Today is five years since the announcement that shook Australia and destroyed an industry.

[Syndrome]

Seems like yesterday I was in bed with ABC 774 playing in the background when something caused to me snap out of my hypnopompic state. Even though I didn't immediately know what was being discussed I knew immediately it was about Ford.


Oh the humanity.

[Syndrome]

https://www.whichcar.com.au/features...ing-operations

[FTE217]

RIP is all I can say, still gutted no more Aussie New Falcons but were the minority.

[Gomez]

My 2010 XR50 hasn't missed a beat.

Done 110K with nothing but filters, oil, coolant and tyres. Still got all it's OEM brakepads. Not a single failure.

Doubt I'll be able to say the same thing about my yet-to-be-delivered Mustang. Fingers crossed, but.

[GO FURTHER]

From the start of the shutdown of our car industry, two quotes stick in my mind to this day....

Holden boss, Mike Devereux - "Australia needs to decide if it is content to simply become "a farm, a hotel and a quarry", referring to agriculture, tourism and mining as the big industries once manufacturing dies".

Ford chief, Alan Mulally - "No country is ever successful in the long term … without a really strong and vibrant manufacturing base."

"It's the foundation of all economic development.
You actually make things that create value.
That's why every country around the world is collaborating with the private sector … to figure out how to create an environment where manufacturing (is viable)."

God help Australia in years to come.

[FairmontGS]

Clickbait thread title "shook Australia"? I don't think so. If it had, then the Falcon would still be here. You could get a job with ACA

[Bill M]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Clickbait thread title "shook Australia"? I don't think so. If it had, then the Falcon would still be here. You could get a job with ACA

The Falcon would still be here? No it wouldn't. It was the closure of Holden with Toyota following that sealed the fate of vehicle manufacturing here. Clickbait? I think you can do better than that.

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by Bill M

The Falcon would still be here? No it wouldn't. It was the closure of Holden with Toyota following that sealed the fate of vehicle manufacturing here. Clickbait? I think you can do better than that.

Sorry Bill, what I meant is that there is no basis for the claim that "Australia" was "shaken" by the closure of Ford manufacturing and to claim otherwise is just adding needless sensationalism to the thread title.

[Bill M]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Sorry Bill, what I meant is that there is no basis for the claim that "Australia" was "shaken" by the closure of Ford manufacturing and to claim otherwise is just adding needless sensationalism to the thread title.

Ah ha! I understand what you meant now.
cheers
Bill

[Wretched]

Shook Australia? meh, while it was a loss for manufacturing it was a long time coming.
The world of mass manufacturing has moved on and the three makers required substantial investment to keep going (Toyota were ready to do it but when Ford and Holden made their announcement that was the nail in that coffin).

Australia can continue to manufacture but would need to look at "non traditional" and innovative ways, and not just cars.
It may be on a smaller and bespoke scale (and with the advent of AI and automation this is probably a good thing) but it can work. We've got the carbon fibre outlet and recently the large scale 3D printer. We need to look into the future and not dwell on the past. How can Australia evolve and adapt to a more "agile" industrious nation?

We may be more engineering with smaller manufacturing.

[Vesper Martini]

Whilst obviously not Automotive, Manufacturing is still expanding in Australia

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/manufact...ng-in-february

Rising Energy costs are what could kill it.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Whilst obviously not Automotive, Manufacturing is still expanding in Australia

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/manufact...ng-in-february

Rising Energy costs are what could kill it.

and red tape

[Sprintey]

Speaking of non-traditional ways:

https://www.theguardian.com/australi...holden-factory


And more recently, overnight actually, from President Trump:

"Statement from the President on Potential National Security Investigation into Automobile Imports

Today, I met with Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to discuss the current state of our automobile industry.

I instructed Secretary Ross to consider initiating a Section 232 investigation into imports of automobiles, including trucks, and automotive parts to determine their effects on America’s national security.

Core industries such as automobiles and automotive parts are critical to our strength as a Nation."

[anobserver]

Most Australians couldn't have cared less. Owning a locally-produced car seems to evoke cultural cringe, as changing demographics deem suvs or imported hatches the socially acceptable alternatives.

In other words, it's became declasse to own a Ford or Holden (sedan). And we've lost an entire industry as a result.

Economics be damned; I'd rather subsidise a manufacturing industry than foster a new crowd of long term unemployed.

[roddy1960]

Between 2013 announcement and 2016 actual cessation of manufacturing it was like Chinese water torture for those three or so years . The only good thing after that Bob Graziano announcement was the FGX and Mustang arrival..Not much else for me I'm afraid and there is nothing that Ford imports other than Mustang that I could see myself ever buying , no disrespect to the current fare but that's just how it is these days for me , myself and I .

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by anobserver

Most Australians couldn't have cared less. Owning a locally-produced car seems to evoke cultural cringe, as changing demographics deem suvs or imported hatches the socially acceptable alternatives.

In other words, it's became declasse to own a Ford or Holden (sedan). And we've lost an entire industry as a result.

Economics be damned; I'd rather subsidise a manufacturing industry than foster a new crowd of long term unemployed.

