Fords Current and Future Line Up

**Polyal** · 11-06-2007, 02:25 PM

Just thought id see what others think. Once Orion is launched, and the Moneo is released, can anyone think of a better overall line up Ford has had? I personally cant, not to the quality that we will soon have. (please no sooking about quality issues in this thread)

If we just list them, its obvious:

Fiesta - awesome little car, great chassis and looks quite smart - now has XR4

Focus - same as Fesita, XR5 is great, diesel is coming and a convertible

Mondeo - not too much known, but you can safely say it will be as good, if not better than the one it just replaced in the UK - hopefully we get a ST/XR version aswell

Falcon - Orion will be great

Territory - even though its basics haven't changed much it still sells ok, update coming soon

F Truck - unfortunately I read that they will not be importing them for a bit, but hopefully we get the new one soon enough.

Thats a fair collection IMO. So once all these models are launched FoA will have no one else other than themselves to blame if they do not increase their share by a fair margin.

If I quickly look back, the current line up is similar to the time when we had Escorts, Cortina's etc.

Hopefully things start to improve soon!

What do you guys think? From an overall point of view.

Force6 · 11-06-2007, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Hopefully things start to improve soon!.

I think this will rely VERY heavily on whether Ford's marketing department gets their act together. Direct competitive adds with Holden for example. Holden don't see anything wrong with specifically comparing their own cars to Ford in their ads, so Ford should do the same, an example being the Captiva ad.

**Polyal** · 11-06-2007, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Force6

I think this will rely VERY heavily on whether Ford's marketing department gets their act together. Direct competitive adds with Holden for example. Holden don't see anything wrong with specifically comparing their own cars to Ford in their ads, so Ford should do the same, an example being the Captiva ad.

That could be anything from the marketing manager, to company philosophy. Its pretty much as low as it gets, I dont think Ford would be that aggressive. Also that kind of marketing smacks of Holdens arrogance; but it seems to be working. The again their Daewoo/GM cars could be selling on the RRP alone.

But yes, like many other threads have shown, marketing needs to improve. Ford have lots of ads that are great, but you dont see them enough. Then again some products dont have any ads at all, or it atleast seems that way.

Fairlane · 11-06-2007, 03:19 PM

Nice line up I agree - the only gap come Orion time will be no luxury car ie Fairlane and no decent small SUV (Escape is as old as Methusala and quite big).

Only other problem i can see is that none of those cars are cheap and in todays climate despite there being shedloads of money around 50 of people cant see the wood through the trees and buy Viva's/Barina's/Rio's despite the fact they are junk because they save 2 grand- which they get back in resale and repairs after 2 years.

Who in there right mind would buy a Viva or an Elantra over a Focus ? Yet They do.

And the other 50% are badge seekers whom Ford has a real bad rep. Some of just obssed with badge cred of say a VW, BMW, Audi despite the fact they get a hell of less car for their money and in Europe itself the cars are all treated as being just as prestigious. Whilst others are open minded and are rightly ****ed of with Fords crap dealer and after sales service.

This group will be a real problem for the Mondeo- despite the fact that in Europe the Mondeo looks like it will be king of the midsizer class and get a better rap than cars like the Passat

Nashy86 · 11-06-2007, 03:33 PM

The biggest problem I can see is potential Falcon buyers going for the smaller cars like Mondeo etc., which is good for the brand to be selling Mondeo's but bad for local production.

I hope their decision to go "European" styled cars pays off more than holdens cheap korean stuff, I know enthusiasts can tell the difference, but the general public might be blinded to the imperfections of the Daewoo's by the lion badge on the bonnet and the lower price tag in the window.

**Polyal** · 11-06-2007, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RustyEB1

The biggest problem I can see is potential Falcon buyers going for the smaller cars like Mondeo etc., which is good for the brand to be selling Mondeo's but bad for local production.

I hope their decision to go "European" styled cars pays off more than holdens cheap korean stuff, I know enthusiasts can tell the difference, but the general public might be blinded to the imperfections of the Daewoo's by the lion badge on the bonnet and the lower price tag in the window.

Yeah all good points must thus far.

IMO if Ford dont push the quality of their cars now then they are going to be in trouble, GM/Daewoo will sort their issues out soon enough.

And yes, the dealership issues that you hear of just make matters worse.

BPXR6T · 11-06-2007, 03:42 PM

Mondeo is FWD right. I really want a performance car that is 2/3rds the size of a Falcon but RWD. Easier for those living with small garages and city commutes. What ever happened to the market segment the cortina and torana used to service.

**Polyal** · 11-06-2007, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FourBarrel

Mondeo is FWD right. I really want a performance car that is 2/3rds the size of a Falcon but RWD. Easier for those living with small garages and city commutes. What ever happened to the market segment the cortina and torana used to service.

