Talks between Volkswagen and Proton have officially been suspended. VW was considering a potential partnership with Proton for the Malaysian market — the Malaysian government is the largest shareholder in Proton which in turn owns Lotus — but the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement.
The move would have given VW a much larger presence in the South East Asia region, an area that VW says it is still committed to.
Rumors of a possible cooperation between the two automakers first surfaced back in October of 2005.
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11/23, 12:54 PM
posted by:
Commodore
This just opens the door for GM to go in and establish a bigger presence in Southeast Asia and POSSIBLY duplicate their success with Daewoo again
11/23, 12:59 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
One of GM’s worst mistakes was divesting themselves of their shares in Lotus.
11/23, 1:00 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
If they partnered with Proton, they would gain back a little bit of that cooperation (Lotus collaborates with Proton in several engineering projects).
11/23, 1:03 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
BTW, I know Proton actually owns a significant part of Lotus, but is it just an engineering division deal, or do they own a large part of the whole company? I know Proton doesn’t actually CONTROL Lotus.
11/23, 1:04 PM
posted by:
RicardoHead
Proton doesn’t need VW bringing down their quality.
11/23, 1:29 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
GM’s Worst mistake was the cadillac Cimmaron
11/23, 1:49 PM
posted by:
Veda
RicardoHead: Sorry man, I’ve test driven some Protons a few months back and while they have nice styling and sharp handling due to Lotus’ involvement in their engineering, their transmission slips and breaks down faster than Bajaj’s. Their engine specs are below VW’s as well… to quote the sales manager, ” we’d like to consider them pigeons, we send 5 back, we get 5 back (for repairs)”. It’s a nice dream to have cheap Lotus as an everyday car though… but they’re not just there yet…
11/23, 2:38 PM
posted by:
RicardoHead
Veda, I was joking.
11/23, 3:38 PM
posted by:
BLISS
make the right move volkswagen ag
11/23, 9:08 PM
posted by:
jayjc08
This was somewhat older news. Talks were suspended due to strong VW sales.
CA36GTP- Proton does a lot with Lotus, and a few other manufacturers (Subaru and Lotus primarily). It’s funny though, I usually don’t think of Proton as Malaysian.
BLISS- Do you ever say anything more than a few words long? How about some input, nobodies gonna bite.
JJT- Cadillac Cimmaron and 89′ Pontiac Le mans. Worst cars by GM, ever.
11/24, 10:01 AM
posted by:
DeansterTJ
Buick Century has to be the worst. I had one of those, and the **** that happened to it was material for standup comedy.
11/24, 6:09 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
jajJ: Yeah, I once tested an ‘89 LeMans.You could feel the roadin that car,and I don’t mean that in a good way
11/25, 10:03 AM
posted by:
autonut
Don’t forget 84-88 Pontiac 6000. I lasted 15 months before giving up. Nothing like a dealer who laughs at your stupidity for purchasing their product.
11/25, 1:56 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
A friend of mine had a ‘98 Century before moving into a G5 coupe. That car could take a beating and the 3100 (I think it was) V6 refused to die. But that car screamed “senior citizen” so much it was hilarious. Hell, it didn’t even have a tach!
11/25, 6:09 PM
posted by:
jayjc08
The Le mans was a good car, with the exception of the most recent model. Damn, if only they had properly designed a good car, but they had to import something by Daewoo, and screw Pontiac in the buttocks for 15 years.
Ugh. A close friend of mine had a Chevrolet Celebrity (close to Pontiac 6000). If it were an actual celebrity, she’d be in the condition of Britney Spears- and I’m not talking about her appearance.
11/26, 2:33 AM
posted by:
C6Racer
I’ll stick with my ‘74 LeMans. Good old American muscle. It doesn’t need to be smogged anymore here in Cali. Woohoo!
Anyway, the subject is VW, kids, so stick to it.