Delayed: Ford's 4-cylinder Falcon

[Dr Smith]

I wonder if Drive and Carsguide where involved in this interview?

Edit: And I think there is a big lesson for everyone at Ford Oz when dealing with any media and particulalry the one's they know are "half glass empty" everytime. When announcing anything that has a potential to be tarnished as a negative, explain repeatedly the reasons as Sinead has done above, especially on the EB Falcon and it's delay, or the fleet buyers in QLD where XR6 sales have been big with hire companies. It will be a huge pita but some press are looking for doom and it's up to FoMoCo management to head them off because when you think about it, SZ Terry, LiLPG, EB Falcon, FGII, Ranger, Focus, it's going to be a huge year for new product.

[Bossxr8]

Just because they plan to continue to keep the engine plant running means nothing, because they are only ever going to talk about the next couple of years which they will keep it open, its beyond that that it looks shaky, and they are never going to reveal future model plans to anyone.

They will continue to say the engine plant will stay open right until a year or so before they decide to shut it down. Even if they knew the I6 wasn't going to continue beyond 2015, which they may already know, they won't say anything for at least another few years.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by jpd80

From your link:

Redesigned Mustang yes, but that's no guarantee of another RWD Falcon.
This is what the rest of your link said:

Yeah I know. but did you see the times? That's all I wanted to show you from the article. Both are due 2015 according to it.

Hopefully FoA are packaging a RWD/AWD large car design from the best of what Falcon and territory have to offer. Face it. If americans need AWD... they'll get it., if they want RWD... they'll get it. Win, Win. Highly optimistic... you can't beat it out of me.

[jpd80]

Natural selection is at hand.
Ford won't kill off the Falcon, no they will let the buyers do it for them by boosting the
the Mondeo side of the ledger then at one swift moment, Falcon will be gone for good.

Ford are already saying that Mondeo is working as a Falcon station wagon replacement
so the fuel efficient Ecoboost and diesel Mondeos should eat into Falcon's fleet sales
and before you know it the novated lease buyers will start climbing on board too..

[Bossxr8]

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25785B002172E2

No problem according to Ford.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25785B002172E2

No problem according to Ford.

It is a problem if sales don't increase, Ford is talking up their prospects and
I hope it works for them but the current low sales figures and back log of
unsold Falcons must be worrying indeed, perhaps a huge sale is on the
way, I hear there are a lot of Nitro and Lightening Strike models built on
speculation, maybe they could have a Blue and Silver sale.....

[vztrt]

Nice to see a reaction by Ford and a confirmation about models.

[Road_Warrior]

the new-generation LPG system should also eliminate the packaging problems associated with previous LPG models.

O rly.

Interesting.

[prydey]

is it possible they have designed their own tank, that will fit where the petrol tank used to sit, allowing a spare wheel to fit in its original spot? or maybe they won't come with a spare but a repair kit, although that wouldn't really fit the statement of 'eliminating packaging problems'.

interesting to see how they've gone about it.

[Paxton]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

O rly.

Interesting.

Yup. It isn't just the injection system that has been worked on.

Edit: prydey - something along those lines. It has been rumoured since the I6 was revived that Burela wanted to 'fix' the eGas Falcons.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Paxton

Yup. It isn't just the injection system that has been worked on.

Hope so.

[prydey]

dedicated lpg with a full size boot will be a big plus. territory and egas should boost sales nicely.

[Joe5619]

Some EcoBoost videos on the Aust Mondeo site..

http://www.ford.com.au/servlet/Satel...apper&site=FOA

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Paxton

Nope. T6 Ranger.

Ford are their own worst enemies by not bringing the F250 back to Australia. They would sell every car they could bring in, at, or very near RRP.

Focus would be on the used car market if they brought in the F150/250 at RRP prices or a few thousand above.

Why bother with the T6 Ranger, its 90% of the size of the F150 right? Why not spend the money that went into developing that into converting the F150 into RHD?

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

If they only made it in RHD. Thats the problem.

FoA sourced the last F series from Brazil in RHD, but they no longer make RHD F series.

Indeed, it didn't have a glovebox either, and we didn't get all the engine options either.

You can buy a new F250, but its not worth $150,000, thats half a house where I live, or enough for a decent sized property. $150,000 for something with a Ford badge, dream on white boy.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Why bother with the T6 Ranger, its 90% of the size of the F150 right? Why not spend the money that went into developing that into converting the F150 into RHD?

