Ford to make call on next Falcon in 2011

[vztrt]

Ford to make call on next Falcon in 2011

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25760F001AB0A7

Current Falcon to soldier on until 2015 while Ford mulls its future

By JAMES STANFORD 11 August 2009

FORD Australia will not make a decision on the next Falcon until 2011.

Company president Marin Burela revealed the new deadline last week and also confirmed the current rear-drive platform would continue on in its current form until 2015.

Asked about decisions being made about the next Falcon, Mr Burela said it was too early to lock in any direction for that car.

“We are very fortunate – we don’t have to make that call yet,” he said. “The natural time for the Falcon replacement would occur at the end of 2014, early 2015 – that is the typical cycle.”

Ford Australia will not need to make any decisions until after the new four-cylinder EcoBoost engine is introduced in the Falcon in 2011.

“We would then typically be in a position when we would need to make a decision on powertrains, platform and technologies by the end of 2011,” Mr Burela said.

“So between now and then, we have a lot of time to work with our global product development team and also the local team here to ensure that we do the right thing.”

Ford Motor Company president Alan Mulally told GoAuto a year ago that next Falcon would share a platform with other large front-drive, rear-drive or all-wheel-drive Ford models in the US.

The arrival date of the new Falcon has not been clear, but last month’s announcement that the car would be fitted with a four-cylinder turbo Ecoboost engine from 2011 as a part of a $230 million investment indicated Ford in Detroit was backing the locally-made rear-drive Falcon for some time to come.

The Falcon will be the first rear-drive car to be fitted with the turbo four-cylinder engine, which will be imported.

The current Falcon platform can be traced to the BA Falcon of 2002, but was upgraded with new double-wishbone front suspension for the FG model launched last year.

Mr Burela said it was more than good enough to last until 2015.

“All of our insights in terms of the vehicle’s acceptance and the plans that we have for it as we progress through this cycle give us absolute confidence that the freshness of the car, the acceptability of the car, the technology levels of the car and now with the additional powertrain actions that we are putting in there will give it the absolute life that it needs to take it through until the end of that cycle,” he said.

“That rear-wheel drive platform is a very, very good platform. There is no compelling reason to go out there to make any decisions or changes.”

While the future of the platform is locked in until 2015, it is not yet clear if the locally-made in-line six cylinder engine will also make it through to that date.

Last November, Ford Australia announced it would not close the Geelong plant that produces the 4.0-litre in-line six and was investing $21 million on the factory and upgrading the engine to meet the Euro IV emissions standard that comes into place next July.

The federal government is yet to set a timeframe for the introduction of the Euro V emissions standard which would form the next big hurdle for the local engine.

The potential popularity of the imported EcoBoost four-cylinder engine could also hit demand for the Australian I6 and affect its viability if volumes were to drop significantly.

As for the next Falcon and what form it will take, that will most likely depend on what the US market decides.

Mr Burela said market research by Ford Australia found there was still significant demand for rear-wheel drive, although all-wheel drive was also generating interest.

“What they have said to us is that front-wheel drive is OK for certain types of cars,” he said. “They have said to us that rear-wheel drive is great, but you know what they have also said to us that all-wheel drive is fantastic as well.”

Mr Burela said Ford was getting “interesting messages in terms of what type of drivetrain or what application by particular customer groups”.

“Sporting enthusiasts are particularly keen on rear-wheel drive, the normal private buyers, fleet and government are not all that particular, they are comfortable that the vehicle could be either/or, and we are kind of sensing that one of the very desirable preferences is that of an all-wheel drive, people are telling us that is a good thing.”

[Polyal]

Top Bloke.

[Nikked]

For a moment there i thought that this was going to be a doom/gloom story. But it was informative and has a positive twist to it.

[Falc'man]

Two years before any decision. That's very good.

FG platform good until 2015, which is the same time the Mustang is scheduled for an update. And the last bit of info I got was GRWD was high on the priority list, as soon as they (Ford US) start making a profit, which seems earlier than their original 2011 estimate.

If everything falls into place, and it seems - at this point in time - everything is looking good, it will be a goer, formed under the GRWD. Which means we may get a Mustang, too.

The article states the I4T may effect the I6's demand and viability... I'd say that would have no bearing on the 2011 decision.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Falc'man

Two years before any decision. That's very good.

FG platform good until 2015, which is the same time the Mustang is scheduled for an update. And the last bit of info I got was GRWD was high on the priority list, as soon as they (Ford US) start making a profit, which seems earlier than their original 2011 estimate.

If everything falls into place, and it seems - at this point in time - everything is looking good, it will be a goer, formed under the GRWD. Which means we may get a Mustang, too.

The article states the I4T may effect the I6's demand and viability... I'd say that would have no bearing on the 2011 decision.

Yeah its all rather scary how everything could work......

God I hope we get the stang after seeing that GT500 thread.

[vztrt]

Ford wants to get more serious about large cars

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...eID=64834&vf=2

Ford wants to get more serious about large cars
Toby Hagon, drive.com.au, August 7, 2009


Confirmation of a four-cylinder Falcon for 2011 and the still impressive size of the large car market has Ford itching for a larger share.
Ford Falcon SR8

Large cars are a profitable part of the Australian new-car landscape and Ford is preparing to increase its share with the imminent arrival of a four-cylinder Falcon in 2011.

