Major Ford announcement....

[Crazed]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

EDIT: And the "buy Australian first" mantra went out with the dinosaurs. It may still be current in places like SA where Holdens are made, or Geelong, but here its a case of select the vehicle that suits your needs best.

:

yeah I checked WA fleet site and you are right.

[RG]

Originally Posted by Crazed

Im betting cost does pay a big part, but for some agencies or depts they are compelled or mandated to buy Australian - which until now, meant they had to buy large cars.

Once the Aussie Cruze (about to say 'Focus' then, im still getting used to the idea of it not to be built here) comes online you will see a lot of departments buying it to save money but under the premise of 'going green'.

Never underestimate a manager to save a buck at the expense of employee comfort or wishes.

But, even if it dosnt get any conquest large car fleet buyers, it will get a lot of fleet small car buyers - All those govt or large business carparks filled with Corrollas, Focii, Mazda3s, and Tiidas will almost overnight become Cruzes.

Why do you think everyone will suddenly go silly for the Cruze? There's been the Camry here for a long time and that hasn't gone too well with govt. depts, nothing like what you are suggesting anyway and that is built here. Sure there are plenty on Corrolla's and Prius but still nothing of the epic buy ups you are predicting.

My prediction is that in 18 months to 2 years we will be able to look back on this thread and see that you got it wrong. Just because Holden (Daewoo) have a small/medium car doesn't mean all fleets are going to change over to them. I can see them going more towards the I4T Falcon before this Cruze.

[Crazed]

Originally Posted by RG

Why do you think everyone will suddenly go silly for the Cruze? There's been the Camry here for a long time and that hasn't gone too well with govt. depts, nothing like what you are suggesting anyway and that is built here. Sure there are plenty on Corrolla's and Prius but still nothing of the epic buy ups you are predicting.

My prediction is that in 18 months to 2 years we will be able to look back on this thread and see that you got it wrong. Just because Holden (Daewoo) have a small/medium car doesn't mean all fleets are going to change over to them. I can see them going more towards the I4T Falcon before this Cruze.

Well if anything the Camry confirms my prediction. It is the only Australian made 4 cylinder mid size car available and it dominates the mid sized sedan government fleet. When was the last time you saw a government plated Accord, Sonata, Mazda, Mondeo? Drive past Dept of Families carparks and they are full of Camrys. Likewise the only Australian built sixes dominate the 6 cylinder govt market. How many govt Maximas, Accord v6s, Skoda Superbs do you see?

But as its been pointed out, taxpayer money is used less and less to buy Australian, so maybe when the Cruze is out no fleets will really care.

I still stand by my prediction of it being the best selling small car within 12 months of Aust production, but hey if im wrong, im wrong. Il be the first to say it!

[Road_Warrior]

Actually, Government Departments fawn over the Camry, because its cheap, easy to drive and has reasonable resale. Toyota probably give quite a handsome National Fleet Discount too. I hate driving them, they're horrible cars, but they're all over the shop around here. I've actually been allocated an automatic Corolla at the moment, an 07 plate, plain white with govt plates and no leccy windows in the back, but its actually not a bad little car. I'd much sooner drive that than any of the Camrys here. Ugh.

Executive Directors and whatnot are eligible for the GVS, which means they can choose a 'higher spec' car, even the Mazda 6, but still must be 4 cylinder. Hondas are banned because of their cost, and as I have pointed out earlier, so are 6cyl cars unless they are LPG or there is a demonstrated operational need. For general fleet use, non-LPG 6cyl cars are banned.

If the Cruze is going to make any inroads to Government fleets like StateFleet, then it will be replacing the likes of Corollas, Lancers and Hyundais that are here. Provided that the National Fleet Discount from Holden is sharp. Holden may not want to come to the party with discounts (may not want to see its new little darling as a fleet hack) and in which case it won't get much of a sniff.

No, where the I4 and LI LPG Falcon will win, is with replacing Camry-type and size vehicles but only if the Falcon's tailpipe emissions come in under the threshold set by the policy.

