Announcement 6pm 29th March - F150 Is Coming to Australia

[blue sleeper]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Off the highway here, practically all the “roads” are dirt and river rocks..
Drove it up my 5km dirt stretch.. Quite steep and it rode better than my Rhino side by side that has full gas suspension and 12” travel..
Drive our RAV4 daily up and down, and shakes the hell out of you at more than 15-20 kph.. The Rhino I can do 50 comfortably, the Raptor I did 50 effortlessly!
Not my vehicle so didn’t push it harder… The torque.. Terrific, but the Fox suspension was the really impressive bit… For such a huge (to me) vehicle.. Incredible! (If we were staying, I’d buy it in a heartbeat.. asking US$68k)

Hmm interesting thank you!

[GTMOND]

Ahh well that makes it a bit more difficult. I was ordering a D-Max, but cancelled for the new Ranger, but an F150 would be nearly enough to sway me again. I would have preferred the 5.0 F150 just for simplicity. Pricing of both will be my defining factor. Really can't lose with either.

[Charliewool]

Compared to a Ranger/Hilux/Colorado… they ARE feckin big!
You could have a party in the back of a dualcab F150..
Will it work in Aus though?
I’d love one, but practicality says no. (For me, anyhow)

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Compared to a Ranger/Hilux/Colorado… they ARE feckin big!
You could have a party in the back of a dualcab F150..
Will it work in Aus though?
I’d love one, but practicality says no. (For me, anyhow)

Im not worried about size, personally it would be about FE, Id never buy any people mover >~2T that wasnt a TDi but thats just me. Petrol engines regardless of the gearing are going to chew fuel.

We are not after a new car for a couple of years atleast, and it was going to be an EV, so depend on how Ford prices things Id seriously keen keen for the Lightning.

Minus a bulky powertrain I wonder if they do a front bench seat?..off to Ford US website

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Compared to a Ranger/Hilux/Colorado… they ARE feckin big!
You could have a party in the back of a dualcab F150..
Will it work in Aus though?
I’d love one, but practicality says no. (For me, anyhow)

There is as much leg room in the back of the F150 as there is in the front of a Ranger. And the centre console is more than a foot wide. They are very big, but to drive they hide their size well. Excellent to drive.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Compared to a Ranger/Hilux/Colorado… they ARE feckin big!
You could have a party in the back of a dualcab F150..
Will it work in Aus though?
I’d love one, but practicality says no. (For me, anyhow)

I guess it depends where you live, I have a friend in Darwin with a RAM, he has a big shed and acerage. no probs
goes well on the gravel roads too

whereas our work carpark has one guy with a twin cab Hilux trayback Hilux.
the carpark bays are not big enough for its length and its atrocious turning circle.

To bring an American "truck" he would have to park out on the road.
at Bunnings you'd need the trailer carpark and forget Melbourne airport.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Vesper Martini

I guess it depends where you live, I have a friend in Darwin with a RAM, he has a big shed and acerage. no probs
goes well on the gravel roads too

whereas our work carpark has one guy with a twin cab Hilux trayback Hilux.
the carpark bays are not big enough for its length and its atrocious turning circle.

To bring an American "truck" he would have to park out on the road.
at Bunnings you'd need the trailer carpark and forget Melbourne airport.

There's plenty of parking at Tulla to fit US utes, you'll just need to move the 737, to get the 787 out, after you move the 777 blocking the 747...

insert Airbus eqivs if you prefer...

[Polyal]

Oh please guys, ive seen plenty of RAM's in and about normal parking areas.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

There is as much leg room in the back of the F150 as there is in the front of a Ranger. And the centre console is more than a foot wide. They are very big, but to drive they hide their size well. Excellent to drive.

The interesting thing is that the width of Ranger Raptor is 2028mm/79.8”.
RR’s wheel arches makes it pretty much F-150 width which is 79.9”.

So, for those that want a more filled out vehicle, the choice is going to be plain to see.
I could think of nothing better for Ford dealers to have big dog sitting on the courtyard
and to see the jaw drop reaction when people come in for a service, priceless….


https://build.ford.com/dig/Ford/F-15.../1/vehicle.png

[Top_Ghia]

It’s interesting to read the dealer bulletin about this release.
It says that this is just the beginning and Ford will be bringing more iconic models to Australia in the coming years.
So this may just be an introduction to more US models.
Personally I’d love a Bronco sitting next to the Mustang.
I’d also love to see the Lightning and the Mach-E and of course the F150 Raptor.

