Dick Johnson's Plan to save the Falcon

[flappist]

The bickering stops now or I will stop it.

[JC]

Originally Posted by falconnut

Ford Australia wont listen
Ford America wont listen
Ford Europe wont listen
Ford Global wont listen

What are you saying?

[flappist]

Originally Posted by falconnut

anyone got a spare $60k for a G6ET?

And this is the problem.

Not "Has anyone got a spare $30k for a XT" or "Has anyone got a spare $20k for for Focus".

So much of our society seems to feel inferior unless they have the BEST regardless of what they can afford.

Instead of paying $30k for a nice XT the eyes are on a several year old second hand XR8 or GT or whatever as they are "cooler".


I started off with rather basic car which which was gradually replaced by better and better as I could afford it. I had Falcon 500s, Lasers, Fairmont, Fairmont Ghias and then FPVs and was over 40 before I bought my first "performance Falcon".

I am not pointing this directly at you falconnut it is almost pandemic.

Many here come out with "I need a V8 Falcon" as the reason why they buy a $20k S/H XR8 rather than a $20k new Focus quoting the towing ability despite not having anything to tow or the inside space despite them being single, living with their mum and hardly ever using the back seat or touring capability despite them never leaving the suburbs or performance despite the closest they get to track work is parking in the car park on track days.

If you really are a Ford supporter then do what you can do to help.

If you can't afford a new car of any type then get out there and talk up Ford, ALL Ford not just the model that you would buy if you won lotto.

Put it on your facebook, tell everyone you know and even people you don't know about EB4, ecoLPi, just bloody everything about Ford.

If Ford are not advertising then you can.

No more "Falcon is doomed", they will only die if no one buys them.

If you see someone looking at a car shop just go over and tell them how cool the FG2 is.

Get out and do your bit.

It is not Ford Falcon.

It is FORD FALCON

A flood is made up of rain drops, go out and wet something.......

[I8hsv]

The gt and gs would sell like hot cakes in the states it's really a no brainier IMO

[aussie muscle]

Dick Johnson for Premier!

He's right and a lot of us have been screaming the same thing for years.

Originally Posted by OZQUAD44

Go out and buy a new Falcon. Simple

unfortunately we can't all go buy heaps of them. it's kinda expensive to buy more than one a year (hell it's taken 5 years to pay off my current one). You like people taking the pss out of you eh?

Originally Posted by flappist

Instead of paying $30k for a nice XT the eyes are on a several year old second hand XR8 or GT or whatever as they are "cooler".

Second hand cars won't help Ford today. buying a Focus won't help Falcon either. Paying 70k for a glorified 30k car helps them more.

[crymoarpls]

Originally Posted by flappist

Many here come out with "I need a V8 Falcon" as the reason why they buy a $20k S/H XR8 rather than a $20k new Focus quoting the towing ability despite not having anything to tow or the inside space despite them being single, living with their mum and hardly ever using the back seat or touring capability despite them never leaving the suburbs or performance despite the closest they get to track work is parking in the car park on track days.

that's a great generalisation there. really encourages a lot of good will on the forum. /sarcasm

[Fiesta_Man69]

Export? Sure - but just like the EB engine, too little too late. Commodore has been exported for how long in various guises?

Johnson also states that ""Surely there is still a market for people who enjoy the luxury of a car with a lot of room." Apparently not. If there was a viable market, the Falcon wouldn't be in trouble. The Falcon is a great car but the market for it doesn't exist anymore. The arguement posted on here that we (forum members) should all go and buy one to save it shows extreme naivety and flawed logic. 53 private sales of the EB Falcon (the great saviour of the Falcon, apparently) in 3 months is a fatal number for the car. Shame.

[jmack]

ford america wont let ford aus export as that is taking jobs from americans and they are looking after themselves which is something this country should do .what they should prob do is have one model with a big tick list for options at realistic prices that people can choose the car they want ,not here it is take it or leave it {comes in any colour u want as long as its black**wouldnt cost any extra down the line to pick from crate a instead of b.the other prob is it starts at the dealears the face of ford for most people and alot on here have horror stories about that and we are still here what about the ones that we dont hear of who just refuse to come back

[Fiesta_Man69]

Originally Posted by flappist

Instead of paying $30k for a nice XT the eyes are on a several year old second hand XR8 or GT or whatever as they are "cooler".
If you can't afford a new car of any type then get out there and talk up Ford, ALL Ford not just the model that you would buy if you won lotto.

