The Age: End of the road nears for Falcon

[alter_EGOXR]

Originally Posted by 388cube_edxr8

If Falcon goes front wheel drive, I'm buying a Commondore.

Nuff said.

yeah ditto.....

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by cosmo20btt

Hard core enthusiasts do not drive FWD cars, or real country people do not drive FWD cars, or people that do alot of towing don't drive FWD cars, these are just a few of the customers that Ford will lose. Australia is one of the harshest places on the Earth & our type of cars appear to be not taken seriously enough at this point. Time will tell though.

I'd suggest you upgrade to the 21st century.

[swanee]

Not sure if has been covered... wonder what they reckon will happen to the Territory. Maybe the Journos were more worried about slinging cr*p on the Falcon.

[Road_Warrior]

Carpoint article is a little more "glass half full"

http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2010...-for-now-17922

The Ford Falcon sedan and ute and the Territory softroader are here to stay for at least the next five years -- and a decision on whether they will continue to be manufactured locally beyond 2015 won't be made for another 18 months.

That's the upshot of several individual interviews conducted by the Carsales Network on the opening day of the Detroit motor show overnight, including the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, William Clay Ford, CEO Alan Mulally, Ford's Asia-Pacific boss Joe Hinrichs and the boss of Ford Australia Marin Burela.

The senior Ford executives found themselves defending the future of the Falcon following the lowest Falcon sales in 49 years in 2009.

Mulally cast a shadow over the Falcon when he said: "People who make one vehicle for one country, a different vehicle, those days are gone," he said.

When asked what this meant for the Falcon sedan and ute and Territory softroader, which are unique in the Ford world, he said: "We've had a very good business in Australia and we believe in the Falcon. It's a great car and we have no plans to change anything right now. I might go ahead and add that we still believe in rear-wheel-drive cars and we'll continue to look for opportunities for rear-wheel-drive. I would also like to add we are going to be there in Australia with more and more (imported) products."

When asked if there was an intention to continue manufacturing Ford vehicles in Australia beyond the end of the current lifecycle -- 2015 -- Mulally told the Carsales Network "next question".

Next up was William Clay Ford. When asked about the future of manufacturing vehicles in Australia, he said: "Ford Australia has always been an important part of Ford globally and we haven't announced anything but we'll tell you soon."

Ford was the weakest of the three local car makers last year. Toyota produced 128,000 vehicles, the majority of which were exported, Holden built 66,000 vehicles after its export markets collapsed, while Ford built approximately 55,000 vehicles, of which 31,000 were Falcon sedans and wagons.

Despite the low figures, Ford's recently appointed Asia Pacific boss Joe Hinrichs, who has a manufacturing background, says Ford Australia's output of 55,000 cars a year is sustainable and pointed out that Ford Australia turned a profit in the last quarter of 2009.

"We have been moving towards getting more scale in our manufacturing facilities worldwide, but we also have several facilities in the Asia Pacific region and other parts of the world that produce 55,000 vehicles annually or less," he said.

In regards to the future of Ford Australia's Broadmeadows plant he said: "We have time to figure that out."

Ford Australia boss Marin Burela said that the company would not have invested $230 million on engineering and development if it was not here to stay.

"It's business as usual for Falcon," he told the Carsales Network. "We will continue to push and grow the Falcon's market share and provide Australians with the motoring needs they are looking for.

"We gained momentum in 2009 and we will build on that momentum in 2010. In 2010 we'll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Falcon and we plan to have a great year."

He pointed out that the Falcon sedan outsold the Commodore sedan on two individual months in 2009 (October and November) and increased its market share from 26 per cent to 35 per cent year to year.

He said Ford Australia's current output was sustainable "but we believe we will grow from here".

"We have worked very hard in the last 18 months to continue to improve and streamline our manufacturing operations. And have a range of updates coming over the next 18 months that will boost sales and therefore production."

In the middle of this year Ford Australia will introduce an all-new 5.0-litre V8 in the performance Falcon range and by the end of the year will introduce a liquid injection LPG six-cylinder Falcon.

