It almost seems a tragic coincidence that the same month I said goodbye to the first car I ever bought, my 2004 Ford Falcon XR6, Ford Australia announced the permanent closure of its manufacturing facilities. I can’t even begin to fully cover the more than 50 years Ford Australia manufactured the capable and dependable Falcon; that’s a job for Paul or Aaron Severson. Instead, I’d like to talk about the Falcon I owned.
My Falcon was my second Car of a Lifetime; my first was a 1997 Holden Astra. It became somewhat of a running joke with my friends, and was not exactly the most presentable of rides. Throughout university, I’d been saving up money that I decided to put to good use by buying a car I wouldn’t be a little bit embarrassed about driving. By 2011 I had amassed a reasonable amount of cash, and so started the process of looking for a car. What I really wanted was something big and Australian, with a six-cylinder engine and manual transmission, and within the range of $10,000-12,000 AUD. These criteria leave a car buyer with precious few options: Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore, Mitsubishi Magna, Mitsubishi 380 and Toyota Camry.
2003 Holden VY Commodore S
I ruled out the Camry and the Mitsubishis fairly quickly. That left the Commodore and the Falcon. The VY was the Commodore that best fit my price range. This 2002-2004 series was a heavy facelift of the Opel Omega-derived Commodore platform launched in 1997 with the VT series. While the sharper, more European front and rear fascias visually updated the VY, the curvy, jellybean 1997-era roofline stuck out to me.
More frustratingly, the interior revisions were merely minor. There was a clean new console with very straight lines and legible buttons but the curvy, cheap-looking door trims remained, and the overall look was very cheap. This disappointed me, being somewhat of an avowed GM man. The 3.8-liter supercharged V6 that powered VYs at the time could be had only with a four-speed automatic; to get a six-cylinder manual VY, I’d have had to settle for the naturally aspirated 3.8-liter V6. Compared with the contemporary Falcon, the VY was not only down on power– 204 hp /225 lb ft vs. to 244 hp / 280 lb ft – but also saddled with a terrible stick shift.
2006 Holden VZ Commodore SV6
I took a lime green VY S for a test drive, which got off to a bad start when I noticed it didn’t have fog lights, but black plastic-filled fog light slots. Taking it for a spin, I found the power delivery and engine note to be alright, but the stick shift felt like something from a tractor. It was a bulky, cumbersome shifter with a bad feel. I am not sure if there was a different transmission used in the 2004 VZ revision, which also replaced the old Buick V6 with the more powerful High Feature 3.6 V6 of the American CTS, LaCrosse CXS, G6 GTP, et. al. In any case, the VZ was out of my price range, still had an ugly interior and the reviews were not exactly glowing, with some reviewers claiming the engine barely felt or sounded different from the decades-old Buick lump.
2000 Ford AU Falcon XR6
As a Holden man who had grown up in a Holden and driven one as his first car, I had to do the unthinkable: Buy Ford. The BA Falcon, launched in 2002, was a heavily revised version of the AU Falcon–probably one of the most reviled Aussie cars in our history, up (or down) there with the Leyland P76 and the four-cylinder Commodores of the early 1980s. Its New Edge styling was instrumental in switching the Commodore’s and Falcon’s places in the sales charts, and never again did the Falcon reign supreme as the best-selling car in Australia, or even the best-selling Aussie car.
It was a striking parallel to the 1996 Taurus launch in America, right down to the shared visual similarities. While the styling has grown on me and hasty revisions had made it a little bit more sane–the 1998 base model Forte had an odd waterfall/electric shaver grille and hideous wheel covers, which were quickly changed–the AU still fell down in one important area: the AU’s interior was a terrible, plasticky, ugly mess.
Ford BA Falcon Futura
So, the AU begat an extensive revision that reportedly cost $500 million. Although basic mechanicals, roofline and door skins remained the same, almost everything else was changed. New to the Falcon were crisp, elegant and muscular exterior lines, along with one of the most impressive interiors of the past 10 years. There was a flowing, cleanly-styled centre stack, some colorful trim options on the sporty XR models and a soft-touch dashboard. The BA interior blew the VY Commodore’s interior away.
