vFacts December 2014

[flooded one]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

That wasn’t my point, I was trying to say in response to mighty reds that those manufactures that I mentioned do not need a hero car like the Mustang to make sales and have proven so.

I personally believe that Mustang will not help the sales of other Ford models that should already be going strong considering there spec’s, to me the Ford brand is on the nose in this country and they have a major image concern.

But’s thats just my opinion.

Not having a go at you. I just believe that Ford Australia can use Mustang. the fact it has a fair bit of interest with the up coming Mustang. Ford could use to its advantage by using the car not just for sales but also getting the enthusiasts and other people that would love one but cant get one for whatever reason to get people through the doors for a look. not just at Mustang but at everything else. just for an example. how many people on here when looking for a new car or used car for the family. you spot a nice shinny FPV, XR8 or XR6 turbo. Do you look at it??? I've done it before when looking at cars even thou i'm more likely going to buy a non sports sedan, SUV or wagon the point I'm trying to make is people are attracted to shiny things they will look. Hey the Mustang is nice but not practical for me but Falcon would suit my needs perfectly or the Territory would suit us when we go to holidays out whoop whoop etc, Ford does have a good range at the moment. it just needs a better way to sell it and give the consumer confidence in the brand again. getting people back into the dealership would be a start

[naddis01]

For those that are championing the Mustang as Ford's saviour, what monthly sales results do you think it will achieve?

For some perspective the Toyota 86 has been the best selling sports car under $80k for the past couple of years. This year it achieved 4257 for the year, down 36.5%, which is around 350/month. 2nd place was the Veloster at 3405. The daylight to 3rd - 1152 for the BMW 2 series.

Will the Mustang become the best selling sports car? If not sales will be well below Falcons.

I predict 200/month at best after the initial rush.

[new2ford]

Any indication about how Skoda went in 2014? Starting to see them everywhere, everyone has nothing but good to say about them and they're winning lots of local awards. There must be a sales effect.

[ivorya]

I saw a part on the news the other night about this topic.
I find it interesting now, that, all the journalist's that had rubbished the Australian car market, and especially Ford, were determined to have their say about why Ford was down so far.
Interestingly, they got halve of it right.
They had suggested, that Ford, in every category they enter cars, had the best vehicle however, they questioned Ford-Aus for no marketing.

I did say half right...... I agree with what these guys had said but why don't they write these comments in their articles. I mean, a 15 sec clip on the news means nothing to a person that reads a comparison.
To these guys, no matter what Ford would present them, they would continue to write S___ about it.

[LeadFoot81]

Originally Posted by naddis01

For those that are championing the Mustang as Ford's saviour, what monthly sales results do you think it will achieve?

For some perspective the Toyota 86 has been the best selling sports car under $80k for the past couple of years. This year it achieved 4257 for the year, down 36.5%, which is around 350/month. 2nd place was the Veloster at 3405. The daylight to 3rd - 1152 for the BMW 2 series.

Will the Mustang become the best selling sports car? If not sales will be well below Falcons.

I predict 200/month at best after the initial rush.

If Mustang sales bottom out at an average of 200 per month, that's still 2400 sales a year of a car that Ford Oz just import. No R&D, no factory with overheads to build them. I reckon that's not a bad result.

What interests me is what percentage of performance sedan buyers end up in a Mustang. While many might deride the fact it's only a two door, there's two sides to every coin...what percentage of buyers 'put up' with a 4 door XR, GT, Clubby, 300C and lust for a relatively affordable V8 coupe?

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by russellw

Feel free to write your own predictions if your crystal ball is better than mine.

I expected to see FG-X earlier in the year along with the XR-8 and based my guesstimate on that. But hey, that's the beauty of predictions, they don't have to be right.

Russ

Fair enough, but in order for total Falcon sales to increase, the FG X would have had to arrive at least mid-year or sooner, in order to offset the decrease in FG sales. At best, it would have equaled 2013's figure, but not likely surpassed it.

Your predictions for this year are also puzzling - you reckon that Mondeo and Focus sales will decrease, despite an all-new Mondeo coming out, and a heavily facelifted Focus with all-new Ecoboost engines...

[LoudPipes]

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

You mean the land of the SUV ?