Early next year Ford will introduce a heavily revised Territory which will coincide with the arrival of a new turbodiesel engine for the softroader, and in the second half of 2010, Ford will introduce the four-cylinder turbocharged Falcon.

At the show there was speculation that manufacturing of the Falcon and Territory models were timed to be phased out together in 2015 -- when both models would be due for replacement.

What seems likely is that, beyond 2015, Ford Australia may adopt an as yet unnamed global rear-drive and all-wheel-drive architecture for its large sedan and mid-sized softroader, and then tailor them to suit local tastes.

There has been speculation the Falcon could switch from rear-drive to front-drive because Ford's large car in North America, the Taurus, is front-drive. And Ford has not announced what its future plans are for its rear-drive cars: namely the Mustang and the Falcon.

For most everyday motorists, which wheels power the car is of little consequence. But the debate is making headlines in the specialist motoring press because it matters a lot to performance-car enthusiasts: rear-drive is a more traditional method of delivering power, whereas the more efficient front-drive layout is generally the domain of commuter cars.

Meanwhile, the Falcon wagon, which was due to be phased out eight years ago when the Territory went on sale, is likely to go out of production by the middle of 2010 when new emissions regulations come into effect. The cost of updating the aging wagon to meet the new regulations would be prohibitively expensive given the relatively low sales.

The Falcon ute, almost unique in the car world let alone the Ford world, is unlikely to survive beyond this generation. According to Ford Australia sources, it only just scraped through the approval process a few years ago but the market for car-derived utes has been well and truly overtaken by imported body-on-frame utes in recent years.

Given that Ford Australia is the engineering home for the next generation Ford Ranger, the new model due in 2012 will likely be safer than body-on-frame utes typically have been for the past decade and deliver car-like driving qualities, therefore potentially making it a worthy replacement for the Falcon ute. The new Ranger, however, will likely be built offshore in a low cost country such as Thailand or India for a global market.

(Written by Josh Dowling BTW)

[Joe5619]

This has gotten some pretty wide spread media today.. What a shame as it should have gotten this media for the Focus, but that has been completely ignored & we have damaging reports about the Falcon.. Just goes to show that people need to watch what they say to the media.. I bet this has gotten back to Allan & he must regret saying what he did.


If (god I hope we don’t) we get the Taurus or FWD or a non Australian built large car, The badge "Falcon" needs to retrieve with it. If the Taurus comes here, call it Taurus & not Falcon.


Also this plantform is about 60% + of total sales for Ford Australia.. They need to think carefully before making big changes.

[High_Octane]

Hmmm. Well i am in a pickle.

1. I WILL NOT BUY A COMMODORE
2. I will not drive a FWD falcon.

Where do i go from here.

P.S Its all speculation at this point anyways.

Dang i like my RWD`s and V8`s but bring an AWD RS Focus to our shores and i might forgive them for upsetting me with all this Falcon demise rumour bull.

[auxr]

Originally Posted by Ghiadude

There are almost as many threads about the doom of the domestic falcon as there is threads about a reborn GTHO ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This thread currently has 20 users and 11 guests viewing. People like to read this rubbish - it sells papers and internet clicks. It is in no way based in fact just pure speculation

^^^ Couldn't agree more - more doom & gloom filled with speculation that's taken up by the media.

Ford AU surely know what their future plans are, so I will sit on the side lines knowing the sun will come up the next day, without making any hasty decisions in regard to selling, keeping, updating, putting the beast on Ebay, pulling my hair out -just yet.

Now, how about a new GTHO thread.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

Ford is getting in better shape as time goes on so surely they can sort something out.

Even when sales of this segment were at good levels, Falcon's future was tenuous. With the segment in decline, its inevitable that Falcon will be dropped.

[blk6t]

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

Of course Holden sales would increase, they'd be the only player in the market with a RWD sedan!

How do you know the Taurus is 'stupid'? Have you driven one? It may be (most probably is) a great product that with minimal Australian-ization could suit our market quite well.

