Ford Falcon 1990 News

The upcoming 2015 Ford Mustang muscle car could keep Ford in the V8 Supercar championship. Prominent V8 Supercars team owner Rod Nash says Ford's famous Mustang-branded muscle car could be the future for the brand in the Australian motorsports category.The last model of the Ford Falcon is set to be released toward the end of the year and Ford's decision to cease local manufacturing by October 2016 has increased doubts over the company's continuing participation in V8 Supercars.Nash, who is a co-owner in the factory-backed Ford Performance Racing (FPR) team, believes the two-door Mustang coupe could be the car to keep Ford in the championship. A sixth-generation version of the Mustang is due for release in Australia in the latter part of next year.Nash says the possibility of racing the car in future years of the V8s is one his team has to look at. "The opportunity is there for a V8 Supercar to be a two-door," Nash said before the round in Townsville this weekend."If we want to do a two-door vehicle going forward then that will be part of it. It's all part of manufacturers going forward and being able to accommodate what they want to do."With the Holden Commodore also facing extinction no later than 2017, V8 Supercars has opened itself to the possibility of changing current regulations to allow two-door coupes to race alongside or in place of the current four-door sedan designs allowed. If that change is adopted, not only will Ford be able to race Mustangs but cars such as Chevrolet Camaros and Dodge Challengers could join the grid."Nothing is granted until you put it up through the V8 Supercars Commission," Nash said. "Any subject has to go up so it's not mandated that you just go out and do it."

It's just a little under two years until the production line at Broadmeadows shuts down for the final time. How ironic, then, to be reminded this week that it's 100 years since Henry Ford invented the moving production line as we know it today in the motor industry. Australia's very last Ford Falcon is scheduled to be built in September of 2016, provided that sales - which improved slightly last month - justify the spending needed to keep the Falcon, Falcon ute and Territory moving down the line. Ford Australia says everything is tracking "to plan" for the moment, but it's interesting to contrast the plan for Australia with the rest of the world. Right now, the build rate at Broadmeadows is 146 cars a day. Compare that with a global build rate that means 16 vehicles are finished every single minute of every day, a pace that puts the blue oval brand on track to build more than six million vehicles in 2013. While Australia is headed for a production shutdown, Ford is still investing heavily in new production facilities. But those plants are - not surprisingly - in Russian, China, Romania, Thailand, Brazil and India. Building cars in any and all of those countries is cheaper than doing business in Australia, and there is growing demand for anything that allows people to graduate from bicycles and buses to their own car. The new-age factories are also based on producing four different models of vehicle, not two like Broadmeadows, with a target to improve efficiency by more than 30 per cent by 2017. So it's no surprise that Broadmeadows has been left behind, and not just because the Falcon is a long way from a first-choice pick for showroom shoppers. Looking back, Henry Ford's work on the moving production line was arguably the single biggest breakthrough in the history of motoring. His assembly line - which was partly modelled on the disassembly lines used in abbatoirs - allowed cars to be built more quickly, more easily, with far greater accuracy, and at an affordable price. There are plenty of good stories about the Model T production line, but my favourite one is about the packing crates used to carry engines to the line. Instead of being thrown away or burned, the crates were then broken down and used for floorboards in the cars - not to cut waste but because old Henry knew it was cheaper. This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover  

You see, back in the early 1950s, Chrysler executives were worried declining sales which market research had told them, very bluntly, was because the company's offerings were boring and stodgy. Meanwhile, the head of design at Chrysler, Virgil Exner, had heard rumours about Chevrolet's Corvette and Ford's Thunderbird. He was determined not to be left out of this little party and decided to create a sports car which would demonstrate once and for all that Chrysler had shed its dowdy image. And so he commissioned the Chrysler Falcon. Styled in Detroit and constructed by Ghia in Turin, Exner had three cars (some say only two were built) delivered for the 1955 auto-show circuit. All were operating automobiles. Exner kept one as his personal transport. The Falcon was sleek, low and long. Slightly bigger all round than the Thunderbird and standing at a mere 1.3 meters high, it had a wrapped windscreen and huge tail fins. Its smooth flanks were devoid of chrome. Under the hood was Chrysler's new 4.5 litre Hemi V8 bolted to an automatic transmission. Two chrome exhaust swept along the side of the car, hot-rod style. Inside it was luxury all the way, with power assistance on everything. Dealers and potential customers lobbied Chrysler to produce it. Yet despite the acclaim, Chrysler executives were reticent about its viability. While the Thunderbird was a sales success, the Corvette was struggling and rumours circulated Detroit that GM was about to drop it and the engineering and accounting folk didn't like it either. "Too hard and too low volume to make for the price," they said. That was the kiss of death and the Falcon was shelved. Fast forward to mid-1959 and the Big Three are preparing their new compacts for the showrooms. Chrysler has two names for its "little" car, either Falcon or Valiant. Chevrolet has decided on Corvair. But Ford is still searching. And it's here that two legends emerge. One story is that Henry Ford II liked Falcon, so he rang Chrysler boss Tex Colbert and asked if he could use it. Tex agreed because Exner preferred Valiant. The other story is that both companies sought to trademark the name and Ford beat Chrysler to it by, some say, just 20 minutes. Of the Chrysler Falcons, one is on display at the Chrysler Museum and another is owned by concept car collector Joe Bortz. The third has long disappeared, assuming it was ever built. David Burrell is the editor of retroautos.com.au  

