Ford

[34GeeTeeTee]

Would be pretty hard to predict the next few years so i think! So 2020? Who knows................

[StevenCJR31]

we have all contributed (albeit in a very very small way) to holden and fords decline by buying foreign cars, if the build quality/technology was there then id def buy australian

[34GeeTeeTee]

we have all contributed (albeit in a very very small way) to holden and fords decline by buying foreign cars, if the build quality/technology was there then id def buy australian

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! You are on an imports forum hehe

[djr81]

we have all contributed (albeit in a very very small way) to holden and fords decline by buying foreign cars, if the build quality/technology was there then id def buy australian

It is statements like that show why the industry is stuffed - simply because they are based on prejudice.

Where is the deficiency in technology? People line up to buy shtbox Hyundais by the boat load and they have no redeeming features of any kind, no quality, no technology, no nothing. Same for the best selling car in Australia - the Mazda 3. Where is the technology there? Or anything Chrysler ever built? Or Kia or the entire current Nissan range. And so on and so on. I mean to your way of thinking what magic technological bullet would have saved the Falcon?

As for build quality there is nothing wrong with the locals when you line them up against the imports anyway. Peoples mindsets appear to have been fixed in 1988. Show me a 1988 built anything and I will show you a piece of crap.

What killed Ford is the same thing that is killing the rest of the manufacturing industry in Australia. The exchange rate and prejudice.

[GTR092]

I

It is statements like that show why the industry is stuffed - simply because they are based on prejudice.

Where is the deficiency in technology? People line up to buy shtbox Hyundais by the boat load and they have no redeeming features of any kind, no quality, no technology, no nothing. Same for the best selling car in Australia - the Mazda 3. Where is the technology there? Or anything Chrysler ever built? Or Kia or the entire current Nissan range. And so on and so on. I mean to your way of thinking what magic technological bullet would have saved the Falcon?

As for build quality there is nothing wrong with the locals when you line them up against the imports anyway. Peoples mindsets appear to have been fixed in 1988. Show me a 1988 built anything and I will show you a piece of crap.

What killed Ford is the same thing that is killing the rest of the manufacturing industry in Australia. The exchange rate and prejudice.

I manage a small fleet of passanger vehicles and have seen a huge shift away from large cars - i mean i have one falcon in a group of 60 (& one commie) or so vehicles around the state.

Put simply when they go out to auction after the lease term ends dont pull anywhere the same resale value as other alternative passanger vehicles. The only fleet used falcons i see down here are Police, Rental & taxis.

[djr81]

I

I manage a small fleet of passanger vehicles and have seen a huge shift away from large cars - i mean i have one falcon in a group of 60 (& one commie) or so vehicles around the state.

Put simply when they go out to auction after the lease term ends dont pull anywhere the same resale value as other alternative passanger vehicles. The only fleet used falcons i see down here are Police, Rental & taxis.

It is more so a move to imports just because the exchange rate makes them cheaper. Not so long ago you could only get 50 US cents to the dollar or 65 Yen. Put even half that back into the equation and people would buy alot more local cars.

Where I am I see alot of Falcons/Commodores. But go to Perth (nearest capital) and you dont see any. But I also see a ridiculous number of Land Cruisers/Pradeo/Pajeros etc etc. Which kind of makes nonsense of the fuel economy argument so many people trot out. Dunno it might be that their size mitigates against ease of use in the city.

The shame of it is once the mining boom is gone and the dollar returns to historic levels there wont be anything left of manufacturing.

[GTR092]

I can see what you mean - better buying power, preconceptions, pensioners holding onto their hard earned & average resales are big contributing factors. Look at Mitsubishi and the 380 a few years ago, show must go on however!

[StevenCJR31]

It is statements like that show why the industry is stuffed - simply because they are based on prejudice.

Where is the deficiency in technology? People line up to buy shtbox Hyundais by the boat load and they have no redeeming features of any kind, no quality, no technology, no nothing. Same for the best selling car in Australia - the Mazda 3. Where is the technology there? Or anything Chrysler ever built? Or Kia or the entire current Nissan range. And so on and so on. I mean to your way of thinking what magic technological bullet would have saved the Falcon?

As for build quality there is nothing wrong with the locals when you line them up against the imports anyway. Peoples mindsets appear to have been fixed in 1988. Show me a 1988 built anything and I will show you a piece of crap.

