So, what is it that you love about Ford?

XRated · 16-11-2005, 07:08 PM

What is it that gives you Blue Blood? Why does your heart sit with the Blue Oval?

I don't even know where to start... I'm feeling a bit patriotic - so don't think I'm overly weird hehhehe! It's gonna be long!

Well, for me, I love the heritage. I love the fact that Henry Ford made a car for the public that was reliable, efficient and easy to maintain. The birth of Ford.
Any colour - so long as it's black.

Ford has a big part in Australian history: old skool muscle, especially the GTs with big throbbing 351s that makes my heart pound when I hear one fired up. A car that was king of the road, and still holds very respectable times for a factory Aussie car in the 70s. And now today we have some of the finest beasts prowling the streets - owned by your average family (FPV with the big grand tourer and something different to what other local manufacturers have to offer: the Typhoon).

Another move by Ford Oz that I applaud: separating the sport models by implementing big exterior changes to the front. What has any other manufacturer got in comparison to an XR (ie. EL XR, AU XR etc)? Sure, a bodykit and wheels but something to really distinguish it from the rest of the range.

I love my car! Yep, my plain ol' white povo-pack 1994 Falcon.. It was relatively cheap to buy, has plenty of torque, it's smooth, parts are interchangeable (EA-EL) and I still think it looks pretty good. Parts are cheap and easy to come by, getting more power is no problem - $120 for a cam that gives it plenty of pick up or a $5k budget turbo to make it fly! I could start a whole new thread on my love of E-Series (an EA MPFI with manual being quicker than a VL Turbo back in the day was nothing to sneeze about or the relatively easy and cheap way to turbo the I6 and have it pumping out whopping amounts of torque and kws). Spare the E-Mutant talk, it's my first car and I don't care what anyone says!! Oh, and I feel the Sprint needs a mention here too :P

Then there's the GT40. Born in the early '60s, it was truly a beast to feast your eyes on, something to over throw Ferrari at Le Mans; a dream of Henry Ford II for some years. It's a unique classic today and the reintroduction of the GT40 in a modern guise, "GT" is back to step all over the European Supercars we have today. I haven't heard a bad review yet.

We've got arms all over the world: North America, Belgium, South Africa and so on. We're privileged enough to have Ford dominating markets internationally and winning many awards on the way (Focus, Fiesta, Escort, F-Series, Mustangs etc). There are just so many models to name..... Although some of the later US stuff leaves little to be desired.

Smooth and refined six cylinders without the European/Japanese premium? Falcons, Fairmonts etc.
Want a big V8? Sporty? GTs, Mustangs. Cruiser? Fairlanes, Thunderbirds.
DOHC 4 cylinder turbos? Escorts. Lasers (yes, Mazda I know).

I like the fact that most Ford fans I know have knowledge about cars and that my Holden buddies know stuff all about them and think they have the ultimate piece of motoring goodness. (This is not an attempt to start a flaming session, merely my personal experience). It makes me laugh when Ford fans are criticised for liking the Blue Oval in an attempt to "support the Under Dog." Yes, because we all want people to notice us and think we're doing it just to be different.

To really appreciate the Blue Oval, you've got to visit an All Ford Day, whether you're a Ford fan or a general automotive fan. There are so many amazing examples of nearly every type of Ford with people who share the same passion; it's a great feeling and environment. I don't think I will miss another one ever.

Geeze, it's a bit long-winded but I'll leave it at that knowing this could go for another several thousand words.....

dansedgli · 16-11-2005, 07:13 PM

They are cheap to buy and cheap to fix and so on.

**Falcon Coupe** · 16-11-2005, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRated

What is it that gives you Blue Blood? Why does your heart sit with the Blue Oval?

It all started with a ride in an Electric Blue GT HO phase 3 as a 14 year old, i have never looked back, ohh and being bought home from hospital as a newborn in my Dads 351 Fairlane may have had a subliminal influence.

vztrt · 16-11-2005, 07:29 PM

Was never a big Ford fan until the BA XR/GT's came out. Love the look of the cars and wanted one the first day I saw them.

