Wheels test; Mustang Meets Falcon

[4stanger]

An interesting read,

http://www.wheelsmag.com.au/features...ustang-vs-xr8/

Summed up with,
If you want a Ford V8 performance car, put it this way: the Mustang is a far better Mustang than the XR8 is, or than any high-performance Falcon ever has been. The two nameplates went their separate ways a long time ago, and our performance sedans have changed their theme since, evolving from base-spec, big-engined Police-pack specials to luxury sports sedans.

Let us never forget, when the sun goes down on 2016, that for covering vast distances, carrying five folks and dishing out massive bang for the buck, nobody in the world has done it better.

[STINKY NINJA]

You would expect the mustang to be a better mustang than the xr8...
Its an xr8 how could it be a better mustang?

[rancidpunx]

Even when its a Ford Vs Ford article, they still find ways to stick the boot into the Falcon.

[sbutler]

Not a bad read really, but I dont think the stang is gonna be the sales success Ford Australia think its gonna be. I hope Im wrong..

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by sbutler

Not a bad read really, but I dont think the stang is gonna be the sales success Ford Australia think its gonna be. I hope Im wrong..

How can it ever be, they will get 2 fifths of F all supply. But then again they will say it's a sales success as they will sell all of the tiny allocation they will get. I could probably order a Ferrari 488 and get it sooner than a Mustang

[stevanford]

Originally Posted by sbutler

Not a bad read really, but I dont think the stang is gonna be the sales success Ford Australia think its gonna be. I hope Im wrong..

3000 have already been pre ordered here in Australia and now there is a 12 month waiting list. Sounds like it might be.

[Express]

Originally Posted by sbutler

Not a bad read really, but I dont think the stang is gonna be the sales success Ford Australia think its gonna be. I hope Im wrong..

Originally Posted by stevanford

3000 have already been pre ordered here in Australia and now there is a 12 month waiting list. Sounds like it might be.

3000 pre-orders and a 12 month wait on a new release mass produced vehicle is a good start but it’s too early to say that signifies sales success.

Performance ordinated coupes like the Mustang have never been big sellers here so it will be interesting to see if Australian tastes have changed and what those figures are like in 5 years when the initial excitement of a must have icon has died down.

I would think the Mustang in right hand drive would need to be successful in more than just Australia to achieve the figures required to keep the parent company's bean counters happy.

These days’ manufacturers are quick to pull the plug if profits don’t equate to the effort.

If the local figure drops to just a few hundred a year then it will definitely require propping up from other RHD countries to keep it alive.

[AussieCJ7]

Originally Posted by Express

3000 pre-orders and a 12 month wait on a new release mass produced vehicle is a good start but it’s too early to say that signifies sales success.

Performance ordinated coupes like the Mustang have never been big sellers here so it will be interesting to see if Australian tastes have changed and what those figures are like in 5 years when the initial excitement of a must have icon has died down.

I would think the Mustang in right hand drive would need to be successful in more than just Australia to achieve the figures required to keep the parent company's bean counters happy.

These days’ manufacturers are quick to pull the plug if profits don’t equate to the effort.

If the local figure drops to just a few hundred a year then it will definitely require propping up from other RHD countries to keep it alive.

Australia is just a rounding error in RHD mustangs future success depends on China and Europe buying them

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by AussieCJ7

Australia is just a rounding error in RHD mustangs future success depends on China and Europe buying them

You mean essentially LHD markets?

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by AussieCJ7

Australia is just a rounding error in RHD mustangs future success depends on China and Europe buying them

It's sold out in Europe, so with that seemingly happening everywhere it has gone on sale, hopefully they will open a 3rd shift at Falt Rock and get more cars out, and the waiting list will come down.

[bangm001]

125K mustang vs a 55K falcon... mmmmm interesting.... I do like the yellow on the stang though, looks tuff with the black stripes.. Ill take my stang in a manual... oh wait... Totally different cars IMO.

[WILDB]

Originally Posted by bangm001

125K mustang vs a 55K falcon... mmmmm interesting....

The Mustang starts at 45k for the Ecoboost and 55k for the GT, so it is near enough to a direct price comparison.

[Crazy Dazz]

So, the XR8 is apparently better in every respect except slightly slower 0~100,
and does that based on a limited production family saloon,
yet "The Mustang is a better Mustang"???

