The Australian car industry will not survive the downturn, expert says

[gtfpv]

WOW . some real emotions in this thread . but understandable as we are all ford supporters . i for one am wrapped in what ford offers for the money. i think the last 10 years ford have lepfrogged ahead with every model . in the comfort luxury , and quality of the cars .
i hope FORD and HOLDEN have many more years i australia yet.
i love australian cars . they are all i've ever bought .

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by mik

i don`t think thats the case the problem is our local car companies cant afford to to go the extra mile to get that slightly higher standard, in other post`s many have said our local car companies have been running at a loss for some year`s, to me i would rather have imports a little more pricey, and and give them a chance to catch up, those unpatriotic buggers that don`t want to support our local jobs can pay i little more for imports(FLAME SUIT ON) : .

So what you're saying here is we're to support a financial black hole just because it is Australian and forget their economic and product mis management? Pleeeease. There are a whole lot of other local organisations i'd rather support who have put in the effort, who are managed properly and have decent products/services.

Why should I be punished for Ford and Holden's incompetence? If they want to survive they need to adapt to the current and future environment. They have known for years the Falcon and Commodore sales have lost ground, any person who can read statistics could see that. Why they haven't reacted to that is their own problem and they need to look at it. Punishing us is not the way. They have parent organisations that should be assisting them. I do not throw my hard earned on just anything. When I buy a car I have several criteria, if an imported car fits that then that's where my money goes. If the locals want it, then they need to work a lot harder to get my $$.

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by Wretched

So what you're saying here is we're to support a financial black hole just because it is Australian and forget their economic and product mis management? Pleeeease. There are a whole lot of other local organisations i'd rather support who have put in the effort, who are managed properly and have decent products/services.
Why should I be punished for Ford and Holden's incompetence?

shouldn't you be on your local nissan or mitsibishi forum or something .
if you dont like ford , then what are you doing on here ??

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

shouldn't you be on your local nissan or mitsibishi forum or something .
if you dont like ford , then what are you doing on here ??

You obviously don't read posts do you?
I own a Ford and have owned several.
I didn't think owning a Ford was a requirement to be a member here. If it is then you're not going to have many members soon.

I am a car enthusiast and contrary to what many believe I do care about the future of local car making. However I do not see why we should be punished and forced into buying products we simply don't want. I do not need a 4 door barge, a ute or a SUV. So what is on offer for me from the locals? See what i am getting at? It seems I am not the only one.

The locals kept their head in the sand for too long and now it has come back to bite. If they're to survive change needs to happen, a lot of it. If they can't afford to then maybe they shouldn't be manufacturing here.

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by Wretched

You obviously don't read posts do you?
I own a Ford and have owned several.
I didn't think owning a Ford was a requirement to be a member here. If it is then you're not going to have many members soon.

I am a car enthusiast and contrary to what many believe I do care about the future of local car making. However I do not see why we should be punished and forced into buying products we simply don't want. I do not need a 4 door barge, a ute or a SUV. So what is on offer for me from the locals? See what i am getting at? It seems I am not the only one.

The locals kept their head in the sand for too long and now it has come back to bite. If they're to survive change needs to happen, a lot of it. If they can't afford to then maybe they shouldn't be manufacturing here.

to be honest no , i havent read most of this thread . just some of it .
i just thought that you were bagging ford . which is a little wierd on a ford forum .
you make referance to quality. i think fords quality is quite fair . for the price .
then you make referance to prices . how can we compete with chinese cars?
not possible . except on style . and maybe workmanship.
there is no solution to chaos with aussie built cars, lets hope we survive , cause i for onedont want to drive a mazda in place of a falcon , even if the japanese ford mazda is better quality. i'll still pay a little more for a falcon .
if i wouldnt i'd be on a mazda forum .
but thats just my opinion .

[snappy]

Originally Posted by Gobes32

What should Ford Australia make then? To stop people from buying o'seas vehicles........

good looking vehicles in a nutshell .
Almost every female i know buy a car based on looks and then justify the rest
does not even have to be a good car.