Ford Australia president Marin Burela says the Australian large car has plenty of kick left in it, despite a decade of declining sales and a shift to smaller, more efficient vehicles.

He points to the rapid growth in mid-sized four-wheel-drives – such as the Falcon-based Ford Territory and rival Toyota Kluger – as proof that Australians like their large cars.

"The large car market has stabilised," said Burela, confirming Ford was predicting the new-vehicle market in Australia would grow following the recent financial-crisis inspired hiccup.

He is expecting annual sales of more than one million again within "two to three years".

He also pointed to the near dominance of the three local car makers - Ford, Holden and Toyota – in the large car and mid-sized four-wheel-drive categories, which between them account for about one in five new-vehicle sales.

“Have a look at the C car [small car] segment and there are 24 players fighting for 200,000 or 220,000 sales,” said Burela.

Burela said improved fuel economy is key to ensuring the Falcon – and other locally-made large cars – have a future. “The customers were saying ‘we love the car, but we want you to work on better fuel efficiency’,” he said.

“The four-cylinder [Falcon] opens doors to a whole new range of customers. It will be the greenest family car in the country once we get the four-cylinder Ecoboost engine in the car.”

Burela admits Australians will need time to understand the benefits of the upcoming four-cylinder Falcon, which promises similar performance to the current 4.0-litre six-cylinder but 20 per cent reduced fuel use.

“It’s all about education,” he said. “You can’t fool Australian consumers. If you’re going to do a four-cylinder you obviously cannot do what one of our competitors did [Holden, with the four-cylinder Commodore] 30 years ago where the vehicle won’t drive.”

Education is something Ford could arguably improve on.

Despite claiming to have regularly had the superior product – including with the latest FG Falcon that’s convincingly beaten the rival Commodore in independent evaluations – the Falcon hasn’t outsold the rival Commodore since 1995.

In the past Ford has put the less impressive sales result down to issues with marketing, brand positioning and its dealer network (Ford started buying dealers with a view to cutting out the middle man in automotive retailing).

As for the talk of the Falcon shifting to front-wheel-drive in line with a trend to front-drive cars globally, Burela said that decision is some way off.

He said the current Falcon’s basic architecture will still be in use until “late 2014 or 2015” and that a decision on the underpinnings of the new model wouldn’t need to be made for “18 months”.

He hinted that the four-cylinder Falcon may have some export potential but was adamant no discussions had taken place about exporting what could become an orphan within a Ford world trying to adopt global designs under a “One Ford” policy, where one car of each type is built for a global market.

[R-Design]

It’s all very non-committal. It's all good and well for the Falcon to last through to 2015, but what about Territory? I'll be a bit long in the tooth by then.

Global RWD is Falcon's only chance of survival. The AWD talk is just for performance variants of a FWD platform (i.e. Taurus).

[Bossxr8]

Backs up the talk that the engine plant is gauranteed safe until 2014. What happens after that is too early to say.

[XR6_190]

Originally Posted by Boss315

It’s all very non-committal. It's all good and well for the Falcon to last through to 2015, but what about Territory? I'll be a bit long in the tooth by then.

You also need to remember that a Territory will probably follow Falcon by about 18 - 24 months, that said, we can probably expect a seriously upgraded Territory within the next 2 years.

[R-Design]

Originally Posted by XR6_190

You also need to remember that a Territory will probably follow Falcon by about 18 - 24 months, that said, we can probably expect a seriously upgraded Territory within the next 2 years.

The territory update is not a new model just a cosmetic update. That means it'll have to wait 12 years for an overhaul (2004-2016), that's suicide in this day and age.

Falcon & Territory are a combined platform, Ford needs to put money into it to ensure its survival. FG Falcon only brought the BF to the existing Territory suspension specification.

[Ohio XB]

Back in the 1980's Ford had the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. It was a turbo'd 4. That engine couldn't hold a candle to the EcoBoost turbo four cylinder engine but it was a lot of fun at the time. At 2,100 RPM the boost came in and the car moved very well.

The EcoBoost four cylinder engine in the Falcon will provide better performance than the engine in the Turbo Coupe did, when you put your foot into it. The boost will come in sooner too. Ford is looking to replace 6 cylinder engines with the Ecoboost 4. Today's 6 cylinder engines have more power than the 5.0L had in 1995 so that amount of power is no slouch. Not enough for a performance enthusiast but enough for the average driver, but with better fuel economy, and that is the big sell. The car will get out of it's way just fine and nobody will worry about pulling out into traffic. The only thing that will be different for these people is less money spent per year on petrol.

I think it is a good thing for Falcon and will enable the availability of the performance versions for the rest of us too.............or rather the rest of you. :togo:



Steve

[ThePistonHead]

The current Falcon platform can be traced to the BA Falcon of 2002, but was upgraded with new double-wishbone front suspension for the FG model launched last year.

[Falc'man]

Is that supposed to be Sherlock Holmes?

[Polyal]

While that sounds great in theory, the I6 leaving the falcon will be a travesty to say the least. If only they could rationalize the I6 throughout the rest of Ford :(

[ThePistonHead]

Originally Posted by Falc'man

Is that supposed to be Sherlock Holmes?

Take it you haven't seen No Country for Old Men?

Its the 'implied facepalm' image.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Backs up the talk that the engine plant is gauranteed safe until 2014. What happens after that is too early to say.

Also ties in with the murmurs we've been hearing here and there about GRWD and the future of that program.