But finding out what the company does for Australia and that there more Aussie than a certain conpetitor that claims there as Aussie as Russell Crowe made me appreciate the blue oval more.

K_Man · 16-11-2005, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vztrt

But finding out what the company does for Australia and that there more Aussie than a certain conpetitor that claims there as Aussie as Russell Crowe made me appreciate the blue oval more.

There's more blue than red on the aussie flag :voldar02:

MAGPIE · 16-11-2005, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRated

What is it that gives you Blue Blood? Why does your heart sit with the Blue Oval?

As a kid being taken for a blast in Sierra Cosworth when they first came out :evil_laug

I just wish they would make a modern day version

:

clontarf_x · 16-11-2005, 08:29 PM

I dont really know why I love my fords so much. All I know is ever since my aprents bought their first ford (XA) they've owned every series except AU's. Same deal with me, Ive gone from XB Coupe to XD to XF(3) to EB to EL to AU3 and the next move im hoping is a nice shiney silver BA XR6

Love my fords, love em

EBII Fairmont · 16-11-2005, 08:59 PM

First true sports car i jumped inwas an xw gt. after that it just stcuk with me.

RAREV8 · 16-11-2005, 09:04 PM

For me it was my dads 1935 Ford 8 that he still has- been in the family since new. It cost 100 pounds UK new! She still runs well and has been completely restored and I will take over the legacy one day too.

Also.....
Then there's the GT40. Born in the early '60s, it was truly a beast to feast your eyes on, something to over throw Ferrari at Le Mans; a dream of Henry Ford II for some years. It's a unique classic today and the reintroduction of the GT40 in a modern guise, "GT" is back to step all over the European Supercars we have today. I haven't heard a bad review yet.

I'm pretty sure that the GT40 is very European- many arguements reign between the US and the UK about who was responsible for this monster- US definately for the motor but the car itself was developed in the UK from the Lola!
Somewhere there is a wicked website citing all the arguements about it- if I remember it, I'll post it as it is fabulous reading!

Woz · 16-11-2005, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRated

What is it that gives you Blue Blood? Why does your heart sit with the Blue Oval?

Why do I love Ford? They aren't Holden! :the_finge

My old man has, with the exception of a Nissan Patrol and a Landrover, only ever owned Ford's. He has five brothers, all of which have only ever owned Fords. All together, they have one sister. She works for Ford.

I never had a chance.

_

As I'm sure you've worked out by now, I grew up around Fords. The first car I ever drove was my dads white 4.1 XC panelvan back when I was four or five years old. Sure, I had to sit on his lap and only got to steer through dirt tracks in the bush to pick up firewood, but even without pedal control I was driving and I was incharge of my first Ford.

One of my favourite photos from growing up is a shot of my parents backyard, with me being around the age of four (1989). Poking out of the garage is dads old orange 351 XB, I think it was a sedan. Staring that down from the driveway is the previously reported XC pano'. And parked inbetween is me and my little Mercedes Benz pedalcar.

From his very first car way back in 1975 being an XR sedan, to his AUII ute now, he's always had Fords.

My first car was an XF panelvan for two reasons.
1.) When they're 18 years old, every young bloke should have a panelvan.
2.) Dad bought an XF wagon way back in 1996 and that sum is still kickin'!

Sure, my XF didn't last any longer than 12 months after I threw my P-plates up in the windows, but I think that was more the fact that I got it cheap, picked up a dodgy RWC and then drove it mercilessly every chance I got. But every friday night for 12 months it got me from Bendigo to Bayswater without missing a beat, and it got me back on the sunday, and it was that reliability that I had come to expect after watching dads wagon last so long.

One morning I just couldn't get it to start. I've always said that that van didn't die, it just decided it had had enough of me, and fair enough too.

