Ford to put the brakes on luxury sedans

RPO83 · 16-02-2007, 12:30 AM

Good stuff Gorman.

FORD Australia has flagged that the current generation of its locally built luxury sedan may be the last.

Link - The Age

5.4 GT · 16-02-2007, 12:33 AM

Not surprising when it has competition like the Caprice!

Ruger · 16-02-2007, 12:43 AM

Wise move!

ED Classic · 16-02-2007, 01:36 AM

Agree stick the money it costs to develop the car into the next Falcon which will stick it to Holden.

**Professor Farnsworth** · 16-02-2007, 01:40 AM

that's old news! well, old conjecture. Ford Aus dropped the ball with the fairlane when bringing out the BA variant, same headlights and tail lights as the falcon, it was pretty obvious they didn't care any more.

RPO83 · 16-02-2007, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrcrackers

that's old news! well, old conjecture. Ford Aus dropped the ball with the fairlane when bringing out the BA variant, same headlights and tail lights as the falcon, it was pretty obvious they didn't care any more.

Sure is old news, so the question is why the hell did Tom Gorman bring it up with the press again?

SpoolMan · 16-02-2007, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveO_SP

Not surprising when it has competition like the Caprice!

My Mate Rod has never purchased a New Holden until this week he and his business partner ordered 2 new Statesman Caprice, the wait is 4 to 8 weeks.
He is trading in his BA Pursuit Ute.
They had all time record sales last Nov/Dec for Statesman.
Interesting pricing though need to option them up if you want all the good stuff they found it hard to believe it didn't come with LSD standard cost is a extra $480.

''Last year it sold 1105 Fairlanes and only 53 LTDs.''
Holden almost sold this many VE Statesman's in one month.

Bill M · 16-02-2007, 07:56 AM

There has been a few articles in Motor (Bill Tuckey) and Carsguide (herald sun) that have inferred that maybe Ford Aus may cease manufacturing here. I hope the luxury sedan phaseout may not be the signs of more to come.
cheers
Bill.

**Polyal** · 16-02-2007, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill M

There has been a few articles in Motor (Bill Tuckey) and Carsguide (herald sun) that have inferred that maybe Ford Aus may cease manufacturing here. I hope the luxury sedan phaseout may not be the signs of more to come.
cheers
Bill.

Settle down, not for atleast until the next Falcon rolls out, its going to be even more important than the BA.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPO83

Sure is old news, so the question is why the hell did Tom Gorman bring it up with the press again?

I have no idea, there must be a sneaky reason, either that or they just want a head line.

The worst thing about all of this is that Ford made this segment its own, and dominanted, and then fell flat on its own sword.

BlueRaven · 16-02-2007, 08:18 AM

I love old Fairlanes... its a shame they wont be around any more, but I blame society.

Why don't people understand that they need a car thats 30ft long?

jimmy_c · 16-02-2007, 09:12 AM

Well they could have had a nice car. I doubt there would be any LWB project for the new 08 falcon.

They have lost the plot.

sbutler · 16-02-2007, 09:25 AM

The guy next door is right up in the high flyers & gets a new car about every 6 months. They are allways LTDs I talked him into a G220 Fairlane & now hes hooked.
The last Ford was a G8 Fairlane which he loves.
Well he was due for his new car & the compony has done a deal with Holden for there fleet. He picked up a new Caprice & has had it for about two months now.
I was yakking over the fence on Tuesday & asked about how the Holden is compaired to the G8. He just snered a said he will never have another one!! He hates it with a passion. Now this this is a guy that knows nothing about cars or for that matter is interested in them.

He said the G8 was simply a much better car in every way. He said if they dont get him another Ford he'll be getting a BMW 5 series V8. He said that way it would be as good or better than the G8. But he will not execpt another Holden..

