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Despite doom and gloom forecasts there WILL be life for Ford once local manufacturing reaches the end of the line -- if its topsy turvy week is a guide.
In the same week Ford posted its fifth year in a row of massive financial losses -- totaling $1.05 billion over half a decade -- it scored a couple of small but significant wins.
Ford overtook Holden for the first time this century -- 17 years, since January 1999 -- and the Ranger 4WD ute knocked off the Toyota HiLux 4WD for the second time in four months.
The April result means Ford has posted growth for the sixth month in a row -- after 11 years of sharp decline.
Ford has started to turn the corner, even though its factory closure is just months away (October 7).
Holden has a longer road ahead. Although it is still ahead of Ford year-to-date, it is on track to post its worst sales result in 23 years in 2016, having been beaten by Hyundai every month so far this year.
Holden has a raft of new models on the way -- including an updated Colorado in August and an all-new Astra in November -- but the locally-made Commodore still accounts for the majority of sales.
Ford has made the U-turn without many of us realising it
When its factory closes in late 2017, Holden sales will take another dent.
Ford has made the U-turn without many of us realising it; Holden is still yet to enter the turn.
Toyota, meanwhile, won't get off without some collateral damage when the Camry factory in Altona closes just after Holden in late 2017.
Toyota is pushing Camry sales hard because it has a factory to keep running until its end date.
Once there isn't a factory to keep alive, true demand for Camry will be cut in half -- or more.
Toyota may not lose its number one position overnight -- a title it has held for 13 years in a row -- but brands like Mazda, Hyundai and Ford (and eventually Holden) will begin to claw back lost ground.
And buyers will be the winners as they compete for their dollar.
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