Cars... of Protons and Prius

Been casting an eye or two on cars lately. Nah! Not buying one at the moment. Just looking around. Was at Pacific and saw some Hyundai cars, the Santa Fe and Tucson. Nice cars... I like the 'high' cars. Better view from 'up' there. 8)

So I started browsing for more info on some of the cars which caught my eyes.

Toyota Prius! 3rd gen. Sleek looking also! Word has it that Toyota is bringing it into Malaysia this second half of the year. I like the idea of a 'green car'... though the green concept is not totally green given the fact that the earth also takes a beating for every Prius that is rolled out of the assembly plant. But I like the fact that it is economical.... trying to get rid of the guilt for emitting so much noxious gas into the environment!

Was looking at the specs... nice. Maybe my next car will be this.... *wish..wish*. Word also has it that it'll be priced like the Honda Hybrid... at almost RM130K. So I went to check out the Prius price in the States.... starts at USD22K or RM88K. So there you have it, we still pay a premium to own a car like that. And why? Because we need to protect Proton and Perodua. This is such a karat story already. We pay more and get less for a car.

Hyundai and Proton probably can be lumped into the same basket. But their Santa Fe is good enough to be listed in the top 10 picks in the highly competitive American market. Our Proton?? While windows that don't quite wind up, aircons that don't seem to cool are problems of the past.. there are other problems which have cropped up. I've a friend who just took delivery of her new Perdana and she has to insert this piece of paper in her aircon knob so that cool air can continue to blow. Else, it'll be hot air. Most people who get into her Perdana has this itch of pulling out the paper cos it looks so out of place. It has been sent to the Proton service centre... and a few months down the road, the problem still persist. A piece of paper keeps the air con working. Kah! Kah! Kah!

Most of us have our own stories. Years ago, when we bought a Wira, the glove compartment warped after a few weeks. Then the power window gave way after a few months. My neighbour's Waja got flooded with its own aircon water within the first year. LOL!

So 2 decades down the road, we're still on the receiving end... receiving less for more paid. So, should we really keep Proton? A new car for RM88K comes complete with all the gadgets (GPS) and added safety features. Proton's new Exora... it boasts of 10 cup holders and also GPS, of course. But with a full load, you'd better not be overtaking on a busy road.

The poor quality of the car plus the way the gahmen has forced Proton cars down our throats have actually created many desires to shun it if they can. So, they make other cars out of reach... Malaysian National Cars - they've not given us better for less. They make us pay more for less.

I shall continue to dream about the Prius... LOL! Notice how the roads are beginning to clog up with cars? There're more cars on the road now. It was earlier announced that RON95 will hit the petrol kiosks in May but then pushed to Sept. At current prices, RON95 will retail less than the present RM1.80.... which is not good for the environment. Well, eventually prices of fuel will go up again... Prius, anyone???