Archive for October, 2016
Blue Oval Blues: The Demise Of An Icon.
October 7, 2016, just before 10 am in Melbourne, Victoria. We knew it was coming, we tried to deny it was coming but, inexorably, it arrived. The final Australian built Ford was rolled off the assembly line and the factory fell silent.
91 years. Three million, eight hundred and fifty three thousand, four hundred and thirty seven Falcons later, the last being an blue XR8 Sprint (an homage to the nameplate from the late 1960s), it’s over. Prior to the Sprint, there was a white Territory and a blue XR6. These cars were sold at an auction, raising money for charity. The FG-X Falcon XR6 sold for $81500, the ute XR6 went for $81000 and the Titanium Territory was passed to its new owner for $68500. However, there were three cars that Ford built without ID plates, making them unsaleable and will be kept by Ford for display in their museum.
But there’s much more to Ford in Australia that the events of October, 2016. It’s not commonly known that Ford Australia was founded as an outpost of Ford Canada, a then separate part of Ford USA, as Henry Ford had granted manufacturing rights to Commonwealth countries, except for the UK, to Canadian investors. The very first cars built were assembled from CKD (complete knocked down) kits imported from Canada. These were built in a disused factory from June of 1925, just three months after Ford USA announced that Geelong would be the home of the Australian outpost. The car? The famous “Model T”.
Australia’s Ford history can be tied into innovation; it’s widely accepted that the first coupe utility, or “ute” as it’s best known, originated in Australia and built on a Ford chassis. It’s said that a farmer or farmer’s wife needed a vehicle which could be used to church on Sunday and transport livestock the next. Released in 1934, the design of Louis Bandt, an engineer with Ford, was also born out of economic neccessity. Banks during the Great Depression would not lend money for cars but would for work related vehicles. The coupe utility fitted the bill.
Motorsport has played a huge part in Ford Australia’s history, although in the last couple of decades that gloss has faded. Such was the pride Aussies had in their largely homegrown cars, that a win on Sunday translated into a sell on Monday mentality. The brutal XY GTHO found itself a place in history when it became the fastest four door sedan (or saloon) in the world and had a moment in time frozen forever when Wheels magazine ran a story with the now infamous picture of the car’s speedometer showing 140 miles per hour in a blast on the Hume Highway, running between Sydney in the north, through to Melbourne in the south, in 1971. With Ford’s 5.8L Cleveland V8 sitting under the “shaker” air intake, feeding a four barrel carbie, a plastic chin spoiler and rear deck lid wing, the “Hoey” not only looked the part, the sounds it made when pushed in anger added to the presence.
In the late 1990s, Ford unveiled the R7, a concept car. A large SUV, with rounded and smooth body panels, it would be finalized into production as the Territory and has since bene regarded as one of the best of the Australian made cars. Ford Australia also utilised turbocharging, with their alloy blocked 4.0L six cylinder, which replaced the archaic 4.1L iron blocked engine, finding itself a home inside a range of sports themed cars with the XR nomenclature. The XR6-T and its Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) siblings would also create their own niche in history, as would the name, Tickford.
Although Australia has flirted with hard top two door cars in a mainstream selling environment, sometimes they’ve proved hard to shift and motorsport has helped out in the background.
Legend has it that some four hundred odd XC Falcon coupes were proving hard to shift and a marketing decision was made to repaint them. With a white body and blue striped look, the Cobra was born and it’s now history that two of them finished in a one two formation at Mt Panorama.
It’s fair to argue that some of Australia’s best looking locally manufactured cars were of the two door design. Chrysler had the Valiant Charger, with a distinctive advertising campaign involving two raised fingers. Holden had had the Monaro from the late 1960s and the two door LC/LJ Toranas before a body swap to the LH/LX and UC Torana.
Ford had had the XM and XP coupe, a beautifully balanced design before leaving that area and revisiting with the coke bottle flanked XA Falcon. The next model, the XB, had a slightly more muscular look with the redisgned front and tidied tail lights but the XC was destined for world wide fame, thanks to a cop in black leather…
Mad Max not only showcased the stark and barren beauty of the Outback, it allowed George Miller to share the evil and demonic black painted, supercharged, dual 44 gallon drum equipped monster that was the XB Falcon coupe and Max’s ride. Sadly, the next model, the XC Falcon would be the final Ford Australia factory produced “tudor”.
