Confirmed: Fairlane Dead & Buried

[Falc'man]

Originally Posted by XplosiveR6

If statesman wasn't being exported, it too would have been killed off before the VE came out, Holden too would have lost money from them.

Ford have invested heavily into the territory platform instead of the crappy selling LWB sedans, you cant have everything in such a small marketplace

Its funny how people expect ford to keep a model even when it looses them a heap of money, simply because we have always had it. Get over it, if it doesn't sell then get rid of it, simple. The more investment ford does for the model the more it has to recoup, which it cant is such a small market, so you cant just say, "make it better", anyone with basic business sense would realise this.

Well said. I totally agree. If one market is segment dying, start another one. I think Tezza has appealed to alot of would be LWB buyers. And after 3 years without any facelift it still looks fresh and is selling solidly.
Ford is about making money first (hence the Territory) and I'm sure the LWB will make a comeback. Just like the V8 did. Better not be half baked though. They should make it a ZD retro... In my dreams.
My guess, like others have stated, would be an import would replace it.

[SirHenry]

RIP: Monaro and now Fairlane, what will be next .... hmm Falcon where does it stop?

Ford should be ashamed of itself for this one. Since 1955 they have kept this brand name, pardon my lack of understanding here but how is it Hold-on can produce a Calais and get Car of the Year and Ford produce a Fairlane and get crap, don't sack the brand name sack the aholes who failed in the designing. I'm thinking Borat could have designed a better Fairlane.

I am almost convinced that if Ford had to change a light bulb they would turn the house around instead of twisting the bulb.

Its almost enough to make ya buy a commondoor

[Rev28K]

RIP(Rust In Peace) dear friend


You were a cash cow once, but now that times and competition are tough ……..

[05MkIIFutura]

Originally Posted by holmsy

i find that odd seeing as there has been pictures of a short wheel based orion and a longer wheel based orion.
not just looking like in pictures. but you can see the difference in person.

LWB will still be used on the ute and the wagon

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by XplosiveR6

If statesman wasn't being exported, it too would have been killed off before the VE came out, Holden too would have lost money from them.

Ford have invested heavily into the territory platform instead of the crappy selling LWB sedans, you cant have everything in such a small marketplace

Great post. Fairlane is dead get over it !

It was a great car in it's time, and maybe if the business case is there it will come back one day and be great again.

We have Territory, 'Orion' Falcon, and probably a small car in a few years (Gorman in BRW), so Ford Australia are trying to produce vehicles in segments that have potential profit and volume.

The Fairlane 'today' is a dinosaur that was meaningful in the '70's and '80's', the world had changed and tariffs aren't 70 % anymore. There is a lot of choice for buyers in that price range and the ecomomics and cash flow situation at Ford mean that Fairlane 'needs to go' for now.

If Holden wasn't exporting Statesman it would be dead also.

[TUF_302]

I think this will be good for ford in the long run, with a completely new one next year, and the mondeo back i dont think Ford will miss the Lane and the LTD.

[fou_bleu]

Well IMO Ford never 'develpoed' the fairlane! They just put a new shell on it since... whenever! At least we got the Fairmont / Fairmont Ghia! :S

[Danny]

Originally Posted by 4.9 EF Futura

Yes a sad day for all 50 of them.

HAHAHAHHAA.... Nice.

We had an NL Ghia from 99 - 03 and it was a really nice car. Then after that model they all turned to crap.... Sad day indeed. I dont know what it is abhout the stato, but its blitzed the market. Fairly, LTD were the originals, and the bestsellers up until AU....

EDIT: You guys claiming that all Fairlanes will now go up in value. Are you kidding?

[[Tonko]]

Damn, was just a matter of time unfortunatly....
Would be good if they could do a special "send off" model...Nothing like crappy sticker packs though, More along the lines of the Galaxie project a few years ago... anybody remember that?

[Smoke Pursuit]

Only reason holden builds Statesmens and Caprices is because they EXPORT them.

For the amont they sell here it wouldnt be viable for them either, and they definately re-designed alot of the current model to take away the Commodore-ness.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by LSTerritoryGhia

Only reason holden builds Statesmens and Caprices is because they EXPORT them.

