Ford, Holden and the "media".....

[4Vman]

Ive long resisted seeing an issue here but its becoming too apparent to ignore any longer, i've come to the conclusion that pretty much Holden get a better ride from the media than Ford, in some cases Holden get a free kick (AFM), in other cases a witch hunt against a ford model (XR8 is a good example) to effectively cause it to die...
Are most (not all) auto journalists and media generally "pro" Holden or not?

Discuss!!!

Caveat: (trolls need not apply)

[vztrt]

Car advice seems to be pretty good (if not Falcon biased).

But there are a few publications that clearly have no credibility.


Unfortunately if a car model is not that well received by the car journo's then automatically they're biased. Mind you, some of these people then whinge about pointless things on here (FG door handles as an example).

[Mr Hardware]

I HATE HATE HATE the anti-holden sentiment on this forum, and I know what the results of the poll are going to be, which are biased towards holden, which will be the opposite results on a holden forum.
So the poll is biased!
And for the record, i am very neutral, and I believe the media is pro-holden simply because of their superior marketing, superior brand image and the old fallacy that holden is somehow australian :

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

I HATE HATE HATE the anti-holden sentiment on this forum, and I know what the results of the poll are going to be, .

You don't hate it enough to ignore the thread but.......


Anyone with two eyes knows the truth.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

I HATE HATE HATE the anti-holden sentiment on this forum, and I know what the results of the poll are going to be, which are biased towards holden, which will be the opposite results on a holden forum.

Yet you voted that they're biased towards holden.... credibility???

[lamborghinifan]

yes the media is biased towards holden, but hey, who gives out the most marketable material?

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by lamborghinifan

yes the media is biased towards holden, but hey, who gives out the most marketable material?

Ford in this case:

http://www.caradvice.com.au/30255/fo...final-verdict/

The first true comparison i have seen in some time.
The mainstream media, Wheels et al would not dare print such an article.

[burnz]

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

Ford in this case:

http://www.caradvice.com.au/30255/fo...final-verdict/

The first true comparison i have seen in some time.
The mainstream media, Wheels et al would not dare print such an article.

so did ford supply a media release model??

[sd1800]

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

Ford in this case:

http://www.caradvice.com.au/30255/fo...final-verdict/

The first true comparison i have seen in some time.
The mainstream media, Wheels et al would not dare print such an article.

Reading throughout this thread, I agree totally that the majority of publications are biased towards Holden and overlook thier shortcomings.

However, to be totally fair, reading the article in the above link I found myself cringing several times at the way the article was structured and worded towards Fords favour.

E.g. "Yes, yes, the Ford may be faster and the Holden may be a touch more economical"
- Fail to menton the Ford was only .12 faster. I would call that a "touch" aswell.

[gcg2503]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

I HATE HATE HATE the anti-holden sentiment on this forum, and I know what the results of the poll are going to be, which are biased towards holden, which will be the opposite results on a holden forum.
So the poll is biased!
And for the record, i am very neutral, and I believe the media is pro-holden simply because of their superior marketing, superior brand image and the old fallacy that holden is somehow australian :

Hate repeated three times in upper case.

Denotes a strong aversion to this forum for perceived anti-Holden sentiment

It is a Ford Forum after all, and if you don't like it there is a red cross located on the top RHS of the screen

[Chopped]

Originally Posted by gcg2503

......It is a Forum after all, ....

That's correct it is - somewhere all views can be shared, otherwise it would be very BIAS - Hang on some members on this forum ar'nt bias are they ????!!!!

[burnz]

maybe ford will kill the XR8 and/or rebadge it GS.
is it the media or is it ford blaming the meadia??
or just unfounded speculation.

[Mr Hardware]

yeah i edited my post to add my reasons.

[Mr Hardware]

And Falcon Coupe, to answer your question, i posted in this thread because I am interested in the media, not because of forum users holden/ford bias.

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

And Falcon Coupe, to answer your question, i posted in this thread because I am interested in the media, not because of forum users holden/ford bias.

I asked no question of you, i made an observation.

[Mr Hardware]

Fair call. To rebutt your statement....

[Mr X]

Well to hell with it.

Here we go.

For all the medias' support for the third world crap from Opel and Daewoo which has been peddled by Holden over the years to a willingly ignorant section of the community.........boo hiss.

TS Astra-absolutely the worst car ever made-period.

All those early skinny VB onwards Commies worshipped by the media when a Brock badge was attached....from an engineering point of view-total rubbish- but somehow better than the sum of their cheap and nasty parts..........more a credit to Brock than the base product.

Holden are perceived and treasured as "Australian" by the motoring media.

Why?

Ford Australia invented the ute .........but Holden marketing stole any idea of that with the VE ute which morphed from the FJ in their tv advert.

Which car is really Australian? The basic Falcon floor pan goes back to 1960 and has been an evolution right here in Australia since then.Same with the inline 6.


Why doesn't the media embrace the Falcon as the "Australian "car ?Its superior in almost every way.

Its got me stumped.

[Falc'man]

Originally Posted by Mr X

Well to hell with it.

Here we go.

For all the medias' support for the third world crap from Opel and Daewoo which has been peddled by Holden over the years to a willingly ignorant section of the community.........boo hiss.

TS Astra-absolutely the worst car ever made-period.

All those early skinny VB onwards Commies worshipped by the media when a Brock badge was attached....from an engineering point of view-total rubbish- but somehow better than the sum of their cheap and nasty parts..........more a credit to Brock than the base product.

Holden are perceived and treasured as "Australian" by the motoring media.

Why?

Ford Australia invented the ute .........but Holden marketing stole any idea of that with the VE ute which morphed from the FJ in their tv advert.

Which car is really Australian? The basic Falcon floor pan goes back to 1960 and has been an evolution right here in Australia since then.Same with the inline 6.