Ford’s also made decisions that have backfired in a sales sense; they cancelled off V8 engines in the early mid 1980s, leaving their primary opposition, General Motors Holden (at the time) to run away with the market when it came to these powerplants. It would be some years before Ford Australia once again slotted V8s into the cars, in 1991. They were also Canadian sourced, and somewhat different to the engines made and used in the United States.
Holden and Ford had also gone head to head when it came to luxury cars. Ford had the Fairlane and LTD, with Holden matching up with the Statesman and Caprice. In December 2007 Ford deleted the Fairlane and LTD, citing lack of sales as being unviable, again leaving the market door wide open for Holden to continue.
Depending on the Falcon car they were based on, the Fairlane and LTD were long, large, and imposing vehicles, all the way from their launch through to the BA Falcon, where that commanding and majestic look disappeared, along with their buyers.
Ford Australia also manufactured cars in other locations to Geelong; between 1981 and 1994, the Laser (one of many cars Ford shared as a platform with other makers such as Mazda) was built in Homebush, the site for the 2000 Olympics. The Ford Anglia, Cortina, and Escort, were built in Australia and based on the cars from the U.K. Mazda donated the 626 which would become the Telstar until Nissan’s Pintara became the Ford Corsair.
Perhaps, though, Ford Australia’s history can be seen by many as stemming from the Ford Falcon of 1960, effectively a right hand drive conversion of the American Falcon. Designated the XK, the range would see the introduction of utility and panel van bodies, however Australian roads, particularly in rural areas, soon proved to be the car’s undoing and subsequent engineering work saw the release of the XL. 
In 1964 the XM Falcon was unveiled, with the first fully Australian designed Falcon body. A year later the XP was released and introduced the Fairmont name. The XP was also the model that concreted teh Falcon into Australian sales, with then deputy manager, Bill Bourke, conceiving a plan to demonstrate the cars durability. A fleet of cars would drive for 110,000 kilometres at over 110 kmh at the You Yangs proving grounds, successfully showing the Australian engineering had improced thecar substanionally over its forebears.
In 1966 the car moved from a smooth and curvy look to a sharp edged, blocky design based on the third generation US Falcon. It was also the first model to have a V8, the 4.7 litre or 289 cubic inch powerplant. The long running 144 ci engine from previous models was deleted, leaving the once optionable 170 ci engine as the standard engine. The XR covered all bases, with Falcon, Falcon 500, and Fairmont sedans, Falcon, Falcon 500, and Fairmont wagons, Falcon and Falcon 500 utilities, and the Falcon Van all being made available.
As the American Falcon had strong ties with the Mustang that had been released in 1964, Ford Australia capitalised on that by unveiling the XR Falcon GT, packing a 225 horsepower or 168 kilowatt 4.7L V8. The XR was updated to the XT in 1968, offering a new V8 at 302 ci or 4.9 litres, plus a new 3.1 litre straight six or 3.6 litre six. 
A rework of the external design had the 1969 XW Falcon looking more muscular and hard edged, plus the soon to be legendary 5.8L 351ci was added. Again sourced from Canada, the engine offered, as standard, 291 horsepower or 217 kW, exiting through a dual exhaust and breathing in through a bonnet mounted airscoop for the GT variant. It also saw the introduction of the now iconic “Superoo” decals for the sides of the car.
August of 1969, just days after Armstrong and Aldrin had walked the moon, saw another memorable moment in time. Australia was given the GT-HO. Initially using the “Windsor” V8, it was soon changed to the “Cleveland” pumping out 300 horsepower or 221 kW. There was also an uprated suspenion, hence the HO or “Handling Option” part of the name.
That legend continued to grow with the introduction of the XY nameplate. With only minor styling changes it was the the “Shaker” air intake that many would identify the XY with. Top speed would be generally recognised as 141.5 miles per hour, or just under 228 kilometres per hour. The name “Phase 3” is also strongly identified with the XY GT-HO.
Ford America ceased production of their Falcon in the very early 1970s, with Ford Australia’s design and engineering team producing the XA. It’s the model that reintroduced the two door configuration and is also identified as one of the three cars associated with the “Supercar scare”, with the mooted Phase 4 seeing, allegedly, just three examples being produced.
