AU styling gets better with age...less 'dated' than equivalent VT?

[Casper]

Originally Posted by Falcon Freak

AU looked like poo in 1998
Still looks like poo in 2006
Will look like poo in 2098

Cars either look good or they don't. We become accustomed to things over time. Example to people who worked in the same company for many years. Think back to the ugliest person at that place when you started and look at them today. Chances are that they don't appear as ugly as they used to. This is because you have become accustomed to their appearance. They are still just as ugly as they were back then.

FF

Go away or I will make you go away.
Your opinion is your right but if you come into the AU section and start ИИИИing on AU's I will ban you. Period.

[FTE217]

Is he a mutant ?

[Casper]

Originally Posted by Bluedriver

Is he a mutant ?

Yes..

[Falcon Freak]

Casper - the person who started this thread posed a question as can be clearly seen. I chose to answer the question from my perspective. For the record if I had to choose between my current good looking BA and my previous ugly AU, I'd take the AU 9 times out of 10 as it is the better car to drive. Period.

FF

[Casper]

Originally Posted by Falcon Freak

Casper - the person who started this thread posed a question as can be clearly seen. I chose to answer the question from my perspective. For the record if I had to choose between my current good looking BA and my previous ugly AU, I'd take the AU 9 times out of 10 as it is the better car to drive. Period.

FF

10 out of 10 actually, the BA is a plain, boring, rep mobile with all the characture of a VZ commy. : Given the one good thing was ment to be its looks.. I guess the BA just lost out in a big way.

As for looks, its subjective but I think the AU looks considerably better than a VT. The BA... well, after seeing 30,000 of the stocko XR6's a day trundled to work by there mindless drivers who wouldnt know a Ford from a Trout.. I'll happily drive what you consider "poo".. and at least look like someone who has a clue.

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Originally Posted by Casper

Go away or I will make you go away.
Your opinion is your right but if you come into the AU section and start ИИИИing on AU's I will ban you. Period.

lmao , yeah no AU haters here ty . :lookedat:

[russellw]

Which all proves that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I personally liked John Bowe's comment in his RPM interview on Sunday when asked about the best (race) car he had driven to which he replied:

I think that looking back at cars is a bit like remembering old girlfriends. With the passage of time they both get thought of better than they really were.

Cheers
Russ

[Falcon Freak]

Thank you Russell. As can be clearly seen the AU's styling will always be an emotive discussion point. I believe that it will continue to polarise people's opinions for many years to come.

FF

[GK]

Originally Posted by Falcon Freak

AU looked like poo in 1998
Still looks like poo in 2006
Will look like poo in 2098

Cars either look good or they don't. We become accustomed to things over time. Example to people who worked in the same company for many years. Think back to the ugliest person at that place when you started and look at them today. Chances are that they don't appear as ugly as they used to. This is because you have become accustomed to their appearance. They are still just as ugly as they were back then.

FF

Your argument is flawed. There is no such thing as ugly or not ugly, there is only design and function and visual appeal.

The less the appeal, the "uglier" soemthing is said to be. Even though in so many areas, the AU is a functionally better car than the AV (sorry BA), many didn't find the shape appealing.

On the other hand, many love the AV (sorry again BA) shape, it is appealing, but that doesn't make the AU ugly or the AV (there's that slip again. BA) beautiful. It's a matter of appeal. Even if I say "that's ugly" or "that's hot", it doesn't make either so.

The AU has less appeal in the general public than the following model, that's all!

But not in this place. So be careful how you express your appeal opinion! :

I'm done!

GK

[DailyDriver]

My Ford gets plenty of looks on the road, & I know when a car looks good!

My VX series 2 SS still looks great, & only the Commodore haters think otherwise......

[jspec_sti]

Originally Posted by Falcon Freak

AU looked like poo in 1998
Still looks like poo in 2006
Will look like poo in 2098

...

FF

How unusual, another BA owner bagging out the AU...

Funnily enough, I've even had a few people ask me of my AU is the model AFTER BA!