You’re 100% right.

The dominant days of Aussie or any other brand of big sedan have been and gone.

And the winner will be……............? if I’m still around ask me in 10 years.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by naddis01

For those that are championing the Mustang as Ford's saviour, what monthly sales results do you think it will achieve?

For some perspective the Toyota 86 has been the best selling sports car under $80k for the past couple of years. This year it achieved 4257 for the year, down 36.5%, which is around 350/month. 2nd place was the Veloster at 3405. The daylight to 3rd - 1152 for the BMW 2 series.

Will the Mustang become the best selling sports car? If not sales will be well below Falcons.

I predict 200/month at best after the initial rush.

Toyota 86 is stale.
You've got one wheezy engine, and one body style.

Mustang will have two vastly different engines available in coupe and convertible.

[naddis01]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Toyota 86 is stale.
You've got one wheezy engine, and one body style.

Mustang will have two vastly different engines available in coupe and convertible.

Falcon has 2 bodystyles and multiple engine configurations. How's that working out?


So your prediction for Mustang then?

[b0son]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Mustang will have two vastly different engines available in coupe and convertible.

If it handles like previous mustangs, I'll take the 86.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by b0son

If it handles like previous mustangs, I'll take the 86.

Previous model V6 with pogo stick rear end put a pasting on the 86...

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

The manufacturer with the best post shutdown future is Toyota.

Don't forget all those Camry's bought under "Buy Australian" by Government fleets won't apply anymore so there goes their sales. Post all shutdowns the buying landscape based on a requirement to buy local manufactured vehicles will dissolve.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Previous model V6 with pogo stick rear end put a pasting on the 86...

More power, more rubber .... and only 2sec? Hardly a pasting considering the 86 isn't about delivering outright numbers.

[XR Martin]

It is a pasting cosidering that Mustang has its origins dating back to 1979

[FGX008]

Originally Posted by LoudPipes

You’re 100% right.

The dominant days of Aussie or any other brand of big sedan have been and gone.

And the winner will be……............? if I’m still around ask me in 10 years.

I am thinking it will start to become the land of Euro in 10 years time. I have read they have a massive over capacity their car production factories and therefore Australia would have to be a prime target for increased export opportunites to reduce/maintain their production volumes. Just look how many Euro made cars and other vehicles types (eg vans, SUVs etc) that are appearing on our roads in the past five years and in price ranges that are extremely competitive. So much so I ended up buying one myself!

[russellw]

Originally Posted by MrZ

Your predictions for this year are also puzzling - you reckon that Mondeo and Focus sales will decrease, despite an all-new Mondeo coming out, and a heavily facelifted Focus with all-new Ecoboost engines...

I guess we'll have to wait and see and you'll have to remain puzzled.

Cheers
Russ

[In Focus]

Originally Posted by new2ford

Any indication about how Skoda went in 2014? Starting to see them everywhere, everyone has nothing but good to say about them and they're winning lots of local awards. There must be a sales effect.

The figures I've seen quoted on Car Advice are 3853 sales for 2014, and 3555 for 2013, so not a huge increase. Anecdotal evidence on the VWWatercooled forum is that the supply chain is frustratingly slow, particularly on Octavias, which is what most people are after.

[SpoolMan]

Originally Posted by MrZ

and a heavily facelifted Focus with all-new Ecoboost engines...

They can put the finest engine in it, but with there troubled Ford DSG any car with this trans will be baulked by many.

[naddis01]

Originally Posted by In Focus

The figures I've seen quoted on Car Advice are 3853 sales for 2014, and 3555 for 2013, so not a huge increase. Anecdotal evidence on the VWWatercooled forum is that the supply chain is frustratingly slow, particularly on Octavias, which is what most people are after.

That is not far off a 10% increase. Not bad in a market that contracted. Mind you it is not a large base to start with.

[russellw]

The 2014 Segment Review is also now uploaded to the Tech portal.

Cheers
Russ

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

If Mustang sales bottom out at an average of 200 per month, that's still 2400 sales a year of a car that Ford Oz just import. No R&D, no factory with overheads to build them. I reckon that's not a bad result.