So did the performance of the aforementioned 244 hp 4.0-liter “Barra” inline six. Smooth, quiet and with a lot more torque, the BA made me wonder just why anyone would bother with a Commodore V6 or even a supercharged Commodore. This was just the base engine, mind you. An increasingly irrelevant V8 was available, but the big news was a turbocharged version of the I-6. For an old engine, the Barra was fantastic because it had been extensively revised over the years yet had also proved itself a dependable mill. It lent itself well to turbocharging, and the XR6 Turbo pumped out 320 hp and 330 lb ft of torque. I would have loved one if it weren’t for P-plate laws that forbade turbochargers for provisional license holders.
The first BA I sat in at a dealership was a 2003 model: Deepest, darkest metallic green, black leather interior and a sunroof. All for $13,000? It had fairly low mileage, too! I was in love! Sadly, someone else bought it.
Driving that XR6 though, I was hooked. First, with simple features like remote central locking, a six-stacker CD player and power windows, it was a big step up from my Astra in the luxury stakes. But most importantly, it felt solid, planted and powerful. The car drove with purpose. The BA Falcon was a fantastic car, and our premier car magazine Wheels agreed enough to award it Car of the Year. The shifter and clutch in the XR6 were fantastic as well, with fairly short throws and a clutch that was neither too heavy nor too light. It was a joy to drive, and I had to find one.
Good luck with that. Unfortunately, while manuals were probably more common in the turbo and XR8, I had Buckley’s chance of finding a manual, naturally aspirated XR6. Autos were a lot more popular because the XR6 and Commodore S/SV6 were popular company cars.
Someone referred me to an online enthusiast site that had a classifieds section. There she was! There, for just $10k–very much on the low-end of the pricing spectrum–was my future car. A deep purple BA XR6 with a five-speed manual and black/purple interior trim. I did my due diligence and got an auto club inspection organized. I may have been in love, but I guess I’m a pragmatic lover. It was a steal, it drove well, and it was mine after I handed over a cheque. Finally, I had a car I could be proud of! And, most appealingly, the seller had fitted it with a custom exhaust that was throbbing and aurally impressive without being too loud. It was something I never would have paid my own money for, but I sure loved dropping the car into second in a tunnel with the windows down and listening to that intoxicating sound.
Over two years, that Falcon served me well. It had plenty of space for driving friends around, a giant trunk, plenty of power and an air conditioner that could keep an ice sculpture from melting. The only real issue I ever had involved the paint. Ford Australia, despite having been manufacturing here for decades before I was born, seemingly did not know how to make paint that could survive under the Aussie sun. Granted, my car wasn’t always undercover, but the plastic spoiler faded to white and more frustratingly, the roof was starting to go a little bit dull despite my efforts to polish it. The paint quality issue wasn’t limited to my Falcon, and you’ll often see other contemporary Falcons with the same problem.
While buying my car was a time-consuming and frustrating process, selling it was a considerably worse one. Finally though, after weeks of leads that led nowhere, I found a buyer. It required a grand or so to fix a few things and get a roadworthy certificate, but I still feel I came out reasonably well. I’d hoped for $8K, and I got $8K. Actually, I got $5K wired to my account and $2900 in cash because the buyer had reached his daily electronic transfer limit. Ever had almost $3K in cash that you had to stuff into a McDonald’s bag and hide in your backpack for the 2.5-hour train trip back home?
2013 Ford FG Falcon
I felt a little emotional on the train ride home. My Falcon had served me pretty damn well. She never broke down. She drove like a dream. In fact, she was driving better than ever after her final service and a rear shock replacement, which made me all the more sad to see her go. It will be even sadder when the Falcon line is discontinued entirely in 2016. The nameplate had its ups and downs over the years but I can say with confidence that, especially from 2002 onward, the Falcon was a car all Australians could be proud of.
Unfortunate that Ford has discontinued the Falcon but buyers are staying away from them and have been for some time, The Mondeo out sells it in NZ and is actually a wider car and a better performer.
The XR package was once the performance pack however that was discontinued and it became an appearance kit with minor enhancements over the poor handling base model in the wheel tyre department.
