The Eagle has Landed..or The Falcon has plummeted

[roddy1960]

G'day all...I just looked for myself..This is what I found on the net...I've rounded out the numbers to the closest thousand and it doesn't factor in years where a new model took over from the previous one . but it includes cars-wagons , utes and vans variants.. Here goes..1990 - 58, 0000 , 1991 -50,000 , 1992-62,000 , 1993 -61,000 , 1994- 81,000 , 1995- 88,000 , 1996-86,000 1997-88,000 1998 -75,000 , 1999- 81,000 2000 - 73,000 2001 -69,000 2002- 71000 , 2003- 93,000 , 2004- 85,000 , 2005 - 71,000, 2006- 57,000 , 2007- 50,000 , 2008- 43,000, 2009 - 43,000 ..now the slide really happens..how depressing is this ? 2010 - 37,000 now free fall 2011 - 24,000 2012 -19,000 ...look out here it comes...2013 -14,000 then in 2014- 8,000 and 2015..8,000 all up again..The Falcon ...So wrong...so frustrating....Cheers Rod...

[Brazen]

It was always cool seeing so many Falcons on the road, it gave Australia a unique vehicle landscape

[Ford17]

To make better sense of your figures:

[malazn mafia]

Australians have forgotten what a good, practical car is and wouldn't know one if it slapped them in the face. Instead they opt for High undies and small buzz boxes and Light Trucks of third world origin. While the rest of the brand snobs line the pockets of the local BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc snob dealer / importer .

I will always remember the mid 90s fondly, every second car was a Falcon of some vintage, plenty of X-Series, E-Series and the shiny new EF's and EL's which looked so modern and futuristic at the time. That is how I will always remember them...

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

G'day all...I just looked for myself..This is what I found on the net...I've rounded out the numbers to the closest thousand and it doesn't factor in years where a new model took over from the previous one . but it includes cars-wagons , utes and vans variants.. Here goes..1990 - 58, 0000 , 1991 -50,000 , 1992-62,000 , 1993 -61,000 , 1994- 81,000 , 1995- 88,000 , 1996-86,000 1997-88,000 1998 -75,000 , 1999- 81,000 2000 - 73,000 2001 -69,000 2002- 71000 , 2003- 93,000 , 2004- 85,000 , 2005 - 71,000, 2006- 57,000 , 2007- 50,000 , 2008- 43,000, 2009 - 43,000 ..now the slide really happens..how depressing is this ? 2010 - 37,000 now free fall 2011 - 24,000 2012 -19,000 ...look out here it comes...2013 -14,000 then in 2014- 8,000 and 2015..8,000 all up again..The Falcon ...So wrong...so frustrating....Cheers Rod...

Wow, didn't realise Ford sold so many BA's and BAII's from 2002 to 2004. What was it? Advertising, design, power, tech, the colour range? Show's how good the car was for its time, given the oil prices and rise of small cars. Many Holden loyalists even bought Falcons and Territories at that time.

[Revolver]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

I will always remember the mid 90s fondly, every second car was a Falcon of some vintage, plenty of X-Series, E-Series and the shiny new EF's and EL's which looked so modern and futuristic at the time. That is how I will always remember them...

I was thinking about this today actually. Looking at a very shiny VP Commodore in Brisbane. I thought "That looks new, but if it was...." I started looking around, ".....that Corolla would be a Falcon, that Getz would be a Magna, that Mazda 6 would be A Commodore, in fact, most of these cars would be, Falcons, XE, XF, EA, EB, Commodores, VC, VH, VP, or Magnas of the same era, and the occasional steel carolla hatchback, and some of these forby's would be Patrols, or Landcruisers. AND THAT'S IT. I remember those days".

Its then I realised how much our automotive landsacpe has changed. And not for the better.

The Government (That's every administration) did more than let this happen. They encouraged it. They too away our local car manufacturers right to manufacture Aussie Cars for the Aussie Environment and the Aussie way of life.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Australians have forgotten what a good, practical car is and wouldn't know one if it slapped them in the face. Instead they opt for High undies and small buzz boxes and Light Trucks of third world origin. While the rest of the brand snobs line the pockets of the local BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc snob dealer / importer .

