50 years of Aussie Falcons - Page 6

Jason[98.EL] · 28-06-2010, 04:43 PM

taken from carsales

Quote:

Originally Posted by carsales

Ford celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Falcon and 85 years of manufacturing in Australia this morning, as the Victorian Premier John Brumby and Federal industry minister Kim Carr again pledged their support for the Broadmeadows car plant.

More than 200 classic Falcons from the original 1960s XK to the latest model -- including a selection of rare GTHO Phase III sports sedans -- gathered in the parking lot at the back of the production line for an employee barbecue today, ahead of a gala dinner in Geelong tonight.

Inside the factory, Ford stopped production for about an hour and went back in time as a series of significant Ford Falcons rolled off the end of the line, with V8 Supercar drivers and retired Ford executives behind the wheel.

Race drivers Allan Moffatt, Steven Richards and Mark Winterbottom were joined by former Ford hierarchy from the 1960s and a factory worker who has worked for Ford since 1964.

In a speech to media and production line employees, Ford Australia boss Marin Burela reminded the audience that the Falcon had outlasted 12 prime ministers, and was introduced before colour television, the first moon landing, decimal currency and the Sydney Opera House.

"The Falcon has been the unsung hero of Australian history," he said. "And yet the Falcon has been just as Australian as vegemite."

Ford Australia has produced almost 3.5 million Falcons over more than 27 models over the past 50 years.

However, the Falcon's 50th anniversary comes at a time when Falcon sales over the past few years are lower than they were in the 1960s -- when the Australian new-car market was less than one quarter of the size that it is today.

But Burela pointed out that Falcon sales are up so far this year and the model has a 41 per cent share of the large-car market.

"This is still a strong, viable position," he said. "To have that sort of market share inside a segment that has 10 per cent of a 1 million-size market, that's no mean feat. These are good numbers."

Burela said the new turbo four-cylinder engine will help "keep the Falcon relevant" for Australians who want a big sedan with four-cylinder economy.

He also said that Ford Australia was an employer of "many thousands of Australian families" over the decades, including several generations.

"I am proud to say my family is one of those as well," said Burela, who added his first memory of a Falcon as a young lad was washing his dad's then-new XA Falcon on weekends in the 1970s.

In his closing remarks of an impassioned speech he told workers: "Keep up the good work, keep doing the things that make a difference, stand up and be proud and the future will be ours ... and we will continue to be here for many more years to come."

Premier Brumby, whose electorate includes Broadmeadows, chatted with production line workers and sat in some of the classic Falcons before delivering his speech.

"Ford has made a huge contribution over the decades ... in terms of creating jobs for people in our state," he said. "And we look forward to many, many, many more years and decades of sustained investment by the Ford Motor Company in our state and in Australia."

In addition to $42 million in assistance from the Green Car Innovation Fund, Ford has invested $230 million to develop new, more economical engines for future models of the Falcon and Territory.

In his speech, Federal Industry minister Kim Carr said: "Australia has a proud history in automotive manufacturing and the Australian Government is working with manufacturers like Ford to ensure that continues.

"The automotive industry has weathered the storm of the global recession and iconic brands like the Ford Falcon will continue to be part of our landscape for years to come."

not a bad atical i like the last line

Jason

vztrt · 28-06-2010, 05:32 PM

Ford’s Falcon takes the cake

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...257750000B2596

Quote:

Through seven generations over 50 years, Ford’s local hero has moved a nation
28 June 2010
By IAN PORTER
FORD Australia’s Broadmeadows plant in Victoria paused to celebrate 50 years of the locally made Falcon today, with dignitaries cutting a massive blue-oval cake to mark Australia’s longest running nameplate that has been fixed to almost 3.5 million cars.

According to Ford, those cars have clocked up about 450 billion kilometres in customer hands since the first of its kind rolled off the production line in 1960.

Back then, the excitement was almost overwhelming for this car-mad pre-teen: Ford was going to make the US Falcon in Australia to tackle the dominant Holden range, which had reined supreme through the booming 1950s.