What killed Ford is the same thing that is killing the rest of the manufacturing industry in Australia. The exchange rate and prejudice.

im thinking that an import (for example like a lot of what we drive) built in 1990s is overall going to have a better resale value and be in better condition(and build quality) than most any falcon or commodore from the same era, this is why ive always had japanese cars. . . ive still got my 1977 datsun 120Y that ive had since 1984 and it still goes

Edited May 23, 2013 by StevenCJR31

[luke gtr]

its a shame.

I like the look of the current falcons.

but, as stated, people are moving away from large SEDANS.

going into suvs, 4wds, and smaller cars.

think about it, used to see 20milkion camrys driving around, dont see that many aurions.

just as an example, my wife and I were looking at cars about a year ago.

I liked the falcon and conmodore performance range.

for a cheaper price, she wanted an suv(nissan murano).

in the end, she would be driving it, so, she gets what she wants.

dont have anywhere near enough to get both.

again, thats just 1 example.

[FineLine]

so the car industry is going the way of so many other industrys in this country. Its about time too, Other than empathy for those who will be unemployed I for one am pleased that millions upon millions of our dollars will no longer be thrown at unsustainable business's such as ford and holden.

Ford were always going to be the first to go based solely on a very poor marketing strategy coupled with an oppressive out of touch head office based in the us and a product lineup nobody wanted.

Fords earlier demise will probably see holden hang around a bit longer than it should but ultimately it too will follow the same path. We simply can not compete in the manufacturing sector due to an overbearing big brother and unionistic mentality requiring employers and employees to jump through so many time consuming and costly hoops it is unrealistic to think we can compete with imports manufactured in countrys where a more realistic approach is applied to a basically unskilled work force.

I havnt purchased a locally built product for more than 30 years simply because the value isnt there. Poor quality products at over inflated prices was always going to come undone at some stage.

Get rid of them all and cut the tarrifs and taxes on imports so we can afford decent quality cars at working mans prices.

[blind_elk]

Sad day for the automotive industry in Australia.

But, Ford has been complaining that the Falcon is not selling. Is it any wonder - when was the last time you saw an ad for the Falcon? Ford are advertising Territorys, Fiestas, Focuses, every model other than the Falcon.

[GTR-N1]

Methinks tariffs might go up rather than down via pushing by the AMWU

Many members were also getting six figure sums pa. How much has that contributed to Ford's demise?

And another domino yet to fall???

[FordyR31]

Just going back to Hyundai and the technology thing. They sell cars packed with features for a good price. We have Hyundai cars for work and after 40,000km there is no way I would buy one second hand. They are a terrible car inside, horrible to drive and need more maintenence than most other cars (except the Holden Cruise). People are looking for what they can have now and not what its going to be like in 2-3 year time.

The Skylines are like anything. They stopped making the RB skylines so like everything in Japan, get to a stage of rock bottom prices and eventually will rise again. Especially being such an influential car. HR31's are finally rising and the R33 gtst is about at rock bottom.

I tried to support Ford and my gf and I bought a car each. Love them so far. Hopefully doesnt end up being the 2-3 year lemon. I know some BA's had issues but hopefully those are sorted by the FG

[jiffo]

I feel for anyone who has recently purchased a new Falcon, that resale value has just hit rock bottom.

Perhaps they like a big car, got a good deal, prefer a local product........whatever reason they've just done a lot of dough.

But from some of the comments, it's clear history lessons are in order.

We can't produce anything in Aus ????

Forget local and import everything?????.......now there's a novel idea.

[Seano350GT]

You sir are an idiot.

Please share your knowledge with me on Hyundai's. I'd love to hear what you actually know about their so called "no quality" or in fact everything else insulting you said about them. And you're telling everyone else we're prejudice..

FYI the Toyota Corolla is Australia's #1 best selling car, moron.

It is statements like that show why the industry is stuffed - simply because they are based on prejudice.

Where is the deficiency in technology? People line up to buy shtbox Hyundais by the boat load and they have no redeeming features of any kind, no quality, no technology, no nothing. Same for the best selling car in Australia - the Mazda 3. Where is the technology there? Or anything Chrysler ever built?

[djr81]

You sir are an idiot.

Please share your knowledge with me on Hyundai's. I'd love to hear what you actually know about their so called "no quality" or in fact everything else insulting you said about them. And you're telling everyone else we're prejudice..

FYI the Toyota Corolla is Australia's #1 best selling car, moron.

