Ford Territory 2012 News

Here are our top 10 cars released in the first 25 years of this century.

Ford says their capped price service offer, MyFord, has been successful in bringing thousands of owners back to the brand -- 13,000 in 2013 alone. So they're taking the offer further, raising it to seven years and 135,000km from the six years/105,000km that rolled out in 2011.The revised program -- available on vehicles built from 2007 -- has been extended to cover brake pad replacements and rotor machining across the range except the sporty FPV, ST and XR5 variants and the light commercial Transit van. All eligible models will have front pads capped at $259 and rear ones at $219, except the rear-wheel drive Falcon and Territory rear pads, which will be capped at $259. Machining is capped at $88.Ford has also announced a year's free membership and roadside assistance with state motoring organisations -- NRMA, RACV, RACT, RACQ, AANT, RAA and RAC -- at participating dealers with the sale of any new car, except FPV and Transit.“The addition of the Auto Club Program is another customer-focused offering that Ford owners will enjoy,” Ford Australia general manager, customer service division, Stephen Kruk, says. “Customers expect this level of certainty from their dealers and we’re happy to say that since it was introduced in July 2011, the program has been very well received by our customers.”Owners can check the maximum price for a service, and all terms and conditions at www.ford.com.au/myfordcps.  MyFord Capped Price Servicing is available on the following vehicles.Ford Fiesta – WQ, WS, WTFord Focus – LS, LT, LV, LVIIFord Mondeo – MA, MB, MCFord Falcon – BF, BF FPV, BF MkII, BF MkII FPV, BF MkIII, FG, FG FPV, FG MkII, FG MkII FPVFord Escape – ZD, ZCFord Econovan - JHFord EcoSport - BKFord Kuga - TE, TFFord Territory – SY, SY F6X, SY MkII, SZFord Ranger – PJ, PK, PXFord Transit – VM, VNThis reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

New car buyers have turned to Sport Utility Vehicles in record numbers, according to the official sales figures released yesterday by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.So far this year the small SUV brigade – including such popular vehicles as the Nissan Dualis, Mitsubishi ASX, Volkswagen's Tiguan and Hyundai ix35 – has grown at an unprecedented rate of 31 per cent. Australians bought 23,845 SUVs of all types last month.Small SUV sales have not come at the expense of the larger models - the medium, large and upper large SUVs all continue to record twenty-plus per cent growth.SUVs have sold 177,100 units this year – or just 20,000 vehicles short of the SUV tally for 2007, which was the record year for vehicle sales. The segment is on track to top 305,000 sales.The FCAI also says SUVs are being bought by both private and business customers. Diesel engines are the powerplant of choice.The sales data shows a 59.9 per cent growth in private diesel SUVs and a 36.3 per cent in non-private sales.One brand that has strong SUV sales to thank is Toyota - Australia's executive director sales and marketing Matthew Callachor said strong performances from Toyota's SUVs helped lift Toyota's sales tally by 26.2 per cent this year."Toyota SUVs sales rose by a massive 58 per cent July-on-July, led by Prado which more than doubled its year-ago result,'' he says.     

Ford has issued a recall on the Ford Territory for a defective impact sensor. The recall on the Ford SZ Territory is to fix a problem with the vehicle's left-hand C-pillar side impact sensor.The recall notice says there is a possibility that a sensor that forms part of the vehicle's supplemental restraint system may not have been secured.This could mean that in the event of a side collision, the side curtain airbag may not operate correctly, possibly resulting in serious injury to the occupant.Ford says only a small number of the vehicles are affected. The problem occurred in 134 Territorys built between 29 March  - 26 April 2012.

The new hirings are the first good news on the staffing front following Ford's $103 million cash injection in January to continue development of the local Falcon and Territory.The Territory also gets a major boost next week when it stars at the Bangkok Motor Show to gauge the potential for sales across the Asian region.The new engineers at Ford will not be permanent staff but, like many motor industry employees today, contractors who are hired for the duration of a specific project."We are in the process of recruiting for approximately 25 new engineers in our digital Innovation  - that's CAD, CAE etc - area," Ford spokesperson, Sinead Phipps, reveals to Carsguide."The new hires will primarily be contractors, as is largely prevalent in product development due to the cyclical nature of the workloads and industry."The jobs include places for both exterior and interior designers, power train experts and chassis specialists.Although Phipps is not specific about the appointments, an advertisement by Ford Australia stresses the focus at Broadmeadows on work for the Asia-Pacific region and the successful F6 pickup program that produced the latest Ford Range and Mazda BT-50 and will eventually lead to an SUV spinoff."We’re recruiting at the moment to support a number of projects the product development team is working on, including global vehicle development work, as well as our continued development of Falcon and Territory," Phipps says.The display at Bangkok is the first time the Territory has been seriously touted outside Australia and it's being promoted as a 'premium SUV' for Asian customers. It is being displayed as a fully-loaded seven-seater powered by the latest 2.7-litre diesel engine.