[R-Design]

More detail on the Diesel & LPG engines:

Originally Posted by GoAuto

FORD Australia says its new 2.7-litre diesel Territory SUV – set to go into production in 2011 – will provide best-in-class performance, even though the engine is already being superseded in high-end applications by Land Rover, Jaguar, Peugeot and Citroen.

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2576010007F3F8

[R-Design]

EcoBoost this time:

Originally Posted by GoAuto

FORD Australia's plan to embrace Ford’s ‘One Ford’ global strategy will become a reality in less than two weeks as it begins testing the ground-breaking new 2.0-litre turbocharged direct-injection four-cylinder EcoBoost engine in the Australian-built Falcon.

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25760000159F9E

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by Boss315

More detail on the Diesel & LPG engines:



http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2576010007F3F8

There is also no plan to fit the new four-cylinder EcoBoost engine in the Territory as it lacks the torque required for such a heavy vehicle.

I find this quote strange. Don't they plan to offer the I4T ecoboost in the F150? Surely if it lacks enough torque to move the terry there would be the same problem with the F150?

[Wally]

Ford is looking to make EcoBoost engines available on more than 90% of its fleet by 2013. We were told the 3.5-liter V6 currently offered in numerous vehicles will soon be making its way into the F-150 lineup, but when asked how the high-output 2.0-liter might fare in Ford’s iconic hauler, the engineers answered with a terse yet effective “no.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/upto...ecoboost-.html

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by King Nothing

I find this quote strange. Don't they plan to offer the I4T ecoboost in the F150? Surely if it lacks enough torque to move the terry there would be the same problem with the F150?

I guess the 205kw/380nm wont be the power output...more on the 175kw/320nm side.

[ltd]

Despite the fans like us still wanting the I6 and the I6T, I can see this as only being a good thing on behalf of Ford. Imagine how many who are scared of a 6 cylinder because of its perceived fuel consumption will look for the more attractive 4 cylinder car in the Ford? Around Strathfield I can see the rivers of camrys being "ford"ed.

[Bossxr8]

One thing thats making me intrigued is what happens to the I6 if the diesel in the Territory and the 4T in the Falcon start taking away sales from it. If I6 numbers drop any lower it will become unviable, that was why the V6 decision was made, the I6's numbers were getting low enough to make it unviable to spend R&D dollars on. Its OK for now, till at least 2014 we've been told, but will the V6 replace it after that or do they have more future plans to keep it viable?

[Road_Warrior]

I was led to believe that, because of Ford's change to 6 year product plans, any all-new Falcon (if there will be one) will be out around that time and be designed right from the start for the Duratec.

Burela has said in media articles recently that they're still "10-12 months away" from having to make a decision on the Falcon's future, which will be mid-way through 2010, so that ties in with a roughly 4 year lead time from hard design to release.

[phillyc]

Because Ford Australia will be one of the last companies to use the 2.7-litre engine, development costs have been amortised. This means the price per unit will be far less than it would have been when the powerplant was new, allowing Ford to offer the diesel at a reasonable premium over the petrol version.

Ford Asia Pacific and South Africa chief engineer Rob Conner said the engine would be significantly better than existing diesels in mid-size SUV rivals.

“It is quite a hi-tech engine compared to some of the basic competition,” he said. “It is going to be a great installation.”

Wonder what the price premium will be? $2,000 maybe?

[ltd]

Originally Posted by phillyc

Wonder what the price premium will be? $2,000 maybe?

Ford is forming a habit of being able to surprise people, I think it's be closer to the $1000.00 premium as they've alluded to better pricing. Their Injected LPG will pobably be commensurate with the petrol once whatever if any government rebate applies to the price.

[Martyvan]

Originally Posted by ltd

Ford is forming a habit of being able to surprise people, I think it's be closer to the $1000.00 premium as they've alluded to better pricing. Their Injected LPG will pobably be commensurate with the petrol once whatever if any government rebate applies to the price.

If they can get it down to $1000 premium... in some cases you would wonder why they would offer the I6 at all.

