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Old 5 Mar 2012, 10:10 (Ref:3035267)   #1
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Cheese Ford... Out? In? Who With? Why?

Nissan came out a few weeks ago and announced a healthy injection of technical support, and funding, and promotional execution in the V8Supercar category wrapped around the Kelly Racing operation.

Holden came out last week and stated categorically that they are 100% behind V8Supercars, and extended deals with 888 and the WP/HRT operation.

Ford said they will make a decision sometime or other but wont be rushed...

Story Here

Story Here Too

So... we seem to have a couple of people at the top of the Ford tree who are making the right kind of noises about Ford's continued participation in V8Supercar...

Indeed the Ford Australia CEO Mr Graziano was firmly tucked away in the FPR pit bunker for the weekend... in time for the 'factory' team to perhaps deliver on many years of unfulfilled promise...

The V8X article is perhaps more pessimistic than the Speedcafe one, suggesting that the Ford V8supercar budget may continue on at a high level to the FPR team, with the other teams currently running Fords either reducing or perhaps even eliminating financial support for their operations.

I thought it interesting that the 3 FPR-prepared cars were rebadged on Sunday at Clipsal, with their windscreens adorned with the Ford ECOBOOST brand... the 4 cylinder turbo Falcon we apparently have to have... while the other Ford team in SBR remained with the generic Ford branding on the windscreens... and the rest have Ford stickers here and there...

Will Ford remain in the V8Supercar series on the way towards Car Of The Future? That they own a joint venture in the FPV business with the owner of FPR shouldnt preclude a rational look at promise versus delivery... blighted of course by a recency effect..

Will Ford remain with loyal soldiers SBR & DJR? Each team has been involved in the blue oval programs for some years, providing main game and customer teams with cars and equipment... will it continue.. or will these guys do as the V8X article suggests, and swap manufacturers?

More importantly, will Ford actually let these teams know the investment their brand will make in their teams sooner rather than later so that either an alternative car manufacturer, or replacement sponsor, can be lined up to take the windscreen strips....

When there is no noise... its not necessarily a bad sign, but also not necessarily a good one neither....
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Old 5 Mar 2012, 10:44 (Ref:3035291)   #2
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This is the problem with Ford in Australia (and possibly the world). One moment they are spending big money on cars, drivers & image and next moment they are carving big money out of the sport.
They did that in the 70's, 80's, 90's and now.
Holden in contrast keeps a consistent spend, never out, always a prescence, keeps pushing the key teams.
If the writing is on the wall for Falcon and the v8 then by definition the the FPV side of the business is at risk. I recall FPV acknowledge this. What then of FPR, the team with all the resources but generally poor results until last weekend?
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Old 5 Mar 2012, 10:56 (Ref:3035296)   #3
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What I thought was a little odd was that I don't think any of the Holden teams ran HOLDEN windscreen strips - HRT's HoldenWise coming the closest.
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Old 5 Mar 2012, 11:01 (Ref:3035300)   #4
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There's a line in V8X that says that they are feeling good about continuing relationships with their teams, not team (singular) but teams (plural).

Sounds pretty good to me! Winning in Holden's backyard in Adelaide with the Ford president there in the pits probably didn't do any harm. Talk about good timing!

By the way, where was the Holden boss on the weekend, you know the one, the boss of the company that supposedly always supports motor racing to the hilt?
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Old 5 Mar 2012, 11:17 (Ref:3035309)   #5
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By the way, where was the Holden boss on the weekend, you know the one, the boss of the company that supposedly always supports motor racing to the hilt?
Well he doesn't need to does he? They do win the majority of the time don't they? No need for morale boosting on the Red side when 888 are annihilating everything in their path.
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Old 5 Mar 2012, 11:39 (Ref:3035314)   #6
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Well he doesn't need to does he? They do win the majority of the time don't they? No need for morale boosting on the Red side when 888 are annihilating everything in their path.
Nice try, but fail...

I didn't mention that Holden only seem to be giving any meaningful support to two teams next year. Not wht you would expect from a company that "keeps a consistent spend". Hmm...
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Old 6 Mar 2012, 00:52 (Ref:3035720)   #7
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With less than 1,200 sales in February and a decision to be made on the next generation Falcon this year, maybe Ford are re-evaluating? http://www.theage.com.au/national/sm...305-1ue8t.html
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Old 6 Mar 2012, 10:02 (Ref:3035839)   #8
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With less than 1,200 sales in February and a decision to be made on the next generation Falcon this year, maybe Ford are re-evaluating? http://www.theage.com.au/national/sm...305-1ue8t.html
No. The decline of Falcon sales is nothing new and certainly hasn't happened in the last week, so the positive signs from Ford Australia marketing vice-president Brad Brownell remain valid. Remember the EcoBoost Falcon is just around the corner too.

The Territory is selling well and when combined with Falcon sales is more than what Toyota sells locally from their factory. Anything Toyota exports at the moment they would be losing a bucket of money on, so Toyota is in the most vulnerable position.