The XB and XC updates saw some notable external changes and with the XC, a redesign of the dashboard, the “crossflow” head design for the six cylinder engine, and Australia’s first suspension built around using radial ply tyres, known as “Touring Suspension”. 
The XC is also the model that saw Ford utilise the last remaining two door bodyshells, as mentioned earlier, which gave the Australian motoring public the Cobra. They were individually numbered, rolled on 15 inch diameter wheels with a design intended to help brake cooling and motorvated by a mix of 302 ci and 351 ci engines, painted in that now iconic blue and white colour scheme.
Ford Au would move to a Ford Eu influenced design with the introduction of the XD. The 4.1L would gain an alloy head, increasing fuel economy and power slightly. 
The XE gave the Falcon a more angular front and the XF of the mid 1980s saw a softening of the design, with a rounded nose and more integrated tail lights. The XE would also be the first Falcon in over a decade to outsell its main opposition, the Holden Commodore, also a Euro based design. It was also the the last model to see the V8 for some time.
The XG nameplate was applied to the two commercial derivations, the ute and panel van, and saw the introduction of a new powerplant, the slightly downsized 4.0L six, the loss of the archaic three speed automatic transmission associated with the Falcon for decades and a new five speed manual. The range was built on the XF platform whereas the Falcon had transitioned to the ovoid shaped EA and EB. Even the XR6 nameplate, seen in the EB, was brought in.
The Falcon had updated to the EF in the mid 1990s, with a slimline look to the front end, sleekly integrated headlights and a more curvaceous styling. The 4.0L engine was upgraded to an electronic ignition system and power saw an increase to 157 kW. The EL was a facelift, externally, however the standard six was refitted with the distributor ignition system previously deleted.
Ford Australia’s great hope, the AU Falcon, was released in 1998, utilising Ford’s “New Edge” styling. It was almost immediately condemned for its looks, and changes to the original look were implemented quickly with the April 200 series 2 and September 2001 series 3 updates. They included changes to the grille design, a raised bonnet and bigger wheels. 
September 2002 and a half billion dollars later, the BA Falcon was released. A flatter, less rounded and edge oriented design, inside and out, the BA went a long way to reversing the sales drop the AU had brought and won the Wheels magazine Car of the Year award. The BA’s interior was a more cohesive design and saw the introduction of the LCD screen Interior Command Screen. There was also the introduction of the “Barra” range of sixes, including the weapons grade potency of the turbocharged 4.0L. Throwing out 240 kilowatts and a massive 450 Newton metres of torque, it was just 22 Nm shy of the standard 5.4L US sourced alloy V8 also used.
2004 had Ford release the Territory, Ford’s entrant into the burgeoning SUV market and an immediate sales success. It was based on the BA’s floorplan, complete with the independent rear suspension that Falcon’s handling prowess had been lauded for in predeceding years. The BA would also be followed by the facelifted BF before a heavily revised external FG series was released in 2008. The range saw the dropping of the Fairmont and Futura name, the latter a name resurrected from the 1960s for the AU. Modifications to the turbo six saw torque reach an astounding 533 Nm.
The final Falcon, the FG X, was also the first Falcon with a three letter nomenclature and again saw a substantial external redesign. Criticism of the car centred aound the almost unchanged dash even though the abilities of the electronics had increased since the BA. But in a nod to history, the X refers to the history of Falcon, going all the way back to the 1960 XK.
Although Ford Australia has ceased to be a manufacturer, it will still be heavily involved with the world market. Research and Development, R&D, with the legendary You Yangs proving ground, will continue to be part of the global network. It also allows Ford Australia to source some of the world market cars; the Mustang has made a huge impact in the world market and especially in Australia, partly though, to the detriment of the final runs of the Falcon and derivative models.
Hyundai i30 SR: Private Fleet Car Review
Hyundai‘s i30 has quickly become a staple on Australian roads, taking the fight up to Ford’s Focus, Kia’s Cerato and Toyota’s Corolla. It’s an award winning car and for good reason, with a high quality level of fit and finish plus Australian tuning for the ride. Hyundai’s bundled everything into one package for the manual i30 SR and it comes out the other side holding its head up high.