Have you even seen a new F150 in the flesh?

90% is Kuzak at his dismissing best.....
the truth is that Ford didn't want to stay in the small truck market
because sales have slid to 40,000 a year and most Rangers bought
in the US are the cheap $17,000 pick up version.

Ford doesn't want to import T6 Ranger only to find it competing with F150,
not when there's close to 380,000 lucrative sales a year riding on it.....

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Have you even seen a new F150 in the flesh?

90% is Kuzak at his dismissing best.....
the truth is that Ford didn't want to stay in the small truck market
because sales have slid to 40,000 a year and most Rangers bought
in the US are the cheap $17,000 pick up version.

Ford doesn't want to import T6 Ranger only to find it competing with F150,
not when there's close to 380,000 sales a year riding on it.....

Yes I have, at the Melton F series specialists, not $150,000 worth thats for sure. Thats why I vote T6 Ranger being a waste of time, make F150 in RHD and bring it over at close to RRP.

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Natural selection is at hand.
Ford won't kill off the Falcon, no they will let the buyers do it for them by boosting the
the Mondeo side of the ledger then at one swift moment, Falcon will be gone for good.

Ford are already saying that Mondeo is working as a Falcon station wagon replacement
so the fuel efficient Ecoboost and diesel Mondeos should eat into Falcon's fleet sales
and before you know it the novated lease buyers will start climbing on board too..

There is a political reason for doing that too. Ford can explain away the government subsidies paid for Falcon more easily and not have to be in a position to repay any, if the Falcon is seen to die because its time has come and not because of years of screwups and being finally pushed off a cliff by Ford management. That outcome ironically will sit better with government too as they do the joint press conference with Ford to lament the changing market for large cars and the job losses.

It also nicely sidesteps the impact of years of neglect and management screwups at Ford Australia, that have tarnished the cars reputation with the public, seen it fall behind the competition and made many former owners walk away from Falcon for good. You can be sure that won't be mentioned at the press conference by anyone.

No its not the rust, brakes, diff, build quality, product mix, shoddy dealers or lack of capital investment etc that was killing it, it was the market changing. Of course thats true, its just convenient that it takes the focus off the other reasons for the drop in sales over many years that would have killed it anyway. Falcon vs Commodore sales show that Ford had the car in a decline long before the market really moved from large cars. The change in buyer habits just hurried things along.

I was mentioning the Falcon FG II late release and the delays in the four cylinder version and her answer was immediate. She said they are waiting to see if the new Territory floats and if it doesn't to pull the plug on both of them, before one of the updated FG's comes down the line. I think she is right.

Dan

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

I was mentioning the Falcon FG II late release and the delays in the four cylinder version and her answer was immediate. She said they are waiting to see if the new Territory floats and if it doesn't to pull the plug on both of them, before one comes down the line. I think she is right.

Dan

Dan, I think you are on the money.

This is crunch time for Falcon and Territory, if new Territory and LPG Falcon don't seriously lift sales then I'm afraid that's it for Falcon, all over red rover.

On the opposite side of the coin, if Ecoboost Mondeo becomes a hit with private and fleet buyers, Ford might be in a sticky position with EB Falcon.

[Brazen]

If Falcon was ever going to have a recovery then you couldnt ask for better than the following:

Modern facelift with new tech features
New generation LPI LPG with better packaging (assuming full-sized boot)
New high tech 4 cylinder with outstanding economy

We just need paitence.. the Falcon will get a big boost soon.

[S3SR]

how many NEW falcons have you bought? oh still got the EL you bought 2nd hand.... shame but that doesnt help Ford pay bills

i dont have inside knowledge, nor do I own a Ford product anymore, but I know that big car sales are hurting, im all for one to make every car have 600hp, the more Ford is known as the THIRSTY AMERICAN the worse it is for us fordforumers, you all whinge and ***** about everything, why doesn't Ford make a coupe, a LWB, an F truck in aust....... because it doesnt pay the bills

im a business owner and it annoys me more that people ask for carbon fibre products and want it for nothing, but whinge and ***** because i havent made any for the falcon....... i made a run of 10 carbon ECU covers... auctioned for about $50each .... WOW all that time and research, id better spend the rest of my days making more so i can give them away.. same thing with Ford..... diehard fans cry and make up rumours that damage the brand.... the only ones you hurt is yourselves, welcome Tata, Ssangyong and Greatwall...... its the products you asked for

[GK]

Originally Posted by Buntz93ED

Hopefully FoA are packaging a RWD/AWD large car design from the best of what Falcon and territory have to offer. Face it. If americans need AWD... they'll get it., if they want RWD... they'll get it. Win, Win. Highly optimistic... you can't beat it out of me.

