Countdown to the Falcons emotional end, share your feelings here

[castellan]

Originally Posted by Ford17

Every other country protects and promotes it's car manufacturing industry.

Yet Australia cut down tariffs, signed up to lop-sided "free-trade" agreements, reduced quotas; and thusly killed theirs off.

Yes it makes your leaders look good too many people, leading the world showing off that they are at the front of the line, leading the way on such things and show the world that we can lead on reducing carbon etc, so as to stand in admiration on the world stage and get the glory they deserve. (not to mention at the expense of the poor Aussie worker who forks out the tax for such rubbish) as Australia would save the planet by 1.3% of pollution if it all just happened to sink into the sea.

It's what was once called batting off in public, I think. it must be legal now as well as all the other PC filthy crap they brainwash with.

[Peuty]

I posted this blurb and photo on my facebook page - thought I would share it here too.

"Over the years, I have taken hundreds of photos of my favorite car, the Ford Falcon. I have always loved cars in general, but Fords have always been my favourite. This pic represents but a small portion of these shots.

Every Peut family car I can remember (bar one) was a Falcon, ranging from XE's to AU's and everything in between. Pretty much every car I have personally owned was a Falcon and I loved each and every one of them. My Dad worked at the local Ford Dealer as a mechanic for many many years which further cemented my love for the Blue Oval. He would often bring home a Falcon that needed a bit of a clean or an oil change and being out in the yard giving him a hand certainly shaped my obsession with these cars.

As of about 9.30am this morning, Ford Australia is no longer a local vehicle manufacturer - marking the end of 56 years of building Falcons and 91 years of building Fords locally in general.

This is a sad day, not just for me as a loyal enthusiast, but to everyone who worked in the Geelong and Broadmeadows factories and the wider communities of these blue blooded locations.

To those who own a piece of this Aussie motoring history, get out there, turn the key and take this often brilliant, sometimes not, car for a spin. There will never be anything like them again.

Vale Ford Falcon."

https://www.facebook.com/danielpeut/

[mcflux]

I'm someone who lost the Falcon passion. I grew up with Falcons & became passionate once I could drive them, but over time the flame puttered out & died...

Our family car was an XE GL, 3.3L 5 speed, purchased near new when I was 2, in 1984. Most of my childhood holidays were done in this car, it managed to tow a 17ft caravan although dad had to go back to 1st gear on the Princes Hwy somewhere between Orbost & Eden lol, the bank of traffic behind us was fairly long. It was the car mum took us to the shops in, to & from school if we missed the bus, & before dad got a company car it was always the one that rolled up to the front gate in the dark each weeknight. My little sister & I would be waving & smiling at the front window - daddy's home! - he'd see us & flash the headlights. Magic! How did he make the car do that?!?

When I was 15ish I'd occasionally sneak into the garage, pinch one of dad's sh1tty light beers from the garage fridge (funny - he never pulled me up on this despite how obvious it was that his beers went missing), & sit behind the wheel of the XE. I knew one day it would be mine. This was where the passion began to grow. I began to explore all the ins & outs of the XE, popping the bonnet & seeing how the crossflow was put together (it still had its blue 3.3L sticker on the corner of the rocker cover - testament to the condition dad kept it in), memorising all of the instrumentation dials on the dash/centre console, seeing where things were stored in the boot. All while the car was still, silent, parked in the garage patiently awaiting its next drive.

I began to volunteer to wash the car. When I'd thoroughly go over the car I got to know its lines, the pinstripes along both sides, the fake slot markings in the GL wheels, the four raised horizontal sections of the glossy plastic tail lights, the slots in the c-pillars, the spring-loaded number plate smartly hiding the fuel cap, the circuitry of the rear demist window, all of the square/straight-angle edges that actually had slight subtle curves, including the headlights. Let's pretend I didn't "wash" the car that one time with Selleys Liquid Sugar Soap. Dad never forgot that.

