End of the road nears for Falcon
JEZ SPINKS
January 12, 2010
Home-grown ... but not for much longer. The latest-model Falcon.
THE days of producing a home-grown Falcon for the Australian market are over, says Ford's world president and chief executive, Alan Mulally.
The Falcon has been designed and engineered in Australia since the 1960s, but Mr Mulally said at the Detroit motor show that under the new "One Ford" program there would be only one large-car platform for all markets.
"The best thing for Ford is to bring our scale and volume (to the market)," Mr Mulally said. "(Car makers) who make one vehicle, a different vehicle for one country, I think those days are gone, because you can't compete with the global companies, and Ford's going to be a powerhouse globally."
Ford's large car is likely to be based on the American-designed and built front-wheel-drive Taurus, which was unsuccessfully imported into Australia in the 1990s.
Mr Mulally would not confirm if Ford Australia would play a key role in the development of the Ford global large car or whether the Falcon would continue to be built here.
Ford Australia president Marin Burela hopes his parent company will tap into Australian engineering talent, which has played a significant design and engineering role in the development of a new one-tonne utility vehicle and worked on styling projects for Ford of India.
Mr Burela said Ford was still considering whether the new large car would be driven by the front, rear or all wheels, but there was at least 12 months before a decision had to be made.
"The all-new Falcon doesn't have to come into play until the end of 2014, early 2015, and we don't have to make a decision until 2011 on what that vehicle will be, in terms of styling, technologies …" he said.
Ford Australia is adamant it can continue to make a viable business case for the Falcon, despite large-car sales continuing to shrink.
Mr Mulally said the Taurus and other Fords sold in the United States would be be available in Australia.
He left the door ajar for Ford Australia to help develop Ford's US muscle car, the Mustang, which uses the same rear-wheel-drive layout as the Falcon.
"We also have some really good RWDs, like the Mustang. You can imagine another new platform, just like the Falcon, that's going to be RWD for Mustang, so you can imagine driving the One Ford we're going to have every one of those, and so there's no reason why we can't have it in Australia."
___________________________________________________________________________
Well folks it had to happen sooner or later, the Falcon as we know it will cease production sometime in the next
three or four years.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing for lovers of the Falcon (such as myself) and for the Australian car
industry in general and for the future of V8 Supercar racing?
The one thing we can be certain of is the failure of the Australian public to accept the Taurus as a replacement in its current form in my honest opinion. Yes it does have a more advanced range of engines and is available in four wheel drive
and from some angles is quite good looking, in an American way.
But the vehicle has a number of disadvantages. Firstly it is primarily designed as a front wheel drive and we all know what the reaction to that will be.
The Taurus SHO, the performance model, has a twin turbo 3.5 Ecoboost engine rated at 272 kw, two more than the Falcon but with lower torque which is developed at much higher revs. Exactly the opposite to what the Australian market wants and expects in a large car, witness the negative magazine reports regards the latest range of Commodores.
Although the SHO has a more advanced engine than the Falcon, is a similar size and has the benefit of higher technology in its design and manufacturing it is slower than a Falcon and uses more fuel.
Why you ask, how can this be? Easy, the Taurus SHO is FOUR HUNDRED Kgs more than the Falcon, a lot of this can be attributed to the four wheel drive system and the yanks insistence for extra sound proofing but that is still a damn heavy car any way you look at it. I haven't seen any direct comparison test between an FG Turbo and a SHO but i'll bet the Falcon would nail that overweight bastard around a racetrack any day.
There is also the negative marketing connotations of the original and hideous Taurus to overcome.
I wrote to Wheels magazine a few months ago suggesting they do a comparison between the two but I never received a reply, maybe its time send that letter again.
On a brighter note another alternative is to base the new Falcon on the upcoming Mustang.
This makes much more sense and is the only logical solution providing the financial figures make sense.
Firstly, the Falcon and Mustang are spiritual brothers.
The original Mustang was based on the US Falcon platform and the OZ Falcon benefited from the huge range of Hi-Po engines, drivetrains, racing programs and of course, the marketing.
The current Mustang will soon be available with the same 3.5 litre V6 as the Taurus in both normally aspirated and twin turbo versions, both engines are underwhelming in the Taurus because of the weight but next years Mustang and the proposed Falcon should be several hundred kg lighter, thus maintaining an acceptable performance and fuel economy advantage.
Next years Mustang will also introduce the five litre "Coyote" V8 which is reported to have around 320 Kw with much improved fuel economy over the current engines. This engine is also strongly rumoured to form the basis of an upcoming Falcon GT-HO according to whispers circulating FPV and I think we all would like to see that.
But its not just about the performance possibilities because any future regarding the Falcon will be primarily based on
the financial numbers and that includes base models with base engines.
I reckon a Falcon with a 3.5 V6 based on a Mustang platform, which hopefully Ford Australia will help to develop, has the potential to be a real winner.
Topic: End of the Road for the Falcon (Read 405 times)