I like your thinking. I hope you're right!

Sometimes it's actually quite hard to remain positive when the media keeps Ford bashing and every second mate loves Holden! LOL!

With all the new product releases this year, we should see a good boost in Falcon and Territory sales.

GK

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

I was mentioning the Falcon FG II late release and the delays in the four cylinder version and her answer was immediate. She said they are waiting to see if the new Territory floats and if it doesn't to pull the plug on both of them, before one of the updated FG's comes down the line. I think she is right.

Dan

Actually there is no delay in FGII.. It will be here in Oct, straight from Ford Aust themself.. There is a Goauto article today about it, but that web site seems to be down so can't get the link.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Actually there is no delay in FGII.. It will be here in Oct, straight from Ford Aust themself.. There is a Goauto article today about it, but that web site seems to be down so can't get the link.

The article is the one listed above.

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25785B002172E2

Ford has revealed the new-generation Liquid Phase Injection (LPI) LPG system for its Falcon will go on sale earlier than expected in July, while the updated 2012 Falcon continues to be on target for release in September or October.

[chevypower]

$150,000 for a new Super Duty. VDC is charging $54,000 just to convert it to RHD. That leaves about another $30,000 on top of the $60,000 truck. I'm assuming their justification is importing costs, crash testing, overhead etc. If Ford sold the truck there, it would literally be half the price.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Yes I have, at the Melton F series specialists, not $150,000 worth thats for sure. Thats why I vote T6 Ranger being a waste of time, make F150 in RHD and bring it over at close to RRP.

F150 is around 800 Kg heavier than the T6 Ranger and drinks fuel accordingly,
it is designed primarily as a tow vehicle for hauling heavy 5th wheel trailers but since
the rest of the world doesn't have this need a lot of the F150's advantage is wasted.

Try getting an F150 into a conventional garage, the extra width is a pain...

[Polyal]

Take what you want from a dealer/salesmens mouth....they are employed to do one thing only and that's sell cars. They tend to take up a part time job in talking smack aswell.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Dan, I think you are on the money.

This is crunch time for Falcon and Territory, if new Territory and LPG Falcon don't seriously lift sales then I'm afraid that's it for Falcon, all over red rover.

On the opposite side of the coin, if Ecoboost Mondeo becomes a hit with private and fleet buyers, Ford might be in a sticky position with EB Falcon.

Enough with the doom and gloom John. I do believe however that Ford has been seriously lacking in their determination, and support for the locally made icon. New Territory and LPG will turn things around you'll see. Lack of sales is probably indicative of people waiting for the new stuff. Ford should probably learn not to boast about new products until their nearly finished completing them.

Originally Posted by prydey

dedicated lpg with a full size boot will be a big plus. territory and egas should boost sales nicely.

Yeah it's gonna be fabulous. I'm glad Ford has put all their attentions on the more locally oriented product. Which I think will be more of a hit than EcoBoost.

Originally Posted by Brazen

If Falcon was ever going to have a recovery then you couldnt ask for better than the following:

Modern facelift with new tech features
New generation LPI LPG with better packaging (assuming full-sized boot)
New high tech 4 cylinder with outstanding economy

We just need paitence.. the Falcon will get a big boost soon.

Yes. Falcon will be getting these exciting upgrades over the course of the near future. This will give Ford a good indication of it's success if they haven't already made up their mind.

[XWGT]

Falcon cannot in my opinion compete with Mondeo in the open market.

Yes we enthusiasts love the Falcon and RWD etc etc, but the Mondeo is simply too good a car for the average punter to ignore.

I cannot see Falcon without diesel too far into the future I'm afraid....and lets face it Falcon with diesel is already here, its just called Mondeo.

[Polyal]

Surely a falcon ute would sell like hotcakes.

I wonder how many of the Ranger/Hilux/Navara crowd brought those cars simply because of diesel. Same philosophy applies to the Territory.

But I agree, long term the Falcons only hope will be as a RWD sports/luxury car....perhaps Lincoln by another name.

[csv8]

Mules about of FG2 ?????