"Decontenting"

[Piotr]

BA XR6T had a 240kw 4L turbo
FG XR6T has a 270kw 4l turbo

****** Ford those bastards

[zdcol71]

Originally Posted by GT Falcon

Cigarette lighter and ashtray. I do not need a car manufacturer encouraging me not to smoke. It's a legal product which I shall enjoy whenever I feel like it. Flicking ash and cigarettes out the window is starting to leave smear marks down the C pillar of my car. Gives me the irrits!

Nice to see someone actually wanting to use the ashtray ,not the gutter

[Mr Hardware]

Grab handles. These necessary items are becoming rarer and rarer.

[samftr]

AH JEBUS Handles!

What about dodgy front ends and ball joints that stuff up after 40,000km and brake rotors that warp after a week of driving the cars.

Thats beancounters tightening their belts.

[XR Martin]

I know only the early WM Statesmans got door pockets that you could pull outwards.
Also the lower door trims were in velour.
New ones dont get it

In the rear of FGs you dont get armrests, door pockets, door lights or proper adjustable head restraints.
All of which an NF Fairlane got.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by andrewts

E-Series lost the digital dash somewhere around EB2, with door open indicator thing... was classy.

NC Fairlanes still had the digi dash
Always thought the E-series digital dash was wierd. Tacho was still in analog, and 0 rpm was behind vertical at the 5 oclock position. Fuel was also in analog, and there was no volts or oil pressure guages (but the mid spec dash in the XRs and Fairmonts had them).

The ZL had a much better digital dash.

[Polyal]

People are not seriously complaining about the loss of those "wonderful" digital dashes!

You guys know manufacturers have teams dedicated to removing content while attempting to not ruin the experience dont you? Actually there wouldn't be many mass produced complex products that this didn;t happen to.

In saying that I got annoyed with the B series leather seats got those rubbish plastic backings. Fancy paying $70k for a BA LTD and not have FULL leather.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by b2tf

Footrest gone in B series is now back in FG complete with 5 star safety rating so I dont know what happened there.

Hmm the April '09 FG XR6 renter I had didn't have a foot rest.

Also, basecoat only finish in the engine bay.

The FG 6 only has one thermatic fan now whereas the B series had 2??

[Magna]

just noticed the SYII territory ghia's lost the matching alloy spare for a 17" steel spare for 2010

[samftr]

those digi dashes were cool. love the low kays showing on them, think the last digi dash I saw had 280,000km or more on it.

[samftr]

space saver spare in the fg xr6.

[XR Martin]

Yeah FGs dont have an actual footrest, just a pad.

[genebaby]

Originally Posted by CAMS290

My BA1 Pursuit didn't have one.

Bseries FPV's got sunglass holders, but as per usual, the ute owners missed out!

In the Ford range, Fairmont and above got a holder standard. I put mine in and use it a lot.

[genebaby]

Originally Posted by data_mine

Tell that to my BF (and it's a late MK1 2006 model too)


I think the vents and covered cup holder were upspeced to only Fairmont+ models (inc. FPV)

The two vents and cupholder cover was retained for FPV cars in the BF, but removed for others. No idea why they did it that way.

[genebaby]

Originally Posted by data_mine

No they don't. They got 4-pot Brembos on the back.

Super Pursuit, never had rear Brembo's.

There was a time when you could order a Pursuit with rear Brembo brakes, it was in the BA1 time. There was an issue with them and the rear end so they were deleted.

[RedHotGT]

I had EB Ghia - had to laugh though... made me think of another thread... digital speedo would only read to 199 (obviously no provision for a 2)...

I loved the digital dash on the Ghia, missed it when I got the EB2XR6...

Infact miss both those cars...
Might have to go shopping...

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by genebaby

There was a time when you could order a Pursuit with rear Brembo brakes, it was in the BA1 time. There was an issue with them and the rear end so they were deleted.

Yep they had a pack knock off issue...

I remember there was a guy on here with a Mecury silver one for memory... Aussie Pete?? what ever happened to him?

[genebaby]

It was Aussie Pete, I thought his car was blue? Either way, he found they did not work so well with the ute rear end.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by bfiipursuit

I remember there was a guy on here with a Mecury silver one for memory... Aussie Pete?? what ever happened to him?

Sold it and went back to Holden for memory

He posts on LS1.com.au sometimes

[XR6_661]

Decontenting....

One thing that springs to mind is that N/A XR6s share the exact same motor as the XTs.

Didn't anything below AU have slight engine modifications?

[SVD]

Originally Posted by XR6_661

Decontenting....

One thing that springs to mind is that N/A XR6s share the exact same motor as the XTs.

Didn't anything below AU have slight engine modifications?

slight is an understatement, the I6 Tickford motors used to show up the V8 boys! i feel since Tickford's hand was removed from the Ghia's and XR's they have become crap.