What I find interesting, and it is somewhat acknowledged in the article, is that its has taken a very long time, the impending death of the Falcon, and FINALLY upgrading Mustang's horse-cart suspension, before Ford were game enough to bring the Mustang back to Australia.
It's a bit hard when your iconic Pony Car gets shown up by the local family hack.

I LOVE the Mustang, always have, and am grateful to Ford for keeping this iconic car in production, when the world seems to be going the way of nanny-state hybrids.
IF I finally get old and rich enough to start spending my kids inheritance, I can see a Mustang Convertible SOMEWHERE in my future, and if I win powerball, I'd have one in my collection tomorrow.

But here, now? Given the prices are supposedly similar, I'd take the Falcon.

[MAGPIE]

Dumbest motoring article I've read in a long time...

Throughout its career, the Mustang had lagged behind – and well behind Falcon – with antiquated, live-axle underpinnings.

Written as though the Falcon never had a live axle

With fixed windows, no grab handles and awkward access, it’s definitely a 2+2 coupe rather than a Falcon fastback.

WTF

the Mustang is a far better Mustang than the XR8

Really Einstein

you always feel you’re sitting on the Falcon, rather than really in it

Does this have to be mentioned in every article ever written. I can see it now, the year is 2026 and Wheels or Motor will do a retro article about the good old days of aussie muscle and they will still mention that it feels like you sit on the Falcon rather than in it. Move on FFS.

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

Does this have to be mentioned in every article ever written. I can see it now, the year is 2026 and Wheels or Motor will do a retro article about the good old days of aussie muscle and they will still mention that it feels like you sit on the Falcon rather than in it. Move on FFS.

In this computer age, they probably never actually write a new Falcon article. They just open up the last one and revise it.

[Pedro]

I'm surprised that trashy Holden PR mag wrote anything about it.

[Wretched]

Nothing I haven't already heard before and agree with most of it (barring the typo, seriously what is with the lack of editing of publications these days).

Though I have to say that I would much rather read the review of a RHD from factory model (and OZ spec) rather than some LHD->RHD job.
Chris Harris reviewed the 'Stang and enjoyed it, pretty much said a similar thing though, it's a bit soft, I suspect we can thank the same people who decided on the Mondeo/Fusion suspension set up for that too.

In all, that Mustang looks hawt, would look even better without the stripes. Sorry but Falcon looks old hat next to the Mustang.

Now where is our GT350 Ford?

[DFB FGXR6]

[QUOTE=Wretched;5454759]
Chris Harris reviewed the 'Stang and enjoyed it, pretty much said a similar thing though, it's a bit soft, I suspect we can thank the same people who decided on the Mondeo/Fusion suspension set up for that too.
QUOTE]

That "softness" would be quite deliberate.
The Mustang GT is essentially an entrée into what the Mustang has to offer.
It forms the basis of a nice looking good all rounder (hence the GT badge) that can also be used as a blank canvas for modifications. It also allows room for a harder, more focused models such as GT350's and GT350R's further into the lifecycle.

[2011G6E]

I hear a lot of people talking about the Mustang and doing sums with interest.

However, while they talk[ a lot about the V8 Mustang, the one they're actually contemplating buying is the 320hp ecoboost four cylinder.

In a state like Queensland where we get comprehensively bent over harder and harder for registration depending on the number of cylinders we have (and it really gets ludicrously bad when you talk eight cylinders), it makes sense.

[Kieron]

The RHD 'Stang isn't a special build, its essentially just different options thrown into the car as it goes down the assembly line so I doubt the plug will be pulled on them for a while even when sales in Aus tail off.

As for sales success of coupes in Australia, it's of course true that they typically have a limited sales run but with the 'Stang, it's different. The previous 2 door efforts such as the Falcon/Landua coupes and Monaro's were uniquely Aussie designed and produced, so therefore had to make business sense in the small Aussie market. The 'Stang is sharing the design/build with the volume LHD 'Stang firstly, then the RHD drive market with the UK/Ireland/Japan/Malaysia/Indonesia/South Africa and Thailand.

I'd guess that Ford USA has done their homework on the RHD Mustang and the volumes will be there to support ongoing RHD development and I suspect with Aus at least, it will be a trickle run based on order books rather than shipping in big numbers/month.