The sales total for the coming year is already forecast to top the one-million mark reached in 2011 after a 5.9 per cent lift in Roy Morgan Research returns. A total of 648,000 people are planning a new-car purchase in the next 12 months, says Morgan in the Car Buying Intention report released today, well up from the short-term average of 612,000 that has driven recent demand. "In relative terms, cars are now very cheap. As long as this continues, and interest rates remain low, we see new cars as being a very popular choice over the next four years at least," says Norman Morris, communications director of Roy Morgan. The company's prediction comes as the Reserve Bank holds steady on interest rates and consumer confidence, as measured by Morgan and the Westpac Melbourne Institute rises. Confidence is now at a solid 117 points, compared to the most recent high of 130 in 2009. Even though the confidence is not reflected in housing starts, Morris says the trend for new car sales is up. Surprisingly, he predicts that Ford - which has been badly hit by falling sales of its locally-made Falcon - will be a big winner together with Volkswagen and Toyota, which has dominated car sales for more than a decade. "Ford's Fiesta and Focus, for example, are seen as fresh products that people want to own," said Morris. "There's also more product coming from Ford. In general, I'd say there's more happening at Ford and that's attracting buyer interest "Volkswagen, similarly, has a range of new models and has recorded strong growth in 2011." The report notes that sales of SUVs is continuing to strengthen at the expense of the medium-sized, large car and sports car segments. "SUVs are seen as flexible and versatile rivals to traditional sedans. Plus, there's so many models for the buyer to choose."

Bill Ford will deliver the keynote address to the 2012 Mobile World Congress on February 27 in Barcelona, Spain, outlining the company's future vision for smart transportation and personal mobility.Mr Ford will be the first automotive leader to deliver a keynote address to the Mobile World Congress which is among the world's most influential mobile technology events.He will discuss how technology and innovation can enhance personal freedom and mobility despite increasing vehicle populations and rapid urbanisation.The address follows announcement at Detroit motor show that Ford will invest a further $103 million in clean technology and additional upgrades across the locally-produced Falcon and Territory lines.The investment could enhance the competitiveness of Falcon and Territory by further reducing CO2 emissions and improving Falcon's safety profile. The upgraded models will be launched in 2014 and will take Falcon through to at least the end of 2016.

Hundreds of new and updated cars arrive in Australia each year but only one is good enough to make the honour role for Carsguide COTY.This time around the prize fight is tougher than ever, with new arrivals for 2011 covering every size and price class, from the ordinary Chery J1 from China to the exotic Ferrari 458 Italia from Italy. Neither of them makes the COTY cut, but that's another story ...The reach for COTY 2011 contenders actually stretches back to the final months of last year, to include a couple of cars that just missed the 2011 cutoff, and this time around the newcomers must have hit showrooms by December 1.So, unfortunately, the all-new Toyota Camry is a non-starter. It's the same for the make-or-break four-cylinder Falcon.But the class of 2011 covers all the bases, from affordable mini cars through family and prestige cars to a hot new coupe. The hopefuls come from Europe, Asia and Japan, as well as right home in Australia.Setting the field for 2011 was not easy, particularly with the outgoing champion - the Volkswagen Polo - still casting a considerable shadow.But each of the COTY judges, who cover the Carsguide contenders and drive them in all conditions from coast to coast, has called up their personal favourites from Alfa Romeo through to Volkswagen to help guide the selection process.Then it is the final cull by the COTY veterans to produce the top 10 for a gruelling two-day shootout to consider everything from design and safety through to value and their driving ability on a wide range of roads from Ford's You Yangs proving ground to freeways, suburban streets and gravel roads on the outskirts of Melbourne.The field is set, the race is about to be run, but we cannot get ahead of ourselves.So here are the 10 COTY contenders ... now it's over to the judges: 