Then came the driving lessons. By now dad had had a few work cars over the years, the first few being Telstars then EAs/EBs/EDs that I barely remember, but by the time I was learning to drive he had an EF Futura. What a sophisticated, fast, modern machine this was!!! Completely different to the box cars I'd grown up with. I can only imagine people 15 years prior thought the same about the first XDs, living in a world of XR-XCs. Or when the XK first came out, 35 years prior. My first lessons were in the EF, & it drove beautifully. Then came the time to start learning in the XE. What a PIG, the auto-choke ran like crap when cold & I'd have to ride the accelerator, and it was very unforgiving if you missed a gear or shifted at the wrong time whilst driving uphill. The 5 speed box made it difficult to easily find which odd-numbered gear you had to be in. Driving uphill; 1st, 2nd, 5th - OH NO! Entering the highway; 3rd, 4th, 3rd - OH NO! It was a lottery, but with the odds gradually improving as I got to know the gearbox. The two-stage carby would sometimes catch in the 1st stage so you couldn't get the power down when needed uphill/overtaking. The brakes were both bitey and lacked stopping power. The body rolled around corners like it was on see-saws. I began to wish my parents had a mid-sized car like a Torana/Cortina/Sigma that I could have learned in - I didn't like learning how to drive this unwieldy behemoth!

But when I turned 18 and got my P's, I was GIVEN this car & I still consider this one of the milestones of my life. It transformed me. I was no longer bound to an isolated country town, I could go ANYWHERE, as far as the bank balance (fuel in the tank) would allow. On the night after I'd gotten my P's I took a carload of mates to a nearby large regional town & got drive-thru Maccas, a rite-of-passage back in the day. Too bad I nearly stacked at the 1st roundabout when I temporarily forgot who gave way to who!

After a few months & a lot of 18ths + school holidays, I'd gotten a bit cocky. One day driving home from school (I'd drive once a month as a treat vs the sh1tty bus) I did a classic tank-slapper on a dirt corner, & luckily the car came safely to a stop some 100m up the road. A childhood friend & my little sister were in the back, screaming. My friend never drove with me again, & my sister never brought this up with me or my parents.

One night after a rowdy 18th, I became the deso for 8 drunk passengers - 9 people crammed into a 5-seater XE sedan! I powered down this narrow, windy, hilly country road, cutting blind corners & everyone screaming & laughing whenever the headlights would go out after hitting a pothole (sh1tty XE electrics!). Somehow I dropped everyone off safely, except for one mate + myself; we stayed at the last drop-off point overnight. The next morning I backtracked down a road we'd taken the night before. I approached a corner that, the night before, I'd taken doing 90 with 9 people in the car, the body roll was exacerbated by everyone playing "corners" & slamming into the side of the car. This morning though I took that same corner at a sedate 50 with just my one remaining passenger, but it was drizzling at the time, and I slid off the corner and into a tree. The tree stopped us from going off an embankment & falling 10m into a gully. My mate's face was ashen as there was a tree branch next to his head, & I began to panic believing that the branch was actually on the inside of the car & had struck him! When we'd both calmed down, we managed to get the battered car unstuck, but the guard was biting into the tyre. We pried the guard off the wheel with a broken tree branch, and surveyed the damage: crumpled bonnet, smashed headlight, bend plastic bumper (that after this always gave the XE grille a drunken "smile"), destroyed guard, destroyed passenger door skin, & a tyre that needed replacing. I felt like I'd taken to a family member or a girlfriend with a baseball bat, it was an awful feeling. But not as bad as the feeling of knowing I'd almost taken out a close friend, & the night before it could have been all NINE of us if it had been raining then. We drove at limp-home speed to my mate's house in silence, his horrified mum just stared at the car & then at us; I left without explanation. Then came the slow ultra-cautious drive home. I was never punished for what I did, nor did my parents ever entertain the idea of me paying for the damage done (despite my offering), I think they knew I'd learned my lesson when they saw the state I was in then I finally got home.

This was the point where I woke up. I thought I'd "woken up" after the scare with my sister + friend, but that was down to driver "ability". This lesson taught me the power of driving conditions. If I were able to go through my P's again, I'd have taken myself to a defensive driving course so I could have learned these lessons in safe controlled conditions, rather than through reckless luck risking others' lives. I urge anyone on here with kids on their Ls or Ps to encourage them to take a defensive driving course. I became a safe driver after my "luck".

