Major Ford announcement

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Iggle Piggle

I am a Holden man and feel for you guys - feel for those of you that work in manufacturing at Ford, those of you that work in the component industry, and those of you that are passionate supporters of the local Ford products.

I'm not here to gloat - this all but confirms Holden's demise is not far away, no matter what assurances and commitments have been made, so what is there to gloat about? Anyone that wants to troll using an event that will impact so many Aussie's and their families - well, I don't reckon I need describe how low that is.

While I annoy Ford supporters on a V8 forum, I actually have a lot of respect for you guys. Some of us get to choose our allegiance, some of us can switch allegiance - but some of us are just born into a red or blue family and have no choice. I could have just as easily be born into a blue family, but was born into a Holden family in 71.

Holden supporters of my vintage have had it easy - we have rarely had our loyalty, commitment and passion tested. I have a lot of respect for Ford fans my age, as while there has been some sugar along the way they have also remained loyal through some very dark days that would have tested their resolve - a long period in the 80's with no V8, little or no factory support/commitment to racing programs, and some heartbreaking moments at Bathurst.

This is not ragging on Ford - it is a compliment about the character of you guys to have not just gone "**** it" through those tough years. It is why there are still so many Holden supporters now - we haven't had those periods to cleanse our ranks of the weak.

I hope one of two things happens for you:

1) A natural disaster or two wipes out some overseas Ford plants and makes our local plants required assets - no loss of life, just something like the Thai plant nearly burning to the ground, then when there is not much left to salvage the fire is put out by a long lasting flood; or

2) If local production is to end, I hope you get your GT-HO. If the guy that owns the name won't donate the name back, then just call it the HO GT, or call it the Peregrine Falcon (Peregrine being the fastest falcon - capable of 322km/h).

Either way, you deserve better than this.



2 minutes to GMH hey? Looking at your cars I still wouldn't rule out you living at Gawler.

I agree. I think compared to the Ford blokes we've had it relatively easy. HRT's dominance during the AU era in V8SC. Having much more involvement from Holden in general.

Sure you get your fair weather fans who jump ship when things get tough, but I'd say most Ford fans are strong willed to stick through all the **** most Holden fans probably can't sympathise with.

This announcement has made me realise how vulnerable the industry is and perhaps we take it a bit for granted? I honeslty don't consider myself a "Ford fan" although I do like some models, but one reason I've stuck around here so long is I feel I can to relate to alot of the boys even if I'm not a blue blood as such.

I can see how disheartened everyone is, but nevertheless we're Aussies and we don't let things keep us down after being pushed over. We get up, dust ourselves off and live to fight another day.

Just think of the legacy our Aussie cars will leave behind. As much as it disappoints me it's just life unfortunately. I'll look back when I'm an old man and think of how the iconic Falcon and Commodore shaped the way we build cars with big V8s, good looks and a desire to be driven hard on the throttle like they should be.

[bundera]

Very sad day, been working away on Falcons all day in a daze.

Had to roll this out for the memories of when it all began

[csv8]

If Asia manufacturing costs are 4 times cheaper than Australia ? shouldn't the Fiesta, Focus and Ranger be cheaper than they are ?????? It would be interesting to see manufacturing cost of the Asian Fords and what the mark up is ????
Maybe, Hyundai will take over the plants???

[TC200six]

Originally Posted by bundera

Very sad day, been working away on Falcons all day in a daze.

Had to roll this out for the memories of when it all began

Here's a couple of other banners from that time

[joeyy17]

Rumours of Mustang to overtake once Falcon is gone have risen on the internet. Peoples opinions?

[XR Martin]

Wonder what the land at Geelong is worth? Prime real estate on the seaside.
Looks to be about 25Ha, and the old empty Pilkington(?) site is also next door.

Probably all be rezoned residential tomorrow sometime...

[RE-Genesis]

Really sad day, Bathurst will not be the same.....Fords and Holdens are still best and fastest. I guess will just settle to watch Nissans and Mercs tring to get around the track as best they can....

