Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford, Australia
New Ford Falcon won't be exported to the States
So here's how the story goes. Back in early 2006, Ford and the Australian government announced that the automaker would invest $100 million (Australian) to develop a left-hand-drive version of the next generation Falcon. The LHD Falcon was intended for export primarily to markets like the Middle East where rival Holden manages to sell quite a few Chevy-badged Commodores and Statesmans. Ford apparently decided that the potential sales volumes for the LHD Falcon weren't sufficient to justify the effort and there wasn't room in the car to accommodate the hardware. Unlike Holden, they evidently didn't look far enough ahead in their initial engineering and decided it just wasn't practical to do with the 2008 model. Instead, the government money will be used to expand production capacity for the next generation Focus in Australia, which will then be exported. Meanwhile, it looks like North American Ford fans will have to wait until 2012 when a new global rear-wheel-drive platform is introduced.
[Source: Drive.com.au]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
nissanfreak87 10:37AM (10/22/2007)
I'll ask the question again, Why won't Ford sell their cool cars from Europe and Australia in the States!!!????
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Yaroukh 10:44AM (10/22/2007)
this question has been answered only about ten zillion times
nissanfreak87 10:54AM (10/22/2007)
It was a rhetorical question
Ford needs to bring their exciting cars over, but they won't because they're idiots apparently
Jackie B. 11:45AM (10/22/2007)
You think N.Americans are going to pay $30 000+ for a Focus or Falcon????
nissanfreak87 11:48AM (10/22/2007)
a focus? no, a cool Sports Sedan that could compete with the Maxima and G8? Yes
Jackie B. 12:06PM (10/22/2007)
http://forums.motortrend.com/70/6331284/the-general-forum/2008-ford-focus-iii-europe/index.html
nissanfreak87 12:52PM (10/22/2007)
see, why couldn't they produce that in the current Focus factories and sell it here? Sure it might cost more, but I think people would pay more for that, maybe I'm wrong, but people will pay more for better design.
DelayedZ 10:38AM (10/22/2007)
Wow Ford = Fail, way to lose a potential customer base yet again Ford.
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Menice 10:40AM (10/22/2007)
oooohh a new black mask to get excited about :)
"North American Ford fans will have to wait until 2012 when a new global rear-wheel-drive platform is introduced"
WAY TO BE 4+YRS BEHIND EVERYONE ELSE FORD!!!
even Hyundai rwd is yrs ahead of you stupid FOOLS.
I bet in 2018 when it FINALLY comes out its called Taurus.
nice car Ford Au. keep building them right, the mother ship will die without your success.
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mk 10:42AM (10/22/2007)
Yeah.
Cause momma-Ford in the US doesn't badly need a product like this or anything...
Since when does a corporation need to rely on government money for capital investment? Nanny-state BS.
If FoMoCo wanted to bring this car to other markets, middle-east, europe, or US, they would do it, no excuses.
If FoMoCo wanted to really get out of their rut, they would realize that they should want to bring this car to other markets, and then would... DO IT.
but new focus... yippee. NOT. Morons.
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jinushaun 9:31PM (10/22/2007)
New Focus? Nope. We're still stuck with the slightly re-skinned 1st-gen Focus here in the US. It's retarded we don't get the 2nd-gen Focus when their sister models (Mazda3 and Volvo S40) sell in the US.
Ford needs to bring the 2nd-gen Focus here to stay competitive, but they won't for the same reason they won't bring the Falcon over: idiocy!
MosquitoControl 10:43AM (10/22/2007)
But I always wanted to drive around in the Ultimate Warrior... =(
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nissanfreak87 11:03AM (10/22/2007)
hahahaha, Ultimate Warrior will have one imported
Carlos 10:43AM (10/22/2007)
Well looks like ford has apparently decided that the crap they sell in the united states will suffice for another few years. the mustang is the only really exciting thing its got and other than that car the rest of fords lineup is pretty bland in my tastes
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Ken 10:43AM (10/22/2007)
Where do I even start? Ford is idiotic, stupid, and blatantly ignorant for not bringing that platform to the states. That car would sell like fricken hot cakes! How could you not bring it over?! Ughhh, they deserve every financial set-back they incur in the future just because of this...
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Daniel 10:44AM (10/22/2007)
It's hard to root for Ford when the aren't even trying.. 300C, G8, and Ford has a warmed over five hundred that nobody wants. Why won't they do something with the Mustang chassis in the meantime? I just don't get it...
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Rboyett 10:48AM (10/22/2007)
Congratulations Ford, you've failed again.
It looks like my Mustang will be my last Ford for the foreseeable future.
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Rafa 10:49AM (10/22/2007)
Someone in Ford is stupid
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alexer128 12:49AM (10/24/2007)
yes, the CEO!!!!!
wtf is going on with ford? lincoln is not that luxury anymore, they dont even have a cupe in their lineup, look how europeans does(bmw). mercury just to be the sportier, cougar and capri are just memories to us now. and ford is not doing nothing besides boring desings(besides fusion and mustang). they should fire and hire new people with fresh ideas. people that will work for a lot less money like us, doing a better job. the problem is tha they dont listen.
eddie 11:07AM (10/22/2007)
Of course Ford isnt going to sell it in the US... because its cool.
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