What interests me is what percentage of performance sedan buyers end up in a Mustang. While many might deride the fact it's only a two door, there's two sides to every coin...what percentage of buyers 'put up' with a 4 door XR, GT, Clubby, 300C and lust for a relatively affordable V8 coupe?

Lets not say no R&D unless America has switched which side of the road they drive on and suddenly likes good handling cars. Australia and the UK are the two largest markets the extra money was spent on this Mustang for, so yes there is money that needs to be recouped from Australian sales to pay the bills, although admittedly a large chunk of the car can be amortised over the whole production.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by SpoolMan

They can put the finest engine in it, but with there troubled Ford DSG any car with this trans will be baulked by many.

They should just go back to ye olde slushbox, but a 6sp variant. At least its easy to look after, oil is available anywhere and its reliable.

DSG has its issues in commuter cars at the moment, doesn't matter if its Ford or anyone else they've all got issues, sister's VW Polo is having DSG issues with the clutches and her boyfriend's VW Jetta is having the same issue too, both bought them at the same time.

Maybe we leave DSG to the exotics for now until the technology is a bit more refined?

[Adamz Ghia]

Mum has an auto Focus, her and I must be one of the very few who don't have an issue with the gearbox. In fact I quite enjoy driving her car every now and then...

[mik]

Originally Posted by naddis01

For those that are championing the Mustang as Ford's saviour, what monthly sales results do you think it will achieve?

For some perspective the Toyota 86 has been the best selling sports car under $80k for the past couple of years. This year it achieved 4257 for the year, down 36.5%, which is around 350/month. 2nd place was the Veloster at 3405. The daylight to 3rd - 1152 for the BMW 2 series.

Will the Mustang become the best selling sports car? If not sales will be well below Falcons.

I predict 200/month at best after the initial rush.

i hope the mustang does well, i believe it should, the only thing that might take the edge off it for some of the general public is knowing ford oz is shutting down and concerns about dealers closing down and servicing ,etc.

[whales]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

Well considering the only Falcon ad on TV I have seen for as long as I can remember has been a dealer one, I doubt anyone knows there is a new Falcon out.

Exactly

[In Focus]

Originally Posted by Adamz Ghia

Mum has an auto Focus, her and I must be one of the very few who don't have an issue with the gearbox. In fact I quite enjoy driving her car every now and then...

Supposedly, from the start of last year something was done to "fix" the DCT on the Focus. My Mrs has an early 2014 model, and it is very smooth, smoother than the 2010 Fiesta she had previously, and possibly smoother than the VW 7-speed DSG in my Skoda.

[russellw]

The statistical data for 2014 Truck Sales is now uploaded into the Tech portal.

Cheers
Russ

[LoudPipes]

An article from Drive using the Summernats to explained the decline of Holden and Ford????

Why Holden v Ford culture is dying

Date: 8 January, 2015
Sam Hall
Motoring Writer

Even among the Summernats hot rod faithful, the likes of Hyundai and Mazda are becoming more popular than locally-made cars.

It's the car buff gathering known for blowers, burnouts and boobs, and is widely condemned as an annual inconvenience among Canberrans.

But the Summernats festival held on the first weekend of every January also offers a revealing insight into why Australian-made cars are on a downward slide, based on a Drive poll of more than 100 attendees.

Much like the Bathurst 1000, Summernats is Falcon-versus-Commodore heartland. Large sedans are as de rigueur as thongs, tattoos and sunburn during the four-day festival in Canberra's northern suburbs. So when less than half the people Drive spoke to said they'd consider buying the latest Commodore or Falcon it paints a clear picture of why the locally-made cars are on the way out.

It's clear that even at the holy grail of internal combustion, there's already been a shift away from locally-produced large cars. Many proud hot rod and show car owners tow their vehicles into the Exhibition Park complex behind imported dual cab utes and SUVs, and for the first time, a rotary-engined vehicle took out this year's coveted Grand Champion mantle: an immaculately presented Datsun 1200 ute, something that would have been considered sacrilege in the early days of the 28-year-old event.

Organisers say more than 109,000 people attended this year's Summernats festival, with 1900 vehicles entered into various show car judging and burnout competitions. Of those, preliminary organiser figures reveal only roughly 20 per cent of cars entered wore a Holden badge, while 10 per cent were locally-produced Fords.