So Ford should keep up the Limo type cars IMO

:

Mongoose · 16-02-2007, 01:29 PM

Why dont they go back and do what they used to do with the LTD's and make them TOTALLY different from the falcon's, such as in the P5-P6 LTD's right up to the AU (excluding the DF - DL LTD's) and bringing back the old 351 GT engine wouldnt kill them

5.4 GT · 16-02-2007, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbutler

The guy next door is right up in the high flyers & gets a new car about every 6 months. They are allways LTDs I talked him into a G220 Fairlane & now hes hooked.
The last Ford was a G8 Fairlane which he loves.
Well he was due for his new car & the compony has done a deal with Holden for there fleet. He picked up a new Caprice & has had it for about two months now.
I was yakking over the fence on Tuesday & asked about how the Holden is compaired to the G8. He just snered a said he will never have another one!! He hates it with a passion. Now this this is a guy that knows nothing about cars or for that matter is interested in them.

He said the G8 was simply a much better car in every way. He said if they dont get him another Ford he'll be getting a BMW 5 series V8. He said that way it would be as good or better than the G8. But he will not execpt another Holden..

So Ford should keep up the Limo type cars IMO

:

Strange... If it was a WM Caprice he was comparing the G8 to, the Caprice is in another league. We have tested both. The engine in the G8 sounded like a wheezer in stock form and didnt go much better than it sounded. The L98s are a grunty bugger of an engine and sound better than the 230kw 3Vs in stock form. The interior quality is better in the Caprice, the look of the car is far better, the way it drives is superior, the dvd system, the Bose sound system, the brakes are better and the car has way more standard features. The only thing that trumps the Holden Caprice in the G8 is the ZF transmission (the Holden box is still a clunker) and the fact it has a Ford badge on it! If Ford made something exactly the same with a ZF unit and a big blue oval badge on it'd be unstoppable and i'd love it even more!

apolloxbgt · 16-02-2007, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mongoose10

and bringing back the old 351 GT engine wouldnt kill them

Mabey not,but the emissions from the old things would kill all of us!!

Dilan · 16-02-2007, 02:26 PM

"Locally built luxury sedan" - maybe hinting at the prospect of importing one? NB I havent read the article yet.

gtfpv · 16-02-2007, 02:28 PM

I sat in a new caprice , andd i loved it . i'd buy one .

ondori · 16-02-2007, 04:34 PM

Would this just signify new SWB Luxury Sedans?
Change the front, rear ends and major interior parts, like dash and seats, use the same SWB falcon bodies too make luxury Sports sedans. This possibly could be alot cheaper for ford too and make for, far superior high-quality cars. Its going to be a interesting year.

Road_Warrior · 16-02-2007, 04:37 PM

I find it odd that on one hand they confirm continued wagon production, then on the other say the axe is more or less going to fall on the LTD/Fairlane. In the past, the two have shared the same platform - surely Ford can't justify producing a variant of the Falcon chassis for just one body type?? It doesnt make sense for the low wagon volumes that would be sold, and the ute chassis is different again is it not? (from the B pillar back)

There was a similar article in this morning's West Australian - old news, but I am still at this point calling BS on it for the reason I have outlined above.

**Mechan1k** · 16-02-2007, 04:45 PM

After reading the thread title ... I had to check to see if previous Ford Luxury Sedans had brakes.
I would have thought brakes would have come as standard.

:hihi:

Yes it is a Friday ... and it has been a long week at work.

VZSS250 · 16-02-2007, 06:40 PM

I have a WM Caprice V8 and I can verify that it has taken the Australian LWB market to another level. And the stock exhaust note is fantastic. Sitting on 20s, in black, with a lip spoiler and massive slatherings of chrome all over the place, the 5.2 metre Caprice is one beautiful car. Congratulations to Holden for blowing the LTD to smithereens by constantly updating its Caprice in a meaningful way.

But it is all very sad. I wanted to see Orion to deliver on an LTD that would one-up the Caprice. This is what the Holden-Ford rivalry is all about, especially for those like me, that aren't loyal to either brand, just out to buy the best car.