My BIL: was a panel rep for the largest Ford dealership in Australasia and paint defects on new Falcons are legendary every single one involved in an accident has rust already in the body seams with the spotwelds from new you can see it when new accident damaged cars are dismantled for repair never mind the peeling paint on the outside, but they do go well especially the turbo. I had a 2006 Commodore rental in QLD for a week with the new alloytech motor I decided then and there I would not buy one, no torque what so ever compared to the old 3.8 Buick motor, my sister and BIL rented a Mitsu 380 to attend the same event and experienced a very uncomfortable drive from Brisbane to Hervey Bay an awful car little surprise that plant closed. You probably chose the best Aussie car to buy at the time its unfortunate the upgrades since your model havent worked and the Falcon is now very oldfashioned against its rival Holden
In what way is the Mondeo/Fusion a better performer? It’s pretty big, yes, and more fuel-efficient but it’s not like the Falcon is outdated. It just needs some interior revisions. And the 2.0 EcoBoost gets rave reviews but Ford just never bothered to advertise it… Equivalent hp and torque to the six.
The XR still had a firmer suspension, it wasn’t just a tape-stripe job. It might seem that way because fleets buy XR6s and SV6s because that’s what people want for a company car. They don’t want the base XT, and the price difference between the two isn’t massive.
I don’t understand your 380 hate either. My sister had one for years, it had a smooth ride, plenty of power and was well-screwed together. MMAL went out of business because everyone kept saying they would go out of business and thus nobody bought the 380. The interior was a bit chintzy but otherwise it got good reviews and compared favorably to the other big sixes.
Yes the XR has firmer suspension but the Tickford engine enhancements were removed the suspension is a major improvement over the base model. Local motoring writers praise the ecoboost Falcon for its cornering ability due to less weight over the front axle the base Falcon is a chronic understeerer. I couldnt care less about the 380 my BIL hired some and liked it until they drove a long distance in one he is a veteran of the car industry and rents cars all over the world when they travel.
You’ve plainly never driven a new Mondeo not the old bomb that also became the fusion a NEW model, I have and was quite impressed on the twisty roads around Raglan, The new FG is still only a revised AU a 15 year old design that wasnt great in 98.
I think you’ll find it is actually just a reskinned Model A
A touching story that could be transplanted to Hayden Lake, Idaho, revisited to the 1960’s, substitute Tri-5 Chevy’s and be quintessentially American. We’re here, reading Paul and Co. because we’re dumb enough to form emotional attachments to our cars. Or over at Aaron’s, reading our history in a nutshell. I’m never sorry I am afflicted with the virus, as, to me, there is something noble about making something work properly and having pride in that fact. But, to most, it’s a weakness. It’s them who don’t understand that I feel sorry for.
I like this a lot,a shame it never made it to the UK.The only Aussie Falcon seen here is a stretched funeral/wedding car.
Coleman Milne sell the non-stretched Falcon too – they call it the Fairlane, but it’s the FG Falcon. Their BA/BF Fairlane was the actual Australian Fairlane, but with its demise they’ve switched the nameplate to the FG Falcon. The current ‘Fairlane’ they offer is powered by the 2.0 ecoboost. When in England in May I spotted two BA Falcon station wagons – but with Fairlane grilles, so I’m assuming they were Coleman Milne imports too.
Nice ride – a lot better than the wheezy old Falcons we had here in Canada. Too bad Ford didn’t think to ship a few left-hand drive models here – maybe to some of their SVO dealers. Hey! A Falcon SVO!. That said, they’d definitely have to do something about the paint. If it doesn’t hold up in Australia, a few years in Canada’s harsher climate would be even worse. That Holden Commodore looks familiar – it was sold here for a little while as the Pontiac G8. It came with (I believe) the 3.6 engine standard, and an optional V8.
The Commodore or a near relative is sold here as the Vauxhall Monaro/VXR8 a real tyre burner
The Falcon comes in tyre shredding flavours too, The turbo 4wd Territory was advertised as being able to see off a Porcshe
I’m a fan of Aussie Iron,Dad had a 66 Valiant 4 door 6 but I was too young too drive it.Any chance of you shooting some please?Did you get any special New Zealand cars or have any made there?
We only had assembly plants in NZ for CKD cars; nothing was manufactured here. Well, there was a Skoda-based thing called the Trekka made here, but it was only a ‘car’ in a very loose sense of the word lol. Ford/GM/Chrysler generally sold their Australian lineups in NZ, so there weren’t many differences. Sometimes though the local branches created their own mix-and-match creations – eg our Holden Commodores often had NZ-specific 2.0 litre running gear through the 80s and early 90s. Chrysler did NZ-specific Valiants through the 70s too – they popped their LWB limo front sheetmetal onto our mid-spec Regal sedan to create a NZ-only Regal 770. I’m not sure if there were NZ-specific Falcons though.