[Whoosha]

in the words of some body..Why are people so un kind... :sm_headba
IMO my xr was never ugly just misunderstood this is why I brought it new + would not change it for anything currently on the Market :hihi: + as the multitude are finding out I and 1798 taxi drivers are rite : or maybe I"M just misunderstood to... :

luv my AU

[XR6-VCT-2000]

Originally Posted by Whoosha

in the words of some body..Why are people so un kind... :sm_headba

lol , i believe those were KAMAHLs words ...lol :

[russky]

Originally Posted by Juzman

for example the equivalent 'all curves' VT commodore shape now looks tired and dated...while (in my opinion of course) the AU (especially AUII+) seems to look more contemporary...especially if you stick in sporty round lights in the rear, which seems to be another fashion of late). The radical 'edgy' styling of the AU may not have paid off for Ford initially, but in hindsight, it just might be a winner...

J

Just look at the new mercedes CLS. a clear display that falcon is actually more attractive to people's eyes these days. (For those who haven noticed, the rear end is pretty much the same)

[xd5.8l]

Personaly one of the biggest things that puts me off a bombadore apart from the rough as guts ecotec and oil burning gen 3 are the window frames and their poxy felt channels and rubber surrounds that have been arround since VN days.
Holden got away with murder selling these pieces of s$%t. Drive an AU with 200,000 and then an equivelant commo and the contrast is unbelievable to say the least. An ecotec at 200,000 leaks worse then an old crossflow while the AU i6 is almost impervious, apart from the odd crank seal and small weap from timing case.

[boodek]

I'm a bit surprised on an open forum such as this that people are so intolerant of opinions that don't support their own. I own an AU3, I drive a BA for work, I have owned a VT in the past. In their own way each is a good car performing a similar function. To continually bag the GMH product and refer to them as 'Crummydores' and such is particularly childish and does nothing to promote the image of this forum to the visitor who may want to become a member. Remember that you are representing a group of enthusiasts keen to promote a particular car, so perhaps be a little more open minded?...

[GK]

Originally Posted by boodek

I'm a bit surprised on an open forum such as this that people are so intolerant of opinions that don't support their own. I own an AU3, I drive a BA for work, I have owned a VT in the past. In their own way each is a good car performing a similar function. To continually bag the GMH product and refer to them as 'Crummydores' and such is particularly childish and does nothing to promote the image of this forum to the visitor who may want to become a member. Remember that you are representing a group of enthusiasts keen to promote a particular car, so perhaps be a little more open minded?...

I understand your sentiments boodek and of course you're entitled to them.

A question though, why is our passion for the AU and defence of it so hard for you to understand if you have worked out that we here "are representing a group of enthusiasts keen to promote a particular car?" That particular car is the AU, there are plenty of forums for other models with similar minded enthusiasts elsewhere.

We love the AU here, if someone doesn't and are only interested in bagging it, why would they even post here if not for picking an argument?

Put it this way, would a labour supporter join the Young Liberals? Would a supporter of Hawthorn Football club, go to all the home games of Essendon?

GK

[jVenomXR8c]

The way I see it, the BA shape is very mechanical, its a machine, its the Terminator! whereas the AU styling is very organic looking, like a living thing, its an animal, its the Predator!.
Personally I love both cars but in my opinion you cant go wrong with an AU, especially a series II or III XR which I think are the best looking cars Ford Australia have ever produced.

[divine_afg]

LOVE MY BABY..........
AU's all the way..............
i guess its because of the reasons that we discussing here had me thinking about
enhancing the looks of my AU year back...... and once again with new set of
modifications for the upcoming Auto shows its sure to turn more heads.....
AU's were never ugly our opinions were influnced....... !!!

cheers

[fo3oz]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

I am finding more and more people have made mention that the AU "seems to look better now than it used to". Maybe more aftermarket styling support is around now more than it used to be ... who knows.

But I agree ... the AU looks much better now that it used to when it was first released at the end of the 90's.

