The new SAGA begins..

This is the history about Proton Saga that i want to share.

The Proton Saga was launched in September 1985 by Malaysia's Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad.Before the production of Proton Saga, a contest was held to choose the name of the first national car, and the name Saga was chosen from the winner of the contest, Ismail Jaafar, a retired military soldier. When asked why he chose this particular name, he replied as "Saga" is a type of soft, fragile but productive seed commonly found in Malaysia, and that the Proton Saga 1.3 litre engine "is as strong as the saga seed".

In 1992, the Saga was given a facelift and its name expanded as Proton Saga Iswara (also known in short as Proton Iswara), after a species of butterfly in Sarawak.Modifications included slimmer headlights, plastic bumpers, side mouldings, coloured door handles, grooved taillight clusters and rear number plate repositioned to the bumper. This particular model is used as taxis in Malaysia and some are converted to NGV.

In 2001, to regain sales and be competitive with Perodua. Proton introduced a special edition of Saga Iswara Sport based on the Aeroback version which included a new bodykit, metallic rear wing, jewel-effect headlights and Altezza lights, among other changes. It was only available in silver, with a manual transmission and a 1.3-litre engine. The original Saga Iswara Aeroback was still available in a 1.5-litre engine.

As a loose successor to the Saga Iswara Sport, Proton gave the Iswara a new facelift and renamed it back to Saga (or know as Saga LMST by local car community) in 2003. The interior has an entirely new dashboard, door panels and an instrument panel with a digital display consisting of an odometer, a fuel gauge and a temperature gauge. Meanwhile, the exterior received new headlights and taillights and colour-coded bumpers and wing mirrors. Proton retuned the 1.3-litre carburetor engine, and fitted a new exhaust system, increasing its power rating to . It is only available with the 5-speed manual transmission.

On March 5, 2007, Proton launched the 50th Merdeka Anniversary Promotion in Malaysia, where the announced new price of the Proton Saga at that time was RM26,999. Advertising campaigns for the Saga Aeroback used a notable rendition of Justin Timberlake's hit single ''Sexy Back'' while the lyrics changed to "AeroBack". The promotion was made as a support to Malaysia's 50th Merdeka Day and also to thank Proton's customers for their support since Proton Saga was first launched, receiving several minor cosmetic changes.That year, the Proton Saga became the second best selling car behind Perodua MyVi and the best selling saloon car in Malaysia, with over 15,000 orders.

On January 18, 2008, Proton unveiled the successor to the 2007 Saga, which was planned to be phased out in June 2008. Retaining the Saga name, the new car is an indigenous design, essentially based on a stretched Proton Savvy platform. The new model is an in-house design developed in collaboration with Korea's LG CNS and Lotus Engineering. This model enables the Malaysian company play to its strength in the home market. As of February 2008, approximately 23,000 customer bookings had been made for the car since its launch and the corresponding waiting time for delivery during that same period stretched up to 5 months.