Proton handed over the first batch of its new Proton Perdana cars
over to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak today at a
ceremony in Putrajaya. The badge on the rear says Perdana and not some
other name, making this the second Proton nameplate to get a ‘second
generation’ after the Saga.
Just as our previous spyshots of mildly disguised previous-generation Accords being tested
indicated, the new Proton Perdana is based on the previous-generation
Honda Accord. And like the Accord, the new Proton Perdana is available
with either a 2.0 litre and 2.4 litre engine, both sourced from Honda.
Changes on the front include a new Proton grille and a completely new
bumper design. The car also gets a new alloy wheel design. On the rear,
we see that the tail lamp elements on the boot lid have been removed,
but the chrome that used to run along it at the bottom remains there.
This chrome is extended around the sides and bottom of the number plate
area.
The big boss man himself gets a stretched version, with the
government’s crest in the extended section between the front and rear
windows. We wonder what the new wheelbase measurement is.
The Honda Accord already has a huge interior with lots of rear
legroom – this will certainly allow the PM to completely stretch out his
legs and relax. The window line is different for the long-wheelbase
Perdana – it has a rather Buick-like dip at the rear to allow for a
larger rear window.
Previous reports have indicated that this will be the first phase of
the Perdana replacement model project, which will consist of 3,000 units
for government use. The initial delivery is 200 units, with the
remaining to be delivered on a staggered basis. The car obviously has
lots of metal that indicates it is an Accord, but it will be developed further for a general market introduction in two years time.
The mass market car will continue to use this shared platform, but
will have a completely new exterior and interior, according to Proton
executive chairman Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil. As for this short term
solution, it was developed in eight months.
“Even with such short request time, we were up for the challenge –
and through sheer dedication and hard work, we are here today to present
the completed Perdana. We are truly grateful to the Prime Minister and
the Malaysian Government for keeping their faith in Proton, and for
giving us the opportunity to once again be the provider of the official
government vehicle. I represent all Warga Proton when I say
that this moment serves as inspiration and motivation for us to work
even harder than ever, to continue leading the national automotive
industry,” added Tan Sri Mohd Khamil.
We are all missing Sir Alex now, this I believe is what most fans of Man Utd thinking now.
Look at Sir Alex's achievement in my previous blog post: http://followtrends.blogspot.com/2013/05/sir-alex-ferguson-retirement-look-at.html
We have the Champion!
Look at today's rank in EPL:-Man Utd is only at number 9? Yes, you are correct-9, 15 matches, 22 points
David Moyes, previously manager of Everton is the new manager after Sir Alex Ferguson. However it seems that the team has had a hard-time adjusting to his style. But I believe a stronger team is in building by him. During his time in Everton, the team is outstanding. Ferguson did not claim no.1 also in fact when he first took over Man Utd in the first 2 years.
From: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/until-manchester-uniteds-david-moyes-2910962
Something isn’t right at Old Trafford. I’m not talking about the
draw-heavy poor form that was followed by cheap surrenders to Everton
and Newcastle in the past week; nor the dearth of goals or even
clear-cut chances from open play thus far. It’s not even the steadily
growing 13 point gap between United and Arsenal, which makes a mockery
of David Moyes’ bizarre claim that his team are still in the title race.
All
of those things are reasons for worry but none the real cause for
concern. United have suffered indifferent periods (and seasons) before,
and under the greatest manager of all time no less. Who can forget the
image of two overly-sincere looking individuals holding a banner with
‘Ta Ra Fergie’ writ large upon it outside Carrington a few years ago. Nothing strikes fear into a manager’s heart like frustrated bed linen.
Were
it just an underperforming or even lacking squad that was to blame for a
rotten half-season that would be fine(ish). Such issues could be
addressed with relative ease by a man with a plan and proper backing.
However the problems currently besetting the club look to be more
fundamental and worrying. There seems to be a lack of direction and
unity about everything the club does. It’s not very United.
Most
obviously the football has been poor. There’s no shape to the team.
They’ve gone through mini-phases of playing well and then not so well,
but neither with a consistent style or clear tactical plan. There’s
certainly nothing in recent performances to suggest that this is a group
of players who have known each others’ games for years. They’re playing
like an international team; or worse an England team.
The obvious
inclination is to blame the one variable in the craggy and forlorn
shape of David Moyes. This is after all the same collection of players
(sans a peripheral Scholes) that won the Premier League at a canter last
term. Why is he is failing to get anything approaching champion
football from a group of champions? Why are they playing like strangers
who’ve taken a thorough disliking to one another?
There’s no
simple answer because Moyes is far from an idiot. For all the
justifiable fears United fans may have harboured about whether he was
the right man to follow Ferguson, a lack of either organisation or
tactical discipline didn’t figure highly. His teams have always been
well-drilled and meticulously prepared. Any manager facing a Moyes side
knew they’d have to earn any sort of result. That’s not the case at the
moment. Dead men walking? United slumped to another defeat at the weekend
John Peters / Getty
The current group of players are not performing under the new
regime. They are either unwilling or unable to play how the manager
wants them to. Or perhaps they simply don’t understand. It doesn’t
matter really because it’s not happening at the moment. This leaves
Moyes with two broad options: either persist with the current plan and
hope his charges cotton on, or adapt his strategy to better fit what he
has.
The latter option is probably worth a go as the former shows
no sign of working. It’s no coincidence that United’s best performances
have come on their travels in Europe and at home to Arsenal, in matches
where the opposition were pensive and had as much to lose as United.