I will always remember the mid 90s fondly, every second car was a Falcon of some vintage, plenty of X-Series, E-Series and the shiny new EF's and EL's which looked so modern and futuristic at the time. That is how I will always remember them...

Sorry? I and many others here have a hatchback (XR5, ST, etc) and I have no issues with practicality, actually we have two in the family, a XR5 and a Mazda 3. We have no practicality issues, both do what we need of them.
We have the baby seat, enough room in the boot for a stroller, the shopping, both cars are comfortable for urban and distance driving, very good on fuel and have been exceptionally reliable. Added bonus is the XR5 goes well and sounds great. So i am not seeing where I have missed what a practical car is.

So, your definition of practicality may differ from mine and others but to slap a generalisation like yours around is very ignorant and as usual lacks the facts.
If and IF people are so lacking in the knowledge of what a practical car is for their needs, then does that mean all those people who ditched the Falcon for a Territory are in the same boat of ignorance?

[AussieCJ7]

Now overlay the graph with the number of government fleet sales of falcon in each year and draw a refence axis for the year the Fed gov removed the policy mandating australian manufactured cars from its fleet programs

[Brazen]

With so many Falcons and Commodores on the road, it was absolutely vital that the new models are quite revolutionary design wise or they will date very quickly or simply not get traction in the market. The XF to EA, EL to AU, AUIIi to BA were all massive design changes and were big hits. On first appearance FG was way too similar to BFII and never recovered even though nowadays we can see the differences a lot more clearly.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by Ford17

To make better sense of your figures:

image

G'day..Thanks..Graph really shows it in a nutshell .... I agree about the comment in regard to BA 2002-04 comments too 2002 would of course include a few AU lll's as well..and even the BF to 2007 would be figures to dream of now..Even to 2009 ish..if those numbers had stabilised ..who knows..but I suppose Territory especially on the manufacturing schematic would be a part of it as well.. Falcon alone would probably still not cut the mustard ...Not too sure on that though....Does anyone know what the Territory sales charts looked like since 2002 by the way..Cheers Rod..

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Australians have forgotten what a good, practical car is and wouldn't know one if it slapped them in the face. Instead they opt for High undies and small buzz boxes and Light Trucks of third world origin. While the rest of the brand snobs line the pockets of the local BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc snob dealer / importer .

I will always remember the mid 90s fondly, every second car was a Falcon of some vintage, plenty of X-Series, E-Series and the shiny new EF's and EL's which looked so modern and futuristic at the time. That is how I will always remember them...

Go stick your head back in the sand, much as I liked the local cars over the years Ford & Holden failed to keep pace as to what people wanted, sales statistics talks the truth.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by AussieCJ7

Now overlay the graph with the number of government fleet sales of falcon in each year and draw a refence axis for the year the Fed gov removed the policy mandating australian manufactured cars from its fleet programs

G'day...Good point...Falcon , and Commodore relied on fleet sales a great deal I understand...Actually my AU ll was a Tasmanian Government Agriculture Department vehicle..Many of us would have picked up relatively new cars , mine had 60,000 kms on it at two and a half years old.from ex fleet cars .Another interesting comparison would be the effect the slackening of the Import Duty on cars had over time...Lots of causes and effects no doubt..Cheers Rod

[Brazen]

Just needed to export them really. But Ford and GM have always not made things ideal to export overseas in conflict with their other models.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by Brazen

With so many Falcons and Commodores on the road, it was absolutely vital that the new models are quite revolutionary design wise or they will date very quickly or simply not get traction in the market. The XF to EA, EL to AU, AUIIi to BA were all massive design changes and were big hits. On first appearance FG was way too similar to BFII and never recovered even though nowadays we can see the differences a lot more clearly.

G'day Brazen..Your comments on the FG..are backed up here actually in this Cars Guide review..Have you ever seen this . If not you'll appreciate Toby Hagon's opinion on that too..He says that same thing right at the end that some believe it's evolutionary not revolutionary..and it's hard to believe that this was eight years ago and five years before Ford announced the end of the marque.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xZFJvGwdx4 ..I love the FG by the way and finally bought one three weeks ago . Cheers Rod..

