Sunday car pic: Proton Satria Neo S2000 rally

This photo is for Satria Neo owners to dream about when thinking of what the heck should they try to aim for when trying to modify their ergonomically challenged hatchback.

You gotta love the effort put into this used car ad, even though the car is only a Satria Neo

Mr Hadi Azmi who works as an editor as a local production house must either love his job or his friend (in that bromance sorta way) a whole lot as he took the time to come up with this ad for the sale of his friend's Proton Satria Neo.

The car is nothing to shout about. It may handle decently well but is sorely lacking everywhere else. Especially headroom. And build quality. And ergonomics. And...I better stop as it'll take too long.

So what does Hadi do? Market the man as a manly man. And a car owner by a 'manly man' deserves to be bought by others...So there you have it. The manly man's car, pictured below.

At Proton's Power of 1 Event - On the P3-21A, R3, the Satria GTI & Lots of Satria Neo R3 stuff!

Before I get started I have to say this. The Proton P321A, (shown here leaving the picture because this article isn't about it) is not based on any Mitsubishi, Honda, Volkswagen, Kia or whatever brand you can think of. It is Proton's own design based on an evolution of the Proton Persona/Gen2. I have decided to state this because someone used Google and typed “what car is p3-21a based on?”. This must be one of those individuals who thinks wants it to be a Mitsubishi so that they can put the Mitsubishi badge or one of those Ralliart stickers on the car if and when he or she buys the P321A. I believe this is the only reason why someone would conduct such a search. Trust me. I think I am quite in tune with the Malaysian motoring psyche.

Sometime Before The Inspira Preview, Proton Recalls The Gen2 and Satria Neo......

The recall is for something called a clock spring. The clock spring isn't part of a clock people. Somehow I noticed that in the local dailies this was not mentioned in detail. I gather if you just glanced through the articles you'd think that some part of a digital clock sitting in the meter console of a Gen2 or a Neo could cause a meltdown in the Airbag and steering controls of the car.


 It affects all Gen2 and Satria Neo made during April 2004 to June 2008, mainly for all airbag equipped versions of the cars mentioned above - And they only made 15,911 units of both cars equipped with airbags sold globally. There are of course more Gen2s and Neos plying the roads of Malaysia, but most are non-airbag cars. Ah, how Proton skimps out on all the safety for the sake of profit. 

Let me educate you guys on the clock spring then. It isn't any part of a clock...in a car that is. It is a "spring under or inside the middle section of a steering wheel. It ensures a positive connection between the steering column’s wiring harness and whatever controls are on the steering wheel (radio, cruise control, etc), and especially the airbag igniter. The connection works even when you're busy turning the wheel. This is what a clock spring is for in a steering wheel.


It is amazing that a small insignificant item like a spring can wreak so much damage in a car these days. 


There are some who have joked around that this item is really clock related. Somehow the clock in the car is connected by a thin wire that runs through the steering wheel from the dashboard as that it shares the same electrical power supply. Who knows? Being  a Proton, some say that it could actually be true.


Car Technology 101 over here today has been brought to you by the letter R and the word; RECALL.

2010 meets the 1990s: My Review of the Proton Satria Neo

Read about my thoughts on a 2010 Proton Satria Neo over here.

Of Glee, its similarities to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and the 2010 Satria Neo M-Line

So. Glee has become a supposed international phenomenon. Critics seem to love it and the fans, like the Trekkies from Star Trek, have called themselves 'Gleeks'. The series features numerous song covers sung on-screen by the characters and the musical segments typically take the form of performances, as opposed to the characters singing spontaneously, as the intention is for the series to remain reality-based. Or so the show's producers say. But let me tell you that Glee is nothing new to people here in Malaysia, or India for that matter.

It is like watching a Hindi or Tamil movie from Bollywood, India. People in those movies break into song and dance in the middle of something. Just like Glee. There, we get Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit and a brimful of Asha on the '45. These actors and actresses act in movies that have song and dance every 20 minutes or so. In Glee, we have four to five songs, where the same thing happens. People break into song and dance for no apparent reason whatsoever. Or just to look good while dancing and singing like part of an MTV music video. The only difference is that Glee is in English and not Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu or any other Indian movie made out there nowadays.