They may sell less, but it would also cost very little compared to engineering a new Falcon every 5-6 years. In terms of making money, a globalized car makes more sense than the local Falcon (in spite of the fact that enthusiasts love them, and thousands of locals earn a crust designing and building them and its 'just not fair')

I hope we both end up in GRWD platformed Falcons in the future, but if not all the best to you and your future Commodore purchase.

I am in the US on a yearly basis and try to drive only Fords there which include Mustangs and the Taurus (not the new model though), every US car I drive is just poor. The mustang is nothing to brag about even in V8 guise. I have driven Corvettes also and would pick a Commodore for comfort and finish qualities. If we start having US Fords the levels of finish, comfort and refinement will slip. Performance will also go backwards.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by dom_105

One Ford has to be the way forward, but that doesn't spell the end of the RWD Falcon if the numbers stack up.

possibly not, but it does mean the end of a locally manufactured one. Ford global will protect Ford US jobs first and foremost.

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by 11 January 2010
By JAMES STANFORD in Detroit

FORD Motor Company president Alan Mulally has indicated that producing an Australian-specific Falcon will not be a viable option under its new One Ford regime.

The night before he was to reveal the first global model to be released under the One Ford banner at the Detroit Motor Show, the new Focus, Mr Mulally suggested the Falcon would not be immune to the cost-cutting policy under which a commonly-developed model can replace several different versions of similar cars.

Mr Mulally is committed to slashing complexity and doing away with duplication such as Australia and the US producing two different large cars, the Falcon and the Taurus.

He said Ford must design and develop common models produced and sold in many countries around the world to remain competitive.

“People who make one vehicle for one country … a different vehicle … those days are gone,” he said. “You can’t compete with a global company.”

Mr Mulally confirmed Ford was considering the future of the Taurus and Falcon and how they would work within the One Ford framework.

“That is something that we are thinking about right know,” he said.

From top: Ford Taurus, Ford president Alan Mulally, Ford global product development vice president Derrick Kuzak.

Asked if any countries would be excluded from the One Ford policy, Mr Mulally said he didn’t think so because customers around the world wanted the same kind of cars.

“The requirements for the vehicle are so much more similar than they are not. Around the world right now, the four things that are driving purchases are quality, fuel efficiency, safety and smart design,” Mr Mulally said.

“It used to be that different regions of the world would argue that fuel efficiency was more important.

“Remember in Europe, it was like if you are paying $8 to $10 a gallon of gas or diesel they are going to put a premium on smaller vehicles.

“Well, the United States – you watch what’s happened and 30-40-50 per cent are cars (rather than pick-up trucks and SUVs) and a big portion of those are smaller ones.”

Mr Mulally said 70 to 80 per cent of Ford’s production would consist of vehicles built on global platforms, and that would allow the company to take advantage of its great scale.

He said the Mustang would continue to be rear-wheel drive, which could see it as the only rear-drive car in the Ford world.

Ford Australia president Marin Burela confirmed that the days of Ford Australia developing its own vehicles for domestic use were over.

“Ford of Australia will never go it alone again,” he said. “Why? Because the dynamics of going it alone doesn’t make business sense.”

Ford global product development vice president Derrick Kuzak told GoAuto that a decision on the next-generation Falcon, which is due in late 2014 or early 2015, would not need to be made immediately because Ford was able to develop new models faster than ever.

The most likely outcome is that the next Falcon and Taurus will be the same car.

“We have the Taurus that we have just introduced in the US market and it would be consistent to bring those two together at some point, we just haven’t made the decision yet,” Mr Kuzak said.

“When you think about what we need to accomplish to get investment efficient then that is a possibility.”

Given that the newly introduced Taurus is available as a front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, and the Falcon is rear-drive, the next big question is what will drive format with the new One Ford large car feature?

Mr Kuzak gives the impression that front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive will be the most likely direction.

Discussing those two options, he said: “When you think of some of the disadvantages that they typically would have, think about design proportions. Well, we’ve got some great front-wheel drive, all-wheel drive cars now in terms of design proportions.

