jpd80

Good to see you're all thinking outside the box - exactly what the Ford chiefs are doing at the moment. There's a lot of economy in having common engineering between closely related platforms. That's what Ford AUS did with its Falcon and derivatives but, there are as many similarities as differences. It depends on the where you start with the base platform: A BOF Crown Victoria could sporn, Town Car, F100 and Bronco. Orion Falcon could sporn 2-Door Thunderbird, SWB 2-Door Mustang, 3/4 ton pick-up, Territory SUV. This is all just dreaming of course but I'm sure someone somewhere in Ford has already thought of this.

Vehicles above AUS$ 57,000 attract an additional 25% Luxury tax. Consider this, Ford AUS sold the Taurus Ghia in 1996 for AUS$43,000 the same price as the local Fairmont Ghia. The Taurus was viewed as odd ball, Ford AUS struggled to offload the 10,000 forced upon it by its US parent.

Suggest you use Crown Victoria / Taurus and Fusion prices as a more accurate guide. We also have a lot more inbuilt profit due to lower production runs as well as the 10% Goods and services tax. Holden, until recently used to offer large fleet buyers 40% discount off retail and still made a profit, they have now reduced this to 20%. Be aware Ford probably does the same. You really can't compare apples with apples. an example: In uSA Mazda RX8 = USD$27,000 In Aus, Mazda RX8 = AUS $60,000 or USD$45,000 So there's either higher profit margins or we just can't count!!!!! There's no Import duties (Tax) as we have had a "level playing field" for nearly 15 years. There's a luxury tax of 25% that comes on at AUS$57,000. Might seem strange to you but we use our road taxes for other more important things like hospitals, schools and Medicare, our national health system.

I think they are hedging their bets at the moment watching to see how GM does with the Zeta Platform. From Our reconn. on the 2008 Falcon (E8 / Orion) says they are sticking with 111.3" wheelbase, but wider - similar to 500, and slightly longer than Fusion. Think of Falcon as better proportioned "RWD Taurus" with longer wheelbase and less overhang front and back. So far there has been no work on a LWB (114") Orion as a Fairlane /LTD replacement. The current platform shares 111" & 114" sedans, a commercial utility 1-Tonne pickup, an AWD SUV. No other NA platform has that diversity. Pity your NA Ford guys couldn't do a new Crown Victoria, Town Car, AWD Ranger, AWD SUV of what you've got, a BOF platform.

Nope, just give you the engineering. Do your own 427 concept on a modern affordable platform. Yep, we recon they are too, but it's only on an exclusive GT.

As an outsider, can you advise me if you feel Ford and GM are gaining ground profitwise with vehicle sales this quarter? Are they both doing much better with less daily rental fleet sales? Are GM charging ahead with truck sales while Ford persues more car sales?

You could always move to Australia, Ford AUS cares about 4-Door sports sedans. Pity your CV doesn't have an interior like this: (Imagine sitting in this and a 427 Concept body outside)

There's only a couple of countries that are still imperial, the rest of the planet is now metric. BTW, how many bushells to the gallon does a Crown Victoria get? I hear you're brewing ethanol from corn, sounds like bootleggers will be startin' up again LOL.

Just a few pics of the Territory Ghia interior.

Bear in mind Ford's total revenue last year was $177B so, a loss of $10B on that amount while bad, is not the end of the world. Against those continued earnings, the loan of $18B to bolster cash on hand is not unreasonable. And though Ford will burn through most of it in the next 18 months, a lot of those expenses are one off exceptions. Ford's recovery is now is under way, becoming a leaner tighter ship and , benchmarking ititself against Toyota. I think Ford were taking a pessimistic view of markets and employee separations and a turnaround maybe sooner than expected. Look how quickly GM's fortunes have changed, they're nealy back in profit 12 months after $10B loss. Keep the Faith Blue Oval supporters!

Sorry, I was misinformed. The the Subaru B9 Tribeca is not related to the Buick Enclave, it rides on GM Lambda platform. The Subaru B9 Tribeca is based on the Subaru Legacy platform and the B9X concept car. Saab was planned to have also received a version of the vehicle, called the 9-6X, but such plans have been stopped with Toyota's acquisition of the FHI stake held by General Motors (Saab's parent company). I'll stick to Fords, too hard to follow GM's planning and switching platforms.

Yes it's a Buick, on a Subaru derived platform.

Well, that's the USA for you, don't realise we don't have capacity to supply, just want to give you the design that's all.

Hello from Downunder. Thought you might like to see this review of the Falcon - based territory turbo: Road Test: Ford Territory Turbo By Peter Maniatis - 13/Nov/2006 I’m a little perplexed at Ford's marketing for its powerful new performance SUV, the Territory Turbo. This is car that stands out from the crowd on so many fronts that it doesn't need to be portrayed as some sort of sports car serial murderer. If you haven't seen it, the Australian TV advertisement shows the new 330 horsepower 4x4 'eating' Ferrari sports cars and other exotic vehicles, presumably for breakfast. I know many people who have bought the Territory because it's a stylish AWD vehicle, it's super functional and it absolutely looks and drives like a car twice its price and pedigree. I'm not sure how many people that are drawn to the Territory see themselves as wanting to drag off some joker sitting next to them in a Ferrari [That'd be me - Ed]. But you know what – the extra performance from the Turbo certainly makes you feel as if you are traveling around in something other than an ungainly 2-tonne truck, for the turbocharged 6-cylinder petrol engine is as muscular as it is smooth Full Article Here: http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news_...urbo-review.htm

Genuine imitation leather for LA it is then!

Listen to the Aussies about how to put cam phasers on a DOHC MOD - 4 years and counting Shoulda kept the old 302 and done this: http://www.fordaustraliaforums.com/forum/g...24/medium/2.jpg

Build the 427 concept

Richard, is/was that a Toyota Matrix? I heard GM was using them? Sorry, my mistake, bigger car but gee fugly isn't it?

While Quality Control is important, I think meeting customer expectations is far more relevant in the current environment. It's pretty broad brushed, but if you think along the lines of the materials seleced and models supplied - are they servicing the most customers in that purchasing range? You can engineer more quality into a car by designing it to be easy to build, supplying value materials and through the skill and vigilance of assembly workers.

Don't forget Ford's revenue last year was $177 Billion and even a "GM styled" $10Billion loss is still small in comparison. GM is nearly back in profit so, even though the Ford's losses this year look huge, increased efficiencies from restructuring will stop a lot of the red ink. Who knows, a year of low oil prices and rejuvinated private sales may give Ford a nice 2007 Christmas present.

And this is different Ford and GM in what way?

They were made by Hino since 1942, you know one of those companies owned by Toyota. In the rest of the world, your F100 and Chevs were OK but very thirsty. That's why diesel trucks are more common outside USA.

That waistline and hood would suit the "Mod Boss" perfectly. That's one tough car.

Make a great cop car / Crown Victoria refresh?

How about next AUS Falcon (4-door) and T'bird (2-door coupe) share same platform . Give the made in USA versions the 427 concept style front end.