Died with every other good car when the 1980's rolled out...LOL

BMW would be your car, but $$$ I guess. RWD is a medium/small car is fun, but not essential. the vast majority of people who buy these cars couldn't give two rats about that really.

Force6 · 11-06-2007, 04:04 PM

Bring back the Treuno! A modern version of the AE86 beast. I've had the pleasure of piloting two of these things and they are perhaps one of the most fun vehicles ever, with a bit of work done on them though. The Cortina, while a great vehicle for what it is just doesnt compare.

sleekism · 11-06-2007, 04:59 PM

Bring back the TX3 Turbo it clearly shat all over the AE86.

If Holden brings out the new Torana based on the smaller GM RWD platform Ford would be in big trouble heck even I would buy one.

The torque lacking Alloytec would make sense in the Torana and if they could squeeze a V8 in............

Nashy86 · 11-06-2007, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FourBarrel

Mondeo is FWD right. I really want a performance car that is 2/3rds the size of a Falcon but RWD. Easier for those living with small garages and city commutes. What ever happened to the market segment the cortina and torana used to service.

It would be great to see a rwd Mondeo sized car, but it would have to come off the production line with the falcon to keep both sustainable in Aus I reckon. Otherwise with fuel prices the way they are, if there was a car similar to the falcon but closer to the BMW 3 series size, then a lot of people would buy it over the falcon.

It would be good if it could be done sharing a lot of architecture with falcon (in a similar way to territory i mean) so they can roll off the same production line utilizing some components that are the same (SF 6speed for example) so when the demand for one stepped up they just change the production mix to suit.
But then the cost to engineer and develop the falcon and the smaller alternative would be much higher than just developing the falcon, with the end result of less falcons sold meaning the development costs take longer to re-coup etc.

Bossxr8 · 11-06-2007, 05:10 PM

Forget the F series, its dead here. The new version won't be coming, Ford announced that last week. Was going to cost too much to make them in RHD now that Brazil has stopped making them, and we couldn't sell enough here to justify RHD production.

**Polyal** · 11-06-2007, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Forget the F series, its dead here. The new version won't be coming, Ford announced that last week. Was going to cost too much to make them in RHD now that Brazil has stopped making them, and we couldn't sell enough here to justify RHD production.

Makes sense when there is a resources boom......

fou_bleu · 11-06-2007, 06:57 PM

Ranger is our new ute besides Falcon, here is a smart persons line-up:

Fiesta 3 / 5 door

Focus 3 door / Sedan

Mondeo Sedan / Wagon

Falcon Sedan / Ute / Wagon

Territory / Turbo / V8 [wishfulthinking

]

Ranger

fou_bleu · 11-06-2007, 07:00 PM

FPV?:

GT / GTP
F6 Typhoon
Pursuit / Super Pursuit
F6 Tornado
Force 6 / 8
F6 Tsunami (F6 Territory, again, wishful thinking

)

**Fordman1** · 11-06-2007, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordman6

Ranger is our new ute besides Falcon, here is a smart persons line-up:

Fiesta 3 / 5 door

Focus 3 door / Sedan

Mondeo Sedan / Wagon

Falcon Sedan / Ute / Wagon

Territory / Turbo / V8 [wishfulthinking

]

Ranger

And Escape replacement. Iosis X ?

Steffo · 11-06-2007, 07:01 PM

Well from a performance car enthusiasts point of view... Ford has alot of bases covered in Australia...

Small/Light segment hot hatch - Fiesta XR4
Small/Medium segment hot hatch - Focus XR5 Turbo
Large Sports Sedan - Falcon XR6, Falcon XR6 Turbo, Falcon XR8, FPV GT, FPV GT-P, FPV F6 Typhoon, FPV Force 8, FPV Force 6
"Sports Utility Vehicles," - Falcon XR6 Ute, Falcon XR6 Turbo Ute, Falcon XR8 Ute, FPV Pursuit, FPV Super Pursuit, FPV F6 Tornado, Ford Territory Turbo

The only thing missing, from a performance car enthusiast's POV's are a sports coupe and a true sports car... which in Ford's global line up are represented by the Mustang and Ford GT, which are unlikely to make it here and make up an irrelevant market segment anyway.

I think their lineup is pretty good, and looking to stay that way too. Don't forget the market is also covered by the base and luxury versions of all the cars above, so there's pretty much a Ford for anyone in their current Aussie range.