XA-Coupe · 16-02-2007, 07:24 PM

I got to drive a Fairlane Ghia during the week and was very disappointed. My XR8 feels far more luxurious. I understand that FoA didn't have a lot of dollars in the kitty for teh LWB but it felt so ordinary for the money.

Psycho Chicken · 16-02-2007, 07:31 PM

I would of thought putting a decent effort into fixing it would of been a better option. 300C and Holden LWB sales prove there's a market for it.

SpoolMan · 16-02-2007, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XA-Coupe

I got to drive a Fairlane Ghia during the week and was very disappointed. My XR8 feels far more luxurious. I understand that FoA didn't have a lot of dollars in the kitty for teh LWB but it felt so ordinary for the money.

Rod and Jack looked at the LTD says it doesn't even come close to the new VE Statesman and the LTD costs $10,000 more.
And you know Rod he is a FORD man.

stevz · 16-02-2007, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbutler

The guy next door is right up in the high flyers & gets a new car about every 6 months. They are allways LTDs I talked him into a G220 Fairlane & now hes hooked.
The last Ford was a G8 Fairlane which he loves.
Well he was due for his new car & the compony has done a deal with Holden for there fleet. He picked up a new Caprice & has had it for about two months now.
I was yakking over the fence on Tuesday & asked about how the Holden is compaired to the G8. He just snered a said he will never have another one!! He hates it with a passion. Now this this is a guy that knows nothing about cars or for that matter is interested in them.

He said the G8 was simply a much better car in every way. He said if they dont get him another Ford he'll be getting a BMW 5 series V8. He said that way it would be as good or better than the G8. But he will not execpt another Holden..

This bloke's got to be joking, the WM Caprice is in another league.

XA-Coupe · 16-02-2007, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpoolMan

Rod and Jack looked at the LTD says it doesn't even come close to the new VE Statesman and the LTD costs $10,000 more.
And you know Rod he is a FORD man.

yep.. the fairlane was so ..well... ordinary.

Mondie · 16-02-2007, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VZSS250

I have a WM Caprice V8 and I can verify that it has taken the Australian LWB market to another level. And the stock exhaust note is fantastic. Sitting on 20s, in black, with a lip spoiler and massive slatherings of chrome all over the place, the 5.2 metre Caprice is one beautiful car. Congratulations to Holden for blowing the LTD to smithereens by constantly updating its Caprice in a meaningful way.

l love the new caprice, yours sounds like a beauty. Got any pics?

naddis01 · 16-02-2007, 10:31 PM

Personally I wouldnt discount the LWB variants just yet. Why would ford persist with the wagon if there is to be no Fairlane/LTD? Surely the sales of the wagon alone wouldnt justify the engineering involved for the LWB. Unless the wagon will use the SWB of the falcon ala the VE commodore and I think 300C?

There is no reason why Ford couldnt release a Statesman/Caprice beater (apart from money or lack of it of course). The BA/BF platform isnt that far behind the VE anyway so surely the Orion will be better than the Holdens. So why couldnt they develop a LWB variant that could that take on Holden and win?
The main problem with the current Fairlane/LTD is its looks. I know if I was to pay $60k+ I would atleast want a good looking car, not one that just looks like a stretched falcon.
There is obviously a market there for this type of vehicle. Just look at the sales of the Statesman/Caprice and the 300C. Ford just need a good looking competitive car.

Anyway thats just my thoughts.

uranium_death · 16-02-2007, 10:36 PM

Ford would be able to produce the Fairlane effectively and sell it if Ford actually used its brains and exported.
Instead, they wait for Holden to gain a sexy niche and then smack themselves in the head and ask themselves, "Now why didn't we think of that?"

Given the Fairlane's lack of sales, I think dropping it would be a good idea. Instead, put the money in the Orion.

CAMS290 · 16-02-2007, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpoolMan

Rod and Jack looked at the LTD says it doesn't even come close to the new VE Statesman and the LTD costs $10,000 more.
And you know Rod he is a FORD man.

The new Caprice is awesome Mark.......black.....tint windows...lowered,,,,,19's or 20's ....pure horn !