RWD Ford(s) from Australia coming?

[waymondospiff]

Found this article:

 

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf...2,mark%20fields

 

The author mainly talks about Ford Australia's new product portfolio (as one would guess from the .com.au address) but it includes this:

 

"I’d say that we are looking at that very, very closely," Mr Fields said, adding that Australia could also be involved in engineering larger, crossover-style SUVs (such as the next-generation Territory) for North America.

 

"Yeah, potentially," he said. "I won’t rule out anything."

 

Very generic, but it does confirm that Ford is exploring using the AU Falcon chassis as the basis for new NA product. The best part is he's talking about the next-gen Falcon, meaning NA could have significant input into the engineering & design making for NA-tailored vehicles. The worst part is that the next-gen Falcon isn't due until 2012. Can the Panther last another four years and can Ford last without a competitive RWD lineup for another four years. And what about Mustang? Is it going to ride on D2C until 2012 and then switch to Falcon - meaning will it last that long - or will it get an update (D2C2? D3C?) and continue on a unique chassis wasting development dollars?

 

One thing, I do think that the Territory would make a better next-gen Explorer than a D3-based crossover. RWD, even on a unit body, is still more suited for towing than FWD. Since that's Explorer's only real advantage over crossovers you might as well keep it on the next-gen Explorer.

 

Scott