March 2012 Wheels

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Yes because they lost all their Gas customers to Toyota / Hybrid Camry's and smaller alternatives.

We knew this would happen, fleet operators were forced to make the switch, now see no worth coming back.

Very worrying for all involved.

The only people keeping Ford alive in Australia is Hertz and a few other rental companies that keep solid forward ordering... Everyone else has dropped them.

Novated Lease buyers are staying away in droves, Falcon and Commodore are both in the same boat...

[b2tf]

Originally Posted by tranquilized

I find myself sticking up for Wheels Magazine a lot on here. I dont work for them I promise, its just that I find it absolutely ridiculous the way so many people here incessantly bag the press (not just Wheels) just because they dont heap endless praise on Ford.

I agree with you. If it were a story about Holden going bust people would be all over it.

Ford is, has and always will the underdog. If you can't deal with it, buy a Holden.

[BHDOGS]

Ford is deliberately killing of the ford to make it a niche product so when they do switch to a global alternative not many ppl will care and buisness can continue makes sense to me

[Spammy]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Novated Lease buyers are staying away in droves, Falcon and Commodore are both in the same boat...

So when people were forced to take a Falcodore as a company car the locals did OK....as soon as people had a choice in what car they could drive they jumped to Mazdas, Hyundais, Subis etc.

And the long term outlook for Falcon and Commodore is what?

[Chilliman]

Originally Posted by Spammy

And the long term outlook for Falcon and Commodore is what?

Pretty bleak I'd say

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Spammy

So when people were forced to take a Falcodore as a company car the locals did OK....as soon as people had a choice in what car they could drive they jumped to Mazdas, Hyundais, Subis etc.

People always had a choice spammy but now that companies are cutting fleet funding
and FPT liability is rising, a lot of people are opting for company pool vehicle instead of salary sacrifice.
Some are rolling over existing leases, the minimum is 12 month but a lot are being encouraged into two years or more..

And the long term outlook for Falcon and Commodore is what?

Not good and not for the reasons you think.....

[martyk54]

Originally Posted by csv8

It was posted on FF, that 25% of Commodore sales are V8's. Hello !! wakey wakey Ford !!! Falcon needs the V8 option !!!

Why didn't the XR8 sell then? I realise the 5.4 was a lump of an engine, but even something that kept up with SS wouldn't have changed Ford's fortune here I don't think. If Holden had a turbo 6 it would still beat the XR6T in sales... superior vehicle or not.

Holden are the masters of marketing inferior cars. Everyone must take their hats off to Holden in this regard.

[Archilino]

Originally Posted by jpd80

At the moment, Ford is building EcoLPI with no major orders in sight, most are going to stock.
If this keeps going the plant will need to ease back on volume, could we see four day weeks?

I'm happy to be corrected but it's my understanding the 4 out of the 5 Fridays in march will be down days.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by martyk54

Why didn't the XR8 sell then? I realise the 5.4 was a lump of an engine, but even something that kept up with SS wouldn't have changed Ford's fortune here I don't think. If Holden had a turbo 6 it would still beat the XR6T in sales... superior vehicle or not.

Holden are the masters of marketing inferior cars. Everyone must take their hats off to Holden in this regard.

"Lets not bring out competitive products, because no-one will buy them"

What a load of rubbish. You give people what they want and they will buy it, no matter the badge says Hyundai, Holden, Toyota, Mazda or Ford.

Ford get WAY too many apologists on here claiming the whole world is against them. Its a load of crap. You give something people want to buy, they will buy it. If Ford thinks anywhere like their enthusiasts then they are in big trouble.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Archilino

I'm happy to be corrected but it's my understanding the 4 out of the 5 Fridays in march will be down days.

While its not great its hardly surprising, show me any manufacturing that has not slowed down in this country that doesnt have something to do with mining.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Archilino

I'm happy to be corrected but it's my understanding the 4 out of the 5 Fridays in march will be down days.

Sounds like it's continuing into April but Ford hasn't said that yet.
problem is line rate is higher than sales, maybe another rebalance..........

[martyk54]

Originally Posted by Brazen

"Lets not bring out competitive products, because no-one will buy them"

What a load of rubbish. You give people what they want and they will buy it, no matter the badge says Hyundai, Holden, Toyota, Mazda or Ford.

Ford get WAY too many apologists on here claiming the whole world is against them. Its a load of crap. You give something people want to buy, they will buy it. If Ford thinks anywhere like their enthusiasts then they are in big trouble.