A month later the XE was back from the panel beaters, dad having paid the equivalent value of the whole car. I may have become a safer driver after this, but being a selfish adolescent I went ahead & sold the car for 1/3 of this about a year later. Why did I do this?!? The answer at the time was easy, all my mates were buying V8s & imports, & I also upgraded at this time, but it's still a question I ask myself today. So on to the next Falcon in my life:

My patient dad was nearing the end of his lease period with the EF, which he'd kept in top condition, & he was encouraging me to buy it off him. I'd helped keep the EF looking good too, washing it almost as often as the XE, although half of these times it was because I'd pinched the EF whilst my parents were away for the weekend & would be cutting pegga hoops with mates in a vacant estate & needed to wash away the evidence before they got back lol. I may have been driving safely on the roads, but I was still a hoon out in the isolated backlots where nobody else was. The XE couldn't cut hoops, it drank a lot of fuel, and by this time I'd saved up a tidy sum from the job I was working in my gap year between school & uni. Every week I'd pore over the Trading Post + Unique Cars, looking at all the metal on offer. I'd checked out a few red herrings, including one memorable "test drive" as a passenger in an XB panelvan that had its passenger door fly open around a corner & the owner/driver grab me by the scruff before I flew out the passenger door. I turned that one down. There was also a 4 door XB GT in my price range that was running, but it was blowing smoke, full of rust, and hadn't been registered for 5 years. I was down to 3 options in my price range:

* Dad's EF Futura
* An EBII S-XR8. White, manual, no options.
* An optioned-up EB Ghia V8, full electrics, leather-everything, & black of course!

By now Dad's EF was no longer new & fancy, it had lost its wow factor, it was just another late-model car. The S-XR8, despite manual, was fairly drab both inside & out. My first drive of the black EB Ghia though had me hooked! Holy cr4p - climate control! Recaros! Full velour doorskins! A freaking DIGITAL DASH. Yeah this thing was awesome. That first drive of it after I'd bought it - at night - with everything illuminated orange inside & that torquey V8, goddamn I felt like the king of the road. The V8 even used less fuel than the old 3.3 crossflow.

Then the problems started. The electrical gremlins, the cooling system leaks. I began to run out of $ with the times this kept going to the mechanics (I'd try a different one each time, the predecessor having ripped me off by adding extras onto the bill), unlike the old reliable XE that never missed a beat. I began to regret my decision. But, after about 6 months of gremlins it seemed to come good. By about this time online forums were in their infancy, and I came across a group with similar interests to my own. I began to meet up with these guys for cruises & events, & at one event in particular I became interested in modifying the EB: a Great Ocean Road cruise, 2004. I thought I had it pretty good in my 165kw V8, but peeling off from a dual-carriageway roundabout at the end of the cruise was a guy in a turbo six EB, & I tried to keep up with him from 30 to 100. The difference in performance was akin to my old XE vs my EB. My jaw dropped when he took off as if I was idling, despite my foot mashed to the floor. The mod bug had bitten. The guys I caught up with regularly were awesome, we'd help out on each other's projects & would often meet up for cruises, events, & camping trips. The interstate roadtrips were the highlights, something I'd recommend to anyone. How awesome is an interstate roadtrip behind the wheel of a Falcon!

Over the next 5 or so years I sunk time & money into modifying the EB, & in the end it had twice the power it started with, but by this time its suspension & body were fairly shagged having done 370,000kms, & it no longer felt like the car I'd first bought. This was about the time my interest, my passion, had peaked. Yeah, I had a fast car, but it rode like a bag of ****, & I wasn't prepared to sink further $$$ into it to refresh it, nor was I going to spend $$$ on upgrading to something newer like a BA XR8/XR6T.

In the meantime my dad had upgraded to an AUIII egas wagon, which I got to drive a few times whenever I'd go to visit them, having moved out by now. It was slow, but it was cheap to run, super comfy, & versatile. I was converted to this different type of car, something that wasn't all about power! I wasn't prepared to spend the money on an AUIII, so I ended up in an EF wagon that I converted to gas. Power/mods were no longer of interest to me. I arguably had the most fun in the wagon, taking it camping, going on road trips, although having it break down in Tassie & then having to stuff half of its contents into a hatchback hirecar sucked. In the end the EF wagon had ran out of life & it was time to upgrade.

