Proton
knightjp
08-18-2007, 03:56 PM
OK.... For anyone having serious questions about the brand, here is a little history....
Proton is Malaysian. A franchise of Mitsubishi infact. Their best selling model (Wira) is an exact duplicate of an old Lancer. It seems the company did well in past years, because it managed to buy a Famous British Brand (Lotus).
This has worked well for the company. They used Lotus' racing pedigree and engineering on an old Colt chassis and got an awesome "Hot-Hatch". Infact here in the Gulf its selling quite well and is considered more reliable than the Korean cars (Hyundai / Kia). But sales have fallen recently due to lack of advertising. People here are all about the ads. If its in an ad, they'll buy it. If not "Good bye".
Now here is a question. If anyone knows the answer, let me know, because I certainly can't understand how this works..
Recent models from Lotus all come with Toyota engines. If the company is owned by Proton (a Mitsubishi franchise), why don't they use Mitsubishi engines....
Is Toyota the only Japanese company to sell engines to other manufacturers???
Proton is Malaysian. A franchise of Mitsubishi infact. Their best selling model (Wira) is an exact duplicate of an old Lancer. It seems the company did well in past years, because it managed to buy a Famous British Brand (Lotus).
This has worked well for the company. They used Lotus' racing pedigree and engineering on an old Colt chassis and got an awesome "Hot-Hatch". Infact here in the Gulf its selling quite well and is considered more reliable than the Korean cars (Hyundai / Kia). But sales have fallen recently due to lack of advertising. People here are all about the ads. If its in an ad, they'll buy it. If not "Good bye".
Now here is a question. If anyone knows the answer, let me know, because I certainly can't understand how this works..
Recent models from Lotus all come with Toyota engines. If the company is owned by Proton (a Mitsubishi franchise), why don't they use Mitsubishi engines....
Is Toyota the only Japanese company to sell engines to other manufacturers???
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