybe she suspected that I was up to something, but I really just wanted to test drive the car, and nothing more! But anyway, the guy who accompanied me on my test drive told me that she is not new. I don't get it

I got to know from the salesman who followed me on test drive that there is a new batch of cars to be delivered next week, but most likely would be delayed because of the CNY break. He said the registration process is slow in the goverment department just before CNY.

I haven't got my car yet. When I booked, they told me I had to wait for at least 2-4 months. I heard that the first batch is out already, for those who booked before the launch.