Holden had never had to try hard to win market leadership and, in 1960, was still serving up the same old 2.2-litre straight six engine first seen in the 48-215, although power had edged up from 60bhp to 72bhp over the 12 years.

Press reports indicated the Falcon would not only offer a larger, more powerful engine that would put Holden’s “grey” motor in the shade, but that there would be a second, even more powerful unit that would offer a head-turning 101bhp. And there would be automatic transmission!

Despite a government-induced credit crunch, the XK Falcon got off to a good start in 1960 as buyers snapped up the opportunity to give GM the cold shoulder. But disaster struck in the form of weak ball joints, which promptly gave up the ghost when the exciting newcomer headed off the tarmac.

It was a terrible blow that scared-off the all-important fleet buyers. A quick fix was implemented with Fairlane ball joints from the US and with upgrades through the XL, XM and XP models, but an image problem remained.

So chief executive Bill Bourke decided to use the new You Yangs proving ground to demonstrate the Falcon’s reliability with a five-day durability run in which five XPs, including Australia’s first two-door coupe, would be thrashed around the track for 70,000 miles (112,000km) at an average of 70mph (112km/h).

The Falcon’s undercarriage passed the test, but four of the five cars were rolled during the effort, giving an unexpected testimony to the car’s superstructure.

The second-generation Falcon arrived in the shape of the 1966 XR range, the model which was bigger in almost every respect and, once again, galvanized car lovers when it brazenly took the Falcon-Holden power war into the V8 zone with the launch of the legendary Falcon GT.

This car ignited the arms race with Holden and gave rise to a whole series of factory-built racing specials, including the 351 cubic-inch GTHO, feeding the on-track rivalry between the brands which still lives today.

The third-generation Falcon was unusual in that Detroit had decided to drop the Falcon in the US, but designed the XA purely for Australia. Bigger again, especially the wagon, which introduced the extra-long wheelbase that became the norm, XA/XB sales boomed in the Whitlam years. The XB took Falcon past the million-unit mark after 16 years, although the XC ran into the second oil shock and sales slowed, despite a famous 1-2 victory at Bathurst for the two-door coupe in 1978.

Now all on its own design-wise, Ford Australia produced the sharp-edged and big-windowed XD Falcon in 1979. At first, it looked like it would be the company’s demise as arch-rival Holden had blinked in the face of the oil crisis and opted for a smaller car, to be called Commodore.

Falcon sales suffered, too, prompting Ford to turn to a Honda-made aluminium cylinder head to help quell the big car’s thirst. But the oil crisis soon faded and Ford’s XD took control at the top of the sales charts. The company had never been more profitable.

The third version of this design, the 1984-88 XF, was the first Falcon to receive fuel injection, but it lost V8 power for the first time in 18 years. The XF was also the first Falcon to top more than 250,000 sales. This fourth-generation Falcon soldiered on to 1999 in the XG and XH ute and van models.

The all-new EA plainly reflected development time in the wind tunnel, but the absence of an EA ute or van showed the $700 million development budget had been too tight. This also showed up in the form of poor build quality and computer problems, which overshadowed the Falcon’s first four-speed auto and the adoption of rack and pinion steering.

Sales were good at first and the EA lifted the Falcon past the two million unit mark in 1991 on its way to becoming the second best selling Falcon, with a production run of 223,612 units.

The EB was much better built and gained a superior front end suspension and the Smartlock security system which, in a test devised by South Australian police, defied four professional car thieves for four days.

The new front end was welcome because the EB saw the reintroduction of V8 power, a 25th anniversary run of 250 Falcon GTs and, more importantly, the introduction of the XR6 and XR8 nameplates, which would be big money spinners for the company, reigniting the passion of those 1960s teenagers.

The EF of 1994 was another big seller, offering Australia’s first standard driver’s airbag while the engine was further refined with a variable length intake manifold and coil pack ignition dispensing with the distributor.

