Falcon bad news.

[billy302]

No ones fault but Ford's.
I don't want all to have the same or similar front on every car so some nutter from head office can recognise them.
Individuality and cosmetic or external difference is what sells cars. The Fairlane is a case in point. We all know and knew that it shared the same equipment as the Falcon and yet people bought the early Fairlane's because it was different to look at, you could see the difference from a distance.
When ford started cloning the falcon and selling it as a fairlane sales started dropping until no one wanted one anymore. The same will happen with fords global sales, it may be slow but it will happen.
People have always wanted to be seen as conformists and yet individuals.

[blk6t]

Spot on billy302, No ones fault but Ford's.

I still can't get my head around the day when you won't be able to buy a Falcon or Commodore!!!!

At least in the US, they have Mustang, Camaro, Corvette etc as options for fast RWD V8's.

I can only hope that Ford bring the Mustang but I would expect to see the Camaro here before the Mustang!

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by billy302

No ones fault but Ford's.
I don't want all to have the same or similar front on every car so some nutter from head office can recognise them.
Individuality and cosmetic or external difference is what sells cars. The Fairlane is a case in point. We all know and knew that it shared the same equipment as the Falcon and yet people bought the early Fairlane's because it was different to look at, you could see the difference from a distance.
When ford started cloning the falcon and selling it as a fairlane sales started dropping until no one wanted one anymore. The same will happen with fords global sales, it may be slow but it will happen.
People have always wanted to be seen as conformists and yet individuals.

O please, get real would you!!!!

How does the very different looking Caprice sell?? LWB Sedans are dead, and not because ForD did anything wrong!! I can’t believe people still go on about the Fairline.

Most car companies have the same design language across their cars. All new Hyundai’s' & Madaz's' are all carrying the same look. Ford started doing this & have increase sales & PROFIT greatly because of it. Don't confuse lack of Falcon for FoA sales as Ford globally doing bad, because that is very wrong assumptions. Heck, take local stuff out of FoA & they have increased too!!

[BroadyFord]

Originally Posted by bobuleh

Isn't the territory one of fords best sellers?

Ford can't keep Territory as a stand-alone car as Broadmeadows would not be making enough to justify production - its all about economies of scale.

IMO Territory will be replaced with an Aussie-engineered SUV that will be manufactured somewhere else.

[Chilliman]

I want to know what the next move after Falcon is. Will there still be an opportunity for local assembly of say a RHD Taurus/
Explorer? Or will it be all import only?

The reality is that the 'One Ford' plan has been very successful for Ford Motor Company and has turned around its fortunes - back in 2006 it looked like it was about to go bankrupt...now look at all the profits it's making.

Unfortunately for Ford Australia, 'One Ford' doesn't include the Falcon!

[graham7773]

Something that may have a profound effect on Ford and other large RWD cars is the rumour/story I saw 2 nights ago on news/current affair. One of the experts was talking $200 and up for a barrel of oil! Anybody for $3+ per liter of unleaded? Makes it that much harder to buy said large cars...And I spit on the political group who tied the price of LPG to the price of petrol. Plus all those political groups who maintain that pricing. All of whom recently gave themselves a 50% pay rise. LPG should be no more than .30 cents a liter.

[MickyB]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

I'd vote death to Falcon and Territory if we got Mustang, Explorer and F150 at reasonable prices.

I agree with you, I'd be able to handle it a little more easily if it meant we could buy Mustang's and F trucks at reasonable prices. Unfortunately 'One Ford' is just a way for Ford to rationalise killing off region specific models, it doesn't mean we'll get any of the good stuff that Ford NA can't be bothered building in RHD.
In the coming years I expect Ford AU's vehicle range to be far more similar to Ford Europe than Ford NA.

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by aquahead2001

But he included the E-Series Van Range as one of the brands to continue, when its already been announced the E-Series will be killed off next year when the next generation of Transit becomes a truly global product and is made in Kansas for USA consumption.

The E Series may not go away next year, but it will go away and be replaced by the Transit. Ford won't say that officially, but it's obvious that is what will happen.

They'll do the same thing with the E Series they did with the Panther chassis (Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, and Town Car): keep selling them as long as they cost nothing to produce. As soon as the tooling wears out or crash standards or fuel economy regulations change, the E Series will be gone.

[kiwimark]

Originally Posted by Chilliman

I want to know what the next move after Falcon is. Will there still be an opportunity for local assembly of say a RHD Taurus/
Explorer? Or will it be all import only?

