Is australian ford design unique in the world? - Page 2

Allen · 11-02-2007, 08:48 AM

A quote from an old book "Super 60's Fords"

"Consealed windscreen wipers were the current styling rage and the Torino series jumped on the bandwagon, with wipers hidden behind a raised lip on the trailing edge of the hood."

1970 was the first year of which they did this... Certainly makes a car look much cleaner!

Ford_Boy · 11-02-2007, 01:44 PM

i may not know the components of either vehicle but based on the title of the thread the falcon is more uniqly australian by design because ford us has not used our design over there with the current falcon. where as the comodore is being rebadged and used in usa. so from the title of the thread the falcon is more australian. i don't know exactly what components are aussie but i do remember a thread that listed the compnents and the falcon had alot more then the commy. maybe try doing a search wally because i can't be botherd

grahill · 11-02-2007, 04:18 PM

I read somewhere a while back that the order of "how Australian are our cars" and it went:

1. Mitsubishi 380 (the most Australian)
2. Ford Falcon
3. Holden Commode
4. Toyota

Not sure of the percentages however.

new2ford · 11-02-2007, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grahill

I read somewhere a while back that the order of "how Australian are our cars" and it went:

1. Mitsubishi 380 (the most Australian)
2. Ford Falcon
3. Holden Commode
4. Toyota

Not sure of the percentages however.

The 380 is based on the US Mitsubishi Galant. Commodore was based on Opel Omega til current model, Toyota is based on Toyota (what else?). Falcon was based on other Fords once but probably has the longest history of independent Australian design. So that would make it Ford no. 1, Mitsu, Holden and Toyota no. 4 equal!

Powdered Toast Man · 11-02-2007, 10:32 PM

I think grahill is refering to Australian manufactured component content of the cars.

All of them have at least some outside design influence and in some cases mostly. Camry is a global design, 380 based on Galant facelifted and engineered/tuned for Aus conditions. Both Commodore and Falcon have design influences from other cars from their parent companies as well as competitors. The Commodore especially, since it is designed for various international markets so it has to appeal to a wider cross section of consumers.

All 4 cars are after all being designed for essentially the same customers, large car buyers (leaving out the performance market, thats more complex).

The car companies are a business and what businesses want are profits. If they can lower costs by using shared components and component design they will. Especially within their own global companies.

But to answer the topic question.
I believe that currently the Falcon is the most unique Aussie designed car because it hasn't been designed for any market but Australia.

As for past designs both the Ford and Holdens would have had their moments. The HQ to HZ and maybe from the HK was fairly unique to Australia as well as the XA on for the Falcon. The XA had hints of mustang and I would assume that there is some GM product that share design traits with the Holdens.
Both have had their share of aussie designed and/or built engines over the years as well. They could probably be broken down into aussie designed/built components too if you want to get that complex.

Wally · 11-02-2007, 11:36 PM

Interesting how plausibility evaporates when someone asks for facts, not gutfeel and hearsay. The goalposts move to suit the assertions: one minute it's design that's paramount, the next it's engines, then panelwork, etc, whatever it takes to defend the faith.

I recall the Toyota actually has more local content than the other three, based on company released figures, not fabricated. Can anyone prove that wrong?

Bossxr8 · 12-02-2007, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grahill

I read somewhere a while back that the order of "how Australian are our cars" and it went:

1. Mitsubishi 380 (the most Australian)
2. Ford Falcon
3. Holden Commode
4. Toyota

Not sure of the percentages however.

Thats a load of BS. The 380 has an imported engine, gearbox, transaxle and is based on an American design. There is no chance it has the highest local content with all that stuff imported.

Wally · 12-02-2007, 07:14 PM

While the VE local content is 65%, the next Ford is expected to be about 60%, according to the Victorian Govt submission to the House of Representatives Employment Committee.

xbgs351 · 12-02-2007, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V8GLI

I think grahill is refering to Australian manufactured component content of the cars.

All of them have at least some outside design influence and in some cases mostly. Camry is a global design, 380 based on Galant facelifted and engineered/tuned for Aus conditions. Both Commodore and Falcon have design influences from other cars from their parent companies as well as competitors. The Commodore especially, since it is designed for various international markets so it has to appeal to a wider cross section of consumers.

All 4 cars are after all being designed for essentially the same customers, large car buyers (leaving out the performance market, thats more complex).

The car companies are a business and what businesses want are profits. If they can lower costs by using shared components and component design they will. Especially within their own global companies.

But to answer the topic question.
I believe that currently the Falcon is the most unique Aussie designed car because it hasn't been designed for any market but Australia.

As for past designs both the Ford and Holdens would have had their moments. The HQ to HZ and maybe from the HK was fairly unique to Australia as well as the XA on for the Falcon. The XA had hints of mustang and I would assume that there is some GM product that share design traits with the Holdens.
Both have had their share of aussie designed and/or built engines over the years as well. They could probably be broken down into aussie designed/built components too if you want to get that complex.

Local content and design peaked during the 70's. The HKTG may have been the most Australian. The HKTG was an evolution of the FX, but the HQ was very American in design, just like the Falcon's of the time.

Remember when Chrysler didn't put a 4 speed in one of their Bathurst cars as it would have dropped the local content below a certain level?