A washing machine no more

There is a BBC car reality show called Top Gear which is very popular across the world.The programme could not have been more insane: A car was mounted on a rocket, launched to the sky and exploded; two car teams were organised for a car football game that saw a score of cars crashing against one another.The programme's three presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are notoriously showy and acrimonious: Hammond once sped a jet-powered car at 465kph, bursting its tyres and getting himself nearly killed.
Another character of the show is Western-centricity (Western Europe-centric to be exact). German machines are most affirmatively on top tier, followed by Italian and French makes.
As for American and Japanese vehicles, they are nothing to brag about. Korean, Eastern European and yes, our own Malaysian models are at best "washing machines" in the very words of Clarkson.Top Gear on several occasions put Malaysia's national cars on litmus tests and the results were appalling. Clarkson once dumped a vehicle in a ghetto after test driving it. That could have been his most merciful act so far.
Another time, feeling utterly disgruntled by the car's performance, he wildly crushed a Malaysian car with a sledgehammer.On another occasion, he lifted a car and dissected it mid-air before blowing it up into flames.Amused by the stint, TV viewers burst into laughter, with their impressions of Malaysia-made vehicles deeply etched into their heads.But what about Malaysian viewers?I was thinking those who bear some grudge against the national car maker might just join in the ridicule but other compatriots might feel bitterly humiliated.Top Gear's appraisals are often prejudiced, reflecting its Western superiority complex. Its exaggerated tricks are geared towards entertaining and pleasing the crowd.
Having said that, there is the professional side of the programme. Indeed, developing countries pale by comparison in car-making technologies and product quality. The presenters are not simply making up the stories.Obviously, Top Gear in the past never looked up on Korean cars, but given the leaps in the country's car-making technologies, the show presenters' attitudes have significantly changed, making Kia models the show's regular test cars in the latest season.Proton has positioned its new model Preve as a "global car" with the hope of marketing it throughout the world. From the specifications to the reactions of test drivers, the new model is top rated among the models developed by the national car maker. It is equipped with CVT, ESC, EBD, ABS and turbo engine, making it a notch above other "B" class machines.