New Zealand had competition in the market place real competition Aussie car makers kept the competition out. Our Aussie cars were up specced to compete with UK imports mostly OZ kept those imports out.
A shame it was never sold in the UK,Monaros/VXR8s and 300Cs have quite a following and could do with some competition
Exports, especially LHD exports are a bit of a sore point really – could have, but weren’t allowed to by HQ.
Paint issues are generally related to supplier issues, the Phantom purple had problems but worse was the Shockwave blue color where the paint did not bond to the primer and would peel off – cars were repainted over that one under warranty & paid for by the paint supplier.
Poor coverage of paint on the other hand is Ford’s problem and areas like seams and panel joins they clearly haven’t got their stuff together. They cut costs by not putting a top & clear coat under the hood etc too about 10 years ago, guys paying top dollar for the FPVs who expected to show off their car underhood weren’t happy.
There was a huge outcry here in NZ against Holden in the early 90s for paint failure on the VL Commodores. The clearcoat hadn’t bonded, and cars were looking terrible in 3-5 years. The local consumer organisations got involved and Holden had to repaint quite a large number of cars.
Thanks for a very poignant story William, and I must say, a very nice Falcon you had there. So sorry to hear about the loss of the Falcon in 2016. It’s sad that buying tastes are changing and there is no longer a viable place for these cars in the Oceania market. With the pending demise of the Falcon, I don’t suppose it’s only a matter of time before the Commodore range goes the way of the dinosaur and RWD for the masses will permanently vanish from the global market. And that’s a shame, as there is simply no equivalent to these cars anywhere else in the world. Shame we never received any variations of the Falcon here in the States. (The old Fairlane Ghia would have made a good Town Car replacement.) At least numerous variants of the Commodore did manage to make it over in small numbers, though alas my dream car, a WM Caprice in full regalia, remains elusive.
I’ve always found it amazing that alternate universe exists. What in the US looks like a rounded bar of soap with fwd in Australia are rwd with inline sixes. That is my favorite engine type and the Atlas 4.2 and the jeep 4.0 were the last gasps here.
I just sold my truck to my granddaughter and those two SUVs (I6s) are at the front of the line. Hope I find one.
Well that sure is a lovely looking car, but why did you sell the Falcon? I have always wondered why Ford did not name the Ford Fusion the Ford Falcon?
I sold it because I moved to America. I’ll be back in Australia next year and I’ll probably buy another Falcon or a Commodore as an interim car.
“I have always wondered why Ford did not name the Ford Fusion the Ford Falcon?”
Ford’s first choice for the Fusion’s name was actually Futura.
A somewhat simplified version of the saga, but you get the idea: It turned out that Ford had not used the “Futura” trademark in the US for over three years when it went to reregister it in 2005. Pep Boys had been using it as their house brand for a line of tires since 1990. Ford announced its plans to revive the Futura name, applied to the US Patents and Trademarks Office, and was denied. Silly to think that one would confuse a tire and a car model, but for whatever reason, Ford decided to go with “Fusion.”
Well it is more of a legal matter than confusing the two since Pep Boys owns the Futura name. Just like how you cannot have a Chrysler Pepsi because the name Pepsi is owned by Pepsico of Purchase, NY
As I said, somewhat simplified.
And to your Pepsi analogy, it would make sense, were it not for the over 250 registered “Futura” trademarks in the USPTO database.
So, is it an Australian regulation that all generations of cars have to have a 2 letter code attached to them? We know internal codes for various vehicles here (A-Body, Panther, Fox, GM-10 etc) but most cars sold in Australia have a 2 letter designation that is used to describe them.
Great story by the way…
Holdens letter model designations used to indicate year of manufacture untill the end of Australian designed cars EH being the last true Aussie Holden from then on H denoted Opel body design 64/5 HD 66/7 HR and so on. Ford just followed the US models untill 71 with the XY which didnt appear on the US market, from then on Aussie designed Fords began XA,XB,XC,XD,XE,XF, then the E series untill 98 when the ill fated AU arrived then on to Bs, Chrysler OZ had a similar system prefixed AP for Australian production to differentiate from US models and used local front sheet metal.
Vauxhall in the UK used a similar system so its not an Ozzie idea.
