10 posts tagged “ford falcon”

I am a sucker for the “could have been” car stories, so stumbling across American designer Herb Grasse’s site was a real bonus today.
   Grasse was associate designer on the original Adam West Batmobile but he worked on many production cars, too, including the original Dodge Challenger, the XD Ford Falcon, the original Ford Laser of 1980, and the second-generation Ford Telstar. He was chief designer at Nissan Australia before its demise.
   Start on Herb’s production cars’ page and link from there—a very fascinating portfolio. It shows the XD Falcon was far more Granada-like at drawing stage, and that the Mazda Familia origins of the Ford Laser were far more obvious in earlier sketches. The first Telstar had shades of the Ford Taurus years before that model’s launch, while a clay for the second Telstar showed strong EA26 Falcon influences.

This is more groovy than a roller-skating date with Olivia Newton-John, having a fondue party or getting Erik Estrada to give you a signed helmet.

Spotted in Alicetown, Lower Hutt, New Zealand, a slightly modified Ford Falcon Hardtop from the late 1970s (1978, at a guess, because of the badging). This is the model that replaced Mad Max’s, and was considered very cool in its day. You might be able to tell that it’s bigger than the compact Falcons in the US from the 1960s, though slightly smaller than the final US model of 1970½ on the Torino platform. They had a terrible driving position but I have an uncle who swore by them for years.

Now that we are nearing the E241 Ford Falcon launch in New Zealand, and in response to a comment Robin made about an earlier blog post I made on the subject, I Googled the dimensions of the new car and compared them with the CD345 Mondeo.
   I’d been wanting to do this around the time of the Australian launch and now I see why the details were so darned hard to come by. There was nothing on the Ford Australia site at the time of launch.
   Ford uses tags such as CD and E to signify the size of car, so the Ford Ka is B class, the Focus is C, the Mondeo and Fusion are CD, and the Taurus is D. Falcon, traditionally the biggest car, is E (as is the Territory SUV). Minivans are given the V tag.
   Here’s the kicker: the Mondeo is bigger than the Falcon in overall dimensions with the exception of length, which might not mean much to buyers interested in a car’s packaging. They want to know wheelbase and width, and interior volume (which I did not look up).

E241 Falcon
L: 4,955 mm (up 25 mm)
W: 1,868 mm (up 4 mm)
H: 1,453 mm (up 9 mm)
Wheelbase: 2,838 mm (up 9 mm)

CD345 Mondeo
L: 4,778 mm
W: 1,886 mm
H: 1,500 mm
Wheelbase: 2,850 mm

   Ford and the other manufacturers know that ultimately, people judge a car’s size by engine capacity, in which case the Falcon’s base four-litre unit is more substantial than the Mondeo’s base two-litre (in the New Zealand market).
   Hence, the Chevrolet Impala also suffers from the tape measure stakes compared to the new Malibu in the US—but the Impala is not exactly a new car. Here we are talking about a brand-new design that, in global terms, should be bigger than the Mondeo.
   If you start looking at the Mondeo Turnier (wagon or estate), the measurements are even more substantial for length and height.
   Ford was probably wise not to renew the EA169 Falcon wagon this year, and leave it as a workhorse model. The Mondeo Turnier probably suits that market very well anyway and with the diesels, it will appeal to fleets.
   But it is tempting to start talking about the death of the full-size Australian car when the mid-size European car can no longer be considered mid-sized.

Australians won’t find this as cool since they’ve had this model for a few months, but it was a treat for me to see the E241 Ford Falcon (or FG series) prior to its official New Zealand launch. These are at Manukau, Ford Motor Co.’s New Zealand HQ, along with a classic Model A in its reception area.
   The models are the top-of-the-line G6E luxury model and the performance hero, the XR8.
   In the metal, they look nice but not that big, especially as the CD345 Mondeo has grown considerably. The slab sides make for a less aggressive look, which I don’t think is that good an idea in 2008, but such gentler shapes will probably be perfectly timed for 2010. The Ford family look is very apparent, as well as VW–Audiesque touches such as the rising feature line in the doors’ lower sills.
   It will have its loyal fans and the cabbies will love the LPG versions, even if the Japanese are moving into that market like crazy.
   I can’t wait to drive it as I hear Ford is on to a winner and dynamically, the Falcon is better than its chief rival, the Holden Commodore. And it’s certainly better than any Ford sedan available in the Americas.
   But if it were my money, and I had to get a Ford, the Mondeo makes more sense considering it’s basically now the same size. I don’t need a big four-litre six or a V8 under the bonnet and while I prefer rear-wheel drive, I’m willing to sacrifice that for the better fuel economy of the Mondeo.