For the amont they sell here it wouldnt be viable for them either, and they definately re-designed alot of the current model to take away the Commodore-ness.

Exactly right, and thats the only thing that will bring the Fairlane back.

Personally id just rather see better options, or a better standard list in the Ghia; something that will bend Calias owners over.

[Psycho Chicken]

Originally Posted by Danny

EDIT: You guys claiming that all Fairlanes will now go up in value. Are you kidding?

Of course they will! Haven't you seen Camira values lately?

[aussiblue]

: : I suspect in time this will prove to a bad marketing decision similar to when Ford dropped the V8. I think the real problem was that the last of these cars wasn't noticiabley bigger. Some of us have long legs and carry things that need a big boot (inline hocket gear); we need a large sedan.

[Psycho Chicken]

How will it be a bad marketing decision? They don't even sell. The boot in late model Fairlane's isn't that much bigger than a Falcon.

[pHaT`eL]

Originally Posted by TonkoXR8

Damn, was just a matter of time unfortunatly....
Would be good if they could do a special "send off" model...Nothing like crappy sticker packs though, More along the lines of the Galaxie project a few years ago... anybody remember that?

Is that the Galaxie 540 that was at FPV day a few years ago? Complete with XR lights, Bulge, subtle bodykit and massive rims?
If only they decided to send them off like that..

[RPO83]

Posted this in another thread today...

It didn't have to be this way and it clearly shows just what sort of mentality is at play within FoA. It doesn't take Ford much effort to treat a segment with contempt and consigning it to the too hard basket once true competition arrives. Ford publicly admitting to cost cutting to the media on the most prestigious Ford vehicle (BA Fairlane/LTD) when it was launched was outright incompetent. Cost cutting on your flagship car – I know of no other car manufacturer who would ever take this path.

The BA Fairlane/LTD was an embarrassment, so I shopped elsewhere and will continue to do so. I’ll consider Ford again when they consider their customers.

[Falcon Freak]

I said last year on this forum that the LWB models were history. Looks like I was right again.

FF

[Paull]

Just an 'out there question' to anyone who was considering buying one these cars.

Now that Ford is going to cancel the manufacture of the LWB cars, would you in the latter part of this year or early next year, buy an LTD or Fairlane simply because it will be the last of the run? Or is this a stupid question (read - who on earth would buy a defunct model line??)

[Franky]

Well I see this as an upside rather than a downside. The way the market is shifting indicates that Ford have to rely on the larger selling markets hence where most of the money that could have been used to make fairlane better actually went; the development of the Territory. The Territory isn't selling as much as it was at the beginning, but most normal people would see this as a much better investment for Ford. 1300 sales a month is much better than 100.

Unfortunately this will also happen to Falcon in another 5-10 years as the market continues to shift. The orion may infact be the last of the large segment of vehicles. Whist many of you are saying it's the design, the shape and the similarities it shares with the Falcon is what killed it, but it's just the fact that there is no room in the lineup for it. The Fairlane has no purpose anymore as the fairmont ghia is much better value overall.

If Ford were going to revive the fairlane it would have to be bold and different like the 300C if it was ever going to survive and Ford do not have the money to pull off a stunt like that

[Fletty's EL]

You're right. The weird thing is the Falcon is even getting outsold now. But not by 380s or Aurions, by the Yaris and Corolla! Ten years ago these were the cars you laughed at. Would any enthusiast have bought into a starlet or festiva?

Now we have guys trading their hot Falcons to buy into Fiesta and Focus metal. The world is changing, the environment and style are the reasons behind purchases and big cars are associated with extravagance and pollution. Hot hatchbacks and small SUVs are starting to replace the Fairlanes of the world.

I loved the Fairlane, but its time has come. I say no hard feelings. It's over.

[AWD Chaser]

Would that mean that the standard Falcon will be built on a LWB platform? That would have the edge over the Clunkadore!

[banarcus]

Perhaps Ford would consider keeping the Fairlane/LTD if each of their disciples on FF would buy one.

