Ford executives comment on the future of Falcon and Territory

[Nikked]

Don't forget too that some buyers could be hanging out for the 4cyl and LPG falcons, therefor sales being low.


Aslong as FoA market the shiz out of them, the Falcon should claw back some ground,

[Polyal]

As much as I despise the way the media in general handle this can you blame them?

After initial launches Ford are not overly proactive. I dont think anyone is thinking that Ford will show there hand, but the reason the Oz media have such an interest is because frankly its a pretty big issue for Oz manufacturing, suppliers, jobs etc etc..all easy headline stuff.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Polyal

As much as I despise the way the media in general handle this can you blame them?

After initial launches Ford are not overly proactive. I dont think anyone is thinking that Ford will show there hand, but the reason the Oz media have such an interest is because frankly its a pretty big issue for Oz manufacturing, suppliers, jobs etc etc..all easy headline stuff.

It is patently clear that the US execs are completely at sea with the Aussie press,
their wall of science and perceived non committal to the Falcon infuriates reporters,
it's no wonder they run off and spin a yarn of ink trying to draw out a response,
they've been trying of at least three years now, every 6 months, the Falcon is dead...

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by jpd80

I think that the Ford brass have put Broadmeadows on notice, everything hinges on EcoLPI and Ecoboost performance.
Two decisions are now imminent, the post 2015 car and local manufacturing - both are linked.
I bet the decision gets put on hold for another few months (just to be sure) before they pull the lever...

Could the next large car be a collaboration and built in Thailand so that other parts of FAPA can share it...

Watch this space...

It might be possible then we keep our Falcon.... but that after 2016 it'll wear a Lincoln Badge.

[Bossxr8]

I just wish that Ford HQ would come out an say something to stop the rot. The longer they let the media destroy any consumer confidence in Falcon the worse its going to get.

I'll bet there would be more than a few potential buyers put off buying one because of this rubbish.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by jpd80

It is patently clear that the US execs are completely at sea with the Aussie press,
their wall of science and perceived non committal to the Falcon infuriates reporters,
it's no wonder they run off and spin a yarn of ink trying to draw out a response,
they've been trying of at least three years now, every 6 months, the Falcon is dead...

And in another article the Territory tops its category and yet the focus is whether it will be around in a few years. It was the top seller in it's class, what better could it achieve then that, lol.
http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...105-1plrz.html

Bruce Newton

January 5, 2012 - 8:57AM
It's again the top-selling SUV in Australia, but longer term the made-for-Australia Ford Territory could succumb to globalisation.
Ford has confirmed that the car that changed the four-wheel-drive game in Australia appears to have a use-by date as the brand's One Ford policy of producing vehicles for the world gather pace.
While the Territory is again the best selling off-road-style wagon - or SUV - in Australia thanks to the arrival of an updated model with optional diesel engine in 2011, Ford executives admit that, longer term, its days may be numbered.
Speaking at this week's New Delhi motor show, Ford's Asia Pacific and Africa president, Joe Hinrichs, predicted the eventual demise of the vehicle that changed the Australian family car scene.
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But not before it would deliver more sales growth, reflecting the continuing buyer swing to SUVs.
"We have just made major investments in Territory for a reason and we have intentions of that being part of the portfolio for significant years to come," he said. "I think eventually it won't sustain itself but that's not in the near term."
That's not to say Ford won't have a viable replacement - and one that could be called Territory - just that it will be a global product that could be engineered and designed elsewhere, rather than in Australia.
Yet it's that Australian-ness that even Ford has partially credited for the Territory's success over the years.
One option is to take the US Ford Explorer, which is similar in size and concept to the Territory.
Ford is yet to reveal its strategy for the future of the locally-made Territory and the future of the Falcon large car, which in 2011 suffered a dismal year of sales.
When it arrived in 2004 the Territory was a game changer and instantly became the top-selling SUV, a term it helped spawn as it was the first off-road-style wagon to be sold in Australia with two-wheel-drive (4WD was an option).
The Territory's market dominance was later attacked by imported competitors, but a recent update that brought the long awaited option of a diesel engine has reinvigorated sales of the family wagon, most of which are sold with seven seats.
The Territory also ultimately contributed to the demise of the Falcon wagon, which was once a popular family car in Australia.
With Toby Hagon

[jpd80]

See, I'm looking at Mustang and it's down around 5,000 a month, yanks are blaming buyers are over retro style
but I see Mustang as an economic barometer, it may get better in a year or so or it may become small hard core buyers.

I think the 2014 Mustang (released mid 2013) is just about at sign off I bet FNA and FoA have been open book for a while
and may be building off each other's engineering developments, much like the Mustang bred Falcon of yore...
This is where FoA can leverage "One Ford" and get more into their cars by back ending in on developments,
not necessarily platforms but all the expensive stuff like power trains, electrical systems and maybe suspensions...

