HSE2

Internally it was understood that Falcon was secure till 2015. That was extended by twelve months half way through 2011. The Aust media has been putting pressure on ford at every international media show regarding the long term future of not just the Falcon but Fords on going commitment to manufacturing in this country. The realities and intricacies surround the automotive business are such that four to five years in advance isnt long term so the push to get confirmation on the one ford platform structure regarding the Australian situation was met with a promise of news by J Mays just in time for the traditional doom session that Detroit has become for our tenacious media. While the headlines are clearly designed to show commitment in the short to medium term the intention and direction extends to a greater commitment. One would hope that the continual acceptance of funding is an extension of good will and progression in that regard. The Minister certainly speaks with clarity and is so far largely saying the right things. Supporting manufacturing in this country is the right thing to do but its only part of the problem. The product has to be right and supported for ongoing investment to be fiscally responsible.

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Not sure what the situation is with drivers in the US but out here Ford contract marquee drives to the company. Drivers then have a separate contract with a Ford team. In a situation like this a driver that drives for a Chevy team wouldn't be allowed to have a vested interest in the opposition, especially like owning a dealership. Mark would have to change or sell his dealership if he wanted to race for Holden (GM) or conversely the Chevy team would need to switch to run Fords. If Martin does drive a Chevy I will be extremely disappointed but then again I am disappointed a man that claims to want to retire has decided to continue on like he has. You can’t take any notice of what he says and he is definitely a better person then that.

The problem with selling Jaguar is that some of the other brands are relying on it to move forward. Jaguar right now is important to Land Rover for engines. The next Range Rover is meant to be using Jaguars alloy structure and bonding techniques not to mention sharing much of the electronics. Land Rover must be a concern moving forward with the current and projected climate. While owners might be able to afford such indulgence, the possible stigma attached to these cars might send LR into an uncontrollable spiral. Getting out now might make sense seeing as all they do is SUVs. Mazda Volvo and Aston probably have a bigger chance of standing up. I am not sure how you can sell one of the PAG members and not sell the rest. It looks like its all in or all out to me.

I am one of those people. The reason is mainly because Holden are regarded as being the leaders, the first to market with design and features that make life tough for ford to follow. VE hasn’t really done that to the degree I was expecting but there are reasons for that, that GM are slowly getting around to explaining. While they are the large car market leader they also make mistakes that cause discounting to sell that volume. Ford while trailing Holden to introduce an IRS when they did, it is generally been accepted that the Ford design is technically superior, at least in theory. Holden still have an IRS and across the range, something Ford are still yet to achieve. To the market its hard to accept that one IRS is better then the other and if they are why pay for the weight penalty just for the privilege of saying my car has a better suspension. The first generation which I regard as the best was fitted to some models in 98. In 2002 it was replaced with what is known as control blade. Holden improved on their system but the VE introduces a significant step up for them. Will it be better then what the Ford system is, that remains to be seen but it would be surprising if it were to blow us away. In terms of quality yes VE should be well ahead of BF and people will appreciate and pay for it. We know Ford have mono tubes ready to go so even if VE does have a slight advantage it most likely won’t be for very long. When I said what I did I hadn’t read everything that has been said by Holden. As it turns out the GM agrees with my statements. The SWB cars are innovative by design. “We concentrated on the LWB cars†HSV have been left to show the way redefine the Aussie SWB models. The appearance while hugely acceptable just has a confused look. It can look narrow and high while the side profile especially when these Photoshop wizards get hold of it looks stunning. Again the reason is Holden wont bee keeping this design for as long as they have previously done. When I said I was disappointed I was assuming it had a life cycle similar to what had gone before. No split fold rear seat yet they said a design brief was to be as flexible as possible. No AC as standard No full sized wheel, interior themes that have mirrored Fords later designs and theories. That’s has happened because both companies for this market look to the same benchmarks. It’s not the looking into the future some would have hoped but at the same time detractors like me acknowledge that is a safe design that won’t offend

Holden is always a threat but basically you are right. It’s unfair to judge the car just on paper and allot of details aren't known, but the Ford feeling would be along these lines. The interiors are the big winners with VE and so they should, as better quality fittings and quality appear to be evident. The LWB cars another strong suit but have been for some time. The VE range hasn't pushed forward like many were expecting and Mooney has basically said that the Holden range put most of this sort of effort into the LWB cars which is why the SWB cars seem so yesterday. There hardly innovation and they have managed to come up with a look that is Toyota Audi Hyundai and even Falcon mixed into the VZ. The side profile of the VE is very good but it goes wrong at either end in some models. It’s a safe design one that shouldn't offend but might date. In some ways it keeps the BF more current. The next piece of the puzzle was revealed during the roll out of the price structure. Part aggressive part smoke and mirrors suddenly the SWB cars make more sense and especially in the context that a more rapid model changes will be put into affect form this point on with external appearance. Weight long the biggest difference between Ford and Holden will be the closest it’s been for a long time. Adding quality tends to do that but still Holden are yet to engineer a split fold rear seat despite claiming flexibility was high on the priority list. With territory and falcon combined Ford are actually looking pretty good on technical merit. On the design front well it has been done with tooling said to be finalised this December. Holden has changed the way it goes about doing its business. It desperately needed a driveline over haul and to some degree VE will address those issues but there are carry over units in the mix. The big and the most important question is how will it drive? That’s coming soon as well as the HSV cars which by all reports will make up for Holden’s lack of innovation in the SWB models. Should certainly be making life tough for FPV but at the minute they are YTD market leaders due in no small part to the hugely impressive F6 which delivers an astonishing level of torque, smoothness and refinement. ads.bmp

FoA has no intention of pulling off those proportions. Won't even try. The Holden design is very yesterday and is not something Ford Aust aspires to. External differentiation between models a decided talking piece. We will have to wait on the V6 improvements in the Holden but unless they have work miricles with harmonic balance the Falcon engine will kill it. The current BF spec engine is a very smooth unit. The V6 doesn't come close and there is no deck height issue with the current six under the bonnet of the Falcon. If you actually lift the bonnet on both cars you will see why! Correct, it will be underpinned by steal and rubber. As for the power trains that will largely depending on what Ford US is doing with V8s And for the sixes until such time as decent six becomes available the inline engine will continue to evolve. Out here Ford is the six cylinder company. If you want the best six on the market you buy the Falcon. If you want a V8 you buy Holden. Might surprise you to know FoA have already benchmarked global Ford V6s but they just aren't as good as what are currently used in terms of economy vibration and torque delivery.