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The Pub For General Automotive Related Talk |
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#1 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 11,277
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Quote:
Good if this means more interesting vehicles for our market but I have a feeling that Ford is not looking beyond Left Hand Drive markets like US, Europe and China… For the record, I’m glad to be proven wrong on this…(I often am) Last edited by jpd80; 01-06-2024 at 09:56 AM. |
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#2 | ||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,028
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There'll be a different CEO next year anyway who is like a Roomba that hits a road block and goes beep boop and turns off in a different direction
That company can't make a decision and stick with it, it's like it has corporate autism |
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#3 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Melb.
Posts: 4,439
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Regulators can regulate all they want but governments need voters to stay in power and if voters aren't buying pure EV's they are not going to like being forced into it....self-interest is a powerful incentive.
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#4 | ||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,028
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**You used to be a bigger man, Damo.
Last edited by Captain Stubing; 02-06-2024 at 09:38 AM. |
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#5 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 11,277
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Quote:
of their most talented conventional vehicle engineering and development staff down the road. Now Jim Farley realises his mistake and wants to change course…..great, now go out and try to hire everyone back. On a lot of this I just don’t know anymore, I used to think that corporates hired smart researchers to keep their finger on the pulse of what customers want but the more I look, it’s all about carmakers making the most profit on fewest necessary builds, everyone else not the buyer. |
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#6 | |||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,028
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Quote:
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#7 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 11,277
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#8 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,465
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I take it you don’t like Rangers and Everest’s JPD?
Cause that’s all they have presently. Chickens are going to come home to roost for Ford Ute Aus soon And I am seeing a lot of Rangers and Everests in rental car fleets here on the Gc. |
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#9 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,806
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Farley may have been in the company for years, but frankly, as CEO, he has absolutely NFI!
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#10 | |||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,028
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Quote:
Small hatch? Ranger based Performance coupe? Ranger based |
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#11 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 11,277
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Quote:
so we went for a narrow three row as the back seats can fold down to take a wheel chair on day when her walking is bad. On your point of other Ford vehicles, I recon the Maverick pickup or the canceled Maverick SUV would be Great vehicles to supplement the local range but that’s just me and would others have the same preferences? I don’t know, so I understand why Ford doesn’t try things that may not be worth the time developing. The other part of me hopes that higher Ranger and Everest sales now give Ford AUS the justification to offer more variations that are doable to flesh out more sales…..especially if Ford is talking hybrids and PHEVs. |
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#12 | ||
DIY Tragic
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Sydney, more than not. I hate it.
Posts: 21,852
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Yes, like Hilux Chump.
Last edited by Citroënbender; 01-06-2024 at 06:54 PM. |
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#13 | |||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,028
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Quote:
You won't get me back into the brand, basically my next new car purchase would probably be a Tesla Model 3 or Model 2 if it exists when the time comes. Traditional cars are dead - unless you want something bland and compromised like an SUV. Ford Europe made absolutely mint cars, nothing drives like their vehicles, it sounds weird but I drove a Transit Custom recently and you can tell it comes out of Ford Europe with how it steers and drives - and its a god damn van. I'd like to see Maverick in Australia, it perfectly slots in under the Ranger as a car based Thailand Special, with Ecoboost power, I don't look at it as a ute competitor, I look at it like a competitor for the RAV4. It would suit the 30-something female millennial market who leads an active lifestyle, without all the Thailand Special foibles like steering like the ****ing Titanic and having shitful clattery ****-weak diesel engines that drive like a sloth and you get your hands covered in diesel every time you fill it up. Dunno what it is with Thailand Specials but they struggle to make one steer properly, its always 30,000 turns lock to lock, makes shopping center car parks fun. Last edited by Franco Cozzo; 01-06-2024 at 07:32 PM. |
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#14 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: In Front of a Monitor
Posts: 1,640
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Before getting carried away with Hybrids and what not, why not learn how to make a vehicle in RHD 1st. It is really not hard.
Well known companies like Zeekr, Jaecoo, Xpeng, Leapmotor Skywell, GAC, Aion and Jetour, all know what a RHD vehicle is and are lining up to ship cars here in the next 12 months. These guys are perceived as Junk and have Zero market credibility, but to them it is worth while in flipping the wheel over to the other side and giving it a red hot go. Why....because that is what Global Car Manufacturer does. Sell Cars in all parts of the Market and steal sales off competitors Jim Farley you are a disgrace.