[Cobramad]

Having bought two XR6T's, an F6 and lastly a Territory Ghia Turbo 7 seater, I for one will really miss at least having the choice of buying a big, confortable and powerful vehicle, designed and built right here in Oz. For our family, with a horde of little ones, nothing fitted the bill as nicely,or was such excellent value, as well as tuning up so easily, for so little cash.
Hopefully I will be able to afford another before this icon disappears for good.

[csv8]

Originally Posted by RE-Genesis

Really sad day, Bathurst will not be the same.....Fords and Holdens are still best and fastest. I guess will just settle to watch Nissans and Mercs tring to get around the track as best they can....

True, won't be the same..Chrysler might come in ???

[RE-Genesis]

I have had 3 Falcon utes over the last 10years, AU, BA and now FG. All dedicated LPG,all really good and very cheap to run. I just wish there was more support for Aussie stuff!

[GT0132]

Originally Posted by ESP

Yes....
I kinda felt weirded out this arvo jumping into the GT for my drive home. All of a sudden the GT just felt just that much more special and unique. When I got home - I parked BLUEY in the garage as I normally do..... But today..... I didn't just jump out and walk into the house.....I kinda just stood there and looked over the GT and felt kinda sad and sorry. A lifetime of falcon ownership for me and my family just came flooding into my mind.
I have toyed with the idea of selling the GT many times..... Today - the GT looked back at me and said.....CAN I STAY ?
This Falcon GT will now stay with me for a very long time.....so i too stayed in the garage and sank a couple of beers with my neighbor whilst we stood around talking FORD $&;:.......

Great post Jim....Long live the B series GT

[tasdex]

feeling for those livelyhood with the ford co: will end .

going into rare spares in 20 years time to buy a new fg front guard will be odd .
will they take up the tooling for such things ?

the v8 racing series will not be the same ,, will never support a " commode'odour" ,, never !!!
ugly truth is that the powers that be will push for the " nascar " type series ,,,, all the same body shapes ,, " just painted in ford/holden/nissan/merc"s" colours , as they wanted to a few years ago . ... not on .
maybe changing from the series production racing changes years back in the 80"s was a wrong move ..
true reliablity was a factor back in the late 60"s,70's was the selling points ,, win on sunday ,, sell on monday ......bung on some sticier tyres on , whack a roll bar in and go racing ....it gave buyers a good indication on how things lasted . as was the redex trials .
not now ,, they are just too removed from what you can buy ,,, only thing that has stood the test of time in all of the teams red or blue ,,is a derivitive of the 9' diff ,," albeit in alloy " , some thing they " ford , stopped making round 82 ? .
not wanting to start a blue ,, or go off on a tangent .sorry if i offended any one .

but a true blue oval bad day for ford falcon fans oz wide .

[Jason[98.EL]]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Wonder what the land at Geelong is worth? Prime real estate on the seaside.
Looks to be about 25Ha, and the old empty Pilkington(?) site is also next door.

Probably all be rezoned residential tomorrow sometime...

From memory the site of ford in geelong was put on the heritage list

so that will make it hard to rezone for housing

my thoughts are with all the people that will no longrr have work

[TMC]

Originally Posted by BlueOvalPrint

Well, at least the good old i6 gets to stick around and end with the last Falcon. What a great powerplant it's been, a design that can hold up for nearly 1 million K's in a NA LPG taxi while the turbo version still blows most mainstream V8s into the weeds. Love it!!!

I wish I could double thank this post.

[HELLOYOU]

Sad for the workers.

[TMC]

"Black Thursday" is what this should be called.