Drive visited last weekend's event in the last ever Ford Falcon XR8, along with a matching Holden Commodore SS-V Redline, to gauge the feeling of some of the country's most avid enthusiasts. In some regards, both vehicles are on a hiding to nothing in showrooms, with Ford and Holden due to shutter their manufacturing operations within the next three years.

While 70 per cent polled said they owned a Falcon or Commodore, only 43 per cent of those said they would consider buying the updated model before both Ford and Holden cease their manufacturing operations in Australia.

Why? In the case of the Falcon, the majority of respondents said there wasn't enough changes or updates in the new model to warrant upgrading. Another 15 per cent said they baulked at the FG X because of the recent omission of the XR8 ute and various station wagon variants.

"I walked into a Ford dealership ready to buy an XR8 ute, only to be told they weren't building any. I walked straight out," one respondent said.

In the case of both Holden and the Ford, 80 per cent of pollsters agreed large cars had simply lost their appeal among buyers because of the competitiveness of the import market, not because they were any less relevant.

"You can go out and buy a Hyundai i30 for little more than 20 grand, and the quality of that type of imported car has come a long way," said a respondent.

"I love the Commodore but I've had such a good run with Toyotas over the years that I wouldn't change," said another.

Only 35 per cent of respondents felt that people had shied away from large cars because of their inferior fuel use (both the four-cylinder EcoBoost Falcon and 3.0-litre V6 Commodore now consume under 8.5L/100km combined).

Meanwhile, others had shied away from both Holden and Ford models due to poor experiences.

"We wouldn't even consider a Holden or Ford anymore," one couple said. "They're not well put together, they just fall apart. We've had Mazdas lately and wouldn't have anything else."

The overriding consensus among 85 per cent of respondents was that locally-produced large cars were simply too expensive for the average buyer. It seems their sentiment is shared by the majority of Australians, with sales figures this week revealing Ford suffered a 10th straight year of decline in 2014, while Holden posted its worst annual result in nearly a quarter of a century during the same period.

"When you're asking about $35,000 for a base model Falcon or Commodore, you may as well rule a big line through many prospective buyers," one respondent said. "Many families today require two cars, so it's hard to justify buying a V8 Commodore when you could instead have two credible imported cars for the same price," another added.

Even in Ford-versus-Holden heartland it seems the shift to imported cars is already underway.

What Drive's poll revealed:

*70 per cent of those polled owned a locally-produced Ford or Holden

*Only 43 per cent of those would consider buying the updated version

*35 per cent of respondents felt that excessive fuel use was a reason for people not buying large cars

*85 per cent of respondents felt that the price of large cars – both the Falcon and Commodore start from about $35,000 plus on-road costs – was a disincentive to prospective buyers.

What they said: how the Falcon and Commodore were received at Summernats

"I'm a Ford man but I much prefer the look of the Holden. The last few years have been the best for both of them, it sucks because they are closing down at a time when they are both great cars and only getting better."

"I love the Commodore but it was time for me to upgrade so I bought a Hyundai, you cant beat it for price and equipment."

"I don't think these cars have been marketed correctly for today's market. Especially the Ford, there are cars on the market that are not as good as these, cost more and people by them, it doesn't make sense."

"I wouldn't buy a Ford or Holden anymore, they fall apart and are crap compared to what they used to be years ago, they were once solid now they're crap."

"I personally think the Holden is on par with the world market. Years ago both Commodore and Falcon had problems and weren't quite there but now they are. I think people will realise that when there gone and be sorry for it."

"That Falcon looks like the old Mondeo, it's s***."

"The Commodore looks like its made in China with those big headlights and spot lights."

"The Falcon looks like an Aston Martin at the front."

"The Commodore looks awesome - tough and smart - best looking Aussie car."

"I'd prefer the Holden interior, exterior and handling with the XR8's driveline. That would be the ultimate Aussie car."

-With Mark Short

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/why-holden-v-ford-culture-is-dying-20150108-12jm43.html

[Adamz Ghia]

My brain shrank a little after reading that excuse for an article...

[b0son]

Originally Posted by Adamz Ghia

My brain shrank a little after reading that excuse for an article...

The amount it shrank by is probably still more brainpower than was displayed in the article...