Malaysia's Proton pleases the customer more than the Merc, the BMW, the S- b and the Jaguar

THE PROTON is not just a brilliantly made and designed car. It has other superior attributes, too, as Robert Govender discovers from an independent British survey.

THIS is a gloomy period for car manufacturers. The expected August "N" registration boom has proved to be no boom at all. There were fewer cars sold this August than the previous August. Where cars are concerned the recession appears to be lingering. Now there's another factor, this time from the consumers themselves, who despite their love affair with cars, are beginning to take the view that cars are unfriendly to the environment and health. Newspaper opinion polls following the claim-the- streets campaign constantly show support for the environmental, safety and health lobby which regard cars as the principal polluter.

Even the Tory government, generally well disposed to car manufacturers is beginning to realise that the backlash against cars is not something they can ignore. There's more disturbing news for British and European manufacturers from a recent survey by J D Power & Associates in collaboration with the BBC . The survey feveals that in terms of Customer Satisfaction, Japanese car manufacturers are in the lead.

There are some pleasant surprises. The Skoda, once the butt of infantile jokes by moronic, right wing motoring correspondents who disliked the car simply because it was a Czech socialist product, is a very honourable 7th. Best placed British manufacturer is Jaguar in 15th place. The BBC-Power survey, the only independent one to assess all aspects of new car ownership, from product quality to dealer service, is highly regarded by the media, industry and consumers. The 1995 sample was selected from more than 39,000 owners of K plate cars first registered between August 1992 and July, 1993.

The 1995 report covers a total of 30 makes. Three new marques Alfa Romeo, Isuzu and Jaguar appear for the first time in the survey. A spokesperson for the Power group told Asian Telegraph: "The study separates customer satisfaction into vehicle performance and customer care, with each receiving roughly equal weight. Vehicle performance focuses on repair problems and the success of their resolution as well as how well the car performs on the road. Assessment of customer car measures how customers are treated when they take their cars into the dealer for repairs, the quality of service and availability of parts, resolution of problems covered by the new warranty and impressions of the costs of service." While Toyota was first, followed by Honda, with the Malaysian-made Proton, one of the best sellers in the British market, tied with Mazda for thrid place. Behind them come Daihatsu, Hyundai, Skoda, Isuzu, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, S- b, BMW and Jaguar.