VFacts March..Commy 85% sales increase!!! Falcon !!!!

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Not correct. Once Ford announced "Ford 2000" the Falcon was an orphan and was on borrowed time. Dearborn clearly directed it's Australian subsidiary on what to do and that was to spend as little money as possible. This made the car less competitive with each model updated as the guts were ripped out of the car with the intention of directing Falcon buyers to other Ford products. This process started in the mid 1990s when Ford sold the Taurus in Australia. If it wasn't for the late Geoff Polities the Falcon would have already been dead and buried by now. There has been much evidence for many years that Dearborn no longer wanted to build cars in Australia and have been working towards the eventual shut down of local production. Which is a slap in the face for Australia as this was the first country outside North America to have a Ford assembly plant and Ford was the number one car maker in this country prior to the release of the Holden 48-215 plus a number of times between the 1970s and 1990s.

Polities did not save the Falcon, he saved Ford. The Territory was his baby, he got it off the ground and proved that the market wanted a vehicle like the Territory.

Ford Australia management then slowly killed it by resting on short term success. They were too slow to bring in a diesel option, too slow to fix problems, too slow to upgrade, too slow to build an export market.

Blame Ford Australia management - lazy and pig headed. And previous Australian Federal and State governments - lazy and pig headed.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by johnydep

Polities did not save the Falcon, he saved Ford. The Territory was his baby, he got it off the ground and proved that the market wanted a vehicle like the Territory.

Ford Australia management then slowly killed it by resting on short term success. They were too slow to bring in a diesel option, too slow to fix problems, too slow to upgrade, too slow to build an export market.

Blame Ford Australia management - lazy and pig headed. And previous Australian Federal and State governments - lazy and pig headed.

Just to fill in some blanks, the Territory was meant to get the tdi in 2006 but this was killed when Tom Gorman arrived and a petrol turbo was released instead. The locals weren't really lazy, a change in president who didn't think much of diesel and coming from the US this was his (unfortunate) belief. Add that the segment erupted with competition and the rest is history.

[buickman]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Not correct. Once Ford announced "Ford 2000" the Falcon was an orphan and was on borrowed time. Dearborn clearly directed it's Australian subsidiary on what to do and that was to spend as little money as possible. This made the car less competitive with each model updated as the guts were ripped out of the car with the intention of directing Falcon buyers to other Ford products. This process started in the mid 1990s when Ford sold the Taurus in Australia. If it wasn't for the late Geoff Polities the Falcon would have already been dead and buried by now. There has been much evidence for many years that Dearborn no longer wanted to build cars in Australia and have been working towards the eventual shut down of local production. Which is a slap in the face for Australia as this was the first country outside North America to have a Ford assembly plant and Ford was the number one car maker in this country prior to the release of the Holden 48-215 plus a number of times between the 1970s and 1990s.

I watched a interview with Paul Keating and Ford wanted to pull out of manufacturing in Australia during the Hawk/Keating years. They were persuade to keep manufacturing by the then government so it as been on the cards for many years to cease manufacturing in Australia.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by buickman

I watched a interview with Paul Keating and Ford wanted to pull out of manufacturing in Australia during the Hawk/Keating years. They were persuade to keep manufacturing by the then government so it as been on the cards for many years to cease manufacturing in Australia.

I clearly remember in 1994 the uncertainty whether Ford would do another all new Falcon. There was much relief when Ford Aust eventually announced they would design and build a sixth generation Falcon in Australia. Then they ballsed it up by releasing the fugly AU...........

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Mondeo wont make a difference.
Look at the sales of the Mazda 6 for example, ~500 a month.
New Mondeo wont sell much more than what the current model is selling.(300)

That may be the case but it is a brand new model that has world wide recognition.
It is (like its predecessor) a good looking car that is sure to get people into dealers. It may or may not sell in big numbers but if it helps get people through the door and look at the Ford range then so be it.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by johnydep

Polities did not save the Falcon, he saved Ford. The Territory was his baby, he got it off the ground and proved that the market wanted a vehicle like the Territory.

Yes and no. The Territory is testament to what can be done when somebody who runs Ford Australia actually understands the local market. But Geoff also turned around Falcon sales with the release of the BA and was part of the team which ensured a seventh generation Falcon (FG) would be designed and built in Australia.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

Just to fill in some blanks, the Territory was meant to get the tdi in 2006 but this was killed when Tom Gorman arrived and a petrol turbo was released instead. The locals weren't really lazy, a change in president who didn't think much of diesel and coming from the US this was his (unfortunate) belief. Add that the segment erupted with competition and the rest is history.

There were no hard plans for a diesel in 2006, it was a wish list item.