Look at UK post the Ford Scorpio as an example of what will happen with Falcon me thinks.
sarcastically I think the original idea was Ford HQ tainting car designs of their big rwd cars (Falcon and Scorpio) in such a way (in late 90's - as they would have learnt from the Taurus flop by then) so that they die a natural quick death, unfortunately for the the Falc it scrapped through - but only to to slowly bleed to death.
FOA havent lied down though as by integrating Falc into the global hardware game it now has a plant that could build global rwd platform for RHD markets easily (aka Mustang alongside a Falcon tophat) and so leave the LHD market build to US to stop NIH syndrome.

[Ford_The_Win]

Toby Hagon, of course it would be that fat munter trying to rub salt in the wounds..

[JPFS1]

can anybody tell me why they want to believe this muppet that calls himself an automotive journalist?

[TC200six]

The drive.com.au writers are getting closer to the moment they hi-five each other.

[FPV GTHO]

I don't see where the story is here. Mullaly didn't mention the Falcon, so what? He didn't mention the Ikon either. Falcon is destined to be a regional platform until 2016 regardless of if it stays, gets produced offshore or gets canned. There's no point talking about its lack of position in a global lineup.

[Reaper8]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

I'd vote death to Falcon and Territory if we got Mustang, Explorer and F150 at reasonable prices.

LOL mustang being affordable

[Rodge]

Drivel have a long record of anti Falcon sentiment, that's the reason I stopped visiting their website years ago. Nothing new here. YAWN.

[Bud Bud]

Originally Posted by JPFS1

can anybody tell me why they want to believe this muppet that calls himself an automotive journalist?

There is no point shooting the messenger!

Ford could stop this right now if the Falcon had a future here. If Falcon was not dead then Mulally could easily have hinted in the right direction but chose not too. If Falcon was alive after 2016 then there would be no point or make good business sense playing Falcons future role down.

Personally I think it is shame because if you lose one you lose the other, but if nobody wants them then they will only be missed by people like us on a forum like this anyway, otherwise people would still be buying them en masse now.

It is just as much the general consensus fault as well. The amount of times I hear even on this forum, the winging and moaning about Gov handouts to keep these car makers alive is just sad. The very fact that the Governments of other countries such as China and India who bend over backwards for car makers to invest into future production by comparison in their countries means that in fact very little investment is actually made by our own Governments to keep them here anyway, and remember, once they're gone they're gone forever.

It is ok for people wanting to buy cheaper cars because of this (and in the short term this the upside) but if manufacturing is left to move offshore at this rate, then unemployment will begin to bite and no one will be able to afford them in the first place? Look towards Brittain and what they did to their manufacturing base from the 60's on if you want to see a snap shot of us in the future. Lucky we have minning, but even Thatcher closed down the coal mines in the UK because of the unions in the 80's, so nothing is sacred.

As I said at the start, no point shooting the messenger.

Bud Bud

[Kynan]

I've heard its pretty cheap to import a Mustang from the US and convert the steering, under 40 000 cheap. Worth considering

[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by Kynan

I've heard its pretty cheap to import a Mustang from the US and convert the steering, under 40 000 cheap. Worth considering

I think you heard wrong. They might get a factory RHD here for under $40k but a private importer doing a local conversion will be looking at double to triple that price.

[graham7773]

^^^Kynan, you talking secondhand? There are massive import and compliance costs to consider. My son-in-laws bro bought a new Mustang some years back and it set him back AU$75000 + onroad and other charges. I am talking 18 years ago and it has gotten worse since then. And the yanks see Australians coming from a long way off. Prices adjusted up accordingly. Some of the crud imported should be shipped straight to Simsmetal

[Polyal]

Buy Unique cars and look on the back cover to get a gauge of prices.

Example...BOSS302R Laguna Seca...US$~50-55k...AUS$$155k

$100k in transport, conversion, ADR's etc..its awesome, but not $150k awesome

If it was factory RHD its a whole different ball game.

[blueoval]

It will be sad to see the Falcon name disappear but it really doesn't bother me too much. There are some fantastic Ford branded cars already on the market now, so us Ford fans aren't without something to cheer about.

Onward and upward I say.

[Cheech]

One good thing to come of holden and ford stopping local manufacturing will be that the duty rate on imported cars will be dropped. Either by changing the tariff rate or application of a duty concession.

[JPFS1]

Originally Posted by Bud Bud

There is no point shooting the messenger!

Ford could stop this right now if the Falcon had a future here. If Falcon was not dead then Mulally could easily have hinted in the right direction but chose not too. If Falcon was alive after 2016 then there would be no point or make good business sense playing Falcons future role down.

Personally I think it is shame because if you lose one you lose the other, but if nobody wants them then they will only be missed by people like us on a forum like this anyway, otherwise people would still be buying them en masse now.