Of course the comedy and the witty dialog would keep you anchored to your telly and watch the movie but the truth is, you're watching an Indian movie being played out in English. Even I find it quite entertaining actually. BUT there is nothing for you to think that Glee is a super cool television program that is totally innovative and unique. It is a Hindi/Tamil/Telugu etc movie adapted for television and then to English. Actually if you wanted to watch people singing, go to a concert, open up YouTube or go to your local pub.

Imagine Glee without the song and dance, would you bother watching it? Imagine watching the hit Hindi movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai without the song and dance. So you tell me how cool is that then? There. I've said it. It is actually the same thing. So all you Gleeks out there should just borrow or buy some Indian movies and you can get the same high in a different language.

So in the words of Mr “Everything Comes From India” from the BBC series 'Goodness Gracious Me', Glee is Indian (as is Mona Lisa, Leonardo DaVinci, the Queen, etc). There. I've gotten it off of my chest. Now let's talk about cars again.

The Proton Satria Neo is one car which really does not fit me. My good friend recently got one for his wife to use, which is all very fine as the wife is petite. Unlike yours truly who keeps hiting his head everytime he enters the car. I even hit my head trying to adjust the seat. I really forgot about how low the roof of this car was as the only time I actually sat in a Satrio Neo was at the launching and if I remembered properly I hit my head then too.

And yes. That sunshade is utterly useless as it blocks the view completely if you are taller than 5foot 7inches and drive in a proper, straight up position.

Anyway, since I've already complained about this fact before in one of my very first articles (do browse through my earlier stuff and see if you can find it) I'll move on to something different about the Satria Neo aside from the iffy build quality of the car my friend bought. Which was a noisy air-condition blower that goes 'RRRRRRRRRR' if you set it more than one-thirds of the blower speed (lucky being a Proton it was still cold at the speed) and that the seat won't ratchet. Which is really rubbish since the Satria Neo has been around for around four years. Warranty claim will be made on both issues at the 1000km service.

But the main gripe of this article and in true journalistic (or artistic) license I shall harp about the problem of the Satria Neo when you have to use the car at night.

As you can see, the main meter cluster is very nice to look at at night. So is the radio and air-condition controls.

But as soon as you look at the gear gate, you go 'Ahhhh, it has an old world glow to it' ...like it was from a bakelite cased radio that is backlit by a reddish, yellowish glow from a time long forgotten. The 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Or at the very best, a meter cluster that is lighted from from the 1970s that makes the fonts look blurry and dull.

Basically what I am stating here is that the gear gate is lighted up really badly. It looks like something from days long gone. It does not even properly match the glow from the radio and air conditioned controls. Why is it so hard for this car manufacturer to get even a simple thing like this right? The picture on this does not show the difference as much as I wanted to. But if you have the chance of sitting in a Satria Neo when its dark, you should try looking at the gear gate area when its lighted up.

The great thing was this fact was pointed out by my friend. Basically his statement summed up the car. “The car isn't that bad with the faults that I've found (the blower, the faulty driver's seat and that ugly glow) as the car only cost RM51,000. ” he said. But then just a second later he added “Actually no. It's actually bad, very bad.”

Yes. The Satria Neo M-Line looks good, handles very well (great chassis – you should try it) and now with the IAFM module does not have that stupid torque dip. But again, it is let down by impracticality (for taller people), iffy quality and that retro-when-its-not -supposed-to-be back lit gear gate.

Oh yeah. My friend got the car about 3 weeks ago. This was the car on the first day of ownership. New 17inch rims replaced the stock 16inch rims and tires.

After the second week the car now has a full R3 styled bodykit and does not even look like this anymore. Sometimes my friends really surprise the heck out of me. I may post pictures of it soon in full drag.

Of Timor Leste, about the Fiat 131 and A Comparison of Different Eras.

Now the newest country on Earth is Timor Leste. It was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century and upon the Portuguese leaving, it was then invaded by Indonesia in 1975, which occupied it until 1999. Following the United Nations sponsored act of self-determination in 1999, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory, which achieved full independence on 20th May 2002, becoming the first new country of the 21st century. There, one fact for all of you to digest while I cook up an opinion about something as it has been a slow week in the automobile scene as far as I am concerned.