The best explanation I’ve ever seen of Australia’s use of model designations – versus model years, as is common in the US and Europe – is found here:
http://ateupwithmotor.com/family-cars/273-australian-ford-falcon-part-1.html?start=1
Scroll down to “SIDEBAR: Model Years and Model Designations.”
I think it is. And is related to the vehicle approval. I may ask someone that really knows about it to be sure.
A 2-letter model code is not required, but since the model changes don’t typically follow years it is a better way of describing the car, eg you could have a 2002 AU or a 2002 BA Falcon. It might also be 2 letters and 2 or 3 numbers, but those are less commonly known. Some manufacturers use a model year – including Holden 3-4 years ago although they have quietly forgotten about that idea. The year of a car refers to when it was manufactured, so you might have a 2002 MY2003 (always specified as such) Subaru if you got the updated model!
Thanks MGillis! And I don’t know, I can’t find a clear answer. I think Ford/Holden started it to separate multiple series and it just caught on with automakers as a way to classify multiple series… I’ve never heard someone say, “I bought a TR Astra” but maybe it makes it easier for registration and classification purposes? If someone has a definitive answer I would love to hear it!
Oh it gets more puzzling, as Ford Australia applied the 2-letter code system to models they sold that were sold elsewhere with other codes – eg the rest of the world’s Mk 3-5 Ford Cortinas were re-coded as the TD, TE and TF in Australia.
Bryce, what do you mean “Opel body design” in the H-series Holdens? Those bodies most definitely were not shared with any other GM product, even if in some years they looked similar to European and American GMs. It wasn’t until 1978 with the VB Commodore that there was an “Opel body design”. But very true about Vauxhall using a two-digit code, with the Victors.
And which Mondeo was an “old bomb” that “also became the Fusion”? That sentence confuses me.
My first car was an FD Victor,also had a PC Cresta my favourite car
Opel inspired designs were used from the HD onwards the HD was actually designed in the US it was a rusting disaster with no prper body panel venting, and was redesigned in OZ. The HK, -HG Holdens use a widened Opel body infact and Paul has covered these the first Monaro of 68 uses a widened Opel Commodore body shell from 1963. The letter sequence until 63 EH is decipherable by letter number to corresponding year. Vauxhall went to 2 letter codes in 58 with the introduction of the Victor and the PA series Velox/Cresta.
Mondeos from the 90s and early 00s are very different from the current models and even the diesel will give a Falcon 6 a scare especially on turn in for a corner in fact the diesel is the performance and luxury range topper Mondeo Titanium is only available in diesel unfortunately Ford will not fit the 2.2 oil burner shared with Jaguar to cars in our market. Australia misses out on a lot of cars always did mainly to keep your local industry afloat,
I think what William is getting at is the only Mondeo that has become a Fusion is the new model that has not yet been released as a Mondeo (perhaps delayed by closing down the Belgian factory that builds the current car?), although it is an evolution of the 2007-current Mondeo.
The previous generation Fusion was based off the Mazda 6 platform.
I know have posted this before, but my son owns a 2005 BF XR6 turbo, which is a (slightly) upgraded BA. His had 245kw (328hp) when new, although he has had his chipped and larger injectors fitted, so it probably has closer to 300kw (402hp). It is a beast to drive, especially if you put you right foot down too far (it frightens me sometimes!) Very sad that Ford are closing up here in Oz – and I’m a Holden man! Ford this week have announced what they will be selling after 2016 when they shut down manufacturing. The yet to be released new Mustang will be sold here in right hand drive form (as a halo model), but no mention of the Taurus replacing the Falcon. Instead it looks as if the new Mondeo will have to do that job, even though that car is only available with 4 cylinders. Ford have obviously given up on large 6 and 8 cylinder sedans. A face lifted Falcon will be released here next year, as our government have already given Ford millions of dollars to do so, although I will be surprised if it lasts until 2016, going on the sales of the present model. Nobody wants to buy a car which won’t be around much longer. BTW, Opel has just announced it will give up selling cars in Australia after less than a year. It’s sold less than 2000 units in that time. I’m not surprised – they were selling outdated models at too high a price. There’s a chance the Astra may be sold here with a Holden badge, as it was for years in the 90’s and 2000’s with a lot of success.
You won’t see the Astra as a Holden again, they were replaced with Korean-based Chevrolet for the same reason Opel failed – the European cars were too expensive.