It is just as much the general consensus fault as well. The amount of times I hear even on this forum, the winging and moaning about Gov handouts to keep these car makers alive is just sad. The very fact that the Governments of other countries such as China and India who bend over backwards for car makers to invest into future production by comparison in their countries means that in fact very little investment is actually made by our own Governments to keep them here anyway, and remember, once they're gone they're gone forever.

It is ok for people wanting to buy cheaper cars because of this (and in the short term this the upside) but if manufacturing is left to move offshore at this rate, then unemployment will begin to bite and no one will be able to afford them in the first place? Look towards Brittain and what they did to their manufacturing base from the 60's on if you want to see a snap shot of us in the future. Lucky we have minning, but even Thatcher closed down the coal mines in the UK because of the unions in the 80's, so nothing is sacred.

As I said at the start, no point shooting the messenger.

Bud Bud

Unfortunately for him, he is not the messenger of any news, in fact he is the messenger of no news.

[Road_Warrior]

lol, this "article" looks exactly the same as the ones they put out at this time every year, they just rehash it with a new date.

[Nikked]

riddle me this, what has ford got to replace the 40000 a year sales that the falcon platform makes?


Nil... (taurus isn't exactly loved here, mondeo sales dont match falcons, terri is a class of its own, nothing to replace ute...)


Under 'one ford' the aim is to stop duplicates of a model...and the falcon isn't doubled anywhere.

but every month or so a journo gets itchy, does a Ctrl-V article and some clueless fool posts it here, with a misleading title.

Then the idiots jump on board and preach that the days are over without out even thinking 2 seconds about what they are saying...

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by Nikked

riddle me this, what has ford got to replace the 40000 a year sales that the falcon platform makes?


Nil... (taurus isn't exactly loved here, mondeo sales dont match falcons, terri is a class of its own, nothing to replace ute...)


Under 'one ford' the aim is to stop doublicates of a model...and the falcon is doubled anywhere.

but every month or so a journo gets itchy, does a Ctrl-V artical and some clueless fool posts it here, with a misleading title.

Then the idiots jump on board and preach that the days are over without out even thinking 2 seconds about what they are saying...

[DENKO]

Territory Over Exploder Any Day!!!

[Brent]

Originally Posted by Nikked

riddle me this, what has ford got to replace the 40000 a year sales that the falcon platform makes?


Nil... (taurus isn't exactly loved here, mondeo sales dont match falcons, terri is a class of its own, nothing to replace ute...)

Small cars and SUVs. Whatever Ford has in its global 'fleet' will be used to fill showrooms here. Maybe with a few tweaks to suspension settings or trim levels etc to suit local conditions, but that'll be about it.

Fact of the matter is that Ford Australia is so small on the world stage, its almost inconsequential. Add to that unique product & tooling and an unviable local business model and there's your death warrant, wrapped and stamped. We'll have to make do with imported models, and if they don't fit perfectly to our wants, then there's not a whole lot you or I can do about it......except buy another brand.

Holding aside emotions for a moment, let's not forget that the demise of the Falcon won't really leave much of a hole in the market, because nobody is buying the things in the first place. If the sales stats are true, it should barely cause a ripple. Sad, but most likely true. Only the fact that the Territory sells so well will mean any real loss, and for those people who want a decent sized SUV without opting for a Landcruiser will be disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, the inevitable demise of the Falcon will be a very low point in Australian automotive history. I've only ever owned 4 Falcons.....an XE Sedan, 2 ED XR6s, and a BF GT. I've enjoyed every one of them, immensely. From a driving enthusiast's point of view, I haven't even contemplated the day when I need to retire the old BF GT and have no "new" Falcon GT with which to replace it. I can tell you, that will be a very low day for me.

I'm not sure what's in Ford's global product development pipeline fo the next 4-5 years, but inevitably something will come along. In not too many years time an entire generation of kids will have grown up in an era where Falcons have never been made, and reference to them will be in the context of a throwback to a bygone era that dad and grandad keep harping on about (lol), but it will have little relevance to them. Things move on.

In the grand scheme of things the Falcon has had an enviable run in terms of longevity in the marketplace. Its done well. Could have done better, but nonetheless its done well in what is a miniscule market. If the lifecycle of the Falcon meets its maker come 2016, then what will happen will happen. In the meantime, if you hanker for a GT or an F6 or a Territory etc then get your wallet out of your pocket and buy one. In so doing you'll get to enjoy one of Australia's best vehicles, you may keep somebody in a job a day longer, and you'll own a piece of automotive history, one way or the other. And it'll give you something to rabbit on about to bore the kiddies senseless for years to come..........

[Nikked]

Ford already sell small cars and SUV's here...so...thats not the answer

[Brent]

Originally Posted by Nikked

Ford already sell small cars and SUV's here...so...thats not the answer

It'll need to be the answer, because they sure as hell won't be building anything specific for Aus.