I disagree.

You release a product and you make people believe they either need or want it, it really doesn't matter which. That is marketing in a nutshell. Whether this is done by putting it in peoples faces via the media or creating a perception about a brand or product, which doesn't necessarily have to ring true, it's irrelevant. It's proven time and time again that a superior product does not guarantee sales.

It doesn't make a lick of difference what Ford put under the Falcon's bonnet, it's unlikely to have significant impact. The 5.0 in a new XR8 won't pull the Falcon out of the hole it's in. EcoLPI basically stands alone in a market where people supposedly value economy, performance... a brilliant package, yet no one wants it. Why not? You tell me?

I think the least of Ford's issues in recent times has been the availability of competitive products, for this reason I think you're wrong. Falcon, Mondeo, Fiesta and Focus have had the critic edge over the Holden alternatives for years.

The car makers create the industry, they dictate what people buy to a large extent. This is the area where Ford fail.... badly, and obviously marketing is tied into it.

[Bossxr8]

Interesting they talk about Graziano being sent here for a specific purpose, I bought that up/came to that conclusion yesterday.

They got rid of Burela who was doing his best to save Falcon, sales increased after he was here a while, even ran some Saturday overtime to keep up, and then Graziano came in and its all gone to hell. No doubt he was sent here to kill Falcon so Ford wouldn't need to take the risk of building another new one. He has made sure Falcon is not advertised, LPi wasn't advertised, Ecoboost has been delayed time after time after time, and dealers are being pushed to sell Mondeo over Falcon, cause Ford are not sending much in the way of stock to dealers, so they have nothing to sell people who walk in off the street. XR8 was put on hold after he arrived too, so he's basically killed that too.

Total hatchet job.

PS-Notice they only advertise imported products now?

I'd figured I had another good 5 years before I got a package and moved on from Ford, now i'm starting to worry I may not even see out the end of next year. Falcon is absolutely dead in the water, all the negative talk has resulted in no one even wanting to touch it now, its name is mud.

The Commodore is being taken with it, its sales are tanking too, the negative talk in the media is affecting it too.

The King is dead, long live the king.

[FacultY]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

PS-Notice they only advertise imported products now?

Yea just look at the home page of the website. Not even a picture of the falcon.

Maybe this is what all the local manufactures want? Maybe this is what will force the government to bring in higher tariffs or actually do something to make it viable to make cars in australia besides just giving out free money.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by FacultY

Yea just look at the home page of the website. Not even a picture of the falcon.

But let's not mention the four Drive best car awards blazed across the screen....

Maybe this is what all the local manufactures want?.

Maybe Ford spent all that money on FG II just to watch it evaporate?
I don't think so....

[FacultY]

Originally Posted by jpd80

But let's not mention the four Drive best car awards blazed across the screen....

Yes they are fantastic cars but why such a small segment for the falcon which won Australias car of the year. IMO a much greater achievement then drive.com.au award.

[Ford_The_Win]

It's probably foolish, but I for one remain hopeful for some kind of future for Broadmeadows and/or the Falcon. I'll keep a candle burning.

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by martyk54

I disagree.

You release a product and you make people believe they either need or want it, it really doesn't matter which. That is marketing in a nutshell. Whether this is done by putting it in peoples faces via the media or creating a perception about a brand or product, which doesn't necessarily have to ring true, it's irrelevant. It's proven time and time again that a superior product does not guarantee sales.

It doesn't make a lick of difference what Ford put under the Falcon's bonnet, it's unlikely to have significant impact. The 5.0 in a new XR8 won't pull the Falcon out of the hole it's in. EcoLPI basically stands alone in a market where people supposedly value economy, performance... a brilliant package, yet no one wants it. Why not? You tell me?

I think the least of Ford's issues in recent times has been the availability of competitive products, for this reason I think you're wrong. Falcon, Mondeo, Fiesta and Focus have had the critic edge over the Holden alternatives for years.

The car makers create the industry, they dictate what people buy to a large extent. This is the area where Ford fail.... badly, and obviously marketing is tied into it.

Marketing as important as it is from Ford directly, won't overcome the Ford dealer network, whose own marketing of poor customer service has been so successful, backed up by the ineffectual Ford Customer Care and lack of factory support and recalls for common faults by Ford itself. A combination so powerful that even with one of the strongest, if not THE strongest product range Ford Australia has ever had, will never see them number one or two and probably never again number three.