What a buyer will find in the near 1300 kilo SR is Hyundai’s non turboed Nu 2.0L gasoline direct injection engine, with peak power and torque of 124 kW and 201 Nm. Naturally, both come in at high revs, with 4700 of them needed to see peak torque. The transmisson is a six speed manual and it’s here, in the car provided, that something didn’t feel right. The gate mechanism is loose, sloppy, undefined, and changing from second to third to fourth and back feels as if the selector is moving up and down, not left to right to left.
The clutch itself seemed initally quite soft and lacking in any real spring pressure, with a seemingly indeterminate pickup point on the travel, with the subsequent revving of the engine past where a normal pickup would bring them down telling the story. When it all gels, however, it’s smooth and usable, it just lacks a real presence.In amongst all this is a frugal powerplant, with a combined total, from the 50 litre tank, of just 7.0L per 100 kilometres. If you’re in freeway mode, 5.5L/100 km is what Hyundai quotes and around town is where a lighter foot may be needed, at 9.5L/100 km.
The test car was painted Brilliant Red, matched by the Start/Stop button’s surround. Otherwise, the interior is standard i30, save for red additions and stitching to the seats, and alloy pedals. There’s a seven inch full colour navitainment touchscreen, sans RDS, a peculiarly Korean thing. There’s an impressive list of tech: Apple CarPlay is on board, as is Bluetooth audio, auto head lights, rain sensing wipers, dual zone climate control air conditioning, and auto windscreen defogging. 
There’s a reverse camera, hidden under the boot mounted badge that folds out and in. It’s a tad noisy and momentarily distracting. Behind the tail gate is 378 litres of usable cargo space, expanding to just over 1300 when the 60/40 split rear seats are folded.
Outside there’s LED DRLs in the front, an SR badge on the rear along with two on the front flanks, gorgeous gunmetal grey tuning fork style alloys at 17 inches in diameter, shod in 225/45 Nexen rubber. It’s Hyundai’s fluidic design in profile with the headlights flowing back into the guards, bracketing the newish corporate grille that is a one piece design. It’s cohesive, good looking and suits the colour the test car was covered in.
It also cuts a fine figure on the road. Hyundai’s engineered a wonderful road holding chassis, with tenacious grip, a beautifully weighted steering feel using the Normal mode (it feels too artificially heavy in Sports, too light in Comfort), a ride quality that balances front and rear in the way the SR rebounds from bumps and undulating roads, thanks to revalved dampers and retuned springs. 
Even on unsettled and broken surfaces, it ducks and weaves through them with aplomb, exhibiting a high level of body control. And although it’s a normally aspirated engine, there’s enough pluck in the powerplant to provide enough performance without seeming underpowered. Rev through the numbers and there’s a steady pull through the range without running out of puff at the top end.
At The End Of The Drive.
The SR raises the i30 above the entry level and sits comfortably below the Premium, offers a well thought out feature list and priced from $25590 plus ORCs it’s a good value package. On the road it’s a solid handler, with a willing enough engine, with the weakspot being the lacklustre gear selector. Work around that and the i30 SR stands out as a suitable alternative to the Japanese big sellers. Go here:Hyundai i30 SR for more info.
Why Don’t Car Ads Target Women?
Just in case you haven’t noticed, this is 2016 (the latter half of 2016 at that). This isn’t Saudi Arabia. In other words, there are just as many women as there are men holding drivers’ licences in this part of the world (although I haven’t checked the exact stats). However, the people who make the car ads don’t seem to have caught up on this. Pause and think about all the car ads that you’ve seen recently. Not many of them feature women as the driver, except for a few for people-movers that show Mum ferrying around tons of kids (has anyone told these advertisers that this isn’t the 1950s?).
This situation was nicely highlighted by a team of comedians (female ones) from across the Tasman in this rather popular video clip (please excuse the four-letter words) that parodies a Holden Colorado ad:
This got me thinking about (a) the cars my female friends drive and (b) the number of commercials that feature women as the driver (not as the passenger or as some form of detachable decoration). My friends drive 4x4s, utes, small sedans, vans, hatchbacks, station wagons… the full range of vehicles. Most of them forked out their own money for said vehicles, too. And they don’t just use the cars as Mum’s Taxis, either (not surprising, seeing as several of them either don’t have kids or else their kids have grown up and left home or got their own licences). They’re using the cars to go to sports training, to go to work, to go to school, to take a load of garbage down to the dump, to tow the horse float and to carry out contracting work (and farm work). In short, they use vehicles the same way as my guy friends do. But the car ads? No – as far as they’re concerned, it’s guys who buy cars and drive them… apart from those people-movers.