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

Aaaand another from Carsguide:

http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and...ack_the_falcon

Read the comments below the story.

Oh the pain.

[FPVGT500]

Well if it brings the Mustang down under I have no complaints

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by FPVGT500

Well if it brings the Mustang down under I have no complaints

More than likely to be based off of Falcon's underpinnings. A Falcon with an 2.0L EB-14, 3.5L EB-V6, 3.7L NA V6, and 5.0L Coyote V8.

Mullaly wants Lincoln to take on Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes (The best). So naturally a sports saloon with a Ford flavour would have to come to bare. Falcon is the closest thing (and most advanced in terms).

[falconnut]

As long as its front rear i dont see the problem.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by HSE2

Manufactured where?

Not sure.

[Falc'man]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Not sure.

Some place they call down under.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by falconnut

As long as its front rear i dont see the problem.

It's the proper selection of a vehicle that increases the potential for sales,
there 's no point building a Fairlane if you can only sell 300-500/mth
there's no point building 4,000 mth Focus if they make little or no cash.

Somewhere in between is the sweet spot that satisfies, buyers, fuel economy
and sufficient return on investment, getting that balance right is the hard part...

[falconnut]

I really still hope its got the 'ford feel' like the falcons

[Ghiadude]

Originally Posted by jpd80

It's the proper selection of a vehicle that increases the potential for sales,
there 's no point building a Fairlane if you can only sell 300-500/mth
there's no point building 4,000 mth Focus if they make little or no cash.

Somewhere in between is the sweet spot that satisfies, buyers, fuel economy
and sufficient return on investment, getting that balance right is the hard part...

Maybe a midsize falcon/four dour mustang.............

[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by Buntz93ED

Mullaly wants Lincoln to take on Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes (The best). So naturally a sports saloon with a Ford flavour would have to come to bare. Falcon is the closest thing (and most advanced in terms).

Arguably the best thing for Lincoln going forward would be CD4, AWD and V6 Ecoboost.

[2011G6E]

I wonder what affect features and little details have on peoples buying decision really?
When we bought our brand new G6E (Fairmont Ghia...I hate the meaningless "G6E" name with a vengeance...love the car, hate the name), we didn't notice some of "the little things" until much later...stuff like no auto up-down on all the windows, the way the overhead pull handles "clack" back sharply into place with no soft-close, the way the center console lid bangs down, the way you have to carefully pull back the lever on the auto shifter or it seriously sounds like it's going to break something on the plastic lever, the unpainted engine block and other bare metal parts, etc.
All "little things", but totally out of place in what is supposed to be a prestige car in the range and they just smack of cheapness and penny pinching.

These are things that a buyer may overlook, until much later,so they may not affect the initial purchase...but they could well affect the future choices a buyer makes...

As for the age-old front drive/rear drive arguement, it doesn't really matter anymore...the vast majority of buyers either don't know or don't care which end is doing the driving, and modern front wheel drivers are all pretty much hard to tell as being such. How many buyers actually drive around hanging the **** out and powersliding everywhere? They don't...they hop in and drive...many never even open the bonnet between services. A small minority of enthusiasts don't count for much if things are tight with a company.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by jpd80

It's the proper selection of a vehicle that increases the potential for sales,
there 's no point building a Fairlane if you can only sell 300-500/mth
there's no point building 4,000 mth Focus if they make little or no cash.

Somewhere in between is the sweet spot that satisfies, buyers, fuel economy
and sufficient return on investment, getting that balance right is the hard part...

For many years Cortinas were perfectly acceptable family cars for people who couldn't stretch the budget to a Falcon...we had a TE Cortina for years with two kids and never felt squished in. Time to return to that sort of concept again? Or is it already there with the Mondeo...?

[XRDeeze]

Watch out for the New Gen F6 , will be a cracker of a thing. oh and while im in this thread Id like to point out that Ford WILL NOT get rid of our iconic falcon ;)

[csv8]

2011G6E..I agree with you..my BF Mk2 Ghia doesn't "feel" like a luxury car..just a "tarted" up XT. Others on FF won't agree with me..

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by FPV GTHO

Arguably the best thing for Lincoln going forward would be CD4, AWD and V6 Ecoboost.

Yeah.... that's gonna turn people right off the other brands.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

For many years Cortinas were perfectly acceptable family cars for people who couldn't stretch the budget to a Falcon...we had a TE Cortina for years with two kids and never felt squished in. Time to return to that sort of concept again? Or is it already there with the Mondeo...?

Originally Posted by Ghiadude

Maybe a midsize falcon/four dour mustang.............

Nail. Head. Hit.

Think smaller, lighter, roomier RWD car with 4's and 6's max. Maybe a V8 if Ford wanna get cheeky with BMW.

