Ford Falcon Close Calls

sleekism · 19-05-2007, 06:20 PM

I hear a lot about all the times the Ford Falcon was nearly canned or they were considering having such and such engine but the Falcon was saved at the last minute.

Some of the ones I have heard were:

The EA Falcon was going to be Front Wheel Drive based on a stretched Mazda.

The AU Falcon was going to be Front Wheel Drive V6 based on the Taurus.

In the late 90's the Geelong engine plant was going to be retooled to produce the Duratec V6.

The new Falcon was going to be based on a stretched Mustang platform.

There was going to be a twin turbo Falcon.

Does anybody else know of any other decisions that were almost made?

XR8 Uterous · 19-05-2007, 06:21 PM

I heard they made a decision to make a V10 GT-HO once.

Nostalgia · 19-05-2007, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MYGT05

I heard they made a decision to make a V10 GT-HO once.

LOL at V10. It seems to find its way into everything on the forums hey

fou_bleu · 19-05-2007, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MYGT05

I heard they made a decision to make a V10 GT-HO once.

Do we still have to put up with this crap still? I think we are all tired of it!!

Looks like i should speak for myself!

AUXRVIII · 19-05-2007, 06:35 PM

I propose that anyone who posts mindless crap about V10 GT-HO's should get a little holiday.

fou_bleu · 19-05-2007, 06:41 PM

Auxrviii, Here Here!!! :d

Fairlane · 19-05-2007, 06:47 PM

Some of them i dont think were every going to happen. I reckon the two closest calls were Project Capricorn, 1985 in which they were thinking about an expanded Telstar instead of the EA.

Probably the other close call was Ford's gamble and IMO the biggest onem with Blackwood which as we know was a huge sucess, but the introduction of a big all Aussie RWD sedan in 1979 was a big thing and expected to flop in face of the oil crisis and would needed to be canned by 1983 or so, due its percieved unsophistication and the fear of a hotshot WB Holden range- Of course this never happened, the big car was still the rage, fuel prices dropped, the Holden Commodore was too small, the feared WB never happened and the XD/XE/XF became very advanced cars.

AU Falcon was never going to be a Taurus, the AU was well and truly being developed and hammered out in the US in 1995/1996, only as the Taurus was being introduced.

*and yes anyone who mention V10 GTHO should be lynched or forced to drive an EA1 3.2 CFI.

fordguy642 · 19-05-2007, 06:48 PM

dont laugh at 10 pot ho guys

**Fordman1** · 19-05-2007, 06:49 PM

What's with this mindless rubbish ? V10 GT-HO .......?

It's seems people post because they can rather then because they can contribute something to a sensible thread.

Now back on topic after rant:

Yes the AU was almost a Taurus, as much as we often bag the AU1 I think it a damn site better than the alternative at the time.

I remember Wheels & Motor reporting on a possible Mazda partnership about 15 years ago when a Mazda based front wheel drive Falcon was also a possibility.

I wonder what Ford are studying now for 2010 onward. Is the Falcon threatened again because of the current worldwide financial position, and sales here in Oz ?

fordguy642 · 19-05-2007, 06:55 PM

dont forget 8l v10 produced next to 5.4 in ontario. by the way. why is it that when someone posts something everyone shuts them down. i am sorry but anyone driving an el wit fully sick 19's is not who i would be listening to.

AUXRVIII · 19-05-2007, 06:55 PM

Funnily enough with all of the stigma attached to large RWD cars being uneconomical to the enviroment and own I don't think there has been so much speculation of the possibility of the Falcons platform being the basis of future Ford RWD products worldwide.

fordguy642 · 19-05-2007, 06:57 PM

ford will however never officially build another gtho unless it is 1) no more than 5.6 and 2) is the fastest 4 door in the world and...3) has a euro 5 star crash rating to please the gummint.

nb_351 · 19-05-2007, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordguy642

ford will however never officially build another gtho unless it is 1) no more than 5.6 and 2) is the fastest 4 door in the world and...3) has a euro 5 star crash rating to please the gummint.

agree with point no 2 totally, they dont want it to be a disappointment... although no matter what they do it will disappoint someone... even if it was a v10, people would winge about the front heavy charcateristics... and so on and so forth...
imho, if they produce something to wild, there is every possibility of another "supercar scare"

nb_351 · 19-05-2007, 07:08 PM

and a few people might not know this, but blackwood design (xd series) was apparently european designed...
imagine if we were driving around in ff falcon, we would probably be in the same strife mitsubishi is in... and holden would be selling even more...

GXL078 · 19-05-2007, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nb_351

and a few people might not know this, but blackwood design (xd series) was apparently european designed...
...

and most Commodore owners think their car is an Australian design, LOL

outback_ute · 19-05-2007, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nb_351

and a few people might not know this, but blackwood design (xd series) was apparently european designed...

Where do you get that from? The styling took inspiration from the Granada but the car was a re-shell of the Falcon platform designed here.