If local management really wanted it they would have sold it to Gorman.

What happened to the international sales? Died before it took off. Couple of token models to inappropriate markets, very little support, etc. Quality control took too long to rectify, bad publicity through owner issues took too long to sort, etc. This and other problems are issues that local management should have fixed fast; before the competition started to take hold of the market.

Instead, local ford management rested on the initial success of the Territory and then blamed head office USA when things started to fall apart.

Yes, the rest is history. Ford sales so low they couldn't cover local cost, end of an era. Production line closed (closing).

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Yes and no. The Territory is testament to what can be done when somebody who runs Ford Australia actually understands the local market. But Geoff also turned around Falcon sales with the release of the BA and was part of the team which ensured a seventh generation Falcon (FG) would be designed and built in Australia.

The BA was a turning point for Ford, but it was not its saviour. Only an export push would have saved Ford. The Territory was meant to be their export vehicle. When management didn't drive it at 100%, the writing started to appear.

Only Holden and Toyota had a serious go at exporting, but they had the wrong product - sedans.

Ford had the right product - SUV's were top of the sales list world wide.

Geoff laid the ground work, the staff he left behind failed him and Ford Australia.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by johnydep

There were no hard plans for a diesel in 2006, it was a wish list item.

It was due for release in 2008, and development had already been started. Tom Gorman came in and cancelled the program, saying why would you bother with a diesel (idiot).

That's why Geoff Polites bundled him up at a colleagues funeral they both attended and got stuck into him over it, he knew how important it was but Gorman was too dumb to see. I pin most of the blame on Fords management screw up post Polites on Gorman, he royally screwed up all the ground work that GP had left him. It's no wonder he now works for Brambles and was never promoted within Ford, he did a disgraceful job.

[johnydep]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

It was due for release in 2008, and development had already been started. Tom Gorman came in and cancelled the program, saying why would you bother with a diesel (idiot).

That's why Geoff Polites bundled him up at a colleagues funeral they both attended and got stuck into him over it, he knew how important it was but Gorman was too dumb to see. I pin most of the blame on Fords management screw up post Polites on Gorman, he royally screwed up all the ground work that GP had left him. It's no wonder he now works for Brambles and was never promoted within Ford, he did a disgraceful job.

Is that Brambles the $14 billion dollar company?

Ford Australia's problems can not be blamed on one person. All Chairpersons & Presidents have a team behind them to advise, persuade and inform. Twelve months after the Territory was released Ford was in trouble - slow to fix quality control issues, slow to repair warranty issues an broken relations with customers, slow to release fuel saving measures - 6 speed auto, diesel option.

There are many reasons why Ford Australia has suffered, one person is not all of the reasons. That goes for Holden as well.

Check out the early Territory threads. I was one of the Ford customers that issues, they made promises and never delivered, they procrastinated with repairs and they lied.

At the end of the day - business can not afford to lose customers, can't afford bad publicity, can't afford to lose positive word of mouth recommendations.

[Bossxr8]

Yes, you can't entirely blame one person, but it's quite clear that the rot set in after Gorman took over. And he was the one who said, when asked about a diesel Territory by a journo, "why would anyone want that", or something to that effect.

Dearborn must have agreed, they never gave him a promotion and he ended up leaving with a tarnished reputation. It effectively killed his career with Ford.

[JG34JA]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Not correct. Once Ford announced "Ford 2000" the Falcon was an orphan and was on borrowed time. Dearborn clearly directed it's Australian subsidiary on what to do and that was to spend as little money as possible. This made the car less competitive with each model updated as the guts were ripped out of the car with the intention of directing Falcon buyers to other Ford products. This process started in the mid 1990s when Ford sold the Taurus in Australia. If it wasn't for the late Geoff Polities the Falcon would have already been dead and buried by now. There has been much evidence for many years that Dearborn no longer wanted to build cars in Australia and have been working towards the eventual shut down of local production. Which is a slap in the face for Australia as this was the first country outside North America to have a Ford assembly plant and Ford was the number one car maker in this country prior to the release of the Holden 48-215 plus a number of times between the 1970s and 1990s.

It's been absolutely extraordinary. Like attending a "How to Destroy Your Best Brand in a Marketplace 101" lecture.

In its history FOA did the best when people who understood the local market ran it - Bill Bourke and Geoff Polites come to mind. Jac Nasser also understood the DNA, re-releasing the V8.

The other major obstacle to continued production here was Ford NA's inability to let the much better Falcon platform go head to head with other Ford NA product like the Crown Vic in international markets. In future, only a wholly owned Australian car company will have the flexibility to export - if other countries do not raise walls against us.