Shannon's AU Falcon Story

[aussie muscle]

1998-2002 Ford AU Falcon: Sunk by Identity Crisis or Dirty Tricks?

Nice article on our unloved AU model (which i owned one and it was fabulous)

http://www.shannons.com.au/club/news...-dirty-tricks/

extract:

Within months, commentators and opinion leaders who had earlier praised the car suddenly found fault with the AU Forte’s waterfall grille, its ride height, its narrow boot opening and rear door access, its overall appearance, its droopy rear styling, its lower spec live axle rear suspension, its stark interior and less “substantial styling.”

[davenl5l]

I've owned 3 au falcons a wagon a ute and a dedicated lpg sedan all were reliable comfortable cars

[Iggle Piggle]

I thought that AU Forte grill was more like the LTD grills of the 70s and 80s - looked more like an upper-spec grill than the poverty pack grill.

[Maka]

The Au series Ford's are a good thing, have always been. Have a look around the streets today they are about & going strong! Imagine how good it could've been if the Aussie Ford designers of the time had good funding & full control of the AU design....

cheer's, Maka

[Falcon SXR8]

First impressions count when they rolled that series 1 forte out they stuffed up big time the thing looked terrible. The ride height was crazy, the 15 inch wheels were to small and those hubcaps holy smokes what were they thinking ???? It didn't matter what they did after that the public had it in there mind as soon as you said au they thought of that series one forte.

But the au could look great I love the xr8s and te50s there one of my favorite fords of all time not only did they look good but they drove unbelievably good. My 5 speed 220 xr8 is still my favorite car I have ever driven ( and i have driven a manual 335 gtp I think the reason was I expected the 335 to be good and it is, but the au xr8 after hearing for ages how bad au's were just blew me away and ill never forget the first time I threw a few corners at it and couldn't believe a falcon could handle so good.

[Gothefalcon]

It's an interesting read ! On the "complaint" about the access to the back seat.... I compared my EB Wagon's rear door opening to my BF Wagon's (Same as AU)... and the actual opening size measures pretty much the same. It's just that the AU-BF's rear door doesn't swing open as far as the EA-EF's ! This is down to the AU-BF's slightly curvier styling... so the door stay is made a bit shorter to prevent the rear door skin hitting the back edge of the front door (when the rear door is opened). Had the shut line between the front and rear doors been arched forward slightly (to match the shape of the AU's door skin more)... then the rear door could have been allowed to swing open as far as EA - EF. It doesn't need to be much... and had Ford done it, I'm guessing no-one would have been any wiser (ie: complained the shut line wasn't dead straight)... and access to the back seats of big Fords would have been as good for the next 12yrs (AU1 - BF3) as it was for the previous 10 (EA - EF)

D

[Boza]

The AU was the last of the great reliable falcons solid falcon's

my old man had a cab that went 1.2 million kilometers on original engine and auto was fastidiously maintained and was still going strong after it was de-commissioned.

The rear access is fine for most normal human I never had any problem's getting in and out of a falcon and I'm a average sized male. Maybe the guy needs to eat a few less pie's.

[Tonz]

what about Leyland P76 that was a classic media 'sink it at all costs'.

[Sorted]

Taxi companies and dedicated Taxi workshops LOVED the AU Falcon - most reliable Taxi EVER

[Golioth]

I still have my 2002 AU XR6 Ute and I still love it. It has carried everything known to man in the tray and is still going strong. Problem free, fuel efficient and low cost to maintain. I am happy to leave the Rspec at home and drive it to work 3-4 days a week!

[Franco Cozzo]

The XR's are worse than the regular AUs, that bug-eye front looks horrible.

I like the TS50, its my favorite AU.

[Adamz Ghia]

My brother just bought a Series 3 XR6 sedan for his first car, has the full Rebel body kit, I always make him drive places and I pay for fuel and dinner. It looks amazing in Venom and is probably the most comfortable Falcon I've ever been in.

[Silver Ghia]

The AU is probably the most under-rated car I can think of.

Maybe the Series 1 Forte was a bit ugly, but there are plenty of more ugly cars going around these days.