Why doesn't the media embrace the Falcon as the "Australian "car ?Its superior in almost every way.

Its got me stumped.

Mr X, this makes sense, so why would you expect the media to know it?

[ivorya]

I voted yes.

I had a discussion with my old man about this negativity towards Ford from the media. He told me how good the marketing from GM-Holden was back in the early days,( and today for that matter) with their main slogans being 'Holden - made for australians, The Australian car company etc etc.
He seems to think that the car culture is still there, ie/ when these slogans were being aired, many people bought these cars, their sons/daughters grew up and only bought holdens and so-on. Many of these people today have grown up in this environment and have influencential positions in the market place where they can push their own opinoins.
I guess, when Ford dropped the v8 back in the 80's?, this lost alot of support to the brand.

[Iggypoppin']

Yeah Holden bias, especially here in SA. But what do we expect?? Holden manufactured here, so of course they're going to want to portray them well. However that doesn't mean they should ignore any good thing ford does, and show both good and bad points of both car manufacturers equally.

"they" being the media.

[sarrge2001]

Originally Posted by 76txcoupe

Yeah Holden bias, especially here in SA. But what do we expect?? Holden manufactured here, so of course they're going to want to portray them well. However that doesn't mean they should ignore any good thing ford does, and show both good and bad points of both car manufacturers equally.

"they" being the media.

Mitsubishi manufactured there as well but it didn't Stop the Advertiser running every "story" and rumour doing the rounds!!!

But in answer to the question - yes - Holden bias. "Ford have released a fuel efficient 5 star 200,000km guaranteed Falcon that folds into its own glovebox for easy parking, but it is believed that Holden will start manufacturing space shuttles in the new year".........

[faalcon]

I find the bias towards Holden almost sickening, found this one
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...iates_fastest/
Now the difference between the Falcon and Commodore is quite small but they still have to pick on the Falcon

[Mr X]

Originally Posted by faalcon

I find the bias towards Holden almost sickening, found this one
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...iates_fastest/
Now the difference between the Falcon and Commodore is quite small but they still have to pick on the Falcon

............and yet-in the same article


2007 LARGE CARS (retained value):

THE BEST:
1. Ford FPV GT Cobra — 92.2%
2. Mercedes E-Class — 72.9%


Nothing like a "Stick the boots" in headline.

[ea90gl]

Originally Posted by Mr X

............and yet-in the same article


2007 LARGE CARS (retained value):

THE BEST:
1. Ford FPV GT Cobra — 92.2%
2. Mercedes E-Class — 72.9%


Nothing like a "Stick the boots" in headline.

He has a point there, why create that headline which has much more impact on the avearge joe than the impact of actual fact that Commodore holds 0.1% more value..

[Windsor220]

Yep I think there is a Holden bias in the media. Thats why I dont read Motor, Wheels, Carsguide, Drive etc anymore. On some occasions it is just people being a bit too passionate and seeing things that arent there but overall there would be a bias.

For any facebookers out there, here is a groupo for you to join

Facebook group

[HUNTER8]

Originally Posted by faalcon

I find the bias towards Holden almost sickening, found this one
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...iates_fastest/
Now the difference between the Falcon and Commodore is quite small but they still have to pick on the Falcon

effectively if you paid the same price for the Commondoor then you would be $47 richer. Ho-hum I'd be excited if I had bought that instead of a Falcon.

[sd1800]

Originally Posted by faalcon

I find the bias towards Holden almost sickening, found this one
http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/new...iates_fastest/
Now the difference between the Falcon and Commodore is quite small but they still have to pick on the Falcon

Classic find!!! It's so disgustingly biased it's laughable. Article is titled "FALCON DEPRECIATES FASTEST" with a big picture of a BF. In the fine print however the Commodore only retains .1% more value.

2007 LARGE CARS (retained value):
THE WORST:
1. Ford Falcon BF — 47.9%
2. Mitsubishi 380 — 47.9%
3. Holden Commodore VZ — 48%

[R-Design]

Maybe they're not biased, they just eat up everything they're told. Here's another Drive classic:

Originally Posted by Toby Hagon - May 19, 2008

Holden will begin selling a hybrid Commodore by 2010 in an effort to reduce the environmental impact of the brand’s best-selling vehicle.

With a view to bolstering sluggish large car sales, improving the export potential of the locally-made Commodore and responding to increasing environmental concerns, a senior General Motors executive has confirmed a petrol-electric Commodore is likely to arrive in dealerships within two years.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...eID=52633&vf=1

[snappy]

I used to read some people mention the bias on here , at first i didn't think much of it until one day i bought the herald sun got to the cars guide , Huge front page spread on the cruze with a rough scetch , First phrase in the article said holden may build a small car . In a tiny box in the bottom of the paper it said ford g6et wins car of the year.
After that i been noticing it alot . Even just simple things like the v-facts just thrown in the article " and the homegrown Commodore" . All though it never worded to be false advertising , Its would be clever if it was written by holden but it supposed to be unbiased jornalist.

[Polyal]

Ah controversy.

I dont know about biased, but they seem to turn a blind eye to Holdens short comings. It all depends on what media we are talking about.

Magazines like wheels and motor have a case to answer for, but to be fair to holden they have produced more models/concepts over the past 10 years; now it has been good and bad for them. But at the end of the day half the battle is keeping your brand in the mind of consumers, this they excel at.

You will always get some writers (if you can call them that, gover and dowling for example) that are just commercial sluts and will write anything to be popular.

I think Ford have made some good moves over the past couple of years, they really need to start hitting home how much better their product actually is in comparison; christ give small discounts to people who test drive Fords before purchasing or something, just get people in them!

I didn't vote in the poll, I do think there is favoritism, but its not that clearly cut.