You are right the 4.0 turbo is highly tuneable – there are cars on the road with 1000hp at the wheels! One of the tuners built an engine in 2003-2004 as a promotional gimmick and a few guys threw enough cash at them to buy them… The most powerful one I’ve ridden in had 570hp at the wheels, but when driven normally you would barely know it wasn’t stock. I think it ran a low 11-sec quarter mile.
I remember driving one (also with about 400hp), then getting back in a normal Falcon and wondering where the engine went – not often you do that with 280lb-ft.
Great story William, and awesome to see something that’s also an everyday car in New Zealand! I hear you re the manual non-turbo XR6 – I was pondering getting a Falcon earlier this year. I can’t afford a 6-speed auto BF, but the BA’s 4-speed auto isn’t fuel efficient enough. So I figured a manual BA would be the one to look for – and boy are they rare here! So I’m still driving the old straight-6 diesel Nissan…
My brother in law wanted a BA XR8 Falcon, but the Ford dealers wouldn’t give him anything for his EB V8 Fairmont Ghia. The Holden dealer would though, so he currently has a VY SS V8. Very nice car too – and yet another reminder that Australians and New Zealanders have been incredibly lucky to get great RWD family sports sedans from Ford and Holden for so long. I’m a Ford man, but I greatly respect the Commodore. Sadly I don’t think Ford will ever recover from dropping their unique selling point, the Falcon/Territory; my fear is now they’re going that Holden won’t be able to stay either as the suppliers they both use lose economies of scale.
Anyway, regardless of the politics of it all, your XR6 looked fab inside and out, great colour, and love the black mags!
The main FORD dealership in NZ is reportedly excited about the upcoming Taurus, they’ve all seen it and think its great. The Falcon simply wont sell here and hasnt for a couple of years, My sister has turned down the opportunity to buy 2 new XR6s at factory prices under 30kNZ preferring a Vectra V6 then a Mazda sport 6 when the Vectra got totalled.
I’d waaaay prefer the Falcon to the Taurus. Both platforms are ancient but at least the Falcon has the right layout.
+1
Individually the Falcon and Territory do slightly more than half of what the Focus sells, but if if you combine Falcon and Territory sales, it outsold the Focus to be Ford’s top selling platform here for 2012 according to the government stats department.
If they actually the Taurus here, it won’t sell to the traditional Falcon market who want a large RWD car. All those buyers will be knocking on the doors of the Holden showrooms. If the Taurus was sold here, it’d presumably be similarly priced to the Falcon, which is in a range competing with top end Camrys/Accords/6s and bottom end BMWs and Mercs. The Falc (and Commie) can compete there as it has RWD as its USP, whereas the Taurus would be just another Camrycord6.
the Taurus would be just another Camrycord6.
The Taurus is longer and wider than the Accord. In the US, the Accord and Camry would be considered to be midsize sedans, while the Taurus is one among a dying breed of large family cars. They’re not direct competitors.
In any case, Australia probably won’t be getting the Taurus; family car duties will fall onto the Mondeo. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Taurus was cancelled altogether, as it’s a slow seller in its homeland, too.
Totally agree Australia and New Zealand probably won’t get the Taurus. But I do think the lack of a Falcon replacement will leave a huge hole in the top end of Ford NZ’s car lineup – and especially in the sports sedan XR6/XR8/FPV segments. Yes we’re getting the new Mustang, but I doubt it’ll sell in big numbers as coupes aren’t traditionally great sellers down here; the market has always preferred large sports cars to be sedans.
The new Mondeo is huge, and plenty big enough to replace the Falcon sizewise, but it’s hamstrung in the mind of the Kiwi buyer because it’s just a new Sierra is just a new Cortina etc. That is, it’s the archetypical mid-size fleet/family car that Ford have offered since the 1960s. Because of this, I’m unconvinced buyers will pay more for it – hence the Falcon sized hole above it.
I hear you re the Accord/Camry size in the US. In NZ we get 4 cylinder versions of both which directly compete with the Mondeo. But the 6 cylinder Accord/Aurion (Aurion is the local name for the V6 Camry) are direct competitors with the Falcon and Commodore. Psychologically and pricewise at least, if not in the final measurements.
I’d be sorry if the Taurus was cancelled, the nameplate is certainly got history behind it. Not as much as the Aussie Falc though!