My 1998 AU Series 1 Fairmont was a fabulous car, very attractive front that is still attractive to this day with the chrome grille etc. And a very aerodynamic efficient shape that reflected in better fuel economy on longer trips.

The interior was also more luxurious and better quality than the BA Ghia that came after it.

Ford went backwards after the AU with the BA, with its cheapness, worse fuel economy and inferior driving feel. But they don't mention that.

And I still see heaps of AU's around, so they couldn't be too bad.

[PridenJoy]

Never liked AU's, until I bought my first one because it was cheap. I have owned three since then, they are addictive, especially the V8s.

I have parted out a few and it still amazes me how well they are put together even after people mistreat them for years. My XR8 is a keeper for sure.

[Sprintey]

Magic cars, special new and have stood the test of time.

The crowning achievement of Tickford in the 90's, super strong IRS, great balance, comfortable, reliable. You had all this extra engineering going into the cars from the EBII S-XR6 onward - suspension tuning, individually tuned motors for the XR's, XR motors in the Fairmont Ghias and Fairlanes, VCT, Tickford tuned wagons both XR and Fairmont V8. BHP bake hardened steel, imagine that today... Just look at the leather trim in an AUII LTD (also fitted with AU1 XR8 motor...) Split cab ute with the flexibility of tray or styleside brought back the one tonner.

They were special. I was talking with another owner yesterday, and we mentioned what was appreciated was the fact with the Tickford UK engineers input, the Falcon got really close to European ideals in car design.

Edit: reading Joe's comments after the article, the AU certainly didn't get the Euro styling, goodness what a mess that American interference was/is/will be.

Joe Kenright is an excellent author on the subject of our domestic motor industry.

[XR Martin]

Still the most aerodynamic Australian car. 0.29cd
Imagine how low they could get it with current stuff like hidden wipers, grill shutters, full car undertray, better aero mirrors, lower ride height.

[GTP534]

I had an AUII XR8 220kW, liquid silver, leather interior and had a lot of the Tickford options on it. The Series II styling made it look a lot better in my opinion.

The dealer also took the door spears and chrome door handles from an LTD and put them on the car for me - it made the interior look very classy.

It was a great car, very reliable and I loved the IRS on it - it used to give real bite and drive out of corners.

Only sour note was the side skirts - because the 220kW hadn't been released I didn't order it with the Tickford body kit. Instead, it got fitted with a Talon body kit - that was a load of rubbish with little stress fractures opening up all the time - very unsatisfactory.

Traded it on a GT-P as that was my dream car.

Overall, I have fond memories of my AU.

[SSD-85]

Its no secret ive always been an AU fanboy. I now own an AU1 ute, plastic floor, wind up windows, cruise control, V8 & no ABS

[Bill M]

Within months, commentators and opinion leaders who had earlier praised the car suddenly found fault with the AU Forte’s waterfall grille, its ride height, its narrow boot opening and rear door access, its overall appearance, its droopy rear styling, its lower spec live axle rear suspension, its stark interior and less “substantial styling.”

I remember it clearly, the magazines of the time are still easily obtainable to back this up. I bought an XR ute and still have it

[eb2fairmont]

Well in the annals of history can say the following:

Holden are a bunch of next Tuesday types
Dearborn should have had the balls to make falcon and mustang on the same platform

And the au has turned out to be a tough barstard of a car. My old man has one a fairmont and its brilliant

[Silver Ghia]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Still the most aerodynamic Australian car. 0.29cd
Imagine how low they could get it with current stuff like hidden wipers, grill shutters, full car undertray, better aero mirrors, lower ride height.

Yeah, I certainly noticed the fuel consumption go up with the BA Ghia compared to the AU Fairmont, after Ford sacked their aerodynamicists for designers who concentrated only on aesthetics, not aerodynamic efficiency.

Look closely, the AU had seals between the bonnet and headlights to improve airflow thus lower Cd. Also the more curved roof of the AU, and the rounded rear quarters either side of the boot assisted reducing the Cd. Funny that Mercedes followed with a similar rear design, and didn't get any flack from automotive writers.