Ford is about to embark on an ambitious plan to streamline all of its car plants around the globe in order to boost their efficiency and see them introduce a set of common practices. Ford calls this ambitious plan the “One Manufacturing” system and hopes to have it fully implemented by 2015. At the same time, Ford plans to add capacity around the world, including a broad expansion in the Asia Pacific Africa region, where the company will be adding nine new plants, particularly in China, over the coming years. The facilities will increase the region’s capacity to produce 2.9 million vehicles a year, part of a global plan to meet Ford’s goal of selling 8 million vehicles a year by mid-decade. Following on from its One Ford strategy where the automaker sells one common model in each vehicle segment it competes in around the world, the new One Manufacturing system is aimed primarily at improving efficiencies and reducing costs at its plants. Ford describes the system as a single production system with the advantages of standard processes for tasks such as tracking material, delivery and maintenance, as well as greater flexibility and improved investment efficiency primarily through the use of virtual tools. This latter feature alone is said to reduce vehicle development costs by as much as 8 percent per year. Ford is also hopeful that its new system will help it tackle over-capacity issues in certain regions such as Europe without having to shut a factory. Producing common vehicles at more locations around the globe means underutilized plants can more easily be used to produce vehicles for other markets. One important aspect for the One Manufacturing system is a reduction in the number of vehicle platforms and components.  Ford says using fewer platforms means it will be able to produce 25 percent more vehicle derivatives per plant by 2015, though it means we’ll likely lose unique vehicles like the Ford Falcon currently sold in Australia. The beloved sedan, as well as its ute and SUV variants, are speculated to be ending production in 2016 whereby they’ll be replaced by global models such as the Taurus and Explorer.   Motor Authority

Move over Megatron and Optimus Prime. Ford is entering the battle between Autobots and Decepticons with a tilt at having a Falcon turned into a Transformer artwork. To kickstart the action, Ford fans are invited to hit the company’s brand and Falcon Facebook pages, and vote on which model should be the basis for Transformer. The Ford-loving public will decide on model, colour, name – and whether it should be a good-guy Autobot or a Decepticon baddie. High Moon Studios, the developers of the coming Transformers: Fall of the Cybertron game, will turn the results into a piece of concept art showing the Aussie Falcon in both car and bot form. The artwork will be unveiled to coincide with the new Playstation game’s release on August 22, and signed copies will be used for future Ford activities.

Less than 1000 Falcons were delivered in July as the company battled the continuing sales slide for its one-time hero car and the fallout from 440 sackings at its factory at Broadmeadows in Melbourne. The official total is likely to be around 945 cars, only slightly better than the dismal 931 in January, although confirmation will not come until Friday with the monthly new-car sales results from VFacts. “It’s challenging,” is the only comment from Neil McDonald of Ford Australia. Falcon now only rates fourth among Ford’s nameplates in Australia and was outsold by the Ranger ute, Focus and Fiesta in July. The showroom scorecard will show the Toyota HiLux continued its run as Australia’s favourite in July with just over 4150 sales, well ahead of the second-placed Mazda3 at 3355 and the Toyota Corolla at 2980. Once again, the Holden Commodore is back in the pack – after losing its long-term number one position at the end of 2011 and suffering a mauling from the Mazda3 and HiLux this year – with 2360 sales. It is expected to trail the locally-made Cruze compact again when official figures are released, but could also fall behind Holden’s new workhorse, the Colorado ute, which is tipped for close to 2700 sales. The Colorado success came as utes continue to out-perform the overall market growth this year, with Nissan also delivering more than 2100 of its Navara pickups and the Ranger doing around 1700 for Ford. Toyota dominated through July with around 17,000 sales, compared with Holden at just on 8900, then Mazda and Hyundai.            