[Highway star]

There is nothing on this list that I would own. What ever happened to just buying a decent work ute and a good highway car? Now it seems you need a 60k twin cab to carry your lunch box to work or your kids to school and something that looks like a pie van for the around town commute.


BEST SELLING CARS

• 1
  
  Mazda 3
  
• 2
  
  Toyota Corolla
  
• 3
  
  Ford Ranger
  
• 4
  
  Toyota HiLux
  
• 5
  
  Hyundai Tucson
  
• 6
  
  Hyundai i30
  
• 7
  
  Mazda CX-5
  
• 8
  
  Volkswagen Golf
  
• 9
  
  Holden Colorado
  
• 10
  
  Nissan Navara

[Brazen]

Yeah the similarity was a common complaint at the time. I own a FGII ute and love it.

[TheInterceptor]

Originally Posted by trublu

Go stick your head back in the sand, much as I liked the local cars over the years Ford & Holden failed to keep pace as to what people wanted, sales statistics talks the truth.

The sand in nice. I would rather keep Falcon Commodore around than have SUV buzz box truck take over. Too late though, the aussie public like to buy ugly crap, not that the latest Falcon looks good and can compete featurewise because people like thier cars filled with useless gimmicky crap which the Falcon lacks.
Its sad when people think an SUV is better. They pay more in fuel, have a larger body with not much more if any gain in interior room (especially these days where pillars are 3 miles thick and you require 10 sensors and a HD cam to see behind you, or allow the car to park itself if you are that way incapable of controlling a vehicle), also more expensive tyres among other things.

So sick of looking at i30 Corrollas and the complete fleet of boring buzz boxes that all look the same every day.

I hate people!

[Brazen]

If you want to see what private buyers are asking about, the Whirlpool automotive forums are an insight to what the average people ask about... No Falcons or Commodores in sight.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/133

[Bipolar]

Originally Posted by AussieCJ7

Now overlay the graph with the number of government fleet sales of falcon in each year and draw a refence axis for the year the Fed gov removed the policy mandating australian manufactured cars from its fleet programs

This, plus the total number of all makes and models available to the Aussie public, to see how a greater choice also had an influence.



I'd be interested to see what profit was like since abandoning chasing all the fleet sales like in the past i.e. The variance when comparing 22% of the profit from 2010 against 100% from 2015 (or the profit made from each year when comparing the same quantity of 8000). Might prove purely looking at sales figures isn't as accurate an indicator as it was in the past.

[Brazen]

As long as you're exporting it doesn't matter so much how much you sell locally. Look at Ranger, it's built in Thailand and only sells about 9,000 a year there. Australia is actually its biggest market (around 25,000)

[XD 351 Ute]

Originally Posted by trublu

Go stick your head back in the sand, much as I liked the local cars over the years Ford & Holden failed to keep pace as to what people wanted, sales statistics talks the truth.

Yep, I plan on doing exactly that.
Once our Aussie cars are gone, vehicles will just be another appliance in my eyes. Boring and soulless......

Ed

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Yeah the similarity was a common complaint at the time. I own a FGII ute and love it.

image
image

On more than one occasion, Ford, and even Holden, have seen fit to "soften" the public up for a new model launch by having design cues incorporated into the end-of-line model before a new model. It also helps the uninformed public recognise the new model, or at least have half a clue what stable it comes from.

The front of the VZ commodore incorporated many cues from the upcoming VE that helped bridge the gap, and provide "face recognition" that car companies strive to achieve - which Mazda are arguably one of the best at (although Ford have them a good run for thei money during the Aston Martin grille styling phase they went through with FG, Focus & Mondeo around 2010-2011).

The BF2/3 was deliberately styled to ease into the new FG style - and the idea at the time was that this would not shock people like the EL-AU model change.

Some would say it was a good move by Ford. At the time even some of the press said the same. But in hindsight it didn't do any favours.

[TheInterceptor]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

On more than one occasion, Ford, and even Holden, have seen fit to "soften" the public up for a new model launch by having design cues incorporated into the end-of-line model before a new model. It also helps the uninformed public recognise the new model, or at least have half a clue what stable it comes from.