Nope, it’s guys all the way for the typical car ad. In the case of utes and trucks, the not-so-subtle message is that these vehicles are what you drive if you’re a Real Man:
But us women? We’re only allowed to drive people-movers with tons of kids and the dog on board, according to the makers of car ads:
Nissan tried to target women buyers a few years ago, they really did, with the infamous ad for the Tiida that features Sex and the City actress Kim Cattrall. At least they tried, but using sex to sell anything shows a lack of imagination.
To be fair some manufacturers are starting to wake up to the surprising fact that it’s not just guys who drive and buy cars. Audi tried a social media campaign (#womendrivers https://twitter.com/search?q=%23womendrivers&src=typd), where users were tempted to click the hashtag, expecting to see a funny story about women driving badly but instead got a story about actual real women driving properly. However, the campaign aimed at busting stereotypes ended up backfiring (unlike the Audis themselves).
Holden has also come up with a real, fair dinkum ad (for the Spark ) that specifically targets younger women drivers.
Actually, despite the rip-off commercial, Holden seems to be doing pretty well for targeting women, as a quick peek through their YouTube channel and their ads seems to have at least a smattering of women drivers. Even the real Colorado ad seems to have realised this, so well done, Holden!
Come on, the rest of you car advertisers! Time to realise that you’re completely overlooking 50% of potential buyers!
Was an Exit Ford's Only Option?
Last week marked the end of an era for the automotive industry within Australia. After 91 years, the blue oval badge that many Australians came to love called time on the local manufacturing of its vehicles. The day was a bittersweet moment. On the one hand, the brand, the company and its tireless employees were recognised for their invaluable contributions over the years.
Sadly however, an abundance of job losses as well as the demise of a true Australian icon will leave a void within the nation’s proud history and culture. The manufacturer’s peers are in no better position, with Toyota and Holden also approaching the end of local production in 2017. But was this the only option available? Was it possible for Ford’s local manufacturing operations to be spared a lifeline?
Despite its late efforts to adapt to consumer and industry changes (e.g. economical driving), Ford was always going to be facing an uphill battle. As wage growth peaked in the mid-2000’s, labour costs continually drifted further and further away from those of nearby countries. Throughout Asia in particular, labour costs remained arduously low, incentivising numerous manufacturers to set up their regional operations for the Asian market amongst low-cost producers. To say that our nation’s positioning worked against the company would be an understatement.
Also weighing against the company was the particular requirements befitting right-hand drive vehicles. Although in theory this shouldn’t have impeded the prospects of exporting to neighbouring countries in Asia, said nations were instead able to capitalise on their low-cost positioning. These requirements also prevented Ford from exporting to the likes of the US or other parts of the world. When the local arm of the company sought permission to produce the Ford Falcon in left-hand drive (several times in fact), its parent company in the US was having none of it. The economies of scale were never there to provide efficiency gains.
When the company’s changes did come, they were usually slow-moving or reactive in nature. As the Falcon continued to be pushed heavily by the company, the likes of the Ford Territory (and its successors) and Ford Focus hatch were overlooked for too long while competitors made advancements. In the last 20 years, Australian SUV sales have increased over 20 fold. The corresponding market share has increased from around 8% in 1995, to approximately 37% by the end of 2015 – and these numbers continue to rise. Meanwhile, passenger vehicles have gone from approximately 77% to 43% market share in the same period.
Ford was also largely propped up by government intervention and regulation. Not only were taxation benefits and direct financial aid afforded to the company, but the market had to be ‘artificially’ managed by way of taxes and duties after it had been opened up in the 1980’s to allow motorists greater access to imports. The introduction of a luxury car tax and import tariffs sought to all but direct customers towards our local vehicles but consumers followed their needs.
While the effects of a recently overvalued Australian dollar did not impact Ford as it did with Holden and Toyota, government assistance became a necessity to prop the company upright – across the industry, this is believed to be $12bn over the last 20 years. With each year that passed, the prospect that Ford’s production could remain viable within our market became increasingly dim. And ultimately, all the major parties in this story bear some degree of responsibility for Ford’s sad farewell.
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