A new cylinder head and intake manifold help the petrol mill to a claimed fuel figure of 10.6 litres/100km for both the five and seven-seaters.  The petrol engine is good for 195kW (up from 190kW) and 391Nm (up from 383Nm) while the diesel puts out 140kW/440Nm. The rear-drive diesel has a claimed fuel use of 8.2 litres/100km; the all-wheel drive model uses 8.8 litres/100km.  All models now come with a six-speed automatic transmission as standard. NVH Making the car quieter for front-to-rear seat conversations was a key priority for the noise, vibration and handling team.  New seals around the rear tailgate, more attention to aerodynamics - hence the new side mirrors - and better insulation in the bulkhead and beneath the floor all contribute to trimming decibels from the SZ range. The team even looked at a double bulkhead to cut interior noise but instead opted for a plastic layer sandwiched in the regular sound-deadening material that achieves 95 per cent of the insulation for none of the weight or manufacturing cost. NVH head Michael Stellamanns says interior quietness is a key trigger for customer satisfaction. That's why the diesel was tested in the most demanding conditions - a drive-through restaurant with the window down, car idling and sound bouncing off the bitumen and wall - to ensure the diesel "cackle" wasn't intrusive. DYNAMICS Anyone who drives an SZ Territory will pick the difference in steering, says Ford's vehicle dynamics manager Alex de Vluyt.  Put that down to a new electronic power-assisted steering system and revised front suspension geometry intended to make the new Territory less responsive to wheel inputs at high speeds. Conversely, better responsiveness in parking situations was another target and one de Vlugt says will make the SZ model stand out.  Keeping the big SUV flat while cornering, accelerating or braking was another focus and to achieve the "roll agility of a Mondeo" the front anti-roll bar has been stiffened by 30 per cent, the front springs are 35 per cent stiffer and the rear springs have been beefed up by 10 per cent.

All the signs are positive after a strong run through 2010 on everything from new models and new technology to the price of cars and petrol and even motorsport.Last year produced a million-plus result in showrooms, only the third on record and a huge turnover in a country with a population of just over 22 million people. And the sales total for 2011 is likely to be even bigger.The fuel for the sales growth will come, as usual, from the importance of cars in Australia and the incredible number of new models that his showrooms each year. No-one can underestimate the sense of freedom that Australians tap with their cars, or the genuine needs of people who rely on cars for everything from day-to-day commuting to long-distance nomadic work.Car companies are currently doing all they can to clear their backlog of 2010 stock in readiness for the first arrivals of 2011, which means great buying for at least another month. Cars are like horses, because they all get a year older on the same day, and anything in a showroom now with a 2010 build date is out-of-date.But there is nothing out-of-date about the lineup for the first major motoring event of the year, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It opens next week with the unveiling of everything from a Hyundai Veloster and the next Honda Civic to a new Porsche supercar.There will be lots of news from Detroit, perhaps including Holden's plans to revive Commodore exports to the USA and the potential future of the Ford Falcon. Chrysler will show its new 300C, which will take more than a year to reach Australia, and Chinese brands are promising another new wave of technology and small cars.Chinese cars will be one of the big stories in Australia in 2011, with Chery, Geely and Great Wall all planning to start passenger car sales down under. Great Wall is already doing well with its value-priced utes and SUVs but it's Chery that is looking for the big breakthrough with baby cars that undercut the Korean price leaders.On the motorsport front, the Dakar Rally is already blazing through South America - with Bruce Garland doing his best for Australia in an Isuzu D-Max - the V8 Supercar championship will be another boomer, and Mark Webber will be looking to improve on his 2011 season in another year with Red Bull Racing.Melbourne will be motoring central again this year, not just because it is home to the three local carmakers - Holden, which has the local Cruze this year; Ford, which is about to go with the updated Territory; and Toyota, which has an all-new Camry for 2011 - but also thanks to everything from the Australian Grand Prix to the latest running of the Australian International Motor Show.The organisers of the show have confirmed this year's dates as July 1-10, with the promise of a truly world-class event. Moving the date is planning to bring more people indoors to look at the shiny new metal and, more importantly, open up a new position on the global motoring calendar to allow the Australian show to become a major Asian motoring event each year.