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by Martyvan

If they can get it down to $1000 premium... in some cases you would wonder why they would offer the I6 at all.

Yes, but some people, like myself aren't fussed on diesels. Both the general driving experience and the refuelling. I do appreciate the economy and torque though.

Most SUV's have about a 50/50 split between petrol and diesel.

[Martyvan]

Originally Posted by phillyc

Yes, but some people, like myself aren't fussed on diesels. Both the general driving experience and the refuelling. I do appreciate the economy and torque though.

Most SUV's have about a 50/50 split between petrol and diesel.

Yup hearing you and understand. My Diesel 4wd gets 8litres per 100km sitting on 105kph, and has averaged 12.2 over its first 8000km. Only thing with the 'diesel experience' i dont like is the noise when its cold, once its warmed up, its much quieter. I wanted that torque and economy, and was prepared to have a little extra noise for that. My wife was very disturbed by the noise at first, but, as it has settled down, she is very happy with the level of noise. The diesel they are putting in the Territory, which was one of my Test drives (Disco3) had more power, and felt like it could pull a freight train. If its getting decent mileage out of a 2700kg vehicle, imagine what it will do with the 600kg lighter Territory......

I believe the split in the Pajero is higher towards the diesel, given for a long time its been a better engine than the Petrol... but, when you have two equally good engines? like will most likely be the case with Territory, wonder what the split would be then?

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Martyvan

Yup hearing you and understand. My Diesel 4wd gets 8litres per 100km sitting on 105kph, and has averaged 12.2 over its first 8000km. Only thing with the 'diesel experience' i dont like is the noise when its cold, once its warmed up, its much quieter. I wanted that torque and economy, and was prepared to have a little extra noise for that. My wife was very disturbed by the noise at first, but, as it has settled down, she is very happy with the level of noise. The diesel they are putting in the Territory, which was one of my Test drives (Disco3) had more power, and felt like it could pull a freight train. If its getting decent mileage out of a 2700kg vehicle, imagine what it will do with the 600kg lighter Territory......

I believe the split in the Pajero is higher towards the diesel, given for a long time its been a better engine than the Petrol... but, when you have two equally good engines? like will most likely be the case with Territory, wonder what the split would be then?

45% of all SUV sales are diesel, so its a big market.

Yesterday I saw three diesel mules in convoy with a Disco 3. Benchmarking NVH maybe?

[Paxton]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

45% of all SUV sales are diesel, so its a big market.

Yesterday I saw three diesel mules in convoy with a Disco 3. Benchmarking NVH maybe?

Sounds like it.

It isn't as if Ford have too much left to do, the Territory is already better built than the Discovery3.

[Crazed]

Originally Posted by Crazed

28/7/2009 Im predicting the Australian produced Cruze will be the largest selling small car within 12 months of sale on the back of massive government and fleet sales.

Long time lurker

Havnt been on this site for almost a couple of years now but all this talk about Cruze potentially being no 1 or 2 selling car in the country got me back on here searching around.

Hey I may have been right on the money almost 2 and half years ago.

[2011G6E]

V6: they'll need it if they keep a large petrol engine in the Falcon...we don't live on an island (well, we do, but you know what I mean) when it comes to global emissions laws like Euro 4 and 5 and whatever comes next. Not to mention the spectre of Prime Minister Bob Brown and the Greens hate anything that isn't run on angels tears and a gentle summer breeze, so we could probably expect calls for simple things like corporate fuel averages and mandated efficiencies in the near future.

Four cylinder falcon: again, great marketing move. If people want a "large four cylinder" what are they going to buy? Usually the answer to that question is "a Camry". Give them an Aussie ridgy-didge dinky-di Falcon with a four cylinder, and they'll jump in droves. Many many moons ago (from '84 to aout '88) we owned a VC Commodore Four. That thing was large, comfortable, decent on the fuel (for a four cylinder of the period) and roomy, with cheap rego and servicing costs. But quick it wasn't. I always wondered in later years how the thing would have gone with something like an excellent Nissan SR20DETT in it...

[Joe5619]

tickets anyone?????