The front of the VZ commodore incorporated many cues from the upcoming VE that helped bridge the gap, and provide "face recognition" that car companies strive to achieve - which Mazda are arguably one of the best at (although Ford have them a good run for thei money during the Aston Martin grille styling phase they went through with FG, Focus & Mondeo around 2010-2011).

The BF2/3 was deliberately styled to ease into the new FG style - and the idea at the time was that this would not shock people like the EL-AU model change.

Some would say it was a good move by Ford. At the time even some of the press said the same. But in hindsight it didn't do any favours.

Thats another thing. The mazda face is hatefull! The Aston face is trying to make something look like something it is not. Cant afford an Aston? Buy a Ford instead!
Placing the same face across the model range makes the cars all look the same and boring. Just as well the Ranger didnt cop that face, however the latest Ranger looks like the designers were moving the old clay design then dropped it on its nose then just went along with that then focused on adding more rubbish crap electronics to the vehicle.

The same can be said for rear end styling too across the latest popular fwd buzz box range.

The automotive game has changed so so much in the past decade and its on a slippery slope into a rusty meat grinder.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by TheInterceptor

Its sad when people think an SUV is better. They pay more in fuel, have a larger body with not much more if any gain in interior room (especially these days where pillars are 3 miles thick and you require 10 sensors and a HD cam to see behind you, or allow the car to park itself if you are that way incapable of controlling a vehicle), also more expensive tyres among other things.
I hate people!

I did own an FG XR ute, not a bad car but did have some serious issues, now my Ranger is far better on economy than the FG, tyre costs on par, to be honest I prefer it over the FG, if any I was quite surprised how much better quality it is compared to the FG, just my comparison of the two.

Don't knock a vehicle before you try one out, I too once thought Australian made cars were the ants pants.

[Shonky.]

Originally Posted by Brazen

If you want to see what private buyers are asking about, the Whirlpool automotive forums are an insight to what the average people ask about... No Falcons or Commodores in sight.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/133

lol @ Internet forums being representative of the population

[SpoolMan]

Its a question asked over and over again, the buying public voted with there pocket.

[Sleek the Elite]

Absolute disgrace that falcons & even commobores will no longer be built in this country.

Every country needs a strong manufacturing industry & we've given ours away.

Government fleet sales (or lack thereof) have killed off the falcon.

On a positive note, how good were the BA falcons? Part of the reason they sold plenty was because they were a big step up from the previous model.

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by Ford17

To make better sense of your figures:

Territory sales need to be overlaid onto that graph. 2004 just happened to be the year that Territory came out. I'm pretty sure it had some significant impact on Falcon sales, but by the same token it was a defacto Falcon in terms of sales benefits to Ford.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by Sleek the Elite

Absolute disgrace that falcons & even commobores will no longer be built in this country.

Every country needs a strong manufacturing industry & we've given ours away.

Government fleet sales (or lack thereof) have killed off the falcon.

On a positive note, how good were the BA falcons? Part of the reason they sold plenty was because they were a big step up from the previous model.

How good was the car if it had to rely heavily on fleet sales to survive?

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by Sleek the Elite

Absolute disgrace that falcons & even commobores will no longer be built in this country.

Every country needs a strong manufacturing industry & we've given ours away.

Government fleet sales (or lack thereof) have killed off the falcon.

On a positive note, how good were the BA falcons? Part of the reason they sold plenty was because they were a big step up from the previous model.

G'day...The BA , I had one..(Fairmont Ghia)...were mostly a big step up in the engine department ..with the Barra ..This is a great engine..I love mine in the FG XR6 I have now..but the AU was a pretty well sorted out...Reliability is it's real strength and I can speak with some authority because I have an AU ll also. It's been in the shed 13 years already , never gives me grief , still looks good and costs bugger all to service and run.. What was polarising about the AU was it's initial looks...a real love-hate thing..Fortunately for me I fell in the 'love' camp..The SOHC engine isn't as powerful but it's just as tough as the Barra...Most of them will see 400,000 kms without any major catastrophe...I've heard of a million kays here and there..Crazy good...Lets see how many of these techy motors get anywhere near there...That's when our Falcons will be recalled fondly when these computers on wheels start letting go..Cheers Rod..