The AU model of 1998 was a substantial redesign of the existing platform and was simultaneously the best Falcon ever and perhaps the most disappointing. Bristling with innovation, the AU was endowed with a local version of the New Edge styling theme used on European models and simply failed to click with more orthodox Australian tastes.

The AU introduced independent rear suspension for the Falcon and also a limp-home system, which allowed the inline six-cylinder engine to run on reduced power in the absence of coolant, among other things. The AU saw the introduction of a dedicated liquefied petroleum gas version of six and the dropping, yet again, of V8 power. Facelifts in 2000 and 2001 softened the aesthetic criticism, but perception of the AU had been damaged.

The BA of 2002 was more than a simple facelift of the AU. Ford dragged forward a lot of the budget for the future all-new model to restore sales and to prepare for the imminent Territory sports utility vehicle, which was to draw heavily on the Falcon parts bin.

Not only was the body heavily worked over, but Ford revamped the venerable engine with a thoroughly modern cylinder head with four valves per cylinder, twin overhead camshafts, variable valve timing and, in some models, a turbocharger. This made the Barra a world-class engine and restored the faith of car enthusiasts.

The BA and BF models soldiered into the 2000s, sales curtailed by the surge in oil prices and a swing away to smaller vehicles.

The seventh-generation Falcon, the current FG, is a significantly better car – perhaps the best ever made in Australia by any company – but was launched into the aftermath of the world oil price surge and the global financial crisis.

Sales of large cars were falling away, regardless of how good those large cars were. The FG gained the best front suspension yet seen on an Australia car, even featuring steering devised by Australian engineering company AE Bishop, giving the Falcon superb steering feel and accuracy.

The FG has restored much of the Falcon’s standing in the large car sector in 2009 and 2010, helping the company report a modest profit of $13 million for 2009, its first positive result since 2005.

vztrt · 28-06-2010, 07:59 PM

The age did a gallery of Falcons at http://theage.drive.com.au/photogall...electedImage=0 also with the article here http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...0625-z8wd.html

Pics below:

XK (Sep 1960)

■Essentially a right-hand-drive version of a US car of the same name.

■Six-cylinder engine and a choice of three-speed manual or two-speed automatic transmission.

XL (Aug 1962)

■Released before its US counterpart to steal the EJ Holden's thunder.

■XL Falcon wins Armstrong 500, the race that morphs into the annual Bathurst classic.

XM (Feb 1964)

■Much stronger suspension.

■Better rust-proofing.

■200 cubic-inch (3.3-litre) Super Pursuit engine added.

■Sexy two-door hardtop model added.

XP (Feb 1965)

■Futura sedan and Squire replaced by Fairmont badge.

■Power-assisted front disc brakes offered — a first for locally made cars.

■Falcon claims 10 per cent of passenger car market.

XR (Sep 1966)

■All-new body but still based on the US model.

■First V8 engine option arrives, a 289 (4.7-litre) cubic-inch.

■Iconic GT Falcon born.

■XR GT wins Bathurst.

XT (Apr 1968)

■The first XR facelift.

■New six-cylinder engines of 3.1-litre and 3.3-litre capacity.

■V8 grows to 4.9 litres (302 cubic inches).

■Diagonally split braking system.

XW (Jun 1969)

■First square tail-lights on a Falcon.

■Legendary 351-cubic-inch (5.8-litre) V8 becomes available.

■Iconic "Super Roo" decal born for GT models.

■GTHO born as homologation special for racing.

XY (Nov 1970)

■250-cubic-inch (4.1-litre) six-cylinder arrives.

■Locally engineered 4WD ute sold in small numbers.

■Falcon GTHOs finish one, two and three at Bathurst in 1971

XA (Feb 1972)

■The first Australian-designed Falcon.

■Two-door hardtop returns to showrooms.

■GT in two- and four-door forms.

■Fear campaign kills off the planned Phase IV GT-HO

XB (Nov 1973)

■Standard front disc brakes across the range.

■Power-assisted brakes on Futura models and up.

■GT gets colour-coded bumpers but less power.