“The Taurus is a good example. In terms of driving dynamics and handling, because of all-wheel drive you can have great handing cars. We have even made our front-wheel drive cars like Focus, we have some technology that we will be announcing tomorrow (electronically controlled single-wheel braking) that allows front-wheel drive cars to handle even better. So they are sort of merging.”

While much has been made of whether Australian customers value rear-wheel drive or would be happy with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, Mr Mulally indicated that the direction Ford takes would be guided by cost.

“I think it will be less a function decision or a design proportion decision as it will be the business decision that we talked about earlier,” he said.

The Territory will also be affected by the One Ford policy, although a decision on it can be made a year after the Falcon.

It is unlikely the Territory would be able to continue by itself, especially as Ford has a similar model, called the Edge, in the US.

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2576A8002405A6

[Mr Hardware]

Hmmm. Well i am in a pickle.

1. I WILL NOT BUY A COMMODORE
2. I will not drive a FWD falcon.

Where do i go from here.

Keep driving your old falcon until it dies
Just like the old men who said i'm never owning anything but a Chrysler and would drive their 1980 Regal with no aircon and no power steer when they could have had a perfectly good falcon. Except in this hypothetical change chrysler for falcon and falcon for commodore.

Personally i quite like the taurus so if they bring some Yank mobile here i'd be quite happy

Really, I want a Crown Victoria.

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by blk6t

every US car I drive is just poor.

A bit like the EA and AU Falcons? VN-VS Commodore - they were crap too. I also look at 90's model BMWs and the paint is falling off, and interior isn't holding up too well. It seems like all cars in the 80s and 90s were crap for reliability, but lately the quality has been coming back to the industry as a whole.

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

Really, I want a Crown Victoria.

Also rated highly among Mexicans.

I really hope the GRWD sedan is somewhat based on the Interceptor concept.

[Road_Warrior]

With all of this irresponsible media speculation, I would imagine the plant workers are in a bit of a flap at the moment and management would be working on a statement to reassure/calm the troops. I guess we should stay tuned.

[Bucknaked]

I'd be more worried than now our Australian Designed vehicles are going to be cease production in favour of the abomination such as the Taurus which is an EPIC fail. This is one reason why the Falcon, FPV or any other Australian made car will mever go any further than NZ. While America is calling the shots, Australia does not stand a chance and we will end up with rubbish that American's are so famous for producing. The least of my concerns would be switching from RWD to FWD. But having to choose which peice of American crud to drive.

I wouldn't hestitate jumping from Ford to holden. And if it means another nail in the coffin for ford, then I welcome it. Anything American built, should be put on a slow boat to China and scuttled in the middle of the atlantic.

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by Bucknaked

Anything American built, should be put on a slow boat to China and scuttled in the middle of the atlantic.

Do you enjoy being so narrow-minded?

Oh let's see what else is US-built

BMW X5, Mercedes ML - I guess they are crap too?

[just_pazz]

It just won't sell. Full stop. Put lipstick on a pig, and it's still a pig.

I think Holden would be licking their lips at the thought of being the only large, rear wheel drive sedan option in Australia. Hope this is not true.

[Chilliman]

I don't see how Falcon will be replaced by Taurus- its moving down a size to the medium-sized EUCD platform (Modeo's underpinnings) by 2014, albiet a 'stretched' version to make it a little bigger. There would have to be a new D/E platform on the way (wether its RWD or not) or are Ford looking to totally abandon this market segment? :

[swanee]

Asked if any countries would be excluded from the One Ford policy, Mr Mulally said he didn’t think so because customers around the world wanted the same kind of cars.

Who are these "customers"?

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Chilliman

I don't see how Falcon will be replaced by Taurus- its moving down a size to the medium-sized EUCD platform (Modeo's underpinnings) by 2014, albiet a 'stretched' version to make it a little bigger. There would have to be a new D/E platform on the way (wether its RWD or not) or are Ford looking to totally abandon this market segment? :

Is the Taurus shrinking or is the EUCD successor getting larger??

My reading of things is that Ford is going to abandon the E segment altogether and make its D cars the new "large" car.