Marketing by word of mouth beats all other marketing as it turns out and Fords reputation or image on the street isn't good. That said I agree with you entirely in that Ford created the image it now has.

No one here is to blame, nor is the guy at work who swore off Fords after his BA or the family that got tired of the dramas with their Territory or the ones who discovered that Mazda actually made all the things they liked about their Laser, but Mazda were nicer to deal with.

Ford never appreciated the harm they were constantly doing to their own brand or were to arrogant to realise you can't keep burning people in a market where choice is growing on a yearly basis and so is the improvements made by your competition - in products and perception.

[NX74205]

Originally Posted by EDManual

can ford sue for defamation?

No, they cannot. A trading company with more than 10 employees is prohibited from bringing a claim for defamation.

[z80]

It's the economy.
Look at all the jobs lost in the last week...
Alcoa, all the banks sacking thousands of workers.
Banks putting interest rates up in spite of the RBA not doing so.

Time to buy a new car?

Nope...not a Ford,Holden,Toyota or otherwise...

[SteveJH]

Originally Posted by FacultY

Yes they are fantastic cars but why such a small segment for the falcon which won Australias car of the year. IMO a much greater achievement then drive.com.au award.

You realise they are the "Ford Motor Company of Australia" not the "Falcon Motor Company of Australia" right?

[Spammy]

Originally Posted by SteveJH

You realise they are the "Ford Motor Company of Australia" not the "Falcon Motor Company of Australia" right?

Great point that is missed by just about everyone on here. Mitsubishi have done a lot better without the Magna/380 and the smell of impending death it was creating in their showrooms.

Product lines have a finite life - look at VW ...they stoppped making the original Beetle and have gone on to become glpbal automotive powerhouse.

[mik]

well i`m an optimist, i would like to think the big cars will survive past 2016, falcon and commodore, and i reckon they will survive if the companies want them to, but even if they do,
the way things are going in oz, many people`s disposable income is getting smaller every year, and this is more the problem for big cars more than any thing imo.
let`s face it , buying a big car is a life style decision, those on limited income will pass up the luxury of having a do everything/all purpose type car that costs more to purchase in the first place than a small/medium or medium car that they can just get by with,
even if the big cars cost the same to run or less as the smaller ones.
if disposable income keeps heading in the current direction they have their work cut out for them.

[tranquilized]

Originally Posted by Spammy

Great point that is missed by just about everyone on here. Mitsubishi have done a lot better without the Magna/380 and the smell of impending death it was creating in their showrooms.

Product lines have a finite life - look at VW ...they stoppped making the original Beetle and have gone on to become glpbal automotive powerhouse.

This is very true - I said it in a thread here a year or so ago - The Falcon brand has matured, its time has come to an end.

But as the article in Wheels points out, and as I'm sure most here would agree - it will be a sad day when it happens. From an enthusiast point of view, it will be a huge loss. Straight 6 or V8 with RWD - its a configuration shared with only BMW - the Falcon is a uniquely engineered car these days. Its a relic from the past, that you can buy brand new - thats what I love about it.

The Falcon is the only reason most of us are here - its the car that captured our imaginations as kids as we became Ford people. Once the Falcon goes, unless the Mustang does go RHD, there wont be much in the Ford range thats of interest to me at all. Big deal - I dont buy a brand new Falcon every year, no loss right? We saw what the lack of a V8 from 1984 to 1991 did for the performance image of the Falcon. With no halo car in Ford showrooms, nothing on the race track, nothing to capture the imaginations of kids who grow up to buy cars - where will the Ford brand be? Lost in the sea of every other 4cyl FWD importer.

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Interesting they talk about Graziano being sent here for a specific purpose, I bought that up/came to that conclusion yesterday.

They got rid of Burela who was doing his best to save Falcon, sales increased after he was here a while, even ran some Saturday overtime to keep up, and then Graziano came in and its all gone to hell. No doubt he was sent here to kill Falcon so Ford wouldn't need to take the risk of building another new one. He has made sure Falcon is not advertised, LPi wasn't advertised, Ecoboost has been delayed time after time after time, and dealers are being pushed to sell Mondeo over Falcon, cause Ford are not sending much in the way of stock to dealers, so they have nothing to sell people who walk in off the street. XR8 was put on hold after he arrived too, so he's basically killed that too.

Total hatchet job.

PS-Notice they only advertise imported products now?

I'd figured I had another good 5 years before I got a package and moved on from Ford, now i'm starting to worry I may not even see out the end of next year. Falcon is absolutely dead in the water, all the negative talk has resulted in no one even wanting to touch it now, its name is mud.