■John Goss Special added.

XC (Jul 1976)

■Anti-pollution regulations stunt performance, increase fuel use.

■XC facelift uses doors from Fairlane for less flamboyant profile.

■Engine badging goes metric.

XD (Mar 1979)

■New model but remains full-size car in contrast to Holden Commodore, which downsizes.

■Smaller than XC but doesn't look it.

■Midlife upgrade introduces alloy head six-cylinder.

XE (Mar 1982)

■Falcon beats Commodore as best-seller.

■Coil springs finally replace leaves on sedan.

■Electronic fuel injection introduced on 4.1-litre

six-cylinder as a glimpse of the future, V8 dropped.

XF (Oct 1984)

■Engines modified for introduction of unleaded petrol.

■Five-speed manual transmission available

for the first time.

■Fairmont Ghia trim option for station wagon.

EA (Feb 1988)

■All-new model now Ford's only locally designed and built car available.

■Six-cylinder engines feature new capacities and overhead camshaft, still no V8 option.

EB (Jul 1991)

■V8 returns in 5.0-litre, fuel-injected form.

■GT returns as a joint venture with Tickford, XR6 and XR8 join line-up.

■Six-cylinder goes from 3.9 litres to 4.0 litres.

■First anti-lock brakes option on locally built car.

ED (Aug 1993)

■Minor facelift of original EA.

■Tickford XR6 and XR8 models get now-trademark four headlights.

■A stop-gap model against the VR Commodore's sales success. Futura nameplate resurrected.

EF (Sep 1994)

■Major update carries over only door skins and glass.

■Driver's airbag standard, a first for Falcon.

■Revised 4.0-litre six-cylinder now 157kW/357Nm.

EL (Sep 1996)

■Adopts contentious open-mouthed grille.

■Minor changes to rear suspension had a positive effect on handling.

■GT temporarily revived in 1997 with limited run.

AU (Sep 1998)

■All-new model with awkward styling deters private buyers. ■Independent rear suspension option a Falcon first.

■Dedicated LPG option.

■Series II offers twin front airbags as standard.

BA (Sep 2002)

■Dramatic facelift to exorcise the AU styling ghosts.

■New six-cylinder engine gains twin-cam technology.

■New "Boss" 5.4-litre twin-cam V8 for XR8 launched.

■XR6 Turbo model launched and is an immediate hit.

FG (May 2008)

■Base six-cylinder engine now 190kW.

■Ford calls the FG an all-new model ... not everyone agrees.

■Restyling over BF is subtle.

■Ford chases hikes in economy and efficiency.

■Last model to offer the 5.4-litre twin-cam V8.

Falc'man · 28-06-2010, 08:21 PM

Thanks for posting that Dan. As always, much appreciated.

draxx · 28-06-2010, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vztrt

EF (Sep 1994)

■Major update carries over only door skins and glass.

■Driver's airbag standard, a first for Falcon.

■Revised 4.0-litre six-cylinder now 157kW/357Nm.

EL (Sep 1996)

■Adopts contentious open-mouthed grille.

■Minor changes to rear suspension had a positive effect on handling.

■GT temporarily revived in 1997 with limited run.

Looks like they messed up in the article - I'm pretty sure that photo of an "EF" is actually and "EL"!!!

Sorry, had to nitpick!! LOL

vztrt · 28-06-2010, 08:56 PM

haha, I stuffed that up, trying to match them and I've put el under au au under ba and missed the BF. Whoops.

draxx · 28-06-2010, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vztrt

haha, I stuffed that up, trying to match them and I've put el under au au under ba and missed the BF. Whoops.

Not your fault - if you check on the Drive article, they actually have that EL tagged as an EF - they dont have an actual photo of the EF though....

Falc'man · 28-06-2010, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vztrt

haha, I stuffed that up, trying to match them and I've put el under au au under ba and missed the BF. Whoops.

Only time you're wrong is when you think you've made a mistake. A bit like me actually

smciner1 · 28-06-2010, 09:57 PM