   Finally, a step in to the past:

For some reason I enjoyed researching these US-built cars on Autocade. Some are forgotten for very good reasons, others out of unfairness. Not a complete list by any means, but hopefully I can challenge some memories out there.

Eagle Medallion. 1988–9 (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan, 5-door wagon. F/F, 2165 cm³ (4 cyl. SOHC). Renamed Renault Medallion, an Americanized Renault 21. New marque after Chrysler bought AMC in 1987, but cars quickly cancelled in favour of Mitsubishis. Actually a good car compared with its competition, but AMC’s small size and rumours of takeover damaged its chances; and the problems were not solved with the change of marque.

Cadillac Cimarron (J-car). 1982–8 (prod. 132,499). 4-door sedan, F/F, 1796, 1991 cm³ (4 cyl. OHV), 2837 cm³ (V6 OHV). A good idea: build a Cadillac that could take on the BMW 3-series, and do it cheaply, on J-car platform. Seville showed that Cadillac could go smaller and succeed, but at least that car did not look like the Chevrolet Nova. Here, Cimarron was essentially a Chevrolet Cavalier clone, yet the price was nearly double. Few were fooled into buying the smaller Cadillac—at least not at the prices the company wanted to charge. Four-cylinder engines did not help perceptions, though V6 arrived in 1985 and was standard from 1987. Final year production of 6,454; cancelled afterwards. Sector not filled till European-market BLS launched.

Ford Falcon (1970½). January–August 1970 (prod. 26,000 approx.). 2- and 4-door sedan, 5-door wagon. 250 in³ (6 cyl. OHV), 302, 351, 429 in³ (V8 OHV). For half a model year, Ford transferred its Falcon nameplate from the compact model to the intermediate Torino–Fairlane bodyshell (117 in wheelbase for sedans; curiously, the wagon was on 114 in), making the Torino’s engine options available. Still marketed as an economy car, the last American Falcon is characterized by its swooping design. After 1970, Falcons were made only in Australia and Argentina (with an assembly plant for Australian models in New Zealand).

Chrysler Imperial. 1990–3 (prod. 41,276 approx.). F/F, 3301, 3778 cm³ (V6 OHV). Last cars to wear Imperial badge. Upscale Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Avenue of these years, with 3·3- (1990) or 3·8-litre (1991–3) V6. Y-body developed as largest version of K-car platform. Different nose and tail which made it longer than New Yorker by 4 in, though wheelbase stayed the same. Not that refined, with poor performance, suspension and transmission.

I saw a Peugeot 407 next to a 1980s BMW 5-series today and noted how much bigger, in every dimension, the 407 is. The 407 is regarded as small down the back—which makes you think about the size of, say, the Ford Mondeo CD345, which is about the same size as the outgoing Ford Falcon.
   Here’s a wild prediction: in years to come, the equivalents or descendants of the Ford Focus, Mondeo and Falcon will all be the same size and differ only in body styles and engine sizes.
   At Toyota, Corolla and Camry are approaching similar sizes, and Toyota Australia’s full-size model, the Aurion, is actually the same size as the Camry, right down to wheelbase. In fact, in some markets, the car that Australians call the Aurion is actually called the Camry.
   Roads can only be so wide unless even Toyota gets in to the Hummer H1 game and in future, we wind up with a mega-wide Previa.
   This may sound daft but if you consider that the Peugeot 307 and 407 and Ford Focus and Mondeo have similar engineering roots, then the likely integration in future will happen.
   As niche vehicles develop, the mainstream models will become fewer. For example, Nissan in Europe pretty much retails only specialty cars now. Aside from the supermini, the Micra, every Nissan sold in Europe is either an SUV, minivan or sports car. That’s a far cry from the manufacturer of the Sentra, Altima and Maxima in North America.
   What may likely happen is that mainstream nameplates will wind up on some niche vehicles, or niche vehicles may be marketed as the successor to everyday models—one of the few ways to get sufficient economies of scale.
   We’re unlikely to see a TGV approach to cars: the same width, but differing lengths based on your requirements—though models like the Renault Kangoo and Espace, with their lengthier counterparts, make me wonder.
   We’re also bound to see more manufacture in cheaper countries: Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic for the European market; Russia, Uzbekistan and Ukraine for their regions; and, of course, Red China.
   Whatever the case, at this present rate, the motor industry will have a very different shape in the next decade, assuming we haven’t given up on the internal combustion engine or seen some catastrophe.

Ford has complained about this TVC from the New Zealand Land Transport Safety Authority. I have to say I agree with its complaint. The car is clearly identifiable as a Ford Falcon XR6 or XR8 model, resembling the one still on sale. Even those who do not know much about cars may subconsciously register the vehicle’s shape and think negatively about the XR6. And there is some literature on how cars are judged not just by their badges, but by the way they look.
   I would have used, maybe, the previous-shape ’01s, or something not on regular sale. In the past, a lot of LTSA advertisements have used older model year cars.
   Even even now that I know what this TVC is for, my first thought is, ‘Damn, this is a good Ford ad.’ Judge for yourself below.