The Commodore is being taken with it, its sales are tanking too, the negative talk in the media is affecting it too.

The King is dead, long live the king..

I reckon your right. The same thought occured to me back when Burela was moved on so soon after his appointment. Graziano is here to shut the operation down - nothing more nothing less.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by z80

It's the economy.
Look at all the jobs lost in the last week...
Alcoa, all the banks sacking thousands of workers.
Banks putting interest rates up in spite of the RBA not doing so.

Time to buy a new car?

Nope...not a Ford,Holden,Toyota or otherwise...

Exactly...so those who need to buy a new car are not going to spend up big right now, they will buy something with "enough" room and is good on petrol.

Its a horrid time for a car of the Falcons makeup to be under scrutiny.

[FG_Frodza]

Originally Posted by NX74205

No, they cannot. A trading company with more than 10 employees is prohibited from bringing a claim for defamation.

They might be able to sue for defamation next year then.

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Interesting they talk about Graziano being sent here for a specific purpose, I bought that up/came to that conclusion yesterday.

They got rid of Burela who was doing his best to save Falcon, sales increased after he was here a while, even ran some Saturday overtime to keep up, and then Graziano came in and its all gone to hell. No doubt he was sent here to kill Falcon so Ford wouldn't need to take the risk of building another new one. He has made sure Falcon is not advertised, LPi wasn't advertised, Ecoboost has been delayed time after time after time, and dealers are being pushed to sell Mondeo over Falcon, cause Ford are not sending much in the way of stock to dealers, so they have nothing to sell people who walk in off the street. XR8 was put on hold after he arrived too, so he's basically killed that too.

Total hatchet job.

PS-Notice they only advertise imported products now?

I'd figured I had another good 5 years before I got a package and moved on from Ford, now i'm starting to worry I may not even see out the end of next year. Falcon is absolutely dead in the water, all the negative talk has resulted in no one even wanting to touch it now, its name is mud.

The Commodore is being taken with it, its sales are tanking too, the negative talk in the media is affecting it too.

The King is dead, long live the king.

That is sad to read this from you.. This must mean things are pretty bad at the Ford plant. I hope there is an answer that Ford is working on that works for you & everyone effected.

Maybe killing Falcon/territory & doing Mondeo here is not such a bad idea.. Mondeo sedan, hatch & wagon, plus Petrol & diesel. Import Explorer?

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by FG_Frodza

They might be able to sue for defamation next year then.

That is harsh!!!

Please don’t forget there are people posting in here that Ford manufacturing provides them there lively hood, so keep that in mind.

[My poor XF]

I hope to be in a position to buy a new falcon in the next 12-18 months. I was almost born in the back of XD in 86 and my attachment to the Falcon (not ford as such) was born then too.

It's the car I grew up with, learned to drive in and now own myself. It's rediculous to have such an attachment to an inanimate object but I do and it pains me to see that the falcon is likely to disappear.

I will buy a new falcon and if it turns out to be the last then it will be the last ford product I buy. I don't care for anything else in their range. I for one hope and believe the falcon will continue past 2016, but that belief is getting harder to maintain.

This thread tells me that even ford fans don't care about the car that put FOA on the map and that truly is the most disappointing thing.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by tranquilized

I reckon your right. The same thought occured to me back when Burela was moved on so soon after his appointment. Graziano is here to shut the operation down - nothing more nothing less.

From what I can gather the plan to cast brake rotors for Bosch has been killed too, another Graziano doing. Bosch wanted a 10 year contract, Ford said stuff that you can have four and thats it. As far as i'm aware that was the end of it, unless someone can tell me otherwise. All the hard work Marin did to try to secure Falcons future has been wrecked. Very dissapointing.

Originally Posted by Joe5619

That is sad to read this from you.. This must mean things are pretty bad at the Ford plant. I hope there is an answer that Ford is working on that works for you & everyone effected.

Maybe killing Falcon/territory & doing Mondeo here is not such a bad idea.. Mondeo sedan, hatch & wagon, plus Petrol & diesel. Import Explorer?

I'm questioning wether there will even be any local assembly at all, if Falcon can only sell 1000 or so a month whats the point of bringing Mondeo here to build. Only sells around 500 a month now too. You can't keep a plant viable on such tiny numbers. And it won't exactly be cheap to reconfigure Broady to build it, and shut down both the engine and casting plants too.