I know what it's like to decide to shut down operations due to things outside your control. I used to work in a small company that started in 1948 making custom medical equipment for Australia and overseas. It involved electronics and developing software to run it and I was heading up these projects. We gave the big boys with huge budgets from overseas a run for their money. We worked closely with the Federal government and often were consulted on this or that. We were going places like never before in Nov 2006, but by Nov 2007 we had virtually no production - where Ford is now. I had to sit the boss down and convince him to make the painful decision to shut the operation down. His late father started it 60 years earlier. Overseas companies bought our clients and the government didn't give a rats, even though we were the last Australian owned and operated business in our field of expertise, and also one of the first. We wound the operation up completely in 3 months. We walked away just when Mitsubishi shut down production here.

I can relate to the feeling of utter shock, numbness, and emptiness that the workers are probably feeling right now. It will take a long time to actually process.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Jason[98.EL]

From memory the site of ford in geelong was put on the heritage list

so that will make it hard to rezone for housing

my thoughts are with all the people that will no longrr have work

Make it a big museum.

I want to see it before it shuts now. Gotta get on a plane to Melbourne. Even better drive the XG there, from Perth.

[Ibanezteve]

Originally Posted by TMC

Make it a big museum.

I want to see it before it shuts now. Gotta get on a plane to Melbourne. Even better drive the XG there, from Perth.

Someone came up with idea of converging on the joint on the day it closes, Fords from every era returning to their place of birth.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Ibanezteve

Someone came up with idea of converging on the joint on the day it closes, Fords from every era returning to their place of birth.

I'll drive the XG across to the east. My wife can drive the Territory.

[mwhit43]

I actually always wanted to work in ford place, selling fords, fixing fords, or even making fords but soon we arent going to even be able to buy one D: im heart broken, but on a plus side.....will the fords be cheap in the 2016 closure because i will hopefully buy the last falcon

[responsef6]

I normally read forums but never post. After reading this forum and fordxr6turbo for years, today on this momentus occasion, i'm finally posting to share my Falcon story to relive what I've enjoyed about the Aussie Ford Falcon

I bought my first Falcon (XE) at 18 (I'm now 37) and it changed my life. I loved that car and the fun i had with mates. I moved on to a EB Fairmont, but couldn't sell my XE. Next up my dream car of many years, i bought the EL series 2 xr8, this car looked and drove amazing. Meanwhile the XE was still driven, kept registered and insured for 8 years after moving on to more modern falcons until some losers stole it and burnt it out.

I can still vividly remember the excitement of the early BA years, the GT was back, FPV, Ambrose winning V8 Supercars all the time, and of course everyone modding the xr6 turbo. I bought my very first new car at the age of 29, a Shockwave Blue xr6 turbo. Wow, what a car for its time. When the Typhoon came out I was further pumped. I flew over from WA to Melbourne to buy one that was more affordable (2 year old), then drove the Great Ocean Road (made my wife the passenger puke due to all the cornering!) and then took it back to the transport yard to send it back home to Perth. I still own this baby to this day, just has a little more power - 500hp at the wheels now haha

In 2008 I followed my passion for motorsport and Falcons, and bought a EA Falcon Saloon Car to race door to door and live the Ford Racing dream. I love nothing more than flying the Ford badge every race meeting against our fellow competing commodores. Have since upgraded to an AU Falcon in saloon car racing and love every minute.

3 years ago i became a Dad for the first time. What to do but buy an FG F6 for the wife (5 star safety rating, reverse camera etc haha) and our new bub. Was supposed to trade in the Typhoon though, but just couldn't allow myself to do it. I love my BA Typhoon and FG F6 both in so many ways.

Much like most of you, I'm a tragic Ford and Falcon Fan. I know many of you have similar stories of a lifetime of Ford ownership, and I will always be proud to be a Falcon man for the many decades to come

[razorbackfree]

TOO MANY IDIOTS FORGET WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AUSTRALIAN!
IF YOU DONT BUY AUSTRALIAN MADE AND KEEP THE MONEY HERE!
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS EVENTUALLY GOING TO HAPPENS?



$140 million is nothing, This totally reeks, someone has corrupted FORD AUSTRALIA.


AUSTRALIA - NOW RUN AND RUINED BY FOREIGNERS!