   Ford s’est plaint à l’Administration de la Securité des Transports de Terre en Nouvelle-Zélande après ce pub, parce que cette voiture est leur modèle Falcon. Je pense qu’il ressemble à un pub pour la Ford Falcon, jusqu’aux moments derniers.

Some Americans already think that PM Helen Clark is Ms Photo Op, without the substance. That was the first thing that came to mind when this pic came through from the Ford Motor Company today.
   Considering that New Zealand had natural gas-powered cars when I was a youngster in 1980 (until the National government thought they might be bad for us in the mid-1990s and really pushed us toward good, healthy and cheap petrol) and Todd Park was experimenting with a methanol-powered Mitsubishi in 1983, you can see why I am not terribly impressed with news that we have this revolutionary, new biofuel pump serving E10.
   Little compares with our having a 20-plus-year lead on the rest of the world with LPG and CNG, something this country fails to acknowledge time and time again. Probably to cover up its own inadequacies and lack of vision.
   E10, phooey. Sure it’s a step in the right direction, but such a little step compared to the advances we were making against OPEC in the late 1970s. We should be crying about how our lead and knowledge have been flushed down the toilet, and how no one other than regular citizens gives a toss.

Maybe for my main blog later. The end of the full-size car is nearing, it seems. I got the following from the Ford Motor Company earlier today, as production of the old six-cylinder engine in Australia will come to a close.

Ford Australia today announced a key step in a new product manufacturing strategy that will allow the company to achieve production efficiencies and access global economies of scale.
   From 2010 Ford Australia will import a global new Duratec V6 engine, including high performance derivatives, for use in the company's locally made Falcon, Falcon Ute and Territory model lines. The improved economies of scale resulting from the globally-sourced engine will offer increased flexibility to potentially incorporate future alternative fuel strategies, particularly diesel technology.
   As a result, the company will discontinue its Australian I6 engine operations in Geelong in 2010. Redeployment opportunities will be maximised wherever possible and the company will work closely with its employees and unions to minimise the impact on the 600 people affected by the decision across engine operations. The company's remaining 1400 employees in Geelong and 3000 in Campbellfield will not be directly impacted by the decision.

   I feel for the Aussies affected by this, but given Ford has been streamlining its engine production, it was inevitable. This will also mean a streamlining of its full-size car platforms, so the next Mustang, Territory, Town Car, Falcon and other models will be engineered by one group, probably the Australians who have had plenty of expertise in this area. (The US, by contrast, has not changed its full-size platform since the 1979 model year.) The following was also in the release, which is good from an internal point of view, but cold comfort to the folks at Geelong:

Construction of the company's new Research & Development Centre, announced in 2006 as part of Ford's $1.8 billion Australian investment program, will continue and is due for completion later this year. Significant investment programs in new emissions laboratories and wind tunnel technology at Ford's test facilities at Lara will also continue, along with usual operations at the company's stamping plant and Ford Discovery Centre.

   Ford’s issue has always been internal infighting and Dearborn’s reluctance to accept anything that is “not invented here”. Let’s hope it gets over it, because my feeling is that there’s life in the full-size car market yet, and Holden, despite its slip-ups with the Daewoo products, has proved that with the VE Commodore platform and its derivatives.

I know I get to drive all sorts of luxury cars but here is one I really want to test. Don’t laugh. It’s the new Ford Mondeo.

   The wheelbase is longer than the EA169 Falcon’s, which means this is one big car. There will be crossovers built off this CD345 platform, and the Galaxy and S-Max minivans are already based on this.
   Since the next Ford Falcon (E8) will be on the same platform as the existing car, then I can envisage there being a conflict in the New Zealand market-place with the physical size of these two cars. Then again, this could be a good thing, as sales of full-size cars fall and people are opting for these mid-sizers—even if the mid-sizers are getting big. However, the market judges a car’s size by cubic capacity, which means there will be a big rear-drive Falcon in the Ford range for some time to come.
   Ford has made sure the Mondeo is a premium car, ready to knock the socks off BMWs and Mercs—which means it will have no problem kicking the snot out of Holden’s Daewoo Tosca (Epica) and Toyota Camry here. With the Fifth Gear report above, it seems the luxury brands that sell cars in this segment have a lot of ground to make up. And the Renault Laguna, my other must-drive of 2007, needs to better the Mondeo, too.
   It does prove something I have been saying of Lucire for many years: that the market is shifting to accessible luxury.

PS.: Trivium: ‘Mondeo man’ was never used in UK politics originally. The term was ‘Sierra man’.—JY