Did motoring journalists fail Ford?

[WEBES]

It has been an accumulation of circumstances going back decades that has led to the demise in Ford manufacturing in Australia. Here is my take on why.

* Ford dropped the V8 in the mid 80s – those needing a V8 turned to Holden as their only choice. The kids of these parents grew up as Holden fans and Ford lost a whole generation of potential buyers.
* Ford has been very much hot and cold on its marketing. When was the last time you saw a decent Falcon TV advert? They celebrated Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall when they drove for SBR – why didn’t they celebrate 2 V8 championships won by Jamie Whincup in a Falcon? It was a HUGE mistake to drop the factory sponsorship of the 888 racing team.
* With the high Australian dollar, imported cars are much cheaper.
* Fuel prices are forcing people to buy smaller cars.
* 4WD are growing in demand. Caravans are also getting bigger necessitating the purchase of a large 4WD.
You can not solely blame motoring journalists for the demise in Ford manufacturing. I think they have wanted to pull the pin a long time ago.