VIDEO: Ford Fairmont Ghia
We've spent so much time here at Autoblog yelling about the rank awesomeness of GM's Australian product, we forget that The Blue Oval brand has some pretty rockin' stuff in the land of Oz as well. In fact, it's just as good. We've just been so busy obsessing over Ford's stellar European lineup that the hot Aussie stuff gets shoved to the back burner. This week's Australian Motor Show reminded us just how engaged Ford of Australia is with its local enthusiast customer base, what with its FPV division (think Australian SVT, but with an actual lineup of products). In Sydney, FPV unveiled its Force 6 and Force 8 performance sedans, either of which we would run up to and hug were they offered here (with the wheel on the other side, of course).
Now, those are both based on the Aussie-market Falcon, which is a pretty appealing set of wheels even without the added FVP muscle. Available in a variety of trim levels with
thanks to reader Daniel Dacey for the tip!
[Source: YouTube]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Paul 8:21PM (10/29/2006)
The grass is always greener...
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yeahright 8:40PM (10/29/2006)
Meh. Perhaps these things drive like the dickens, but your enthusiasm sure ain't justified by the car's pedestrian styling. The grass is always greener indeed.
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iMick 8:56PM (10/29/2006)
The falcons have a Inline 6, not a V6. The XR6 and Typhoon/Tornado get a turbo strapped to the 4.0lt straight six that can eat V8s. Aussie falcons have never had a V6.
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Foetoid 9:35PM (10/29/2006)
I feel so bad for people in the USA. I havent been reading Autoblog for very long, but in the time i have had here, it seems Ford and GM (Holden) favour us aussies for sure.
http://www.fpv.com.au/cars/f6-typhoon/overview.aspx
That there is a perfect example, i took one of those for a test drive about 4 months ago, and i have never been that impressed since the RX8 was first released (i love it). It eats any aussie V8 for breakfast, and tho i can't speak for american V8's i am sure it is faster than most. Like i said, i feel bad for the americans. You come over here and likely all you will see anywhere is Commadores and Falcons, they sell more than anything else.
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TriShield 9:46PM (10/29/2006)
Pedestrian styling? Compared to what? The Ford Five Hundred? Toyota Camry? Honda Accord? Chevrolet Impala? You're kidding right?
The Falcon is a better looking car than all of those vehicles. It's not a case of the grass being greener, it's a case of the grass being BETTER on the other side.
The current Falcon has been around a long time and will be redesigned soon. Hopefully Ford AU has the foresight to at least engineer the next one for left-hand drive. Had Ford been selling the Falcon XR6T here this year I would have gladly purchased one. A turbocharged 321hp, RWD car with handsome styling, an excellent chassis/suspension and interior is very appealing to me.
They can bring over the Falcon Ute, Fairlane and Territory while they're at it.
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Dicko 10:06PM (10/29/2006)
Whislt this is the last hoorah for the current falcon patform, you have to commend ford for providing an ageing vehicle that is almost on par with the all new billion dollar commodore. Personally i am a commodore man, wishing that a 307kw HSV GTS appears in my driveway, but this car has me scared. If this is the last of the old platform, what is the all new falcon going to be like. I rekon holden will struggle in the near future as ford will probably be able to enter the market with a far more innovative family car product, as they will have had time to respond to changing attitudes of large thirsty 6 and 8 cylinder RWD sedans.
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pow 12:29AM (10/30/2006)
this car is Ugly, and yes the Altima and the new camry look better than this, possibly eve the 500 dressed as a mercury looks better
GM's australian counterpart make a hole lot better looking cars too.
Ford still doesn't know how to make cars, just look at the interior of the mustang and youhave all you need
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Jim 1:25AM (10/30/2006)
Wow this car has a beautiful interior.
If only Ford USA builds interiors like this...
(cough the Edge sucks)
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Tony 5:16AM (10/30/2006)
To all you people feeling bad in america thinking that Ford and GM(holden) are doing us aussies a favour. Go to ford.com.au and see if you can find a price, you can buy two or three of your cars for the price of ours and most average peoples wages are no better than yours. Try a Pontiac GTO of which we call a Holden Monaro (a prestige car) a used 2004 model $60,000 and they call it the lucky country.
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DJ 9:07AM (10/30/2006)
Not only are they getting cooler cars, but cooler names for the colours of their paint: Vixen, Flare, DeJaVu, Lightning Strike, Ego, Shockwave, etc.
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Chris 8:40PM (10/30/2006)
Tony- wages are a lot better in Australia then America.
Car prices are a little bit cheaper in the US compared to wages, but it's probably not huge by the time you look at the wages.
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DS 1:30AM (11/06/2006)
Does anyone know who is the singer with this amazing voice and what is the name of the song being played in the background of this amazing commercial ?
thanks a lot for your help
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Dwayne 1:35AM (11/09/2006)
Hey DS you read my mind! I love this song, I have to get it! Screw the car HAHAHAHAA
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Jim Bridges 3:27AM (11/16/2006)
This is a very beautiful car. I think it's not a matter of who Ford favors (Americans or Aussies?). I think it's about demand and innovation...maybe there is a greater demand for something new in Australia right now. Wherever they may be, Ford would be sure to come up with something fabulous. That is, after all, what they have been doing for so long. They have maintained both quality and style over the years.
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Mike Bentley 9:59AM (11/24/2006)
Hi . . I'm an aussie and I've got a Ford BA Fairmont Ghia. I love Aussie Falcons and would just love to take one of the FPV GT models to Europe and take it for a blast on the German autobahns. It would sure turn heads amongst all the boring BMW's, Mercs and Audi's.
These cars are beautiful when you see them in the flesh believe me. It's a pity that Ford Australia don't make a left hand drive version .. I know you yanks would love them if you could buy them.
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