What made it not look so good was it was released after the successful EF/EL range that everyone seemed to love.

thats true, I loved the ef/el falcons, I think they're the best falcons ever designed at least since the 60s. Really nice design for 1995, and ages well. I hated the AUs , gradually started to like the au XRs though.
I think partially why AUs are starting to look good is the BA. I might get flamed for that, but before the BA I thought AUs were ugly, it's only after seeing BAs everywhere that the bigger rounder looking AUs looked decent to compared to the older ELs.
Most people like the look of the BA and got used to them. When you compare them you kind of see where ford was going with the AU and the next time you see an AU it doesn't look as bad.
I've got an EL (gave away my bias there ) and was always planning to get a BA eventually, but now I've got second thoughts. I think the EL at ~1500kg is heavy enough, and if the BA is as heavy as I've heard I'm probably not going to get one. Might have a look at AUIIIs instead.
What I really want is a ghia EL, low km's, all options and throw a BA XR6T motor in it. Next best option is a AU XR6 or vct ghia for now

[Bucknaked]

AU's rock. Anyone who thinks the AU is ugly, are all big fat doodie heads :

[StAndArdAU]

hahaha, i wonder if Volvo drivers ever talk on this subject?

[ronwest]

Originally Posted by StAndArdAU

hahaha, i wonder if Volvo drivers ever talk on this subject?

They are too busy extricating themselves from roadrage situations...

[SIKXR8220]

Originally Posted by jVenomXR8c

The way I see it, the BA shape is very mechanical, its a machine, its the Terminator! whereas the AU styling is very organic looking, like a living thing, its an animal, its the Predator!.
Personally I love both cars but in my opinion you cant go wrong with an AU, especially a series II or III XR which I think are the best looking cars Ford Australia have ever produced.

Amen to that! :

[Axle-F]

I couldn’t agree more. The AU is experiencing its first renaissance. I too hated them a lot when they first came out…the oval shaped body of the forte’s clogging the streets and the ubiquitous choice of maniac cab drivers.

As soon as models II and III came out everything changed of course. The options being thrown into the car left all other similarly priced cars for dead and the power of the XR’s is pretty hard to challenge by local rivals.

The BA’s where a great (albeit heavy) leap and thanks to those AU prices dropped swiftly. Great for the second-hand buy like myself.

Modifications galore have popped up based on the superb Ford engineering so the power of these animals just keeps rising, and of course the aesthetic mods are outstanding. The TS50 reins supreme in my mind as how a performance car needs to look.

I find now in fact that the more I look at the BA/BF’s the more I see they’re based on the AU. Take off the plastic of them and I’m guessing you’d see something remarkably similar (just don’t check the engine bay).

I turned to the XR6 based on reading how well they perform and the market price was too good to resist. She’s proven a reliable beast (minus prior owner related issues) and I can’t help but stare at them every time I see the AU drive past. I know there are many happy years left on the clock.

Long live the AU!!

[Fairlane]

AU doesnt looks as bad as it did in my opinion, time has been kind to it and it looks better than the VT, but personally i still think that both the EF/EL and the BA trump it for looks and interior practicality (mainly talking about the lower specs here), i think the Fairmont Ghia/Fairlane and LTD were pretty good.

At least the polarising styling brought reliable mechanicals down to a reasonable price 2nd hand, the interior and the huge pillars for me will take a bit of getting used to. I dont think the AU will ever be a swan, but it will certainly look better than the 1000's of thrashed, abused and riced up VT's and it may gain a resugance in popularity as prices drop, im yet to see many AU's in the wrekers yet.

[onfire]

Originally Posted by XR6-VCT-2000

Yeah your right , i dunno why but everytime i see the grill and lights on a standard AU it reminds me of a Whale for some reason ?? (or a big cheesy grin/smile).. i dunno why ..lol..
Also i noticed the other day that those SV6 crummydores ( or whatever they are ) look smaller than a normal commodore from the rear - and the lights/on the rear end / and the complete rear end looks like a 1999 mitИИИИbishi magna rear end ! ..

lol. Same with me.. I actully always refered to it as the ' whale teeth ' grill.

[DJM83]

Long live the AU the thoughts of the AU gettin better with age only just popped into my mind the other day even before reading this thread