[Falcon SXR8]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Oh please guys, ive seen plenty of RAM's in and about normal parking areas.

Most around here just take up 2 parks at the furthest parking bays, or park out on the street in the trailer/caravan spots so yea seem like their easy to live with.

I'd just line it up best I could then plant it and yell AMERICA as i wedged it between the cars then climb out the window

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

There's plenty of parking at Tulla to fit US utes, you'll just need to move the 737, to get the 787 out, after you move the 777 blocking the 747...

insert Airbus eqivs if you prefer...

I just pictured Daryl Kerrigan saying that lol

[DK30RB]

Originally Posted by Vesper Martini

I guess it depends where you live, I have a friend in Darwin with a RAM, he has a big shed and acerage. no probs
goes well on the gravel roads too

whereas our work carpark has one guy with a twin cab Hilux trayback Hilux.
the carpark bays are not big enough for its length and its atrocious turning circle.

To bring an American "truck" he would have to park out on the road.
at Bunnings you'd need the trailer carpark and forget Melbourne airport.

Never had an issue parking mine anywhere. Can fit in any carpark single bay. Shopping centers, bunnings, etc. Never had an issue. I found reversing in made life easier.

Its 50mm wider than a 200 series, around 900mm longer. Having said that a mate who has a hilux with ARB front winch bar and rear ARB bar is only a little shorter than the f150.

Hilux Standard 5325mm (then add the extended ARB bars to that)
LC200 4950mm
F150 SuperCrew - 5890

Everyone who's driven mine comments that it feels much smaller to drive than it looks.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by chevypower

I just pictured Daryl Kerrigan saying that lol

Ahh the Serenity....yes indeed good man...one movie full of great one liners....

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by DK30RB

Never had an issue parking mine anywhere. Can fit in any carpark single bay. Shopping centers, bunnings, etc. Never had an issue. I found reversing in made life easier.

Its 50mm wider than a 200 series, around 900mm longer. Having said that a mate who has a hilux with ARB front winch bar and rear ARB bar is only a little shorter than the f150.

Hilux Standard 5325mm (then add the extended ARB bars to that)
LC200 4950mm
F150 SuperCrew - 5890

Everyone who's driven mine comments that it feels much smaller to drive than it looks.

Good for you, but I bet others have taken issue.

[Charliewool]

Originally Posted by Vesper Martini

Good for you, but I bet others have taken issue.

Really?… “good for you”.. because the guys post doesn’t fit your criteria or opinion, you have a crack?
Feck me, I’m so over you argumentative knowalls! (Not singling you out.. there’s heaps on here)
Either “thank” the post, shut the **** up, or add something constructive!

[DK30RB]

Originally Posted by Vesper Martini

Good for you, but I bet others have taken issue.

I suppose you are an authority on the subject of parking and other people's opinions.

Ever driven or tried to park an F150. Here's an inside tip from someone who owns one. Its really no different to parking a 200 or Hilux. Most parking spots have plenty of room to be able to park comfortably.

No one has ever commented or complained.

I get more comments from people saying how great it is and asking questions about it.

[PG2]

Originally Posted by Falcon SXR8

Most around here just take up 2 parks at the furthest parking bays, or park out on the street in the trailer/caravan spots so yea seem like their easy to live with.

I'd just line it up best I could then plant it and yell AMERICA as i wedged it between the cars then climb out the window

Reminds me of Police Academy (one of the greatest movies of the 80s for you millennials - Franco)...

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Really?… “good for you”.. because the guys post doesn’t fit your criteria or opinion, you have a crack?
Feck me, I’m so over you argumentative knowalls! (Not singling you out.. there’s heaps on here)
Either “thank” the post, shut the **** up, or add something constructive!

Remember DK30RB was responding to what I posted.

chill

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by DK30RB

I suppose you are an authority on the subject of parking and other people's opinions.

Ever driven or tried to park an F150. Here's an inside tip from someone who owns one. Its really no different to parking a 200 or Hilux. Most parking spots have plenty of room to be able to park comfortably.

No one has ever commented or complained.

I get more comments from people saying how great it is and asking questions about it.

To be fair, I have seen numerous people have trouble parking a Corolla or smaller cars in standard car parks before.

That probably says more about the driver's skill than it does about the size of the car or the car park space tho.

[russellw]

The reality is that you get used to parking whatever you are driving regardless of size although some people (like the woman I was waiting for this morning) never will.

