Proton - Paying a price for its arrogance?

In Malaysia, Proton and Perodua produce the cheapest cars.  For simplicity sake, I shall omit the other "national" cars.

Compared to other makes like Toyota, Nissan, Honda etc., is Proton really competitive in their pricing? 

Would Proton be able to sell their cars if the high tariffs on non-national cars are removed?

I don't think so.  In fact, I think Proton is a very high cost producer of substandard quality cars.  Unfortunately for Proton, their problem does not stop there.  Arrogance seems to be another aspect they have excelled in.  

Now let us have a look at Perodua.  Like Proton, Perodua is also a high cost producer of cars in Malaysia.  But fortunately for Perodua, it has been able to maintain certain minimum standards and is not trapped by "arrogance attitude".

So between these two national car producers, I would vote for Perodua any time!  In fact, my first vehicle was a Perodua!  No regrets and complains for eight faithful years!

After more than 20 years, Proton is now paying a heavy price for its arrogance (customer is always WRONG!) and substandard culture.  On the other hand, Perodua has been able to avoid this pitfall and are doing reasonably well.

What do you think?

Why Proton is (almost) never an option when it comes to buying cars?

Recent newspapers coverage on the high maintenance costs of Proton cars, particularly Perdana V6 is not surprising. As expected, the response from Proton is one that reflects its continuous self-denial and arrogance.

I never owned a Proton nor have I ever visited a Proton showroom. But I am now driving the 1st generation Proton Saga. Battered with rust here and there, this Proton Saga proved to be reliable and relatively trouble free. I have never brought this Proton to an authorised service outlet because their prices are simply exorbitant! To me, the China-man having his makeshift workshop under the big tree is just as good, if not better in terms of diagnostics and pricing.

I refuse to buy Proton is stemmed from the fact that too many negative stories have emerged and reported. Despite all those, Proton and their dealers have continued to be arrogant! To be precise, BODOH-SOMBONG! I used to owned a Perodua vehicle. Contrasting from Proton, Perodua is more customer oriented. Customer complains, especially under warranty, have been tended to without much fuss and sour-looking expressions. In addition, Perodua has never been arrogant - "if you do not want to buy it is okay because there are a thousand others waiting in line..." This line of arrogant statement by Proton and their dealers has become "hard-wired" into my brain cells that I simply refuse to even visit their showrooms.

Can I be accused of being unpatriotic? Certainly! They can accuse me of anything they want but my conscience is very clear. Even if I buy a non-national car, I am subsidising the national car, Proton and Perodua! So for as long as I remain as a citizen of Malaysia and whatever non-national car I buy, I am subsidising Proton and Perodua. Subsidising Perodua is not an issue. It's just subsidising Proton that bugs me because they are a bunch of arrogant people!

Proton should change their tagline or motto to "Customers owe Proton a living and Proton don't depend on Customers"!