Are Australian Fords REALLY so bad?

[Crazy Dazz]

I read it in this forum all the time; Falcons are ****, the balls fell off my Territory, Ford Australia has let the consumer down, Falcons are dying because they have a reputation for being unreliable, whah, whah.
So I ask the question, in all honesty are they REALLY that bad???
Sure these Australian cars have had their share of problems, and by and large Ford have issued recalls and fixed the problem. The Terri’s balls are a case in point. Yes, a **** problem and Ford began by replacing them free well outside warranty, and then issued a recall once they had a solution. SO let’s compare that to the “uber reliable” Toyota Landcruiser: In the 90’s when they launched their new turbo diesel they didn’t bother to upgrade the big-end bearings with the result that they inevitably failed. Toyota’s response, denial, denial, then grudging offer to pay for HALF the labour and cost of bearings ONLY on a “case by case” basis (despite the extensive other damage often caused. Or the 2nd biggest seller, Nissan Patrol. Google “Nissan Grenade” then come back and complain about your balls. A fundamental design flaw that practically guarantees destruction of the engine, that took Nissan years to fix on their new cars (no recalls, no assistance, nothing) but at least the new ones lasted long-enough for the Turbos to implode.
Have a look around at how many AUs there are, still cruising along with 300k+ on the original engine, or Taxi’s that have racked up 700k+. Phenomenal engines.
Over my preceding 30 (mostly poor) years I have owned many older cars, and I will tell you that ALL older cars break and require maintenance, but none are as cheap or easy to fix yourself as a Falcon. I have a 22 year old DAUGHTER, who can barely sew a button on her designer blouses, but she fix just about anything on her AU.

I also wonder how much of this “reputation” has been caused by non-genuine knockoff parts? It may be LESS of a problem now, but when Commode and/or Falcon were the market leaders it made sense for everyone to be making and selling knock-off parts. If you own an E or A series, and want to know why you’re replacing the power steer pressure switch very year or so, stop buying the cheap ones, or at least fit decent ‘o’ rings that don’t dissolve on contact with hydraulic fluid.

My personal car is an XR4, supposedly designed, engineered, and built by Germans (those epitomes of high quality manufacturing.) I LOVE it to bits,
BUT,
No cruise control on a top of the range model.
One cup holder, that you can’t even use because of the gearshift (and if you want an ashtray, guess where that goes.)
Bonnet release is in the passenger footwell (how HARD would it have been to re-route that cable?)
Indicators on the wrong side. Seriously? You can move the whole fekkin steering assembly, but can’t swap the indicator and wiper controls?
Put any more than a pair of midgets on board and the ***-end lets fly (Took AUSTRALIANS to design and develop an anti-sway bar.)
Hit 100kph and you’re left hunting for the missing 6th gear (those autobahns must be bloody slow.)
Aircon simply cannot cope with ambient air above 30c.
Heater is always on (heater tap is designed not to close all the way to prevent freezing.)

As I said, I love it to bits, but let’s not pretend that everything coming out of Europe or Japan is all glittering perfection.
And don’t get me started on some of the crap still coming out of Korea.
People whinge about their Falcon because after 10 years and 200k a switch or button falls off. Have you looked at a Kia of the same vintage?

(After driving a near new model with the RAC, I almost bought the missus a nice shiny new Santé Fe Diesel. But we wanted one with the leather and all the fruit, so when I saw a top of the range 2nd hand, 2 years old with under 50k on the clock, I trotted down for a test drive. I still shudder just thinking about it.) And check out the engines in the craptiva after 100k; sounds like a 100 angry Koreans belting it with hammers

Ford sell how many Falcons each year? Whilst Toyota manage to con over a million simpletons into buying Corollas. Wonder who has the biggest budget to spend on process improvement and quality control?

“Falcons don’t hold their value” is another chestnut, and up til now this has probably been true in the short-term, and for one simple reason. Large “fleet” and lease sales lead to huge volumes being dumped in the market from 1~5 years. Just check out the number of 20+ year old Falcons still chugging along, compare them to the few horrific little cars (that haven’t made it to the scrap heap yet.) The numbers are also misleading when you consider the cost of replacing major components.

I'm not suggesting that we look at Falcons & Terris through Rose-coloured glasses, only that we be realistic in our criticism. Furthermore if so many “Ford Enthusiasts” want to do nothing but rubbish Fords in a FORD forum, I hate to think just how much you are running down the brand in public?