But then. Ford would argue performance FWD Mondeo/Fusion. Established platform's, tech, investment. With Ford already dedicated to making performance front drivers. (Of course they'd be kidding themselves with that crap and Lincoln... and the resulting products would be balls in comparison.) But the point would be argued.

[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by Buntz93ED

Yeah.... that's gonna turn people right off the other brands.

Its their best chance with what theyre about to put to market in the immediate future. They cant callenge Lexus with theoretical GWRD platforms spawning hybrid AWD Mustangs and Super Continentals.

[BroadyFord]

I don't care what they do with Falcon as long as they continue to manufacture here.

IMO the most sensible move would be to do what Toyota does - bring production of a global vehicle to Australia and use the country as a regional export base, i.e. Camry exports to the mid-east/Mondeo, Kuga etc exports to Asia/middle east.

The only problems are the exchange rate and a deceitful government that cuts industry funding without warning and then introduces a carbon tax that will impact the industry enormously.

[jpd80]

Last month in Europe,Ford sold a grand total of 2,500 Mondeos. I know times are tough over there
but there's a lot of good reasons why having Mondeo built in our region makes a lot of sense.

I still think that building Mondeo at Broadmeadows would be a great move and a wiser one than Focus,
having at least $6,000 more on the asking price tells me that even in lower quantities it makes more sense
and building a global product that is slightly under Falcon prices means more profit to Ford Australia.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, let's have efficient Mondeos and Falcons built alongside each other and
give dealerships a fighting chance of supplying customers instead of asking them to wait for months.....
An extra 1,000 or so builds a month could make a world of difference to Broadmeadows long term viability....

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Last month in Europe,Ford sold a grand total of 2,500 Mondeos. I know times are tough over there
but there's a lot of good reasons why having Mondeo built in our region makes a lot of sense.

I still think that building Mondeo at Broadmeadows would be a great move and a wiser one than Focus,
having at least $6,000 more on the asking price tells me that even in lower quantities it makes more sense
and building a global product that is slightly under Falcon prices means more profit to Ford Australia.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, let's have efficient Mondeos and Falcons built alongside each other and
give dealerships a fighting chance of supplying customers instead of asking them to wait for months.....
An extra 1,000 or so builds a month could make a world of difference to Broadmeadows long term viability....

Followed an Audi A5 Sportsback yesterday up the highway and it had me thinking..maybe a Falcon "hatch" as you have might have suggested previously jpd80, could sit somewhere between a wagon and sedan for capacity, be different enough to previous models, have a wide range of engines from I4, I6/V6, tdi & V8 and maybe keep Campbellfield rolling. A RWD Mondeo could be the base with north-south engine...Could even make a proper wagon and then LWB models.

On those Mondeo numbers, we're buying about 20% of that here in Aust. Do you know what they were in the "good times"?

[JPFS1]

A decision would have been made by now on a post 2015/16 Falcon, if it hasn't, then it would be extremely close.

If you compare the sales figures of other Ford models from around the globe and see the investment being thrown at them, then there's no reason to suggest that the same isn't happening with Falcon.

Ford have continued to express their position about a large RWD platform, which is they want one and will have one. This can only mean one thing for Falcon, and to me it suggests it will be a part of that plan.

The Mondeo/Falcon is interesting and could potentially work, if the hard points of the next Falcon see it downsizing, then it only makes sense that they consolidate with next gen CD, but I personally think that's unlikely. I'm facing this delema right now, I'm replacing the wifes car (which is the family car), now although the 2 cars we have as options are not competing in class, they both tick enough boxes to be competing for the dollar, and the cars are the Mondeo Titanium Wagon or a Titanium Territory Diesel. Unfortunately the Falcon is not even a consideration, and that's not a good thing.

At the moment the decision as to which one to go for is extremely hard, the Mondeo will likely meet all our needs and has an abundance of Tech, while the Territory has practicality, versatility and has a sufficient amount of tech, but still lacking. These are the things that at the moment, are failing local Ford products and i'm sure everybody here knows that. Which one would you go for and why?

Future Falcon will be a different kettle of fish, and potentially still not a complete 'One' Ford strategy, but increasing the amount of one ford componentry and tech that will make it more competitive.

[Gobes32]

I think Falcon and Commodore are slowly becoming irrelevant. If I were to purchase a brand new FAMILY car, then the Falcon would not even be considered. I would want a wagon, so Territory and Mondeo is where I would be looking, I wouldn't consider a sportwagon. I don't know how many other people on here feel the same.

[Iggle Piggle]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Last month in Europe,Ford sold a grand total of 2,500 Mondeos. I know times are tough over there
but there's a lot of good reasons why having Mondeo built in our region makes a lot of sense.

This must be good news for FoA though, as we are regularly told that supply of Mondeo from Europe is an issue and dealers are selling as many as they can get landed here...so in the coming months we can expect a spike in Mondeo sales as stock of Mondeo is no longer "unobtanium"?

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showpos...0&postcount=87