We have Hyundais for work cars. They are horrible to drive, noisy, uncomfortable. They are ugly, they have terrible handling and are falling apart. Hell the black trim inside them is now a vibrant shade of purple after sitting in the sun for a few years. They have not a single redeemable feature.

Top-selling vehicles in 2012: Brand Sales Movement % Mazda Mazda3 44,128 +6.5 Toyota HiLux 40,646 12.5 Toyota Corolla 38,799 +7.5 Holden Commodore 30,532 -24.8 Holden Cruze 29,161 -13.7 Hyundai i30 28,348 -1.8 Toyota Camry 27,230 +42.1 Nissan Navara 26,045 +20 Toyota Yaris 18,808 +16.0 Ford Focus 18,586 +44.5

I think the Nissan Moron sold far more cars but it isnt listed.

[Seano350GT]

Which cars do you drive?

Where are you pulling those figures from? the Corolla has been #1 for years.

[iamhe77]

Which cars do you drive?

Where are you pulling those figures from? the Corolla has been #1 for years.

You'd be wrong to assume the Corolla is the highest volume seller "for years"

2012

http://www.caradvice.com.au/206699/2012-new-car-sales-figures-total/

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/in-detail-sales-winners-and-losers-of-2012-20130104-2c83p.html

2011

http://www.caradvice.com.au/153575/vehicle-sales-figures-2011-total/

2013 is looking a bit different with Corolla currently edging the 3 in sales.

[HGC-110]

<sub>What the argument should really be here is Holden and Ford vs Used car market vs Consumer and bang for buck.
Allow me to elaborate...

Poor build quality: not really. Bar a few exceptions (BA/BF rear bushes) i dont think the quality over the whole car is as bad as people make it out to be.
Over priced: F#ck yes.

Lets take the example of the mid range cars 25-45kish. What you get in locally produced cars in terms of quality and options for that amount you can have from an imported car for less money, People love to save money. And some of the korean stuff coming through lately acually looks quite good.

Now, if the missus decides she wants an SUV, chances are youll be buying an imported one simply for the value for money. Or you will buy used.

Jump on carsales and see what you can get for that price bracket.07' ML 320 anyone? CLK500? 06' porsche cayenne, VW tiguan 09'.......There is an assortment of euro stuff for little money considering what you get..... and you dont lose 10k as soon as you drive it away from the dealership.

So over the last 5-8 years when people were paying out of their arses and/or over borrowing for houses because "if we buy this now and it doubles in price next year we are set" mentality or we need a 80' plasma because it exist, ze germans have been crafting some awsome automobiles, while our price of living skyrockets.
This has left alot of people with not alot of money and since the banks have tightened the belt on lending this has led to uncertainty amongst people and left people with less cash at 'hand'. So you look at bang for buck when purchasing...........

Now lets look at the high end car market.

Above average joe has wants to spend 80-100k on a car. Now, if you have 100k for a car im sure you can spare some coin extra if need be.

100k for a HSV clubsport R8 brand new........lol. Although the FPV gt-p/gt-e are better priced and i think they're a good car... It simply came too late, the COYOTE motor should have been built in place of that anchor they called the BOSS (Basically built fom what they had lying around/ pre-existing parts). The damage was done, Holden had Ford by the balls and Ford pureists were weeping.

If im going to spend 80-100k on a car i want the best car for my money. Id jump on carsales and see what options i have: R35 GTR? C63 anyone? how about saving a bit of cash and going for a w211 e55 AMG? Porsche........

Best of all i wont lose 15k the moment it rolls off the showroom and id be getting more car for my dollar. You see, the good stuff thats been getting built overseas is now trickling into our market at good prices and as weary consumers we want the best for our money. Some of our workers making a killing in manufacturing here have driven up the prices of our local cars, but because i bought a house that im going to "double my money on" and got the "mad plasma" and am getting ripped putting my kids through child care, ill stick with my cheaper options.

Just my opinion</sub>

Edit- Our dollar isnt helping but thats another issue..

Edited May 24, 2013 by HGC-110

[BuuBox]

A new Clubsport R8 isn't $100k. They're closer to $60k.

The new GTS is said to be around that mark, but that is fairly consistent with GTS pricing over the years (the VT II GTS was $95k more than 10 years ago).

_{100k for a HSV clubsport R8 brand new........lol.}

Edited May 24, 2013 by BuuBox