My last Ford was a BF Fairmont, a blend between that taste of luxury cruising I'd first gotten in the EB Ghia, & piling on the KMs cheaply thanks to LPG, as per the EF wagon. In the end though this car too had reached the end of its viable life - as far as I was concerned - as it had a ton of kms on it, the repair list was growing, and my lifestyle/work life had changed where I needed -yes, needed- a dual-cab. Yes, the Thai-built dual-cab, one without a Ford badge (my first non-Ford car, and -probably crucially from Ford's perspective- my first new car), one of the vehicle styles that the current group of Aussie buyers are trending towards, likely at the demise of the traditional Large Aussie Sedan (& wagon/ute). My Ford relationship came to an end in 2015, having started in 1984. Despite some niggles in the EB, & a couple in the EF, my four Falcons served me faithfully. I returned the favour by dumping them unceremoniously one-by-one & moving on to the next vehicle to be consumed.

Vale Ford Australia; Ford Falcon. You were an important part of my life. I may have moved on, I may have lost my passion, I may have dumped you unceremoniously and moved on, but you have not been forgotten. Thankyou to the workers who built "my" four Falcons, and all of the other Falcons I've been in - parents' cars, mate's cars, hire cars, work cars, and of course the ubiquitous taxis. I may have never bought a Falcon new, having never been in a position to do so until this year, but the trickle-down effect from all of the Falcons you've built having resulted in the immensely rich used vehicle market (or in my first car's example, the generosity of my parents), allowed me to drive and experience the great cars you have built over the years.

[Tsar01]

I'm sure I was born with blue blood, and converted a few peeps along the way. There is nothing now to be excited about waiting on the next evolution of Falcon, its just.. hmmm .

Just a bloody big empty space that no import can fill.

Just glad I have my "GS" and own a valuable piece of history.

[Olbucko]

Depressing, watching and reading about the Falcon's death today, like having your nuts cut off, slowly. Things will never be quite the same again

[asagaai]

My first car was a Cortina Mk 11, ex rally car, ended up putting in a raceshop built kent 1.6, finally twin side draft webbers. Thing was soo unreliable but fun- like flying a biplane on the limit. My old man banned me from v8s so I went 4 cylinder and never looked at Falcons, although creamed myself when seeing Falcon 351 Coupes.

Then got a Cortina TE 4.1, ended up with an alloy head, cam, holley, went like a cut snake, but did not handle but was feral oversteer fun. Totally unreliable, and finally died a smokey death when I moved from NT to NSW.

Then got married.

I regretted the money blown on modded cars, and knuckled down, ended up using my wifes Ford Festiva 1.3 as family car for years- gutless- but did not die, and became responsible, building first house and paying off. In interim, got a Camry manual v6, then a Honda Euro Manual.

I rember staying at the Sheraton in Sydney, and I walked past a FG11 with nice tail lights, and had a sudden pang thinking maybe I should have bought one instead of Euro as I was soooo bored with front wheel drive, but I recalled how unreliable my earlier Fords were.

Anyway, ended up with about 95,000 km on Euro, and I became bored with it-it was a bit buzzy on the highway and gearbox was noisy at 110 kph odd, and there was a funny knock that developed in high temeratures in CBD stop start traffic through the steering- probably a steering pump on the way out.

Anyway, ended up test driving various HP cars, porsches, M3 v8, AMG C63, AMG 45, as my one brother wanted to have my input as he was looking at buying a HP car. He got a AMG C63 sports pack.

At this time, in early 2014, I heard Ford was to close down in 2016 and thought who would buy the last Falcon.

At this time business was going well, house paid off, and I heard about the last Falcon V8, saw pictures of it- very conservative looking without stripes, and I suddenly realised I could get away with it in my business (wolf in sheeps clothing) and it had a manual with Supercharged v8.

Also- I had 2 days conference with one of the head engineers who did recalls in Australia in automotive, and he said that the latest Falcons were great, all the bugs had been ironed out and they had evolved into a world class car.

So I got it- best car I have ever had- and have only 1 regret-driving it with traction control off and letting little bro drive it with his overconfidence and him wiping it out.

Anyway- its being repaired, and during this I have driven various cars, including Hyundai 130s, Ford little mini crappy SUVs, Holden Captiva, and cannot believe how crap most cars are out there, poor brakes, cadaver steering- feel unsafe.