Next…
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Old 6 Mar 2012, 10:48 (Ref:3035874)   #9
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No. The decline of Falcon sales is nothing new and certainly hasn't happened in the last week, so the positive signs from Ford Australia marketing vice-president Brad Brownell remain valid. Remember the EcoBoost Falcon is just around the corner too.

The Territory is selling well and when combined with Falcon sales is more than what Toyota sells locally from their factory. Anything Toyota exports at the moment they would be losing a bucket of money on, so Toyota is in the most vulnerable position.

Next…
I think the Falcon future is a little more gloomy than that picture. We can only hope ecoboost and ecolpi do in fact bring back the fleet buyers. It would be a shame to see the falcon panels pulled off the COTF frame, replaced by Taurus or Mondeo clothing.
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Old 6 Mar 2012, 10:53 (Ref:3035877)   #10
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No. The decline of Falcon sales is nothing new and certainly hasn't happened in the last week, so the positive signs from Ford Australia marketing vice-president Brad Brownell remain valid. Remember the EcoBoost Falcon is just around the corner too.

The Territory is selling well and when combined with Falcon sales is more than what Toyota sells locally from their factory. Anything Toyota exports at the moment they would be losing a bucket of money on, so Toyota is in the most vulnerable position.

Next…
Many people just prefer SUV's because of the extra ground clearance and versatility.........with COtF Ford can simply race a Mondeo.
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Old 6 Mar 2012, 12:03 (Ref:3035902)   #11
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Yes, Mondeo could be used but it seems the Falcon is going to be around for a few years yet in some form or another. It's the third oldest continuously produced nameplate in the world, so I don't think they will abandon it in a hurry.

Even if Ford did one day end production in Australia that doesn't mean they would abandon using motorsport for marketing purposes. Nissan don't manufacture cars in Australia.
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Old 6 Mar 2012, 16:22 (Ref:3036075)   #12
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Yes, Mondeo could be used but it seems the Falcon is going to be around for a few years yet in some form or another. It's the third oldest continuously produced nameplate in the world, so I don't think they will abandon it in a hurry.

Even if Ford did one day end production in Australia that doesn't mean they would abandon using motorsport for marketing purposes. Nissan don't manufacture cars in Australia.
We will see how the new versions of the Falcon do in the marketplace. I don't think Ford will abandon the Falcon nameplate too quickly, but I think with the next "Falcon", it's going to have to get with the program. Ford is a global company and a huge error was made not engineering the car for left hand drive and due to that it has hugely restricted it's market where it can be sold.

The Commodore platform on the other hand sells well in China as a Buick and the car is sold elsewhere from Brazil to South Africa to the Middle East as a Chevy Lumina. It's also sold in the USA as a police car.
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Old 6 Mar 2012, 23:29 (Ref:3036241)   #13
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We will see how the new versions of the Falcon do in the marketplace. I don't think Ford will abandon the Falcon nameplate too quickly, but I think with the next "Falcon", it's going to have to get with the program. Ford is a global company and a huge error was made not engineering the car for left hand drive and due to that it has hugely restricted it's market where it can be sold.

The Commodore platform on the other hand sells well in China as a Buick and the car is sold elsewhere from Brazil to South Africa to the Middle East as a Chevy Lumina. It's also sold in the USA as a police car.
It was too expensive to engineer the Falcon for left hand drive and given how the Australian dollar now is, it was the best decision in hindsight. Holden's overseas markets have dried up. The US police car project is in ruin too. They have sold very few cars indeed, due to the Australian dollar.

The high Australian dollar is not going to go down any time soon and both Holden and Toyota have moved towards not relying on exports and following the Ford Australia model of focusing on the local market.

We've got the Falcon until 2016. After that I live in hope that they re-badge something as a Falcon.

The Commodore is expected to go the same way.
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Old 7 Mar 2012, 01:49 (Ref:3036281)   #14
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We will see how the new versions of the Falcon do in the marketplace. I don't think Ford will abandon the Falcon nameplate too quickly, but I think with the next "Falcon", it's going to have to get with the program. Ford is a global company and a huge error was made not engineering the car for left hand drive and due to that it has hugely restricted it's market where it can be sold.
Ford Australia is not allowed to sell into any of those markets so engineering the Falcon for LHD would make no sense at all.
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Old 7 Mar 2012, 01:59 (Ref:3036283)   #15
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From what I read in a magazine a while back, the next gen Falcon and Mustang could share the same chassis.
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Old 7 Mar 2012, 02:05 (Ref:3036285)   #16
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From what I read in a magazine a while back, the next gen Falcon and Mustang could share the same chassis.
Unlikely, far more likely to be based off a large FWD/AWD car from the US, whether we like it or not...
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Old 7 Mar 2012, 02:05 (Ref:3036287)   #17
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The rumour is that after 2016 there will be global platform that will take all wheel drive this will see Falcon & Territory sharing the same platform as a EURO model & a US model likley to be Mondeo in Europe. By the way Ecoboost Falcon is now available to order as a 'no cost option' in stead of the IL6 and this seems to be the way ford are going with engines across a lot of different markets.
Not that it matters much as the V8 Supercars are very different from the production cars and the way its going it is more of a sillouette style with body panels stuck on to a space frame and they could make a supercar look like any model thats in production but it will be very different underneath, suspension , sequential box, different engine etc etc.