She was at the new shopping centre in Donnybrook (whatever they called that new suburb) which not only has wide parking spaces plus a pair of painted lines between each wide enough for a trolley so frankly, you should be able to park anything in there with ease. She managed to reverse park her Honda CRV straight into the car beside where she was parking and not even by a little - she was probably a metre too far left!

I waited a respectable distance back until she'd managed to get it between some lines after 3 attempts!

[Crazy Dazz]

To be clear
I think it would be awesome if Ford (USA) made more vehicles in RHD and sold them here, on the same basis that they sell in the US
Have a look at even a 20yr old example, and they were so much better equipped than our local offerings.
Mustang is a good start. (But even there I feel it has moved beyond it's "everyone can afford one" origins.)

Sadly, this isn't that.
It isn't designed or built for RHD, so instead it's going to be a tiny volume import, expensively re-engineered locally, and sold at a ridiculously premium price.

Great skills and ingenuity on display from the local engineering team. And good luck to them, if there's a market then more power to em for filling that need.

But it's a bit like Bintang. Pleasant beer to have on a warm night, with humidity still hovering near 100%, and at 1,000 rupes a pop I was happy to swig it by the caseload when I lived in Balik.
But then come back to Aus, and they're selling it as a "Premium Import"

And it's SCARY!
Holden and Chrysler (again) have disappeared form the Australian market. Yet diehards try to pretend they still exist because they sell a handful of engineered trucks.
I may not be lining up for many of FoA's current offerings, but I'm secretly very glad they are still HERE.
Ask a Holden fan how they were feeling about the future, 5 years ago...

[simon varley]

it's getting harder and harder to design cars that are compatible with both LHD and RHD, largely due to the ever increasing crash requirements. Frankly I think we are luck to have as much choice as we do considering the low global volumes of RHD markets.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by simon varley

it's getting harder and harder to design cars that are compatible with both LHD and RHD, largely due to the ever increasing crash requirements. Frankly I think we are luck to have as much choice as we do considering the low global volumes of RHD markets.

why is that? I'd have thought with the move to electric steering, it would be easier than ever? crash safety ratings seem to place a greater emphasis on gadgets than ever before.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by b0son

why is that? I'd have thought with the move to electric steering, it would be easier than ever? crash safety ratings seem to place a greater emphasis on gadgets than ever before.

The front crash protection cell for one, the LHD design requires only strengthening of the forward left side
For medium and small over lap frontal crashes, they normally don’t engineer the right side design the same.
And then there’s the Euro pole test being different to the yankee side impact test that are both applied to the
Left side B Pillar area but not to the right side of the vehicles which can get less reinforcement, maybe Euro RHD.

[XR Martin]

IIHS in the US have been crash testing RH side of LHD vehicles for a little while.
There was obvious safety deficiencies between the RH and LH side.
But ever since they started doing it, the manufacturers have started to take notice and have been equalizing both sides for crash safety.

I've always been suspicious of cars sold here that have not been locally crash tested and only relied on LHD crash results. (F150 however did quite well)

[CyberWasp]

The thing is that the Door has been left open for Toyota & Nissan.

It is still highly unlikely, but they could decide to build a factory RHD Tundra or Titan giving them a larger margin advantage to play with if landing their product here.

Not saying they are a better product or anything, but if the conversion cost is approx $20k, that is a lot of wiggle room for them.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by Top_Ghia

It’s interesting to read the dealer bulletin about this release.
It says that this is just the beginning and Ford will be bringing more iconic models to Australia in the coming years.
So this may just be an introduction to more US models.
Personally I’d love a Bronco sitting next to the Mustang.
I’d also love to see the Lightning and the Mach-E and of course the F150 Raptor.

That would be a very, very good move and I would really enjoy going to a new Ford showroom filled with the US product, as much as I enjoyed it with new Aussie products each year.

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by b0son

why is that? I'd have thought with the move to electric steering

there is no electric steering. only electric assist. there is still a physical steering column connecting everything. I may be wrong, but that might even be mandated in ADRs

not sure i'm up for fully electric just yet

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by simon varley

there is no electric steering. only electric assist. there is still a physical steering column connecting everything. I may be wrong, but that might even be mandated in ADRs

not sure i'm up for fully electric just yet

Yeah I too didn't realise this at first, But EPAS still has the physical Steering shaft connected. could be something to do with electric failure you still have manual steering as an overide.

So its still a big factor in RHD conversion, and maybe the V8 has too much in the way being a wider engine?.