Put it on your facebook, tell everyone you know and even people you don't know about EB4, ecoLPi, just bloody everything about Ford.

If Ford are not advertising then you can.

The base model XT has zero aspirational value. It is seen by the buying public as a taxi and nothing more. That is why it isn't selling - it is 2012 not 1992: the world has moved on. The fact that the car is excellent doesn't matter. In the showroom, around the office, at the bbq it holds no aspirational value: park a new Kia Optima next to a new Falcon in a carpark and see which gets more attention. Sad but true: 99% of the buying public couldn't give a rats about rwd vs fwd, handling and performance - as long as it looks good in the driveway and mentioning your new family car's name (6, Optima, i45, Accord) in company is all people care about. It doesn't matter that the Falcon is a better drive than the Optima - the buying public aren't forum members.

Your other comments also show why the Falcon is dead in the water - it is up to us to advertise the Falcon? Really? Why? Because Ford Aus is incompetent? Stupid? Under instructions to kill the Falcon quickly so the US Taurus can be launched here? You may have 300 friends on Facebook. A prime time advertising blitz reaches millions. There's no comparison and from Ford Aus there's no excuse. Shame about the 440 (plus the flow on effect) losing their jobs.

[Reaper8]

the big think is the price, look at all the cheap imports coming in and selling. The Carbon tax has just made a local car about $500 dearer but hasnt touched the imports as their not made here.

[2011G6E]

I'v been buying cars since I was sixteen, but only last year at 46 years old were we in a position to even begin to afford a brand new car, and after literally a tss of the coin we ended up with the G6E instead of an SV6 Series II, even though the G6E cost more (better trade in deal from Ford basically).

But even then we were torn...there is mostly just me and the wife so we didn't actually need a large car, and the choice of good cars we drove was staggering...Subaru RX and WRX, Mitsubishi Ralliart, Suzuki Kysashi AWD Sport, the list goes on and on.

The customer today isn't like the customer of thirty or forty years ago, who would first go to Ford or Holden (or Chrysler) and only as a distant second thought maybe consider a Jap car, and I sometimes suspect Ford and Holden honestly think badge-blinded buyers still exist in vast droves...but they don't anymore. People have way more choice and the big makers have to move with the times and give people a solid logical reason to buy a Falcon other than "look at the badge"...

[Shonky.]

I agree with Flappist. Especially the flood is made of raindrops sentiment.

Do people routinely criticise those who put their beer cans in the recycling bin? Sure, they are not going to single handily save the planet, but it sure as **** don't hurt.

To take the metaphor one step further, would it seem reasonable to go into your neighbour's recycle bin and chuck all his cans in the rubbish because you don't think it is worth it?

That is what people do on here in every single thread with their constant critiquing of every positive story or comment

Not everyone can contribute by buying a car, but please don't for a second underestimate the impact that buying one will make.

Starting from such a low base means that the % difference a few sales can make is huge. As Fiesta pointed out 53 private sales of EB in 3 months. Imagine if 2 forum members bought one. A 4% increase in private sales. That's a material increase.

And as Flappist pointed out, if you can't buy one tell someone about one. Tell your friend how awesome your 3 year old Falcon is. Give them a drive.

At the very very least some of you should do one do just one thing for Ford that you have been unable to do to date.....shut the **** up

Good on you Dicky Johnson. He loves Falcon and no doubt recognises that he owes his career to it, at least in part. And also to the power of public sentiment and the power of non-conventional marketing (the rock incident and the fund raising after it)

[Fiesta_Man69]

The negative comments are a reflection of Ford fans disappointment with this once great brand being trashed by incompetent management in Australia.

However, we are all well aware that Ford monitors this site. It even occasionally responds. With this being one of the biggest forums in the world, I guess the hope is that Ford will actually take notice of the groundswell of criticism aimed at it and actually DO something, rather than let the Falcon and Aussie jobs die.