Those are the sort of games which lend themselves to bad football and
talented individuals making the difference, both of which characterise
the Moyes era.
The biggest problem for David Moyes isn’t the
quality of his squad or the relentless media scrutiny each failure
attracts. Rather it is the one thing that Sir Alex Ferguson had in
spades and so far eludes his successor. The single most important weapon
in Fergie’s arsenal that gave strength and meaning to all his words and
actions. It could even have been the slightly more imaginative and
fitting title for the story of his life: Control.
It’s something
that Moyes needs more than anything. But thus far everything has
conspired to undermine his position at the club. The summer transfer
window was a disaster. Moyes obviously had a number of targets in mind,
as well as being promised the real possibility of a ‘special’ player.
But largely due to Ed Woodward’s bumbling and naive efforts nothing
transpired but the last ditch and overpriced capture of Fellaini.
The
playing staff, rather than being revitalised and wracked with healthy
insecurity, remained the old general’s men. Moyes had to come in and
impress them rather than the other way round. Therefore, as things go
wrong as they always will, rumbles of displeasure start emanating from a
changing room that was once soundproof and senior players start growing
disgruntled and sullen stubble. Flop: United's £27.5million man Marouane Fellaini has not hit the ground running
Richard Heathcote
Moyes’ credibility is in danger and for a manager that’s
fatal. He needs to wrestle it back no matter what it takes or he’s a
dead man. You’re almost willing him to have a Michael
Corleone-shooting-Sollozzo-and-McCluskey moment. A profound action or
ruthless act that reaffirms his position as top dog. No one can be
allowed to feel they need merely ride out this Moyes-shaped mistake and
then impress the new man.
Worryingly it seems to be getting to
Moyes. His explanation for playing RVP for the fully 90 minutes
following an injury layoff was just awful in so many ways:
“I was due to take Van Persie off after 60 minutes, but if I had, people would have said, ‘What are you doing?’”
One
could never imagine Fergie being swayed in any way by what others would
have thought, never mind publicly explaining himself in such a way. It
smacks of a dog being wagged by his tail.
The next six weeks will
be vital to David Moyes’ long-term future, both in terms of results and
who he adds to and subtracts from his squad. Most importantly he must
assert his authority, and a change of personnel will help with that.
They will be his men and owe him their loyalty, more so than the current
weathered cast. No one man is bigger than the club but Moyes must
establish to everyone that he is the man in ultimate control.
ASUS PadFone mini 4.3 now official with 4.3″ smart phone & 7″ tablet combo
ASUS has officially announced the PadFone mini 4.3,
which offers a tablet-smart phone convergence in a compact size. While
the previous PadFone models offer a 10″ tablet station, the new PadFone
mini comes features a 7″ tablet and a dockable 4.3″ smart phone. In
addition, it also comes with dual-sim capability.
The smart phone which powers the entire PadFone solution runs on a
quad-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with 1GB of RAM and
over at the front it comes with a 4.3″ display that does 960×540 pixels
resolution. On-board it comes with 16GB of storage which can be expanded
with microSD. Over at the back, it has a 8MP camera that’s capable of
shooting burst mode of 16 frames per second.
Meanwhile the 7″ tablet station comes with a display that’s capable
of pushing 1280×800 pixels resolution. In terms of battery, the smart
phone and tablet comes with 1,500mAh and 2,200mAh capacity respectively.
Out of the box, the PadFone mini 4.3 runs on Android 4.3 with couple of
extra features thrown in by ASUS. Pricing wise, it is going for
NT$11,990 which is about RM1,304 in our local currency.
Check out the hands-on video and photos by Engadget China after the break.
We’re at Proton’s Bola! Bola! Bola! Mega Test Drive Carnival, where the national carmaker has launched a new variant of the Proton Persona called the Proton Persona SV.
Following on from the well-selling Saga SV that was launched in June,
the Proton Persona SV becomes the most affordable Persona variant
(sitting below the RM47,534 Standard manual, solid) as well as the
second-cheapest Proton model currently on sale.
It’s based on the Persona Elegance
(the 2010-facelift model). ’SV’ stands for ‘Super Value’, and to that
end, the Proton Persona SV offers dual front airbags, front seat belt
pre-tensioners, all-wheel disc brakes, ABS and EBD. However, there are
no door visors, no fog lamps, no tailpipe finisher and the door mirrors
are adjusted manually. The 15-inch rims wrapped in 195/60 series tyres
carry on unchanged.
Engine’s the same 1.6 litre Campro IAFM twin-cam four-cylinder that
develops 110 hp at 6,500 rpm and 148 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm.
Suspension is handled by MacPherson struts up front and multi-links with
stabilisers out back.
The Proton Persona SV comes with either a five-speed manual (RM44,938 solid, RM45,388 metallic) or a four-speed auto (RM47,938 solid, RM48,388
metallic). Prices are OTR with insurance for Peninsular Malaysia, and
they include a two-year or 50,000-km manufacturer’s warranty.
There’s also an Easy Financing scheme that offers monthly repayments
starting from RM388. You can have your Proton Persona SV in Solid White,
Bronze Garnet, Tranquility Black, Genetic Silver, Fire Red, Chiffon
Green or a new Atlantic Blue body colour (yes, the Suprima blue).
Proton targets monthly sales of 2,400 units, but COO Hisham Othman is
confident the brand can sell more, citing the success of the Saga SV,
which has received 42,000 bookings to date. Around half a million units
of the Proton Persona have left the Tanjung Malim plant gates since the car’s 2007 introduction.
