accelerating my protege from a stop to 35mph is very loud. It scares me and sounds like motorcycle accel. It revs to about 3000 rpm before shifting to 2nd and then revs up to near there again and shifts I believe before I reach 35mph. Even when I push it slow it is very loud. I have read reviews that say that the engine on the protege is quite, but is not the case for me.

This is the first 4cylinder car I have owned so maybe this is normal. This is a fairly new car 500mi, so maybe I have to break it in.

How load does your protege get? I have the 2.0 litre engine which I think is the only one produced this year.

I have a 98 ES (1.8) engine - and it's quiet as hell. Well until I get my new exhaust and intake.

Check to see that you haven't got a broken engine mount or exhaust, or something very loose somewhere under the bonnet (hood ?). It could also be something catching the bodywork when you accelerate, so open up the bonnet and rev up the engine - see what happens when the engine's moving about a bit.
You say it's a fairly new car - but that's no guarantee that everything should be perfect : I found out that the 626 we bought earlier this year had to have a new engine fitted at just 5000 miles......

Pete.