[SPArKy_Dave]

The Federal goverment need to re-introduce a decent import tarrif on foreign made cars. Like there used to be.

Under the guise of 'healthy competition' reducing the import tarrif to nothing, has created an extremely unfair new car market (local v's foreign).

You're almost always going to get more for your money with imported vehicles.............. unless the employee's at Ford and Holden, want to work for $2.00 a day.

Just wait till the overseas wages match ours.
Then the imported cars will be just as expensive, if not more so, than locally made examples.
No-one here will be able to afford anything, and Australia will become a 3rd world country.

Might be time for another Falcon durability test, to lure back customers.


Ford would not be Ford, without the Ford Falcon.
It's the name that started the adventure.

Come on Ford Marketing. Lift your game. THINK OF SOMETHING!

[Smoke Pursuit]

We should have all known when they brought this Graziano bloke out here that Ford Motor Co Aus would be on the chopping board.

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by jmack

ford america wont let ford aus export as that is taking jobs from americans

I'd like to see a source for this information.

No American company seems to have any qualms at all about taking jobs away from Americans (as long as the labor is cheaper elsewhere).

Very few American Ford models are actually built in the US.

[csv8]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

I'd like to see a source for this information.

No American company seems to have any qualms at all about taking jobs away from Americans (as long as the labor is cheaper elsewhere).

Very few American Ford models are actually built in the US.

GM allow Holden to export the Commy to America???

[turbodewd]

Another way to save the Falcon is to force government to buy it, they now have 2 greener Falcons. EcoBoost, EcoLPI.

Sure, a Prius would be more fuel effic...but if we dont buy Australian there will be no Australia.

This is why im switching to Telstra in December (mind you, Telstra are the best, Vodafail are shitto!)

[SPArKy_Dave]

Originally Posted by turbodewd

Another way to save the Falcon is to force government to buy it, they now have 2 greener Falcons. EcoBoost, EcoLPI.

It should be mandatory for Local, State and Federal governement cars to all be locally produced vehicles, where-ever humanly possible.

[prydey]

what is the fascination with exporting to the US?? it amazes me that these suggestions continually get put forward.

if Ford US sold a large car here, would we buy it, or would we support the car we make here locally?? why would it be any different over there? they have their own manufacturing and their own cars. why would they buy something from us dumb aussies.

also price and the dollar value. if the cars are being sold here at close to $40k+ to make money, then they have no chance whatsoever in the states, unless they get sold at a massive loss. its not only about volume. if the volume isn't making a profit,the end result is the same as no volume. i thought that was pretty simple.

forget the US. thats just unrealistic. other RHD markets is where any potential focus needs to be if they want to look at exports. the problem with that is, unlike australia, many of the other markets protect their own industries so it can be difficult to get cars in there. i believe 2.7 diesel and 2.0 ecoboost have a much better chance though.

Originally Posted by davway

If you want to act like a 3 year old and start name calling, go right ahead - it just makes you look like a douche.

this made me pot-kettle.

[EDManual]

I have company cars and they are buying diesel dual/single cab utes. I have tried to get them to change to gas falcon utes but no luck.
My Dad over the years has bought all his cars brand new.(all fords! lol)
He has had, since I can remember
1969 GT cortina manual(i remember this as we had it until 1989)
1984 telstar manual
1986 telstar turbo manual
1981 XD Falcon manual
1985 XF S pack manual
1988 EA S Pack manual
1992 EB XR6 auto (first of his autos, getting old!)
1994 ED XR6 auto
1995 EF2 XR6 auto (with all options)
2008 FG Xr6 Turbo auto with all options

He had a big pause as he loved his EF2! Au's and BA's never did it for him, until the Fg, which he LOVES!

There arent many blokes like him anymore sadly.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Your all missing the point....

Graziano was sent here to do a job... One Ford does not include one off builds of 15000 cars a year... They want to have a range of cars that they sell across the world...

[prydey]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Your all missing the point....

Graziano was sent here to do a job...

prove it. speculation doesn't help anybody.

Originally Posted by DASH GT

One Ford does not include one off builds of 15000 cars a year... They want to have a range of cars that they sell across the world...

well, not quite. platforms yes, cars no. from what i understand of 'one ford', it doesn't refer to same cars/models in all markets. more to do with sharing global technologies and platforms but still able to have cars unique to certain markets.

ford australia is still a very important cog in the ford wheel.

