Spies spot RWD Ford in Detroit
Looky, looky. Spies from KGP have caught a rear-wheel drive Ford from Australia at Ford's engineering centers in Detroit. In fact, the car appears to be in the process of being unboxed after its long trip from Oz. What does it mean that this car, presumably a rear-wheel drive Falcon prototype, has landed on our shores? Well, let's start speculating. Clearly Ford is the last of the domestic automakers to take advantage of rear-wheel drive's resurgence. Nevertheless, Ford may be planning (we hope) to augment the wildly popular Mustang with a rear-wheel drive sedan. Such a strategy could follow the same path that General Motors has blazed by having Holden, its Australian brand, develop the rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform for export to various international markets including the U.S. We'll see GM's Zeta platform underpin the new Camaro and Pontiac G8 for sure, and possibly other big RWD sedans like the next-gen Impala. Likewise, Ford could be developing Australia's Falcon with international export in mind, meaning left-hand-drive will be a consideration from the get-go, as well as U.S. safety and emissions standards. That RWD platform could then be the basis for the next-gen Mustang, due a year or two after the decade's end, and a large sedan, either a replacement for the Crown Vic (unlikely) or an all-new sedan, possibly inspired by the hot Interceptor Concept from the 2007 Detroit Auto Show.
By the way, that entire last paragraph was wishful thinking, as we have no actual evidence Ford is currently developing the next-gen Falcon in this way. Prototypes from other markets show up on U.S. roads all the time, and it really doesn't mean anything in and of itself until an official word comes from Ford. Still, speculating about a production version of the Interceptor is more fun than being told it will never be built at all, so speculate we will.
[Source: LLN]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Doc Lucas 2:38PM (5/31/2007)
Off and on, I used to see the same canary yellow Falcon on my morning commute down Telegraph Road thru Dearborn. It was right hand drive, and had manufacturer plates. This was in 2004, BTW.
There could be any number of reasons why Ford would bring over small numbers of this car. I do share your optimism.
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FOBEAK 2:43PM (5/31/2007)
This is adequately satisfactory news!
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Dave 3:25PM (5/31/2007)
If Camaro and Challenger have IRS, Ford will need a huge price advantage to convince buyers to settle for a solid rear axle. Ditto for Charger and Impala vs. Crown Vic.
Ford NEEDS to put R&D money into IRS.
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Warren Smith 2:00AM (6/02/2007)
Dave, and to in in the usa the falcon dose have IRS version of the european control blade IRS. It has been standard since 2004!
Waz Gold Coast Australia
3cubedminus3squared 3:39PM (5/31/2007)
Ford can do IRS. The Lincoln LS had IRS [I think], they just didn't put it in the Mustang.
The New Expedition has a second generation IRS.
But yeah they will need it if they were to develop a big RWD sedan.
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Joe 4:14PM (5/31/2007)
Ford doesn't need IRS when the solid rear in the Mustang is as good as it is. Remember back in 2005, when everyone maligned Ford for only offering a solid rear on their racing version of the Mustang, then the Mustang went and placed 1-2-3 in it's first race?
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Chris 4:46PM (5/31/2007)
The next Falcon will definitely have IRS. The current sedan already has it. (Although the Ute and Wagon use leaf springs)
mk 11:22PM (5/31/2007)
as good as the mustang is...
And citing racing wins, no less.
Funny that IRS is discounted due to live axle cars being adequate on a pool-table smooth racetrack.
I live in the real world, and a nearly 2-ton coupe that rides like my old ranger pickup truck just doesn't cut it, especially over the crappy pavement we have here, where it actually gets cold and wet some of the time. My dad has a 2005 Mustang. It isn't bad for a cruiser, and a style statement... but as a performance car, the V8 power could do better in a more appropriate chassis.
And a sport or near-lux sedan is intolerable with that sort of harshness. I won't buy a mustang due to weight and lack of IRS. A sedan with those negatives would get my immediate ire.
Pontiac G8 GT 6-speed will eat it alive, as an appetizer before it's main course of 2-tons of Dodge Charger. And G8 is unfortunately a little on the large and heavy-side itself.
I used to be a Mustang and Ford fanatic, but no more, and I don't like much from GM aside from the G8.
I hope Ford does bring on the Falcon RWD sedan. it can only help, again, as long as it is a credible car, and IRS is required in this day and age.
Nick Blanchard 4:01PM (5/31/2007)
Ford and GM for that matter...need to go about designing a small, RWD, sporty car, a'la the 240sx, RX7, Starion, ect...
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Deezee 4:10PM (5/31/2007)
Why the hell is Ford always late to everything? Get your act together FoMoCo. Bah.
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Be Oh Be 4:47PM (5/31/2007)
Those wheels look sweet. Hopefully this will have at least a 320 hp V8 option.
I had a 97 T-Bird (for only 1 year before I traded it in on a 98 Z28). The T-Bird had IRS - it actually drove well, but that old 90s era 4.6L SOHC V8 felt totally underpowered.
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gotsmart 5:06PM (5/31/2007)
Ford needs to build these (pic2) or they're going to completely lose the police interceptor market to Dodge.
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gotsmart 5:07PM (5/31/2007)
http://darrenwilson.com/pix/ford_police_interceptor_concept_dw1.jpg
http://darrenwilson.com/pix/ford_police_interceptor_concept_dw2.jpg
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Orbit 6:02PM (5/31/2007)
Nice, that's the facelifted model which hasn't been revealed locally yet. Note the new door handles, side skirts.
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chris 6:07PM (5/31/2007)
If they do use something from Ford Australia, it'll definitely have IRS. Also, it'll have far more than 320hp Be Oh Be, the current Falcon XR8 already has around 350hp, and they'll need a lot more than that to catch up to Holden who have been slaughtering them in terms of performance for a long time.
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Machiblue 11:27PM (5/31/2007)
@gotsmart...
I doubt Ford will lose the police interceptor market to Dodge, I'm leaning more towards Chevy and their Impala. Yes I have pictures of Chargers as cruisers, but I have yet to see one in person. Here in Chicago most of the old Crown Vics are being replaced with new Impalas.
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M Bell 3:07PM (7/26/2007)
Here in rural Canada, Impalae are few and far between. I was talking with a Mountie yesterday, and he said there were too many flaws in the Impala design to be an effective car in areas where there is a lot of highway work. They are by far the choice in cities and towns, where high speeds are less common, but the ancient Crown Vic is preferred in rural settings due to the RWD. Admittedly, they're still using only the previous-generation Impala, and I expect that will change once the Impala goes to RWD.
One other thing he mentioned, and perhaps someone can confirm or deny, was that the Crown Vic is the only body-on-frame car left on the market, and that was part of why it is so useful to them. The extra strength provided by that design allows them to directly mount things like push-bars and tow hooks to the frame, which allows them to be stronger, and results in less damage in a collision or emergency manoeuvre.
If that's the case, I wonder how happy the police forces will be if all these new large RWD sedans are unibody. Or are they?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Jon 12:46PM (6/01/2007)
Ford desperately needs a better vehicle lineup. Fusion is OK, but Mondeo would be a huge hit over here. A RWD Falcon with IRS could do Ford some good too.
The Interceptor would be a great replacement for the Crow Vic, Ford needs a Chrysler 300-chaser.
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Warren Smith 2:05AM (6/02/2007)
Everyone the Falcon since the AU 1998 has had an irs option on lower end models such as FORTE/GLI. Std on higher end modles FAIRMONT etc and since 2004 std across the range, only the wagon and ute is a watts linkage still used!
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Warren Smith 2:42AM (6/05/2007)
No leaf springs watts linkage coil sprung!
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