And for males build them somthing they think a female will like.
Tough,aggresive,fast

If they did that i would think they would take a fair share of the market.

[mik]

Originally Posted by Wretched

So what you're saying here is we're to support a financial black hole just because it is Australian and forget their economic and product mis management? Pleeeease. There are a whole lot of other local organisations i'd rather support who have put in the effort, who are managed properly and have decent products/services.

Why should I be punished for Ford and Holden's incompetence? If they want to survive they need to adapt to the current and future environment. They have known for years the Falcon and Commodore sales have lost ground, any person who can read statistics could see that. Why they haven't reacted to that is their own problem and they need to look at it. Punishing us is not the way. They have parent organisations that should be assisting them. I do not throw my hard earned on just anything. When I buy a car I have several criteria, if an imported car fits that then that's where my money goes. If the locals want it, then they need to work a lot harder to get my $$.

everyone knows the deck is stacked to an unfair advantage to those country`s that pay their workers 2$ an hour, if it causes imports to go up a couple of thousand so be it, you reckon they are a better car ....then by all means pay a few dollars more and BUY THE THING, NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO DO ANYTHING, the only way our industry can compete with these cheap labour country`s and leave things the way they are is for our living standards to fall including our manufacturing base.

[Wally]

Don't forget economies of scale.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Gobes32

What should Ford Australia make then? To stop people from buying o'seas vehicles........

Cars that don't have anywhere near the level of quality control issues and design flaws that they currently have for starters. And they should 'make' a reliable dealer network that gets things fixed instead of being a fault denial service.

[Gobes32]

I think Ford have bigger problems than any government will be able to fix. Going by the sentiment on this forum, Ford have a problematic dealer network, a problem with denying faults exist in vehicles and a general lack of quality finish.

Although it would be sad to see auto manufacturing disappear from Australia, I really do feel it is inevitable, because Ford cannot keep up with the imported vehicles high standards?

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by Gobes32

I think Ford have bigger problems than any government will be able to fix. Going by the sentiment on this forum, Ford have a problematic dealer network, a problem with denying faults exist in vehicles and a general lack of quality finish.

Although it would be sad to see auto manufacturing disappear from Australia, I really do feel it is inevitable, because Ford cannot keep up with the imported vehicles high standards?

Perhaps the answer is stopping the production of locally designed products ?

Leverage the design and development already down overseas and build those cars here ?

"Design for Quality" is a major part of the outcome. You can't build a perfect product without an initial design that prevents a defect from occuring in the first place.

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

Perhaps the answer is stopping the production of locally designed products ?

Leverage the design and development already down overseas and build those cars here ?

"Design for Quality" is a major part of the outcome. You can't build a perfect product without an initial design that prevents a defect from occuring in the first place.

Very well said, which is why I feel we will be making Focus and Mondeo from 2013 onwards. Let Ford of Europe design the car and tooling, we replicate it all down here and then people are happy?

[gtfpv]

:

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by gtfpv

:

Huh...?

[Road_Warrior]

Part of Ford's problem, especially with the Falcon, is that when they are developing a new one, they panic because sales fall or a competitor releases a new product. So they work to rush the new car to market, but in doing so, take short cuts with testing and R&D which result in issues not surfacing before release or issues that are deemed 'acceptable' to be sorted out under warranty or whatever. Problem with that ethos is that the dealer network that is responsible for implementing the warrantly program doesnt really give a rats about the customer and his/her car problems, which of course leads to a disaffected consumer who will more than likely not visit another Ford showroom again.

It's a cycle that I thought had been broken when Ford released the BA but with the problems the early BA's had and the attitude of some dealer servicing centers these days, it's a case of back to square one.

That cycle needs to be broken if consumers are to have faith and trust in local produce, especially Ford. Get the dealers to clean up their act, and go the extra mile to ensure the finished product IS a quality product instead of just looking like one, and then you will have a chance. But until then, Ford and Holden are going to be pushing shiezen up a hill with a stick if they expect Aussies to buy their products over better made, better equipped Jap or Euro or dare I say it, Korean cars.