My XB is 30 years and one month old. Only three days ago I had yet another stranger come up to me and speak to me about it, telling me how rare it is to see a car like that in such clean shape. Sure, this morning I walked out and started it up to hear it make a horrible clunking sound which quickened with the pace of the revs, but other than that there isn't normally much that goes wrong without me fiddling with it first.

That's the reliability I've come to expect from not just Ford, but car manufacturers everywhere. Most of my mates drive Holdens, namely Commodores, and they experience more problems in their ten year old Lion than I get from something three times that age.

There's all these reasons and more. But probably the biggest thing I love about Ford is Greg Murphy.

Blue Oval Mopar Man · 16-11-2005, 09:29 PM

It was a warm sunny day mid november 1978 , the My dad arranged for a work mate (an electrician) from the mine to come over on sunday after noon to wire up the filter and timer controls on our new pool ! He turns up at the front door with his tool bag in hand and dad askes him to come out the back to show him where the pump was ! I am interested at the age of 12 in all things mechanical and wanted to see how things were wired up , so I end up being his apperentic for an hour while he fits the filter timer system he designed himself! After its all running We jump in the pool to stir it up a bit while the fire hose fills it up and we get the filter system operating properly ! After a couple of beers ( Remember its 1978 ) my dad and I walk out to his car as he is leaving and dad is very interested in his large sky blue car , which I didnt know what it was at that stage as I was into aussie cars ! Its a sky blue 69 Fastback 428 cobra-jet Mach1 mustang! Fffwwoarrrrrrrrr , were my thoughts to myself ! That thing just looks tough sitting there whith its shinny alloy wheels! ( Mags back then were the sign of a real street machine !) They chat about it a bit as they look under the bonnet and basically ignore the questions i have about it . Then He asks dad if he wants to come for a quick drive ! Of course dad says hell yeah, and im jumping round asking if I can come too ! At first dad says no , theyll be back in a minute , but I kept asking and finally I secured a spot in the middle of the back seat !Wow ! How cool are the interiors of these things I am thinking ! We cruised out to the out skirts of town and as soon as we hit the 100 k speed zone , his foot hit the floor !The near deafening sound that thing made was pure horse power ! these things come from the factory with close to 500 horspower and this was modified! I have never been able to describe the feeling of that thing forcing me so hard into the seat for so long ! when we were slowing down to turn back , I remember dad turning around with a grin from ear to ear and saying to me "goes pretty hard huh !" The fastest car I had ever been in was dads Chrysler CL 245 safari wagon ! I have been in aww of the 69 mustang shape ever scince that day and a true FORD man thru and thru ! That was the day when I caught the muscle car bug !

DOMN8N · 16-11-2005, 09:47 PM

ive always loved ford's because of my dad he once had h hq prem and evrything whent wrong with it the moter broke down alot and the diff blew so he took it some where and he found out that the body whs twisted and that was when it was not that old so he took it back to the dealer and the dealer said he can have any car he wanted so he seen a xygt there so he said that one then he got that one then he took it and got it blue printhd and he said that it was a killer and it was costing too much to run soe he sold it.then his mate had a holden which split in halve and his mate allmost got killed. then i was born and he had a xd that whent around the clock 2wice so it did alot of k's then he got an ea wagon and that is when i sterted likeing ford's i sad i wanted an eb gt his ea got up to 300000km now he has a au XR6 vct and i now have an ea with a 4.0 4spd auto lowerd and i will always like ford