I suspect that the Falcon’s effective replacement will be the SUV based on the Ranger platform. (The concept version is called the Everest, but that nameplate probably won’t be used for the street version.) In the alternative, perhaps you’ll just end up with the Explorer, which shares a platform with the Taurus.
Of course, both of those are more similar to the Territory (which I believe isn’t sold in NZ.) But the large family sedan market is dying everywhere — only the luxury sedans make any sense these days. Everyone is making the transition to crossovers and trucks, and it just doesn’t make sense for the automakers to focus on building large passenger cars that can’t be sold for high prices.
We do get the Territory new in NZ, we got it when Oz released it. Ford NZ is Ford Oz’s biggest export market.
Quite a few of the managers at my work have Territorys now – the upper limit on their lease cost was lifted last year, so they suddenly all went from Mitsi Outlanders to Territories. The one I’ve ridden in and driven was great, I loved it and would buy an older cheaper one if I could afford the running costs on the petrol. The diesel Tezzas are still too new to have dropped to anything remotely affordable on the used market.
The new Everest concept looks great (especially the strong Dodge Durango overtones to the front), and I think it’ll arrive here to compete with the new Holden Colorado SUV. The pundits reckon the Everest won’t be a direct replacement for the Tezza though due to being targetted at, and appealing to, different markets. Being a commercial-based vehicle (as opposed to car based) it’s being seen as a more of an off-roader than an SUV. The current Explorer seems to be being discounted too by the motoring journos here, but I don’t know. There have been a few murmours that the replacement for the current Explorer may arrive here though. Word on the street is that the Territory badge will continue on something new after 2016 too, so who knows if it’ll be on the Everest or a new Explorer!
It’s 99% sure there won’t be a Taurus downunder, by the time the Falcon finishes up there may not be a Taurus in North America either. It is selling about as well as the Falcon…
A real shame Ford did not go ahead with the GRWD platform
I am a GM man and currently own a VT Calais, with the lot. Lovely car, although the few times I have opened the door of a base Commodore of the same vintage my mind goes like “WTF happened here?”
When looking for the car at the end of ’11 I considered a Falcon too (amongst a big list). The driving position was a let down. And although BA and BF are huge improvements over AU, they still look funny. And the interior of the AU is like sitting in a mid 90’s Exploder.
However, I am looking the FG with very keen eyes and I am thinking seriously to replace my VT with one when money permits.
The BA/BF have wonderful soft-touch dashes, although there’s still a couple of pieces of hard plastic like on the inside of the b-pillar. The FG’s dash is probably more ergonomic but it’s not soft-touch. Minor niggle though.
FG also has a soft touch dash. And XR6 seats fabrics look better than on a comparable VE SV6.
BA and BF have a pillow of a soft touch. What may be happening there is that the FG has a slimmer padding. I touched both (in an used car lot), as that’s the first thing I do in any car I’m sitting for the first time.
All the Commodores I’ve seen, from VT to VE have soft touch dashes. The pad is slim.
These were good cars but for some niggling issues, eg they often had some brake shudder until you replaced the front disc rotors with aftermarket, and the Banksia single-shoe drum-in-disc handbrake had a trick to adjust, but overall very good cars.
William described the huge amount of work that went into these, he under-sold it. The engine was a new dohc 4 valve unit replacing the old sohc 2v, there was a new multi-link IRS which replaced the previous live axle and optional double wishbone IRS (not on wagons or utes), also a new rear floorpan, new laminated firewall, new windscreen – the body was very extensively changed and a lot stiffer and stronger.
I have had a couple as company cars, but I haven’t owned one myself as I am not a fan of the excessive tumble-home or curvature of the side glass that with the curve in the roofline makes the top of the A-pillar feel too close to your head. Athos referred to the driving position – the seat is mounted relatively high compared to the dashboard & steering wheel.
Finally – Aaron Severson has actually done a very good history of the Australian Falcon, even if it does not cover all 50 years.
Here’s something a bit wilder – turbo version of the same model car, same color, just with a few mods… It still runs the 4.0 straight six, with a bigger turbo and lets just say etc on the engine front to the tune of 600+ horsepower at the wheels, the stock BTR 4 speed auto swapped for a Turbo 400 and a live axle conversion from the original IRS. 9.0 sec quarter mile on a 1.27 sec 60 foot. Quite a neat job connecting the parachute to where the tow bar would normally live.
Note the rear bumper is on the ground!