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2004 Mercury Silver Falcon XR6T - 5 Speed 2017 Platinum White Mustang GT - 6 Speed 2022 Blue Thai-Special for Daily Duties - Auto |
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#15 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Catland
Posts: 3,618
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Some of you may scoff for now, but when the next generation of moon landers are Ranger based, remember where you heard it first.
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I6 + AWD |
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#16 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Catland
Posts: 3,618
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Watching the big corporate strategies change direction like leaves in the wind.
So much of it is geopolitical now China has the head start and resources for BEV dominance US is energy independent with vast NA reserves and refining capacity, fuel powered hybrids work fine and will deal with their really cold weather Japan discovered some kind of black ice stuff so they have a hydrogen supply, finally some native resources Australia has hundreds of years of CNG and.... ships it offshore for pennies and we all get wedgied on liquid fuels and increasingly, electricity. Gas price sets the marginal electricity price and we pay global spot cos no reservation on east coast lulz
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I6 + AWD |
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#17 | ||||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,028
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Quote:
Because we export it all overseas - what a joke ![]() Quote:
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#18 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Catland
Posts: 3,618
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The other really crippling bit was a lack of domestic capital, it plagued the early colony (rum was currency, they also used old pieces of eight, stamped out the centre 'holey dollar and dump'). In 1911 (I think) the solution to this was established by the new Federation - make a Commonwealth Bank. (This is now a different beast, borrows short offshore and lends long into - drum roll - property)
If you look at the ingenuity of Australians, it's sad it doesn't translate into a complete self sufficiency given all the resources and ag land. The ingenuity comes from problem solving solutions to an environment/landscape/resource/distance equation that is like no other. It's always so good to find an Aussie venture that is world class and somehow finds a niche in their global industry.
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I6 + AWD |
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#19 | |||
DIY Tragic
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Sydney, more than not. I hate it.
Posts: 21,852
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#20 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Catland
Posts: 3,618
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That explains the excellent abilities in all the builds CB! Me, I won a regional Lego competition when I was 8. Study was in other fields than engineering, but I was always making machines to do stuff. To be an Aussie manufacturer you almost have to go against the grain and under the radar!
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I6 + AWD |
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#21 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: nz
Posts: 1,846
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I reckon Musk must be sitting in a comfy chair....big box of popcorn 🍿 and watching the masters of the universe slowly unraveling.....like dogs trying to catch their own tales
What a crack up
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Fgx xr8 winter white manual, gone but not forgotten 22 mitsubishi outlander XLS PHEV Au11 fairmont Ghia ported gt40p heads ,comp springs and locks Xe 264 cam,custom intake,pacemaker tri y headers 524nm torque 19 Triton GSXR manual |
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#22 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,806
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Quote:
UK 2 million new cars in 2023 Australia 1.2 million India 4 million South Africa 0.5 million Thailand 0.75 million sounds a lot, until you realise that the new car market in the US is over 15 million cars on its own. That's why they don't bother to make RHD versions. |
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#23 | ||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,028
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We certainly punch above our weight considering our population in new car sales,
As far as a RHD markets goes we're a key player for sure. Key player for utes ![]() India is rapidly industrializing so that four million is going to turn into 10 million sooner rather than later, I reckon by 2030. |
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#24 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,465
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#25 | ||||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,028
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Ford never seemed to make inroads in Japan at all, maybe they're protecting their own market or something.
