Australia - what the hell happened?!?
Discussion
I live in London, but for the past 15 years have been back to Oz every other year or so.
I've just returned from some Christmas sunshine and I have to say I'm a bit dissapointed with the local car scene. I remember when you could walk down any given street and see the big Ford and Holden saloons of various vintages, noting the latest model, cheching out the different specs.
Where the hell have all the big Ford and Holdens gone?? The place is now littered with Pacific rim city cars and European 4x4s and hatchback oil burners.
I know there is a global recession and petrol is getting expensive, but has Australia really fallen out of love with the big six / bent-eight full size sedan?
I've just returned from some Christmas sunshine and I have to say I'm a bit dissapointed with the local car scene. I remember when you could walk down any given street and see the big Ford and Holden saloons of various vintages, noting the latest model, cheching out the different specs.
Where the hell have all the big Ford and Holdens gone?? The place is now littered with Pacific rim city cars and European 4x4s and hatchback oil burners.
I know there is a global recession and petrol is getting expensive, but has Australia really fallen out of love with the big six / bent-eight full size sedan?
t. Get a fAnd what's more...
Drive said:
Years of heritage could be axed with the Ford design chief all but confirming the end of the traditional rear-drive Falcon.
The rear-wheel drive Australian-designed Ford Falcon is almost certainly dead.
Instead, the next generation Falcon due after 2015 seems certain to be part of a global front and all-wheel drive family of large cars.
http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/ford-falcon-to-ditch-rearwheeldrive-20110111-19lel.htmlThe rear-wheel drive Australian-designed Ford Falcon is almost certainly dead.
Instead, the next generation Falcon due after 2015 seems certain to be part of a global front and all-wheel drive family of large cars.
Google [bot] said:
And what's more...
Holdens platform on the other hand was being sold in the states as the Pontiac GTO. I have no idea why Ford would bin the RWD platform. I thought it was designed to be made LHD easily, and then could have been sold in the USA as well as Europe.Drive said:
Years of heritage could be axed with the Ford design chief all but confirming the end of the traditional rear-drive Falcon.
The rear-wheel drive Australian-designed Ford Falcon is almost certainly dead.
Instead, the next generation Falcon due after 2015 seems certain to be part of a global front and all-wheel drive family of large cars.
http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/ford-falcon-to-ditch-rearwheeldrive-20110111-19lel.htmlThe rear-wheel drive Australian-designed Ford Falcon is almost certainly dead.
Instead, the next generation Falcon due after 2015 seems certain to be part of a global front and all-wheel drive family of large cars.
I can see a market for XR6/XR8 and FPVs. But then I don't like all the FWD chav cars Ford (europe) build now.
I have always read the the biggest problem Ford Australia has with the Falcon is that they never utilised the considerable Ford USA / world parts bin meaning that there are precious few components on the car that are available outside of Australia.
They had an almost lackadaisical attitude (parochial Aussieness) to the idea of ever needing to sell outside of Australia or compete against anything other than Holden at home so never cared about component availability or things like emissions and Euro style crash safety, build quality and equipment.
If they had leapt in to the parts bin they could have had things like RWD components from the USA and a twin turbo diesel V6 from Jaguar.
Put simply the Falcon is unsupportable outside of Australia but is not making enough money here on its own.
They had an almost lackadaisical attitude (parochial Aussieness) to the idea of ever needing to sell outside of Australia or compete against anything other than Holden at home so never cared about component availability or things like emissions and Euro style crash safety, build quality and equipment.
If they had leapt in to the parts bin they could have had things like RWD components from the USA and a twin turbo diesel V6 from Jaguar.
Put simply the Falcon is unsupportable outside of Australia but is not making enough money here on its own.
deviant said:
I have always read the the biggest problem Ford Australia has with the Falcon is that they never utilised the considerable Ford USA / world parts bin meaning that there are precious few components on the car that are available outside of Australia.
They had an almost lackadaisical attitude (parochial Aussieness) to the idea of ever needing to sell outside of Australia or compete against anything other than Holden at home so never cared about component availability or things like emissions and Euro style crash safety, build quality and equipment.
If they had leapt in to the parts bin they could have had things like RWD components from the USA and a twin turbo diesel V6 from Jaguar.
Put simply the Falcon is unsupportable outside of Australia but is not making enough money here on its own.
Ahh, thanks for the info. So it's down to Ford AU not "sharing the love" They had an almost lackadaisical attitude (parochial Aussieness) to the idea of ever needing to sell outside of Australia or compete against anything other than Holden at home so never cared about component availability or things like emissions and Euro style crash safety, build quality and equipment.
If they had leapt in to the parts bin they could have had things like RWD components from the USA and a twin turbo diesel V6 from Jaguar.
Put simply the Falcon is unsupportable outside of Australia but is not making enough money here on its own.
It'll be a shame. I'd have thought there was a Falcon shaped gap in the UKs Ford lineup.
Bibbs said:
It'll be a shame. I'd have thought there was a Falcon shaped gap in the UKs Ford lineup.
I agree. I hired an XR6 last time I was back home. It took a little while to get used to the slightly detached feel of the steering (I was coming from a 105 series Alfa), but once I did, I really enjoyed it. Certainly a damned sight better than the (somewhat more expensive I believe) Audi A6 I once hired here in the UK. Its a great pity the XR6 isn't exported to the UK, you would have thought there would definitely be a market. Too bad Ford globally didn't go belly up, it might at least have let the Aussie operation go free...240vac said:
I agree. I hired an XR6 last time I was back home. It took a little while to get used to the slightly detached feel of the steering (I was coming from a 105 series Alfa), but once I did, I really enjoyed it. Certainly a damned sight better than the (somewhat more expensive I believe) Audi A6 I once hired here in the UK. Its a great pity the XR6 isn't exported to the UK, you would have thought there would definitely be a market. Too bad Ford globally didn't go belly up, it might at least have let the Aussie operation go free...
I think they watched the Monaro and VXR8, and saw they were not a runaway success.Wrong badge for the image over substance UK.
Now the pound is in a massive slide (£1 = $1.50) the XR6/8 would be quite expensive too. Think the top spec ones are about $75k AUD without options.
Maybe if they actually produce the 4 pot turbo version and go with the often rumoured change to a V6 it could have a spot in Europe.
I am not sure how the 4 pot turbo thing is going to work to be honest. In the most basic XT form they weigh in at 1700KG! They dont exactly feel quick with the 4.0 inline 6 they have now which has something like 260BHP and 390NM. Is a 4 pot turbo engine with the same power / torque going to be any more economical? Where is this engine even coming from?
I am not sure how the 4 pot turbo thing is going to work to be honest. In the most basic XT form they weigh in at 1700KG! They dont exactly feel quick with the 4.0 inline 6 they have now which has something like 260BHP and 390NM. Is a 4 pot turbo engine with the same power / torque going to be any more economical? Where is this engine even coming from?
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