[JPFS1]

this is more to do with large cars, not so much directly Fairlane/LTD.

What a crock... the world is not changing! At least not in Australia where we have beautiful beaches, outback lands to explore and mountain ranges to camp in.

Are the populations not having families anymore? Are they not wanting to step out of their homes and go on a long trip with their family, car packed with all sorts of holiday gear etc???

The point is that i love all the above and will not change this behavior because petrol costs are $1.20+. The need for spacious, effortless driving in a large car is still as important as ever if there are people like me on this earth!

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Exactly right, and thats the only thing that will bring the Fairlane back.

Personally id just rather see better options, or a better standard list in the Ghia; something that will bend Calias owners over.

Yes well Ford has alot of work to do in bending Calais owners over, the Calais V is more Prestigious then the current BF LTD and better equiped!

Ford were that tight they didnt even extend the new BFII Front across the Fairlane, I even wonder if they are building anymore Fairlanes at the moment, stock levels are fading away already!

Its funny how Fairlanes are stlll the popular choice for the Limo/Hire Sedan market, what are these guys going to do with no more Fairlanes? Would be like taking Falcons away from the Taxi operators who have never had any success running Commodores.

[GXL078]

Sorry if it's been posted already, but it's made the mainstream news
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...390470999.html
Is that article correct in saying the ZA was the first Fairlane built here? I thought they assembled compact and tanks before that, dunno I'm not quite THAT old.

I didn't realise that there WERE so many late model Fairlanes and LTDs until I saw all the hire cars lined up outdise Telstra Stadium after the Swans Vs Freo final.

[bigAl]

Originally Posted by XplosiveR6

Its funny how people expect ford to keep a model even when it looses them a heap of money, simply because we have always had it. Get over it, if it doesn't sell then get rid of it, simple. The more investment ford does for the model the more it has to recoup, which it cant is such a small market, so you cant just say, "make it better", anyone with basic business sense would realise this.

I agree with that comment 100%

[GTLexus]

ok I have to say my two cents worth here, to all of you who are saying that the new fairlane is crap and didn't have extra features, are right they didn't. the fairlane has always been a larger falcon with all the Fairmont Ghia accessories.

True to the BA/BF Lanes looking the same as a Falcon but how is that any different to a Stato/Caprice looking the same as a dunnydoor, especially the VE.

The only thing that let ford down was it's marketing department because you can have the best product around but if you don't have the best marketing dept. you won't sell anything. If holden can sell tarted up dunnydores and put a Caprice badge on it, then ford should have been able to do the same thing.

Also Holden does fantastic selling where they will buy recently purchased vehicles (1-2 year old cars) with unbeatable changeover prices for a new staesman/caprice, of all the Fairlane/LTD owner out there, I bet they have never had this happen

So don't blame the car blame the management.

Now I have to go and put an order on new Fairlane.....

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by GTLexus

ok I have to say my two cents worth here, to all of you who are saying that the new fairlane is crap and didn't have extra features, are right they didn't. the fairlane has always been a larger falcon with all the Fairmont Ghia accessories.

True to the BA/BF Lanes looking the same as a Falcon but how is that any different to a Stato/Caprice looking the same as a dunnydoor, especially the VE.

The only thing that let ford down was it's marketing department because you can have the best product around but if you don't have the best marketing dept. you won't sell anything. If holden can sell tarted up dunnydores and put a Caprice badge on it, then ford should have been able to do the same thing.

Also Holden does fantastic selling where they will buy recently purchased vehicles (1-2 year old cars) with unbeatable changeover prices for a new staesman/caprice, of all the Fairlane/LTD owner out there, I bet they have never had this happen

So don't blame the car blame the management.

Now I have to go and put an order on new Fairlane.....

The current WM Statesmen and Caprice looks nothing like the VE Commodore? The only thing it shares are the doors...

[GTLexus]

it doesn't look differnt at the front compared to a styandard on and it doesn't look $70,000 worth, the rear doors don't even line up properly

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by GTLexus

it doesn't look differnt at the front compared to a styandard on and it doesn't look $70,000 worth, the rear doors don't even line up properly