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by razorbackfree

TOO MANY IDIOTS FORGET WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AUSTRALIAN!
IF YOU DONT BUY AUSTRALIAN MADE AND KEEP THE MONEY HERE!
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS EVENTUALLY GOING TO HAPPENS?



$140 million is nothing, This totally reeks, someone has corrupted FORD AUSTRALIA.


AUSTRALIA - NOW RUN AND RUINED BY FOREIGNERS!

Well ford Aus was always run by the Yanks. Was always their call.
Sad, but thats how it is.

[GT014]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

I am very concerned about where this will end. I feel Ford should have waited another 18 months before making this public. Falcon and Territory have just lost credibility, especially from a fleet perspective. What's a 2014 FG going to be worth in 2017 when Ford is selling left over FH's for pocket money. Sales could really take a big hit over the next 6 months.

Which is why I reckon they will close earlier. I bet they have no intention of releasing the 2014 model. Sales will likely drop even lower now which ford won't be able to sustain to stay open so they will say we tried but didn't work.

[P6LTD351]

Originally Posted by GT014

Which is why I reckon they will close earlier. I bet they have no intention of releasing the 2014 model. Sales will likely drop even lower now which ford won't be able to sustain to stay open so they will say we tried but didn't work.

I agree in regards to them closing earlier.

I still think the 2014 Falcon will be released as the Government funding was especially for that model release.

I can't see them staying open until 2016. That's a long way away. I can't remember another manufacturer giving a 3 year heads up?

[Trump]

Originally Posted by GT014

Which is why I reckon they will close earlier. I bet they have no intention of releasing the 2014 model. Sales will likely drop even lower now which ford won't be able to sustain to stay open so they will say we tried but didn't work.

Sadly I agree. This is more than a remote possibility and would be an epic kick in the teeth to all the employees should they go down this path.

As much as people love the Ford brand, and this may sound very harsh, but with so much red ink, Ford Motor Company don't give a stuff for the 2000 (I think more than the 1200 mentioned will lose their jobs) or so that will lose their jobs. The majority of the employees have been there for more than 15 years, management aren't looking forward to paying out these long termers all their entitlements...

[LTDHO]

$121m in the last year?
I have NFI how a buisiness can loose that much money, surely overheads aren't that high?

They certainly didn't put it into advertising or motorsport.

[Kable72]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

$121m in the last year?
I have NFI how a buisiness can loose that much money, surely overheads aren't that high?

They certainly didn't put it into advertising or motorsport.

Thing is, they did. Alot of it. Just cos you didn't see a Falcon ad, doesn't mean that their advertising wasn't there. I've seen plenty of ads on youtube, google, billboards, radio and even the articles you read in car magazines and websites are quite often paid for by Ford.

[NeillNZ]

This was on the front page of the Wellington Dominion Post today:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post...s-a-Falcon-man

I feel sad for the workers. I hope everyone concerned can find meaningful employment in good time.

[Squalo]

Another long-term Ford fan here who is sorry to see the end of Ford Australia as we know it.

Born in 1969, first car I remember was our 1970 XW Falcon 500. In the late seventies we used our XB GT sedan just like people use 4wds now - canoes on the roof, trailer behind and off into the bush for camping trips, but it also did lots of runs from our home in the Snowy Mountains to Cooma and Wagga Wagga for stocking up on supplies, we used to see 120mph on the Snowy Mountains Highway between Kiandra and the top of Talbingo Mountain. And our ski boat had a 2V 351C in it.

My own Fords were not many - I had more Holdens and VWs than Fords - but the ZL Fairlane, XR Falcon ute (1967) and current Territory were/are all great vehicles. I might have to spring for an FPV before they go out of production.

As for why Ford has failed - it's really got very little to do with Australians buying imported cars. As this analysis shows, Ford simply failed themselves.

http://brisbanetimes.drive.com.au/th...523-2k475.html

Best of luck to all the Ford workers - and suppliers who will be impacted - in your future endeavours.