Also, I am now proof of Einsteins theory of relativity, driving my FGX Xr8 to work and home, each trip feels like a 6 minute blast of ecstasy.

Driving these various replacements to work and back- literally feels like each trip is taking me 50 minutes.

I am soo looking forward to getting my Falcon back, and after it has been fully amortised through my business, I will keep it forever as a weekender that I will treasure.

I came to the Falcon ownership party late, but will I suspect be one of the last hangers on long after the party has ended.

Thank you to the Ford Australia people involved in the design and build of my machine, I hope you all find your other pathways to happiness and success.

[Tsar01]

Originally Posted by Olbucko

Depressing, watching and reading about the Falcon's death today, like having your nuts cut off, slowly. Things will never be quite the same again

LOL Brilliant

[Ghiaman]

Another great Australian died today.


http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-1...58?pfmredir=sm

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Olbucko]

"END OF THE LINE:THE LAST AUSTRALIAN FORD"

on ABC news 24 at 7-30 tonight, worth a look. (30 minutes long)

[Bearman]

Originally Posted by Bearman

I grew up right in the middle of the Ford/Holden rivalry. My Dad had mostly Holdens and always seemed to find any excuse not to buy a Ford (although our farm tractor was a Ford). My Brother had no particular affinity but my Sister is more pro Ford.

In my heyday I had several cars in the XA to XC range. In 2005 after an almost 10 year break from cars I got my Coupe.

At one stage I had a very nice XY GS Fairmont K code but never really felt at home in it. I love the XA to XC range and is my favourite model series.

I would love to get myself an FG-X or Territory as a newie before they depart but the planets just haven't lined up and probably won't. Apart from a renaissance with a BA XR6 the later Fords left me a bit cold. I was a bit put off after having had an EA and ED which were nothing but trouble. Having said that I'd love an EL XR8 in my garage. I also reckon the EB and EL GT's are a good thing.

I like the later FPV's also but again, I just haven't been in a position to buy one and I suspect that will not change.

Once the Falcon and Territory are gone Ford to me will be just another car importer. No more emotional attachment. There will always be Ford in my driving because my Coupe ain't going anywhere!! I will always support Ford at the race track.

I guess I have already done my grieving.

I thought it appropriate to revisit this post I made a year ago. I still feel the same and yes, the possibility of buying another Ford down the track one way or another seems quite remote.

RIP Ford Falcon. Will always be a motoring icon in this country.

[PaulXR50]

It saddens me and no doubt all others we will never get a chance to buy a new Falcon of any kind. I always looked forward to reading car mag reviews of a new Falcon, regardless of what said. I usually only bought them for new Falcon reviews Falcon comparisons (also the mags with FPVs),so not likely to buy another unless something special.

Seeing the pics of what they looked like and new features they had, knowing that in 12 months or so i would own one, was just a choice of colour back when they had colours BA-FGs. I never really cared what mag reviews said, i knew what the car would be like and being a Ford fan wouldnt stop me buying one.

I'm a proud owner of an FGX XR8 (Victory Gold) and love every part of it.

I will certainly miss seeing what the new Falcon would look like and others opinions of it (in AFF). I certainly wish all the staff at Ford all the best for the future and thank them for all the great cars they built and i have been extremely fortunate to own.

[turbo4]

I don't really know what to say about it all. like most others here Falcons have been what I grew up on.
I was taken home from hospital in an EA Falcon.
One of my earliest memories is bringing my baby brother home from hospital in the same car.
Dad's first car was a Falcon, Mum's first car was a Falcon.
My Grandparents owned Falcons, it's in my blood.
When the time came that I had enough money, the first car I purchased was a Falcon and I'll never sell it.


I think this ad pretty much says it all
https://youtu.be/iDaLxN5FIjE

"What it is to be alive
And not just to survive
To swing and not to miss
I can't get enough of this"


Falcon- gone but never forgotten.

[FGX-351]

Rip :(

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Hard to express exactly how I feel today. Its just been an empty day all day for me.

All I know is that tomorrow will just not quite feel the same way somehow.