ClevlndStemer · 11-06-2007, 07:15 PM

I think it is a great lineup. Covering most of the relevant areas. Now they need to concentrate more of their marketing onto these areas, mainly the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo. The Falcon is not the flagship anymore at Ford, they shouldn't be relying on it to be, they need to push their whole range out to the public like Toyota do, flood the market with publicity, highlight EVERY award won, every victory and all relevant advances over competitors. Toyota have nothing special over Ford, they just have a better marketing team and dealer network.

BPXR6T · 11-06-2007, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steffo

The only thing missing, from a performance car enthusiast's POV's are a sports coupe and a true sports car... which in Ford's global line up are represented by the Mustang and Ford GT, which are unlikely to make it here and make up an irrelevant market segment anyway.

That's the conclusion I came to when looking for a RWD performance car smaller than a Falcon. As far as Ford go it was either the Mustang or the Mustang. I think its over priced especially from an importer.

I'm watching GM as there are rumours of the Camaro coming to Aus and the base model going for a bit over $40K in 09. This would be aimed at the current younger ute buyer market. If GM do this surely Ford will have to respond with a local Mustang at a competitive price.

Camaro in Aus

Falcon Freak · 11-06-2007, 08:13 PM

Ford's biggest problem in this country is its image. That must be fixed or nobody will bother coming to the dealers to consider one of Ford's products.

FF

Smoke Pursuit · 11-06-2007, 08:18 PM

Yes image is **** poor but that was Fords own doing, losing names like the Laser / Telstar etc lost ford alot of ground. The mondeo should be brought here as something else as they were never highly regarded before...

The Stylist · 11-06-2007, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

And Escape replacement. Iosis X ?

Yes, but like most other production cars - it will be a bit watered down from the concept. Rumours are flying around that the car will be called the X-Max.

samftr · 11-06-2007, 09:03 PM

you also forgot the transit van model range. it used to have 11 million different engine gearbox body type and paint package combinations.
they have made it look a bit wierd now with its update.

do they still sell the bravo, *cough* courier ute?

The Stylist · 11-06-2007, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RustyEB1

It would be great to see a rwd Mondeo sized car

Haha, I think the new Mondeo will raise some eyebrows when people see how big it is. Think Aurion, Maxima, Septic Accord size.

I'd love to see a rwd Focus sized car.

Steffo · 11-06-2007, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samftr

do they still sell the bravo, *cough* courier ute?

As was said earlier, its called the Ranger now.

The Stylist · 11-06-2007, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samftr

do they still sell the bravo, *cough* courier ute?

Yes, they just chucked some new clothes on it and called it the Ranger. In the future this will be replaced by the T6 project being developed by Ford Australia.

AussieJason · 11-06-2007, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClevlndStemer

I think it is a great lineup. Covering most of the relevant areas. Now they need to concentrate more of their marketing onto these areas, mainly the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo. The Falcon is not the flagship anymore at Ford, they shouldn't be relying on it to be, they need to push their whole range out to the public like Toyota do, flood the market with publicity, highlight EVERY award won, every victory and all relevant advances over competitors. Toyota have nothing special over Ford, they just have a better marketing team and dealer network.

Precisely, this is what Ford needs to do as they clearly haven't been doing it up to this point. The majority of people I know have no clue Ford won Bathurst, the BA got Wheels car of the year etc... due to lack of marketing.

The new lineup Ford Aus have is great, but if they don't market it and improve dealerships it will be for nothing.

Ives · 11-06-2007, 10:29 PM

Ford Australia should bring in the S-Max. I think it's a good option for a family that needs a 7-seater but don't need the Territory.
It can directly compete with the Tarago, Honda Odessy(sp?) etc.

http://www.ford.co.uk/ie/smax/-/-/-/-/-/-

The Stylist · 12-06-2007, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ives

Ford Australia should bring in the S-Max. I think it's a good option for a family that needs a 7-seater but don't need the Territory.
It can directly compete with the Tarago, Honda Odessy(sp?) etc.

http://www.ford.co.uk/ie/smax/-/-/-/-/-/-

I agree with bringing in thew S-Max, it's a fantastic looking vehicle for what it is. Plus it's based on the new Mondeo/Volvo S80 platform, which should translate into great handling. It also comes with the same 2.5L 5cyl found in the XR5/ST.

I'd love to see the Galaxy MPV here as well, which is just a larger version of the S-Max with a more conservative profile. The only problem is that it bits into the Territory's posistioning in the market.

MeestaNob! · 12-06-2007, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falcon Freak

Ford's biggest problem in this country is its image. That must be fixed or nobody will bother coming to the dealers to consider one of Ford's products.

FF

<cough>Revamp the dealer network.</cough>
I hate visiting Ford showrooms, loath their service, love their cars.

Non-enthusiasts wont put up with this scenario.