[my_gxl]

Originally Posted by JG33

R.I.P. Ford Falcon, you will be sadly missed.

It will kinda stuff up the V8 supercars too.

I know COTF is coming in, but with no new body shells to mimic, whats the point?

[SVR73]

Very firey discussion. I cannot afford to buy a new car period and wouldn't waste my money on a new one anyhow. rather go to the USA each year for a business holiday then have a shiny new car and be stuck here

A: Falcon resale value doesnt help
B: your right ford global have no friggin idea how to market
C: definately should of been exporting falcons since E or A series, maybe even earlier
D: your also right about society today wanting to have the best and not settling for low end models
E: I think fords interior needs more modern equipment in it .todays cars are some peoples lounge rooms. cars need to have all the mod cons inc video stuff.
F: build quality and interior fitment aint as good with current FG model. the way their going holden and ford will use cardboard in ten years for interior material on dash, door cards etc.

[my_gxl]

Originally Posted by SPArKy_Dave

The Federal goverment need to re-introduce a decent import tarrif on foreign made cars. Like there used to be.

Under the guise of 'healthy competition' reducing the import tarrif to nothing, has created an extremely unfair new car market (local v's foreign).

You're almost always going to get more for your money with imported vehicles.............. unless the employee's at Ford and Holden, want to work for $2.00 a day.

Just wait till the overseas wages match ours.
Then the imported cars will be just as expensive, if not more so, than locally made examples.
No-one here will be able to afford anything, and Australia will become a 3rd world country.

Might be time for another Falcon durability test, to lure back customers.


Ford would not be Ford, without the Ford Falcon.
It's the name that started the adventure.


Come on Ford Marketing. Lift your game. THINK OF SOMETHING!

https://www.secure.ford.com.au/contact-us

LETS TELL THEM!!!

[BLUEYBA]

Originally Posted by GT0132

I get sick of the threads appearing in the Forums lately from members who suggest "we should all go out and buy a Falcon if we want to save it"...Even if I go down to my local Ford member, pull out my cheque book and write a cheque for $70k for a new GT it ain't gonna make one iota of difference as it's gotta happen in large numbers.

Maybe those who suggest it , ought to contact Ford or FPV to organise a Forums group buy and negotiate a good trade in on my BA Mk2 GT while they are there. I'd be in if the price was right and also have the cash ready to go.

As for Dick Johnsons plan, tell us something we don't know

Most of us would probably go out and buy a new one if we could afford it. I would love to go into a Ford dealer and buy one this weekend but I just don't have the funds to pay it off at the moment so I have to stick with my 8 year old BA Ghia

[prydey]

Originally Posted by SVR73

A: Falcon resale value doesnt help

explain to me what is wrong with falcons resale! don't go quoting redbook etc. if you calculate the resale after 3 years from the actual sale price, then falcon is actually above 50%, esp with XR6. a 09 model with 80-90000km on board is still over $20k in most markets. nothing wrong with falcon resale. what is wrong is that people just regurgitate stuff they read without actually looking at the facts.

Originally Posted by SVR73

E: I think fords interior needs more modern equipment in it .todays cars are some peoples lounge rooms. cars need to have all the mod cons inc video stuff.
F: build quality and interior fitment aint as good with current FG model. the way their going holden and ford will use cardboard in ten years for interior material on dash, door cards etc.

have you driven the latest FG? not sure what you are comparing it to, but it has higher build quality etc than any falcon built before it. if the materials don't appeal to you, that doesn't make it bad. i like mine, and so does nearly every other owner.

[FPV414]

They need an advertising campaign that pulls at the heart strings. Some double page spreads in the major newspapers, 1 minute long ads starting with the history of the Falcon as a family car then pictures of line workers from Geelong and Broady smiling with cars coming down the line behind them with some soft music.

Aussies will love that **** and fall over themselves getting in to showrooms to buy them. Gotta pull at the sentimental, nostalgic and emotional strings in people to get them buying.

[FPV414]

And long live the Falcon. Don't know what I'd do if it got canned. It'd be like a first born dying, and I don't even have a first born.