I know some people will find this strange and others might wonder what my motivation was, but I found myself giving the thumbs up to every driver I saw on the road today of an Australian built Ford. Naturally, most of those were Falcons and Territories. But there was also the odd Laser or two.

I think I saw an EF, an EL, an AU or two, a few BAs and BFs, quite a few FGs and then a handful of FG Xs. There were also a few Fairlanes in there too. Not a bad mix for a 110km country run.

Whilst most drivers were likely to have not seen me, I wonder if there were any that wondered who the lunatic in the FG X XR8 was that was giving them a thumbs and a dorky grin

RIP Falcon, Territory and the manufacture of Ford in Australia.

[champ]

Wow! I still cannot believe that this has actually happened. I did not think that I would actually feel so "lost". Maybe because ford was just such a big part of growing up, the ford Vs holden thing, the drag races, the ford is better than holden stuff and the list goes on. Today of all days I thought it only fitting that i drive my GTF and I have never been prouder. "Built with the pride of Australia" wasn't that what was on the plates inside the ford cars? Let's see what the Taiwanese put on them.... Built to fall apart when a strong wind blows on a windy day? I do not think anything after today anything that has not been built here could replace my beloved 16 year old fairlane (which I love dearly) or my GTF! I feel so lucky that I am the owner two cars that would have been built by the very same people with a 16 year gap between these cars.

Just simply, thank you to all the workers at ford - for everything.

[champ]

Originally Posted by psychobimbo

Hard to express exactly how I feel today. Its just been an empty day all day for me.

All I know is that tomorrow will just not quite feel the same way somehow.

I know some people will find this strange and others might wonder what my motivation was, but I found myself giving the thumbs up to every driver I saw on the road today of an Australian built Ford. Naturally, most of those were Falcons and Territories. But there was also the odd Laser or two.

I think I saw an EF, an EL, an AU or two, a few BAs and BFs, quite a few FGs and then a handful of FG Xs. There were also a few Fairlanes in there too. Not a bad mix for a 110km country run.

Whilst most drivers were likely to have not seen me, I wonder if there were any that wondered who the lunatic in the FG X XR8 was that was giving them a thumbs and a dorky grin

RIP Falcon, Territory and the manufacture of Ford in Australia.

Me too! I had the biggest smile on my face when I spotted a 40th anniversary GT on the road today. I am sure the man must have thought I was mad, but he then did the same. I think today especially we were all brothers and sisters under the Ford flag.

[xr6-FTW]

After a pretty emotional day and feeling sad, I was keeping it together until I saw this video just now, couldn't help but break down into tears watching it, even typing and thinking about it is choking me up. Take a look guys, you know i'm more affected by the poor workers being unable to turn up to work Monday, it's just not fair what has happened, really hitting me deep now, especially the song in this video, if you watch it more then once it hurts more. Grab a set of tissues if you can

https://www.facebook.com/FordAustral...5445957008747/

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

I have owned Falcons continuously since 1986, and it's a bit sad to think what we have now is all we will ever have.

Lucky I have a few nice examples stashed away and a few more to be restored.

[champ]

Absolutely right! Also held it together until watching this. Now there is an empty shell left behind in all of us.

[Joe5619]

Wow, that's it folks.. RIP Falcon.

Can't believe we live in an era where the Falcon is only history..... So sad that we got here...

[champ]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Wow, that's it folks.. RIP Falcon.

Can't believe we live in an era where the Falcon is only history..... So sad that we got here...

Just about sums it up. Like we've just buried someone & now time to go home.

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by champ

Wow! I still cannot believe that this has actually happened. I did not think that I would actually feel so "lost". Maybe because ford was just such a big part of growing up, the ford Vs holden thing, the drag races, the ford is better than holden stuff and the list goes on. Today of all days I thought it only fitting that i drive my GTF and I have never been prouder. "Built with the pride of Australia" wasn't that what was on the plates inside the ford cars? Let's see what the Taiwanese put on them.... Built to fall apart when a strong wind blows on a windy day? I do not think anything after today anything that has not been built here could replace my beloved 16 year old fairlane (which I love dearly) or my GTF! I feel so lucky that I am the owner two cars that would have been built by the very same people with a 16 year gap between these cars.

Just simply, thank you to all the workers at ford - for everything.