[Charliewool]

Just WHEN are the first shipments arriving?
The post on ordering a 458 Ferrari and getting it quicker was pretty spot on I reckon!
We risk getting a 2015 car delivered and 1st registered well into 2016.. And Ford risk the novelty wearing off before its begun... Especially if they keep ripping bits out due to the low/falling AUD..

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Just WHEN are the first shipments arriving?
The post on ordering a 458 Ferrari and getting it quicker was pretty spot on I reckon!
We risk getting a 2015 car delivered and 1st registered well into 2016.. And Ford risk the novelty wearing off before its begun... Especially if they keep ripping bits out due to the low/falling AUD..

Won't be getting 2015 model, it will be 2016.

But still it is a ridiculous situation.

[2011G6E]

You would have to start to wonder if they're deliberately dragging things out to try and drive interest.
I mean, to be blunt, it's not a technically super sophisticated car, it's a basic vehicle sold in huge numbers overseas. RHD builds for our special market (and don't get me started...) haven't been a huge burden for makers like Jeep and Chrysler with their big range of models, so why is it such an effort for Ford with only three models?

I'm really hoping they're not going to try and sell a common ordinary vehicle as some exclusive limited sales car here. I often wonder how many 300C's Chrysler would sell if they could avoid all the damn taxes we slap on imports which mean it's sold here as a "luxury vehicle" instead of just being a family sedan which starts in the USA at $31,000.
Nothing kills a car quicker than beancounters looking at the sales and asking "is it really worth it?".

[Sabantien]

Doesn't seem like much of a comparison to me. Sure, they're both RWD V8s, but very different cars.

I figure I don't have a whole lot of use for my Falcon's back seat or big boot. Or the 6 cylinders at that. I'm guessing it'll be 2018 or so before you'd be able to walk in and buy one, hopefully I can afford a Mustang by then.

[Adamz Ghia]

I doubt the falling dollar would worry Ford. Surely they would have factored in the expected trajectory and budgeted as such, calculating prices around .60USD.

[MethodX]

Is the Mustang smaller than the Falcon/Commodore btw?
Hope so, then I will def consider one.

[Kieron]

To be fair, Ford nowadays release products well before they are actually available, part of their strategy. The Mustang release date in Aus in Oct/Nov from memory, and deliveries soon after than, what was the delivery times on the FG-X XR8 by comparison?

As for making it an exclusive limited sales model in Aus, why not? We all know coupes have great initial sales and then tapers off in Aus, if Ford sell them at bargain basement prices, it may well increase the sales volume a little for that initial burst, but they may only make the same amount of $$'s. Presumably, spare parts inventory/logistics etc comes into it too, the more you sell at those bargain prices, the more parts you have to have sitting about and they are more exposed to warranty claims etc so sell em at a higher prices, less volume but higher profits per unit etc and the side benefit for purchasers, is they don't devalue as quick.

[BA Supa Pursuit]

Originally Posted by Kieron

To be fair, Ford nowadays release products well before they are actually available, part of their strategy. The Mustang release date in Aus in Oct/Nov from memory, and deliveries soon after than, what was the delivery times on the FG-X XR8 by comparison?

As for making it an exclusive limited sales model in Aus, why not? We all know coupes have great initial sales and then tapers off in Aus, if Ford sell them at bargain basement prices, it may well increase the sales volume a little for that initial burst, but they may only make the same amount of $$'s. Presumably, spare parts inventory/logistics etc comes into it too, the more you sell at those bargain prices, the more parts you have to have sitting about and they are more exposed to warranty claims etc so sell em at a higher prices, less volume but higher profits per unit etc and the side benefit for purchasers, is they don't devalue as quick.

The more you sell the more service $$$ and they do make $$$ on spare parts

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by BA Supa Pursuit

The more you sell the more service $$$ and they do make $$$ on spare parts

Quite true, but the Servicing is profit to the dealer not Ford and before that's considered, the business case has to stack up for Ford. Higher volume equals more components stocked for potential warranty issues, actual profits made for selling spare parts isn't likely to be large as the 3 year warranty covers the vehicle so it pretty much leaves spare parts for accidents.

Ford Aus will have modelled all the potential costs vs profit combinations then thrown in the less tangibles such as market perception of the car, resale and many other factors before arriving at how it will be marketed.