As we drove from the airport to Kuala Lumpur throughout a tropical downpour, a well-recognized but alien three-box sedan appeared by the mist of motorway spray.
“What’s that?” I requested Farah Darlings, one-half of Retro Havoc‘s administration staff. “That’s a Saga,” she replied with a touch of satisfaction. “Do you prefer it?” I confessed my love for quirky, boxy automobiles, which led to a playful 45-minute ribbing from Farah about my uncommon style. Welcome to Malaysia.
Boxy automobiles have a allure of their very own, although. Even when Nineteen Eighties expertise may have enabled extra aerodynamic designs, auto producers would have caught with the boxy look to match the period’s shoulder pads. A curvy design would have been a advertising and marketing catastrophe.
The Saga’s enduring enchantment isn’t nearly its sharp, good-looking angles; it’s a cornerstone of Malaysian automotive historical past. As Proton’s first automotive, the Saga was a pioneering mannequin.
Launched in 1985 and primarily based on the Mitsubishi Fiore (Lancer), the Saga was Malaysia’s foray into home manufacturing and the worldwide market. It turned Proton’s first export, reaching international locations like New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK.
Praised for its strong construct, feature-rich design, reliability, and aggressive pricing, the Saga was marketed as ‘Japanese expertise – Malaysian fashion.’ It shortly turned a supply of nationwide satisfaction, with the mannequin nonetheless in manufacturing immediately.
The proprietor of the Saga above drove it 8,000 kilometres from southern Malaysia to the northern borders of Thailand, navigating the Golden Triangle’s poppy fields with out a hitch.
Initially geared up with a Mitsubishi-derived 1.3L 4G13 four-cylinder engine, the Saga quickly upgraded to the 1.5L 4G15. By 1990, the engine was additional refined to a 12-valve variant, which continues for use immediately, marking an unimaginable 47 years of manufacturing.
Talking of lengthy manufacturing runs, the primary era Saga ran from 1985 to 2008. That’s a very long time to be carrying shoulder pads. To be on sale for 23 years between generations is extraordinary.
As I wandered by the Proton part at Retro Havoc 2024, I encountered two younger fanatics peering into the engine bay of a blacked-out Saga. I requested them why these automobiles nonetheless maintain such reverence and why followers proceed to assemble in golf equipment and on-line boards to have fun these Japanese-Malaysian mash-ups.
Their reply was easy: patriotism. The Saga embodies Malaysia’s journey to independence, its industrial progress, and nationwide identification.
That is the automotive that transported Malaysian children to high school, endured ice cream spills in summer time, launched into household street journeys, and served because the backdrop to youngsters’ first driving classes. That is the automotive that, to this present day, nonetheless evokes a ardour for customisation and modification, as evidenced at Retro Havoc.
I’ve a mushy spot for automobiles just like the Proton Saga. They’re cherished for his or her sentimental worth moderately than their efficiency. Very similar to Vauxhall or Škoda, which started modestly however grew to carry a particular place within the hearts of their respective nations, the Saga stays a beloved icon of Malaysian satisfaction.
Toby Thyer
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