The Taiwanese didn't take our jobs, the Thais did.

[champ]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

The Taiwanese didn't take our jobs, the Thais did.

Oops. What i was trying tio say is it wont be the same.

[xr6-FTW]

Originally Posted by champ

Absolutely right! Also held it together until watching this. Now there is an empty shell left behind in all of us.

The way they done this video is just perfect mate, long live the falcon..........

[DR650]

Originally Posted by hackney

Njoy,nice vehicle!

Thanks mate,picked it up this arvo.Wife loves it, it reminds her a lot of her AU2 Sportsman with how quite it is inside compared to her Territory Ghia.
Walking around the dealers yard a salesman said to my daughter that "a Focus would be great first car for her" too which she replied "I'll stick with driving mums V8 Fairlane thanks" and then chastised me for selling both of my 351 XD's and F150.
Wth todays closure it's bad enough we don't have our Australian made Fords anymore and hundreds of people became unemployed but what about the contribution to engineering advances like Foundry technology, improvements in Robotics and Automation technology and Multi Axis CNC machinery that Vehicle Manufacturers use and invest in.

[mik]

The sad end of an era in Australian motoring history for our iconic falcon , and just as sad watching the news seeing long time workers sobbing on route out of the plant for the last time .
All the best to those continuing on in the small part of ford Australia still working and also to those now looking for another job .
The beginning of the end to major Australian car manufacturing.

. R.I.P The Mighty Falcon .

[vixf6]

It's just such a huge battle to firstly get then construct a car manufacturing industry, so much infrastructure, so much investment, so many jobs so many skills, apprentices, engineers, secretaries, cleaners, tradies, contractors, to just let it go without a real fight just ****** me off.
Real govt leadership would have got all stakeholders, unions etc together and told them to pull their heads in and make this work. Unions don't wanna hear it but a production guy doing up 3 bolts per car can't be paid 70 grand.
Real govt would have told these 3 no jobs no imports, keep your Thai built and jam it.
Free trade, no tariffs, I DONT GET IT

[X-AHH]

Get ready to pay for files to upload to your 3D printer and make the spare parts at home that you need to keep your environmentally friendly transportation unit on the road for another 5000Km.

The heart and soul is slowly but surely being ripped out of the Australian automotive industry.

[jandj]

Originally Posted by xr6-FTW

After a pretty emotional day and feeling sad, I was keeping it together until I saw this video just now, couldn't help but break down into tears watching it, even typing and thinking about it is choking me up. Take a look guys, you know i'm more affected by the poor workers being unable to turn up to work Monday, it's just not fair what has happened, really hitting me deep now, especially the song in this video, if you watch it more then once it hurts more. Grab a set of tissues if you can

https://www.facebook.com/FordAustral...5445957008747/

Thanks for the link mate , very emotional watching the video.
As I watch Bathurst this weekend I feel bittersweet, I would love a ford to win this weekend for me it would mean

* sticking up the V8 supercars & the biased commentary team
* upset the Holden supporters
* but mainly do it for all the FORD workers that built fords cars in this country

[mcflux]

Originally Posted by vixf6

It's just such a huge battle to firstly get then construct a car manufacturing industry, so much infrastructure, so much investment, so many jobs so many skills, apprentices, engineers, secretaries, cleaners, tradies, contractors, to just let it go without a real fight just ****** me off.
Real govt leadership would have got all stakeholders, unions etc together and told them to pull their heads in and make this work. Unions don't wanna hear it but a production guy doing up 3 bolts per car can't be paid 70 grand.
Real govt would have told these 3 no jobs no imports, keep your Thai built and jam it.
Free trade, no tariffs, I DONT GET IT

Whilst the scope of some jobs may have been narrow, most of them would have been highly specialised.

Whenever people bring up workers' pay & conditions as the nail in the coffin, they need to realise that it's just a drop in the ocean when it comes to the true costs of the industry: materials & SALES. Perhaps look at the abysmal sales figures, here's a graph showing 1980-2012:



Could the workers have taken a pay cut in the dying days? Possibly, but what for, to extend the production until November?

Meanwhile check out Ford's global Q2 2016 report:

https://corporate.ford.com/content/d...ws-Release.pdf

The yanks don't give a **** about us.