Even if they pandered to the new Demographic & built the SUV's & small hatches it wouldn't have helped

the small hatch industry is extremely competitive Holden tried and Failed meantime Ford are dropping Models

how much Subsidy do you want to pay?

[GO FURTHER]

Originally Posted by anobserver

Most Australians couldn't have cared less. Owning a locally-produced car seems to evoke cultural cringe, as changing demographics deem suvs or imported hatches the socially acceptable alternatives.

In other words, it's became declasse to own a Ford or Holden (sedan). And we've lost an entire industry as a result.

This is spot on!

Even the new ZB Commodore, made in Germany, is failing to sell, not because it lacks a V8 in the range, not because its imported BUT because it still bears the HOLDEN name.

If that same speced car was brought in under the VW, Audi, or BM name at the same price point, it would sell like hot cakes.

Holden have nothing left to sell that Australians want with a Holden badge.

Ford only have Ranger and Mustang at the moment.

Ranger sells because it appeals to the cashed up tradies who want that “Aussie Cowboy / I’m a country boy” appeal that the Ranger name plate suggests.

Mustang.... Mostly mid age crisis car for guys who want to live the American muscle car dream they always admired as a boy.

Americans will buy US made cars, Europeans will buy their local cars... But Aussies are very different in this respect.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by go further

americans will buy us made cars, europeans will buy their local cars... But aussies are braindead in this respect.

efa..

[roddy1960]

Mr Trump eh...
And our mob all those years ago did the opposite . Who is right ?

http://www.afr.com/news/world/north-...0180524-h10iw0

Politicians and car industry's lead to interesting times .

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

This is spot on!

Even the new ZB Commodore, made in Germany, is failing to sell, not because it lacks a V8 in the range, not because its imported BUT because it still bears the HOLDEN name.

If that same speced car was brought in under the VW, Audi, or BM name at the same price point, it would sell like hot cakes.

Holden have nothing left to sell that Australians want with a Holden badge.

Ford only have Ranger and Mustang at the moment.

Ranger sells because it appeals to the cashed up tradies who want that “Aussie Cowboy / I’m a country boy” appeal that the Ranger name plate suggests.

Mustang.... Mostly mid age crisis car for guys who want to live the American muscle car dream they always admired as a boy.

Americans will buy US made cars, Europeans will buy their local cars... But Aussies are very different in this respect.

i think we are skirting around the fact that falcon was simply an undercooked (engineering wise) car, as was Territory. Sadly korean an euro alternatives have simply been better options and the car buying public voted with their feet and continue to do so...

[bretts351]

Originally Posted by Stefan

i think we are skirting around the fact that falcon was simply an undercooked (engineering wise) car, as was Territory. Sadly korean an euro alternatives have simply been better options and the car buying public voted with their feet and continue to do so...

Those local vehicles were dated in terms of features and technology... because they could not compete with the tariff free imports coming from heavily backed Korean, Japanese, European vehicles.

Think about it. This price of a Falcon didn't change much more than a few percent for 15 years....

[GO FURTHER]

Originally Posted by Stefan

i think we are skirting around the fact that falcon was simply an undercooked (engineering wise) car, as was Territory. Sadly korean an euro alternatives have simply been better options and the car buying public voted with their feet and continue to do so...

To be fair it was not Ford Australia's fault... Ford USA wanted to kill off the locally produced Falcon years before its final demise, for the future of what they believed was cost-effective global market vehicles.

What many consumers forgot, was that for 56 years, the Falcon was designed to handle Australian roads and conditions.

I still admire my own humble FG, in that after nearly 4 years and 116,000Kms of ownership since new, it still does not have a single rattle or squeak in the body, suspension or cabin interior and that's after driving many country miles.

The same cannot be said by friends who have expensive Euros or Korean cars.

[jpd80]

Conversely,
once buyers were offered a huge choice of vehicles, they chose almost everything else to a Commodore or a Falcon.

Manufacturers have to move with changing times or get left behind, diesel, hatchback, higher ride height.
Falcon and Commodore fell into the trap of trying to make everything low ride handling performance Luxury
and failed to cover changing market trend and paid the price..

[Vesper Martini]

Yeah its a southern hemisphere thing. hole in the Ozone thinner atmosphere etc.
and from my own experience you can get sunburn on a 20 deg day in Auckland with seemingly cloudy skies.

[Danny]

Look, face it, the only people shook by the announcement were the die hards who blindly (some would say ignorantly) considered the falcon as the be all and end all, over ANYTHING else on the market. The sort of people who (if given the choice of a free vehicle) would take an FG XR6 non turbo over let’s say a Mercedes Benz E63s or BMW M5 or even a 911 Turbo and truly think it was better.

By the time the announcement was made, the Falcon was a s**t car, with no redeeming features at all. Most people either didn’t know, or didn’t care. I certainly wasn’t surprised at all (and I didn’t really care either apart from feeling for the poor souls whom lost their livelihoods). Apart from the Utes which actually had a purpose, I don’t see how or why anyone would have bought a Falcon in its last few years. That’s the cold hard truth of it.