DOMN8N · 16-11-2005, 10:02 PM

i have the whole storynow ive always loved ford's because of my dad he once had h hq prem and evrything whent wrong with it the moter broke down alot and the diff blew so he took it some where and he found out that the body whs twisted and that was when it was not that old so he took it back to the dealer and the dealer said he can have any car he wanted so he seen a xygt ho there so he said that one then he got that one then he took it and got it blue printhd and he said that it was a killer and it was costing too much to run soe he sold it.thenhe got xb gt /cg fairlane 351/ gxl351 then he his mate had a holden which split in halve and his mate allmost got killed. then i was born and he had a xd that whent around the clock 2wice so it did alot of k's then he got an ea wagon and that is when i sterted likeing ford's i sad i wanted an eb gt his ea got up to 300000km now he has a au XR6 vct and he has liked ford scince 1975 i now have an ea with a 4.0 4spd auto lowerd and i will always like ford it has been 9 yrs for me

b2tf · 16-11-2005, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dommuz

i have the whole storynow ive always loved ford's because of my dad he once had h hq prem and evrything whent wrong with it the moter broke down alot and the diff blew so he took it some where and he found out that the body whs twisted and that was when it was not that old so he took it back to the dealer and the dealer said he can have any car he wanted so he seen a xygt ho there so he said that one then he got that one then he took it and got it blue printhd and he said that it was a killer and it was costing too much to run soe he sold it.thenhe got xb gt /cg fairlane 351/ gxl351 then he his mate had a holden which split in halve and his mate allmost got killed. then i was born and he had a xd that whent around the clock 2wice so it did alot of k's then he got an ea wagon and that is when i sterted likeing ford's i sad i wanted an eb gt his ea got up to 300000km now he has a au XR6 vct and he has liked ford scince 1975 i now have an ea with a 4.0 4spd auto lowerd and i will always like ford it has been 9 yrs for me

I think I went to school with you. You sent our english teacher nuts didnt you?

Fair302 · 16-11-2005, 10:13 PM

I like me Ford's because what has been mentioned above, GT's, Falcon GT's Cobra's, all the Cosworth's. Ford's rally cars ie escorts etc. Plus the fact that a Ford is a Ford everywhere in the World. Not Pontiac, Holden, Opel etc

I think it started when I saw some RS200's as a kid at a rally event in Europe before they got banned. Those things just about took off exiting corners, MAD!!!

I have owned a couple of 250 Cortina's, EA throught to AU from GL to XR6 VCT and now BA XR6T

Plus I have a hatred for anything Holden... and at large their customers... just something about them and the type of people they appeal to.

PS The above is just my opinion :nutsycuck

Baz

Lukeyson · 16-11-2005, 09:14 PM

Growing up as a kid, my dad was a holden fan, and was given a XF povo pak from pop when i got my L's, and it braked like crap, handled like crap and went like crap, but when it came time to upgrade and at 17, i drove a VP & VR V6's, and drove an EB & ED, they were I6's, and found the Ford out braked, handled better and had more stick, and was roomier, so much to my old mans nagging, i bought the ED Futura and never ever looked back. Once i bought the ED, the old man bought an EF and hasnt looked back

JC · 16-11-2005, 10:31 PM

I went to a car dealers about 5 years ago to look at a used SS Holden (VT series 2, I think). The dealers here had them priced about $5k above the same year model XR8 (AU), so I bought the AU. Since then, I've had:
AU1 XR8 manual & AU1 XR6 auto
AU2 V8 Forte Auto (still with the XR6)
EF I6 Fairmont (still with the XR6)
AU2 Forte wagon (still with the XR6)
Au2 Forte Wagon & AU1 XR8 auto

Prior to that, I had a VS2 Berlina wagon (it was traded in for the AU1 XR6), an EB V8 Fairmont Ghia, an EF Falcon, a HG wagon, and a Nissan or two. So until the first AU1 XR8, I would say I was a swinging car buyer, but now really love my Fords.

Fair302 · 16-11-2005, 10:52 PM

I just wanted to add that untill recently I worked as car sales person at different Ford dealerships and I used to love getting people out of Holdens and into Ford's. Or even when they came in looking for a Holden steering them towards a Ford. I can't recall ever having sold a Holden.

Just doing my bit...

Redrum · 16-11-2005, 11:25 PM

Born In Geelong. Ford is the heart and the soul of Geelong. Quite a lot of my friends and family worked there or have worked there.