The BA has holes under the bonnet front edge for headlight seals, but are not fitted. Same with the FG. Cost cutting again.

One of my worst decisions selling the AU for the BA.

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

The AU is probably the most under-rated car I can think of.

Maybe the Series 1 Forte was a bit ugly, but there are plenty of more ugly cars going around these days.

My 1998 AU Series 1 Fairmont was a fabulous car, very attractive front that is still attractive to this day with the chrome grille etc. And a very aerodynamic efficient shape that reflected in better fuel economy on longer trips.

The interior was also more luxurious and better quality than the BA Ghia that came after it.

Ford went backwards after the AU with the BA, with its cheapness, worse fuel economy and inferior driving feel. But they don't mention that.

And I still see heaps of AU's around, so they couldn't be too bad.

They did have a nicer quality interior than the BA, but I remember at their launch that the interior had been cheapened over the EL. I recall the carpets weren't as good and the roof lining was cheaper.

[4stanger]

IMHO, Great car the AU (ll)
I purchased a regency red 2000 AUll (the one with the Fairmont looking grill) in late 2001, it was a "program" car from the Ford dealer used car lot (probably ex rental), had about 38000kms the remainder of warranty (15 months) also the schedule free servicing till 60000kms (or end of warranty whatever came 1st) 12 months rego, $20888 (I paid a little less with a 1988 EA Falcon trade in). I had my 3rd child just start at primary school with the other 2, so it had to be a safe reliable car, and it was. Brilliant value for the money I thought at the time. added 17 inch wheels and a rear wing, looked smick. Only issue I had was the alternator going, from the power steering leak. I was able to take the family comfortably on long trips, easily got over 700 kms on a tank on the highway. A great family car for us at the time and regret trading it in 2010.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Gothefalcon

It's an interesting read ! On the "complaint" about the access to the back seat.... I compared my EB Wagon's rear door opening to my BF Wagon's (Same as AU)... and the actual opening size measures pretty much the same.

D

Most of the complaints regarding rear seat access usually refer to the sedan, the shape of the door, roof height/angles and the curvature of the wheel arch contributing to the notion of poor access for some (fine for me).

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

Yeah, I certainly noticed the fuel consumption go up with the BA Ghia compared to the AU Fairmont, .

Well , the B series were @ 100 kg heavier.......
Extra fuel for extra weight, nothing to do with aero.
Just sayin.

[Blue Roo]

Fords problem with the AU Falcon was simple. It was the car's Styling and Image. The general public had identified that the AU Falcon had similar styling to the US Ford Taurus. That was released here in Australia back in the mid 1990's. Two years before release of the AU.
The Taurus was not a popular car here in Australia and the sales of the Taurus reflected this.

[Ford_The_Win]

An older lady I work with has a mark 2 or mark 3 AU Fairmont. She has had it since new, and it has now covered around 350,000 kilometres (driven 50 km daily up the freeway and back) and never given her any trouble. The only things that have been replaced are shocks and brake components. It doesn't look weathered or worn either (leather seats) despite teenagers and now grand children. She has been offered a new car multiple times but won't part with it. That's a good testimony of their durability. I have thought about buying one as a second car particularly now that they are very affordable.

[mik]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

The XR's are worse than the regular AUs, that bug-eye front looks horrible.

I like the TS50, its my favorite AU.

i own one, and admit they are probably not pretty, but they sure make up for it being a ripping good car to drive and own, and you could throw anyone in the drivers seat for the first time and they would feel right at home in an au.

[BENT_8]

No doubt the AU was a reliable, refined performer, but the S1 was a shocker to look at, it never really recovered.

Should have had the high series bonnet to begin with and those Falcon badges just made the rear end look tacky.

I've owned 2, a S2 SR and S2 XR6. Couldnt fault either of them.

[FairmontGS]

Bought an AUII brand new in 2001 and it was a brilliant car. Even the Forte' could be thrown into corners. Would beat any Crappadore off the line at lights. Great smooth motor and transmission.