Autoblog

The Malaysian government has decided to end its protection of Malaysia's Proton Motors. In addition to the import duties and taxes levied against foreign carmakers, Proton was also the recipient of tax breaks and "other government incentives."

The decision could be seen as a blow to Proton, but Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is confident that the carmaker can and is turning itself around. Even though it has lost half of its market share while it was being protected by the government, Badawi said recently "No question of a bailing out. Proton is doing well today... they have a good program, they have secured exports to India, China, Indonesia and the Middle East."

For it's part, Proton's efforts to link up with a foreign car company didn't end well last year. For the moment, it has proposed that the government take an official stake in the company.

[Source: InsideLine]

In the world of large sedans* equipped with side airbags, some do a better job than others at protecting occupants according to the latest results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Achieving the top score of "good" are the Chevrolet Impala and Toyota Camry (this serious group of testers does not issue any scores of "excellent" or "exceptional" or even "super marvelous"). The Buick Lucerne and Hyundai Azera both earned an "acceptable" rating, while the Chrysler 300 and Buick LaCrosse came in with a "marginal" score.

The IIHS points out the importance of side-impact test scores by noting that in collisions involving modern vehicles, more drivers die in side impacts than in collisions of the frontal nature. Indeed, with the dramatic improvement in frontal protection, most vehicles now receive a rating of "good" from the institute in this measure of performance, with the most significant distinctions in safety now being in the realm of side impact protection.

*Concerning the comments that came up during our last post on "large cars" - we're not the ones who call these "large sedans", as that assessment is made by the EPA. We know that a Lucerne is not as large as your grandpa's Electra 225. We're also aware that it is no longer 1965.

[Source: IIHS; more info from the institute is posted after the jump]