I think there were a couple of lucky escapes with the Capricorn - could have ended up with a Magna - and the Taurus potentially replacing the AU. I imagine at the time the Orion was at the go/no-go stage they were still selling (not many) AUs, so that wouldn't have been an easy decision either. It would be interesting to hear more about these.

sexr6tasy · 19-05-2007, 08:00 PM

As far as i was aware they already built a prototype xf twin turbo falcon didnt they?

nb_351 · 19-05-2007, 08:31 PM

yeah a twin turbo xf has been built, theres threads on here somewhere about it...
i read in a few books that the xd "blackwood" was euro designed... i cant see how, but it was apparently...
yeah id imagine they were thinking twice about spending so much money/time on another falcon after au... apparently they had a helping hand from ford us according to motor etc...

banarcus · 19-05-2007, 08:42 PM

Perhaps everyone who sees someone posting "GTHO V10" should put that person on their ignore list?

XR Martin · 19-05-2007, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nb_351

yeah a twin turbo xf has been built, theres threads on here somewhere about it...
i read in a few books that the xd "blackwood" was euro designed... i cant see how, but it was apparently...
yeah id imagine they were thinking twice about spending so much money/time on another falcon after au... apparently they had a helping hand from ford us according to motor etc...

Look at the Ford Granada of the same time and tell me the XD doesnt look like a bigger version of it.

nb_351 · 19-05-2007, 08:48 PM

yeah true, it looks a little similar... not a dead giveaway, but theres similar attributes...
wonder if they sold as well as the falcons did?

outback_ute · 19-05-2007, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sexr6tasy

As far as i was aware they already built a prototype xf twin turbo falcon didnt they?

Ford didn't, it was an outside company.

There is a fair bit of difference between the Granada and a Falcon

sleekism · 19-05-2007, 09:25 PM

I remember reading somewhere that they were considering FWD with project capricorn but the consensus was that most people who buy Falcons fit a towball and there is a general perception that RWD cars tow better.

Plus no matter how much Toyota and Mitsibisi deny it the 380/Aurion are in a different market to falcon/commodore.

Australia is a funny market all the big hits overseas (Focus,Mondeo and Taurus) have had lukewarm response over here.

RWD, V8 and the torquey six is what keeps Ford Austrlia alive.

Can you imagine if we did have a FWD V6 Falcon imagine the discussion forum.....

Lots of arguments over if they should make a FPV supercharged V6.

Or more likely we would either be over at the Commodore Forum or on a Pre 1998 Falcon Forum and slowly we would become crazy and deranged like the Valiant enthusiasts.

I think the US is regretting making FWD family cars they even fitted a V8 to a Taurus and i think Chevrolet have a V8 in their FWD impala.

Anyway see what a big hit the Mustang is, lucky they didnt make it FWD like they have tried to do a bazillion times.

Anyway anybody else heard about the Mustang/Falcon shared apparently the new boss of Ford was wondering why Ford Oz gets its own platform and it's own engine plant I think they convinced him that the 250ci Six IS the Falcon and if they gave them a Duratec V6 that made less power and had no torque Ford Oz would go broke overnight.

Ford Oz is on to a winner the XR6 Turbo has stolen thousands from the ricer crowd I think we will have a Falcon until we run out of petrol but then from what I have heard we can all have LPG XR6 Turbos.

DoreSlamR · 19-05-2007, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Or more likely we would either be over at the Commodore Forum or on a Pre 1998 Falcon Forum and slowly we would become crazy and deranged like the Valiant enthusiasts.

lol poor valiant enthusiasts

Quote:

Ford Oz is on to a winner the XR6 Turbo has stolen thousands from the ricer crowd I think we will have a Falcon until we run out of petrol but then from what I have heard we can all have LPG XR6 Turbos.

Or a bio-diesel GT

:

needaXYGT · 19-05-2007, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Or a bio-diesel GT

not cool

[Tonko] · 19-05-2007, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Or a bio-diesel GT

Quote:

Originally Posted by needaXYGT

not cool

**Dons flame suit**
**Barriers up**
How about a Bio-diesel V10 GTHO?
Powerstroke turbo diesel...
That would be sweeeeet

incase no-body realises, i am joking...

EgoFG · 19-05-2007, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleekism

we would become crazy and deranged like the Valiant enthusiasts.

Interestingly, A Ford is the best fit to the marketting modeol of the large Chryslers in AU, and as a result, I would think, that a good number of 'Valiant enthusiasts', are now also dedicated Ford fans

Incl YT !

Greg

AWD Chaser · 20-05-2007, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonkoXR8

**Dons flame suit**
**Barriers up**
How about a Bio-diesel V10 GTHO?
Powerstroke turbo diesel...
That would be sweeeeet

incase no-body realises, i am joking...

Bordering on an F-450 arn't ya? lol.

* The Supercharged AU test model. Had like 350kw or something.
* BA Being called AV

* The new Orion being able to do vertical takeoff
* Introducing the new LWB which is just a DB9

DoreSlamR · 20-05-2007, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by needaXYGT

not cool

very cool...BMW have a 5 series diesel, why not an aussie grand tourer?

holmsy · 20-05-2007, 01:09 AM

i dont know about them re tooling ford at geelong but around 14 years or so ago they wer talking about closing the geelong factory. yet still havent. after multiple considerations over the years.
last i heard they are building another factory out the back of the current one.