The most exciting part of the Malaysian company Proton is that they own Lotus, and Proton knows this too. That’s why the new Persona carries over the tradition of the original car and will sport “Handling by Lotus” badges.

This is no way a lie, but just because Lotus’ engineering arm touched your car doesn’t mean you’ve got Colin Chapman’s blessing to go racing in your budget-minded Persona.

This is not a new idea in automotive sales. The badge from Lotus has been applied to De Loreans, Pontiacs and Isuzus, to add a little more excitement to somewhat mundane cars. But no stories have ever surfaced of people buying the car purely for this badge.

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