Or usual lack of brains at the C-suite of executives at head office. Quote:
So basically we just can't be ****ed putting in any effort, seems like Japan doesn't want a Ford Ranger and its just all too hard ![]() Japan moves 4.8 million new cars a year, taking into account the RHD markets theres 13.25 million cars on the table that they can get a slice of if they put in some effort. I don't get this mentality of 'Oh I've got enough sales, I don't need to get anymore' - if I had someone on my sales team like that they'd be shown the door real quick after a slap over the back of the head. Even taking into account opportunity cost, I reckon they're leaving a lot on the table. 40% of Japan's car sales are Kei cars - make a scaled down version of the single cab Ranger to Kei dimensions and put a destroked 999cc Ecoboost engine to 653cc in it. Quote:
Is it going to be perfect? No, the other kei trucks are cab over, But its an entry point to test the waters in a segment that covers over a third of their new car market, if you had a set of balls on you. Maybe there needs to be a fun competition within Ford, CEO comes out and runs a competition internally amongst all their engineering departments globally and says hey take a bunch of engineers, and do this in your spare time, winning team gets $250,000 USD to share amongst themselves. Suddenly 5 propeller hats from each of their engineering teams globally start burning the midnight oil on a fun side project out of hours to win big. Whats $250,000 USD to Ford? Last edited by Franco Cozzo; 02-06-2024 at 12:36 PM. |
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#26 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 11,277
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Here’s the deal as explained to me, the majority of Ford’s profits comes from
F Series trucks, Ranger (plus Bronco/Everest) and Transit RWD & FWD vans. Everything else in US /Europe is either breakeven, a small profit or controlled loss. These vehicles fall into the category of products for dealers to sell and service but in the last decade, Ford has made big efforts to improve profitability through higher prices which in turn have reduced sales and builds which in turn prevents supply to ROW markets. In our market, Ford embracing Ranger and Everest has been totally vindicated as FoA’s prime profit generators, I hope they get a seat at the table to expand on that with other vehicles that give Ford a distinct advantage over competition. In my situation, had Ford offered something like a soft road, low ride height Everest as a petrol RWD, we would have seriously considered (bought). I accept the reasons why such a vehicle is not possible right now but may be something worth considering if Europe and USA remain unable to supply even the basic suite of showroom vehicles to Australia. Maybe Ford AUS engineering can adapt local solutions/regional vehicles that can fly under the radar with costs. Last edited by jpd80; 02-06-2024 at 01:09 PM. |
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#27 | |||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,028
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Quote:
I don't think its 'unable' its 'not interested' and there's no drive at Ford Australia to actually fight for it either, plus we're a shitty little outpost on the *** end of the world they rotate CEOs through that are going to be pensioned out, we love playing musical CEOs. They're happy sitting on Ranger and Everest sales, but they're under threat from new platforms from other manufacturers, Kia has a ute coming onboard soon, Hilux will be coming due for a refresh, and there's also the political climate at the moment who can torpedo the Ranger/Everest twins with a stroke of a pen with emissions schemes like we saw go through parliament recently (how hard did Toyota and the others come out the gate to lobby the government - tells you something). When was the last CEO with drive that Ford Australia had, Geoff Polites? The guy died nearly 20 years ago now. Pretty sure they fired the majority of their Ranger engineering team here in Australia, Realistically I don't think Ford Australia is going to exist as an engineering hub by the end of this decade, they'll be based in Thailand/China as a low cost engineering team for Ford Asia Pacific once they come up to speed. We haven't been the 'Pacific Mexicans' for a long time now, which is what attracted the US giants to Australia in the first place. We don't have a political climate interested in attracting business and opportunities from overseas, if anything we're openly hostile to it politically these days. If its not property or digging shit up out of the ground to sell to China, then we're not interested. Last edited by Franco Cozzo; 02-06-2024 at 01:59 PM. |
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#28 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Melb.
Posts: 4,439
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Quote:
Firstly, their public transport system is so good and cheap (metro lines not so much the inter-city services which had big fare increases last year) you run clocks by the train departures and not the other way around…it means you don’t really need a car in the major cities as train stations are almost every 2 blocks and the urban sprawl of large outer suburbs like in Melbourne don’t really exist. And you can do a huge amount of shopping or food purchases within these stations underground. Interesting observation, very little on street parking in Tokyo or Osaka, no bike lanes either…again because of exceptional public transport, plus I don't think you can own a car without over-night parking for it in Tokyo. Struggled to see any Fords anywhere…spotted two Rangers the whole time, a Mustang and that was about if. Plenty of Jeeps, mostly all were Wranglers as described plus several Chryslers. Delivery vehicles were very rarely anything ever over 3 tonners, I expected far more vans like HiAce’s but much more of the small Kei commercial vehicles, I kept thinking I could park that inside my Transit Custom or Vito. It’s just too difficult to get into some of the retail/commercial areas with large trucks as there is virtually no on-street parking on front of retail/commercial areas like what you see here in Oz for beverage/daily consumables/dry goods deliveries etc...supplies etc… Pretty much everything in Japan just effin'works. Lower yen means a can of Coke is just over $1AUD and can of JD & Coke in a Japanese 7Eleven store is around $2AUD..... |
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#29 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 11,277
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Quote:
There are still over 1400 engineers at Ford Australia, 99% of them are attached to T6 (% According to Fordman1) Keep in mind that those engineers are responsible for developing periodic updates of all models, Bronco, Rangers, Everest and Amarok…..that’s still a huge commitment over the complete product cycle and most likely into the early 2030s Last edited by jpd80; 02-06-2024 at 03:33 PM. |
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#30 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Melb.
Posts: 4,439
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Quote:
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