I started in 1996 and worked through to 2000. From not knowing one end of a motor car to the other I come out of Ford as a petrol head with blue blood flowing through my veins. I live Fords!!!

I have owned
EF2 Futura
XH XR6
EL Futura V8
EL Fairmont Ghia
2 x EL XR6 Sedan
2 x AU XR6 Sedan
AU XR8 Ute
2 x AUII XR6 Ute
XR8 Pursuit Ute 200kw
BA XR8 Ute
my current ride BAII XR6T

b2tf · 16-11-2005, 11:39 PM

THE DEALERS! :thebirds:

XD-Machine · 17-11-2005, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC-XRWgn

Prior to that, I had a VS2 Berlina wagon (it was traded in for the AU1 XR6), .

how did your vs go. I herd they are a great car mechanicly and well in my opinion looks why's aswell.

Steffo · 16-11-2005, 10:46 PM

I think you just click with a certain type of vehicle. I'm not as manufacturer partial as I used to be (although I still have a big anti-Holden bias), but basically, if a make/model matches your way of thinking, philosophy etc, then its pretty hard to seperate you.

For me, Ford Falcon, Ford Mustang (the two most prime examples) match my way of thinking quite well, so of course I'm largely biased towards them. I'm nowhere near as Ford biased as I used to be, I'm developing a broader taste in cars, but that's the general idea.

Plus as I was growing up all my dad ever owned was Fords, so I guess that helped :P

jimt3te50 · 16-11-2005, 11:49 PM

i love the engine- each one is better than the last lol..........

mik · 17-11-2005, 12:32 AM

my go, i was nearly born in a 48 ford so mum tells me, on 2 wheels getting to hospital, (it was an old 48 ford.. im not that old ...... really)REALLY, dad had a 55 customline when i was about 7 year old, i was doomed from the start , my first limo was a cd cortina had a 100000 miles on it was pretty sad but i drove the wheels off it, traded it on a 67 xr 289(the fasta one heheheh) lovely car and real goer, sadly destroyed it the exuberance of youth, had many others but all heaps (non fords) next one was an xc 302 then a 351, then down the track got my au. but what really made me love henrys was the first ride in an xygt. later around that era i was working at holden, one night a phase 3 hoey parked out the front of work i was drooling it was magnificent ,owner came back and i commented on his hoey , he smiled then he took off left me in smoke i could hear him but couldnt see him ,my hair was standing up on my neck, worked at holden worked at ford which further cemented my blue blood.

SpoolMan · 17-11-2005, 01:00 AM

My last 3 cars AU6, BA XR8, BF F6 All have been good cars with no issues, i hope the F6 gives the same service.....the 6 speed auto its fantastic..

Quadcams · 18-11-2005, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRFPV8

My last 3 cars AU6, BA XR8, BF F6 All have been good cars with no issues, i hope the F6 gives the same service.....the 6 speed auto its fantastic..

Your a happy boy at the moment arn't you Mark!

smciner1 · 18-11-2005, 06:31 PM

The first Car I remember is Dad's Sky View Blue 250 3 on the Floor (tm) XB Falcon 500.

:Reverend:

SpoolMan · 18-11-2005, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lowride260

Your a happy boy at the moment arn't you Mark!

its like Ford heaven.... :1syellow1

XD-Machine · 17-11-2005, 01:10 AM

the only reason i love ford is because i have a ford. If my dad said come check out this holdern and it had low k's was in good nick like mine at the right price i probably would be at a holdern forum (i dont pic sides i love all cars).

Another thing i love about fords is this great forum, seriously this is the best forum i have been to includes game forums other car forums ect. This site has helped me become more of a ford loving and ford admiring person. thanks

ProjectXR · 17-11-2005, 01:26 AM

For me its the feeling i get whenever i get into a Ford. It's the feeling of being in control. I used to love holdens till i drove one, I didn't like the feeling it gave me, it was sloppy and a handful to control, then i drove a Ford Focus and i was hooked! Since then i've found that any Ford i jump into i feel in control.