[Brazen]

The best interior was the AU LTD, the AU LTD actually had its own interior colour! - all the interior plastics and leathers were a beautiful creamy colour, also had very unique interior parts (such as a wood trim headlight switch surround) and exterior trim (wheels, tailights, etc) and the XR8 engine over the regular Fairlane Ghia. The LTDs since then were massively decontented from a differentation point of view.

[LTDterri]

Originally Posted by Polyal

People are not seriously complaining about the loss of those "wonderful" digital dashes!

You guys know manufacturers have teams dedicated to removing content while attempting to not ruin the experience dont you? Actually there wouldn't be many mass produced complex products that this didn;t happen to.

In saying that I got annoyed with the B series leather seats got those rubbish plastic backings. Fancy paying $70k for a BA LTD and not have FULL leather.

I only just realised this with Ford, was recently at a dealership dropping off the Territory for ANOTHER COMMON PROBLEM whilst there was looking at a new GS with leather, to my horror leather only where you sit the rest is vinal (how is that spelt), I was amazed to say the least, got picked up by a mate in a Accord Euro, suprise full leather, steering wheel will be optional on 2011 Territory

[|||]

i remember when they moved the fuel filler from behind the number plate. that was a real kick in the guts for those of us who love pulling up at a servo in the shortest lane. they should have never dropped that.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by genebaby

It was Aussie Pete, I thought his car was blue? Either way, he found they did not work so well with the ute rear end.

HE had a few of them, first one was mecury silver, the second one was lightening strike..

Seemed an alright sort of fella to...

[phoonfan]

Originally Posted by Raptor

According to this old thread the Territory has lost since being introduced the following;

• Adjustable pedals
• Seats have shrunk.
• Mid row seat belt height adjustment gone.
• Third row "flap" to cover gap when seats folded flat gone.
• Mid row bin liner gone.
• Rear cargo hammock gone.
• Rear cargo cover gone.
• "premium" sound system now far less premium.
• Terri water bottles gone.
• Ford tissues gone
• Less sound deadening.
• Lids on third row bins gone.
• Auto dimming mirror gone late 06?? then came back Sep 07?
• Memory Seats gone late 06?? then came back Sep 07?
• 3 year roadside assist became only 1 year.
• Roof mounted clock has gone.
• Road biased (Integrity) tires now standard on AWD's. If you want the SUV biased (Fortera) tread you need to specify when ordering. Maybe to mask the reduction in sound deadening?

Note that some of these items were later re-instated in a extra cost 'safety pack' or somesuch or retained only in the top of range Ghia models where they were once fitted across the whole range.

Nice one Ford :

Reading that makes me glad I have an old one, if it wasn't for the ball joint issue :

There is of course a flip side, i guess its what each individual perceives as value for money, although i really agree with the sunglass holders and the worst one was the optional Momo steering wheels disapearing on FG's!

Current standard features of SY11 Terry's that were optional or not available.
Just on TX
Alloy Wheels ($1,200)
Cruise Control ($650)
body Colour pack ($650)
Side Curtain air bags
Dynamic stability control
Grade control (used to be optional hill decent)
Metallic paint ($320)
Chrome door trims.
Ancap 5 star safety rating.
High series models also have picked up a fair bit of kit.

RRP of a Territory TX RWD on launch in 2004 $38,990. 6 years later $39,890
TS RWD $44,790 today $44,890
Ghia RWD $49,490 today $52,890

[Brazen]

Its funny that car makers decontent. Ford could spend millions on updating the IRS or giving it a new ABS system, but the first thing the mums and dads notice is the missing lights in the rear doors or the lack or illuminated steering wheel controls, or the missing armrest. You have to wonder with falling sales of the large Aussie cars whether or not the penny-pinching has cost sales rather than save money.

[AWD Chaser]

A different dash facia for luxury models (ie. AU Fairmont was different to Forte - BA Fairmont shares with the rest of the model lineup.....)

[data_mine]

While I too am disappointed the the removal of features and differentiators amongst the model line up.

It isn't like Ford is taking this stuff out and reporting record profits. They've had their balls against the wall. Be thankful all we've really lost is the Fairlane/LTD.

[sd1800]

Originally Posted by Airmon

It does seem that way, what happened to all the extra gauges you would get on a higher model? Volts might not have been hugely useful, but added to the feeling that you were driving something a bit more special then the base model.

I actually found the volt guage useful a few times in the EB2. e.g. when the alternator carked it I knew straight away instead of guessing what the battery light could mean. Also I knew the fan belt had snapped before the car even got warm due to the volt guage

Originally Posted by andrewts

E-Series lost the digital dash somewhere around EB2, with door open indicator thing... was classy.

Fairlane had them until the introduction of the NF but I think the SWB lost it at the end of EB Series 1.