It's the worst ever result for the troubled local carmaker. Ford, whose iconic Falcon sedan continues to plunge in the sales charts, had an operating loss in 2011 of $78 million.  Ford Australia chief financial officer Mark Rearick blamed the after-tax hit on a one-off $212 million tax impairment related to "tax losses generated in the current year and carried forward from prior years". "The operating loss is primarily explained by one-off costs associated with a restructure of the Ford Australia business, a continued industry-wide decline in the sale of large vehicles, and vehicle supply issues for both Ranger and Fiesta as a result of the Thailand floods," Mr Rearick said. The company retrenched 250 workers at its Broadmeadows factory last year and reduced production to 209 vehicles a day to clear a backlog that had at one point filled the factory's grounds with unwanted vehicles.  Ford's previous worst result was in the global financial crisis of 2008, when it took a $274 million after-tax loss. Ford's announcement of the 2011 result came two days after chief rival Holden announced a $89.7 million profit for 2011, down from $112 million the previous year. Critics have pointed out that the Holden profit is roughly equivalent to the amount of Federal Government funding the carmaker received during the year. However Holden's chief financial officer, George Kapitelli, has said the two figures are "a coincidence''. Ford last year received $102 million from the Federal Government's Automotive Transformation Scheme -- almost the sum it invested in the locally made Territory and Falcon. The latter has just been released in its first four-cylinder engine version.  Ford Australia CEO Bob Graziano said the Falcon, the great majority of which are sold to fleets, would once more be viable to those which "have a policy of  four cylinder vehicles only". So far this year, Falcon sales are down 30 per cent on 2011. The Territory and Falcon were outsold again last month by the Focus small car, which is imported expensively from Germany. Mr Rearwick said the relocation of production in Thailand in a few months would lower operating costs. Mr Graziano said Ford last year updated 85 per cet of its lineup and had "walked away from unprofitable" areas of its business. "We're confident we're making the right decisions, albeit tough ones, for the future of our business," he said.  

Ford’s Falcon EcoBoost obviously wants to be zoomed into the viral world. And what better way to do so than with two talking cane toads? Amphibian buddies, Ralphie and Les are the new face of Ford’s online-only video promoting the recent Falcon EcoBoost launch. Focusing on humour and clear messaging, Ford has stepped into the viral world in an attempt to further connect with their already fiercely loyal followers – a move that has surprised many. And surprise is what they’re aiming for. Yes, the Falcon EcoBoost is surprisingly quiet, the marketing avenue is surprising and – wait for it – the video has a comical surprise ending. Enjoy.  

Administrators struggle to revive a key parts maker that abruptly stopped production. About 1800 workers at the car company's Broadmeadows and Geelong plants are facing a down day, which will result in Ford paying them 50 per cent of their wages that can then be topped up with annual leave. It could take until Wednesday before Ford's Australian car-making operations are up and running as parts maker CMI Industrial's Melbourne factory remains shut over debt problems. A Ford spokeswoman says workers face another down day on Tuesday and CMI may not be ready to start supplying parts for Ford until Wednesday. "Obviously the whole process needs a bit of time to happen before we can start our production line again," spokeswoman Sinead Phipps said. Read full story:  www.skynews.com.au

Certification of the new EcoBoost Falcon was done with premium 95-octane unleaded fuel but the car can happily run on a more basic brew.  Standard 91-octane petrol is fine for the car and will potentially save around $150 a year at the pump, based on Carsguide figures.  Although it does take the edge off the performance very slightly, the man who led EcoBoost engine development work for the Ford fighter says only a tiny number of people would notice. "The difference is less than five per cent. It's less than a customer would pick," David Mitchell, who heads powertrain development at Ford Australia, reveals to Carsguide. He also says he would be happy to run an EcoBoost Falcon on standard unleaded. "I'd stick 91 in it. Every time. I's absolutely engineered for 91," he says. The EcoBoost Falcon is the latest in a growing global range of green cars from Ford that put an efficiency twist on small-capacity turbocharged engines. BMW and Fiat also have their EfficientDynamics and MultiAir green leaders, but Ford eventually plans to have an EcoBoost engine for every model from the baby Fiesta - which has a 1.0-litre EcoBoost in Europe that's also coming to Australia - through to the hulking F-Series truck, which has a 3.6-litre V6 EcoBoost engine that's the most popular choice today in the USA. The 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine in the Falcon is already fitted to a wide range of models in Europe - from the Ford Mondeo to the Range Rover Evoque and Volvo XC60 - but there has been extensive local development work including durability testing in the USA. The final result - using 95-octane unleaded - is 179 kiloWatts of power and 353 Newton-metres of torque, with a combined fuel economy figure of 8.1 litres/100km. Dropping back to 91 unleaded only costs 2.5 kiloWatts and three Newton-metres, although the torque peak of 350 Newton-metres rises from 2000 to 3000 revs. Mitchell says Ford  was obliged to do its certification work on the EcoBoost Falcon with premium unleaded and all the press, promotional and advertising figures are based on the results. However, he is a strong advocate for 91 unleaded in the car. "You do ge a small benefit in performance with 95, but 91 is still regarded as a cost-effective choice," he says.