[chevypower]

I think I know what people's fear is now. Most of all, if there was no RWD sedan, you can't do cool burnouts anymore in the family car. That would be so tragic.

[MRFGXR6]

Saw the sad news on TV today. I reckon stuff the Yanks, they had previously tried to sell their crap to us for many years and it didnt work. We as the consumer obviously thought the cars were no good other wise every Australian driving a ford would have one. I looked at a mondeo in July 08, went to open the bonnet and the lever came of in my hand the thing was a total rubbish, and if that's the type of quality the Americans want to force on us then I can literally say get stuffed ford. So endless to say I came home with the FG XR6, a much better choice. We here in Aus produce a great product with an exceptional strong following to back it up. Its a car that young and old have enjoyed from the XR to FG, all these cars we have grown up with and the Falcon love it or hate it is in our blood.
One other concern is the production workers at Fraud what is the inevitable surmise for them, are they destined for the chopping block as well. Sad considering their jobs are most likely to be outsourced over seas by ford to make more profit to fatten their purse. Its a double edged knife for any involved. These are sad times indeed, shame on you Fraud and shame on you Alan Mulally.

[R-Design]

The Five Stages of Grief and Loss

• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance

[mrbaxr6t]

front wheel drive come off it make taurus all wheel/rear wheel drop front damn wheel on a large car I and many others don't want it rear and/or all watch everybody who is an enthusiast in the slightest get all wheel drive ones and pay a massive amount for them, and whats more if we lose the local manufacturing look forward to spare parts prices blowouts and huuuuuuuuuuuuge waits on parts because they have to be shipped from the usa, not impressed about us getting force fed front wheel drive, and whats more the taurus is smaller going to give is the mustang and the other better cars from the usa ? or we get the taurus and thats all?

this is what you get ford australia for doing a good job making a good car that is reliable, you get it in the back of the neck for doing a good job and we get shovelled crap compared to what we once had... sad very sad....

[RAPID_BA]

The new global platform car could well be a rear driver.

But nothing wrong with a front driver. The Aurion is a pretty good car.

Only rednecks will be dissappointed if the falcon turns into a global car.

For those people, buy an FG and keep it forever.

other people will evolve...like we did from homosapiens

[Hawkw1nd]

Originally Posted by chevypower

A bit like the EA and AU Falcons? VN-VS Commodore - they were crap too.

Plz don't lump the AU with the smouldering dung that is the EA. I have owned an AUII and I currently own an early-model AU wagon and AU Fairmont Ghia V8, and they are great cars (brakes aside). The problem with the AU series was always the aesthetics, not the mechanical side (by and large).

[OzJavelin]

Ford like to boast that a large percentage of Falcons sold are XR6 models. The majority of people who buy them - i.e. not people who frequent this website - wouldn't have a clue if it was RWD or FWD .. or even if it was a 6cyl, 8cyl or 4cyl. They just like the looks, the features and how it drives/rides. They don't care if it really IS a performance car, just as long as it looks like one and goes OK(ish). I'm sure this could be largely duplicated for the average punter with a modified Mondeo 5cyl or something like that (I was amazed at my sister-in-laws Mondeo being basically the same size as my SV8 Commodore!). Basically it's all about looks and less about what's under the sheetmetal ..

The only time problems will come up is when people realise there is no ute equivalent and that they are forced into a Japanese / Korean pickup truck ..

[SVTVNM]

Ive skimmed through most of these posts so I may have missed something, but if the new global platform is FWD what will happen to the Stang?

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by High_Octane

bring an AWD RS Focus to our shores and i might forgive them for upsetting me with all this Falcon demise rumour bull.

Do any exist as production cars? I believe the RS is FWD, savage torque steer is thrown in free of charge.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Rodp

Do any exist as production cars? I believe the RS is FWD, savage torque steer is thrown in free of charge.

In Top Gear Season 13 they showed how bad the torque steer was on the new RS Focus, he took his hands off the steering wheel and gave it some, the steering wheel turned a quarter way around at one point. Imagine a FWD F6.... You'd have no wrists left, they'd disintegrate.