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Old 7 Mar 2012, 04:41 (Ref:3036315)   #18
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Relevant, and timely:

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Blue Oval boss leaves the Aussie sedan out of the picture.

The nails show no sign of being removed from the coffin of Ford's flailing Falcon, with the brand's international president all but confirming there is no long term future for the Australian large car.

While remaining guarded with his comments, Ford boss Allan Mulally gave his strongest hint yet that the Falcon - and possibly the Falcon nameplate - is headed for the scrapheap.
http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...307-1uj2a.html
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Old 7 Mar 2012, 05:52 (Ref:3036332)   #19
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I wouldn't be too sad if they used the 2013 Ford Taurus body on the COTF. Just keep calling it a Falcon in Australia for the purists.

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Old 7 Mar 2012, 05:54 (Ref:3036333)   #20
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Nothing confirmed there in that article. In any case case, Allan Mulally is likely to be retired by the time the decision on retaining the Falcon nameplate is made, so we will wait and see.

Is Ford Performance Vehicles waiting for an all wheel drive 'Taurus' to arrive before resurrecting the GT HO?
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Old 8 Mar 2012, 00:22 (Ref:3036744)   #21
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Nothing confirmed there in that article. In any case case, Allan Mulally is likely to be retired by the time the decision on retaining the Falcon nameplate is made, so we will wait and see.
I dunno about that, if we're talking 2016 you'd think the budget would have to be signed off already.
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Old 8 Mar 2012, 01:23 (Ref:3036769)   #22
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I dunno about that, if we're talking 2016 you'd think the budget would have to be signed off already.
I was talking about what badges they put on the Taurus, should it take over from Falcon (Taurus or Falcon badges). I don't think badges are such a huge investment that they need to make that decision now!

Oh, and by the way, that list of cars in the Ford family that Allan Mulally read out is only the global models. He did not include the models for regional markets.

For instance, he did not mention the Australian designed India Car of the Year, the runaway success Ford Figo. Nor does he mention the SUV that Ford Australia is designing to put on the Australian designed Ranger platform (world's safest truck), or the other new cars that are being designed for the India and China markets, etc, etc...

So I wouldn't read too much into what Allan Mulally said.

There's life in Ford Australia yet
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Old 8 Mar 2012, 03:31 (Ref:3036800)   #23
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Ford Australia is not allowed to sell into any of those markets so engineering the Falcon for LHD would make no sense at all.
Emphasis added.

Therein lies the problem. The dollar hasn't always been high, and when it was more favourable to exports, what did Ford Australia do - SFA! Not saying it was Ford Australia's fault, I don't know, but we all know the end result.

I don't really care now what they replace it with. I think the Facon brand is being left to wither away so that the new car will get clear air ...

And given we are talking about clothing a spaceframe, it doesn't matter anyway.
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Old 8 Mar 2012, 03:51 (Ref:3036804)   #24
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Emphasis added.

Therein lies the problem. The dollar hasn't always been high, and when it was more favourable to exports, what did Ford Australia do - SFA! Not saying it was Ford Australia's fault, I don't know, but we all know the end result.

I don't really care now what they replace it with. I think the Facon brand is being left to wither away so that the new car will get clear air ...

And given we are talking about clothing a spaceframe, it doesn't matter anyway.
That's right, nothing. Or not much of anything Ford Australia did or Ford did. At least if Ford designs a platform in Australia, it can be replicated in a production line elsewhere, just like Ford produces Mondeos and Fiestas around the world. But the Falcon is a dead end design that doesn't really do much good for the rest of the company designed the way it is.

So there is no way for the Falcon to survive unless it goes global. There is no point in Ford designing a large rear wheel drive sedan for only a few markets.
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Old 8 Mar 2012, 04:46 (Ref:3036816)   #25
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Emphasis added.
Not allowed, or couldn't make a business case? Ford has a habit of not going bankrupt. Who said they weren't allowed anyway?

Anyway, the main problem with the Falcon is that the Ford brand is not seen as 'Australia's own', even though that's a perception rather than reality.

Commodore is the car for (in general) people who are ‘sheep’ and want to look like everyone else. It would not matter how much better quality Falcons are, a lot of people would rather buy a Holden with the harsh V6 just to conform to the majority.

Ford had a reprieve when Holden released the first Commodore, which was too small. Once Holden matched the Falcon size, it was game over. There is still a market for the Falcon, but it won't return to its halcyon days of the 1980s and 1990s.

A lot of the discerning buyers who used to buy Falcons are now looking at European or Japanese brands now that the high Australian dollar makes them so relatively cheap, particularly if they want to downsize a bit. I suspect Commodore drivers would be the last to consider the other brands.

If the Australian dollar remains outrageous high, there won't be any Australian car manufacturers in the future - period.
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