Lionel Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 (edited) Hi everyone, please enjoy this article I've written about how a Ford product has defined the direction my life ended up taking. It includes reflections on Ford's global product decisions and references to F150, Mustang etc. I hope you like it. http://performancedrive.com.au/editorial-ford-falcon-an-emotional-tribute-1715/ Edited February 18, 2016 by Lionel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Nice article about a great series of cars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) The thread title is a little inaccurate. Broadmeadows Assembly was built in 1959 and the first Falcons produced in 1960. October 7 2016 closing is actually 56 years continued production of Falcon. Edited February 18, 2016 by jpd80 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StangBang Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) Sad to think it's going to soon leave the F series trucks and the Mustang as the surviving nameplates longest in continuous production. Continental is old too too but it was discontinuous. Edited February 18, 2016 by StangBang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionel Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 The thread title is a little inaccurate. Broadmeadows Assembly was built in 1959 and the first Falcons produced in 1960. October 7 2016 closing is actually 56 years continued production of Falcon. Ah shit. Yeah I meant to write 56, don't know what happened there. Can't edit it. Anyway hope you liked it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionel Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Sorted brutha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Sorted brutha. Yeah, I was going to tell you thta since you started the thread you have access to editing the title too. Lots of Ford fans in Australia will be remembering Ford on October 7, the contribution to the community in sustained manufacturing, Falcon is ingrained in the history of our country. Whiel people will eventually forget them, plenty of owners will keep their falcon and trot them out regularly to remind people of what large cars were like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) I was born in 1975 so I grew up in the 80s and mostly familiar with the XD-XF generation - they were the Falcon of my youth. My dad got one of the early EA Falcons and it had some serious quality issues and he swore off Ford for a while. We moved away from NZ in 1992 so I stopped following the ED-EL and the AU generations for a bit. My next experience with Falcon was in 2006 on my honeymoon. My wife and I picked up a rental BF XR6 from Brisbane airport and drove all the way up the Queensland coast and put over 1,000 km on it. Edited February 18, 2016 by bzcat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionel Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Thanks for the feedback and stories. Everyone in Aus/NZ has some kind of Falcon story I think. Our country is losing its identity in so many ways, and this is one of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 While the current Falcon was an economical rework of the pervious, I think Ford has done well with the limited funds available. Shoot, still having Supercharged V8s and turbo I-6s for sale shows a commitment to the local hard core fan base, these latest cars are example of Ford exiting local manufacturing the right way and letting Falcon be remembered with premium examples that fans will buy and keep for many years. Thank you Ford Australia. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehaase Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I wish Ford had kept the Falcon name in the US for much longer than it did, instead of replacing it with the Maverick, then Fairmont, then Tempo, then Contour. The 1960's US Ford Falcons are very appealing no me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionel Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 Yeah it's such a bummer- Lincoln could've had continuity of the LS and even a Continental much earlier- instead of a decade of soul searching via slightly altered Ford products. Ford's product planners were genius combining Euro and US lineup, but very myopic when it came to Australia. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 When Ford wanted to name everything with a name that began with F, and they lost Futura, I was surprised they didn't try to name the car Falcon before they went with Fusion. I know that some would balk at there being 2 different Falcons, but there was two different Fusions at the time too and the other one was a lame, forgettable CUV. I never liked the name Fusion. Even Fairmont would have been better. (Fairmont sold almost 500,000 units in its first year so it did something right in its day!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Yeah it's such a bummer- Lincoln could've had continuity of the LS and even a Continental much earlier- instead of a decade of soul searching via slightly altered Ford products. Ford's product planners were genius combining Euro and US lineup, but very myopic when it came to Australia. I'm not sure about that...given the misgivings about putting a Lincoln Coupe on the S197 platform, which is light years newer then the Falcon, I don't think the Falcon would have met requirements being basically the same platform updated for the past 30-40 years to become a Lincoln. When Ford wanted to name everything with a name that began with F, and they lost Futura, I was surprised they didn't try to name the car Falcon before they went with Fusion. I know that some would balk at there being 2 different Falcons, but there was two different Fusions at the time too and the other one was a lame, forgettable CUV. I never liked the name Fusion. Even Fairmont would have been better. (Fairmont sold almost 500,000 units in its first year so it did something right in its day!) Ugh Fairmont has horrible name connotations from the malaise era of the 1970-80s...I'm glad Ford with something "new" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 (edited) I'm not sure about that...given the misgivings about putting a Lincoln Coupe on the S197 platform, which is light years newer then the Falcon, I don't think the Falcon would have met requirements being basically the same platform updated for the past 30-40 years to become a Lincoln. But that's the biggest myth surrounding Falcon, it's not the same platform. Falcon's evoluton is not unlike Mustang's evolution with quantum jumps at the change of product cycles. The car has been kept as fresh as economically possible but the one disappointment / detractor for me is that the interior did not advance with current Ford offerings. The local fans still love it but as an international car, it would take the complete redesign that only Nth America could afford. None the less, we are grateful that Ford has kept the Falcon this long for those that still want one, they are now holding the gate open until October 7 and telling people this is your last chance to buy a piece of history with the Falcon Sprint special available as XR6 Turbo or Supercharged XR8. Edited February 19, 2016 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehaase Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 When Ford wanted to name everything with a name that began with F, and they lost Futura, I was surprised they didn't try to name the car Falcon before they went with Fusion. I know that some would balk at there being 2 different Falcons, but there was two different Fusions at the time too and the other one was a lame, forgettable CUV. I never liked the name Fusion. Even Fairmont would have been better. (Fairmont sold almost 500,000 units in its first year so it did something right in its day!) I like that Chevrolet still uses the Malibu (1964) and Impala (1958) names. If I had my way, Ford would still use the Falcon, Fairlane/Torino, and Galaxie names. I know most like the modern names. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I'm not sure about that...given the misgivings about putting a Lincoln Coupe on the S197 platform, which is light years newer then the Falcon, I don't think the Falcon would have met requirements being basically the same platform updated for the past 30-40 years to become a Lincoln. Ugh Fairmont has horrible name connotations from the malaise era of the 1970-80s...I'm glad Ford with something "new" I've never understood why people like Fairlane and hate Fairmont... It's not ...Fair! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I like that Chevrolet still uses the Malibu (1964) and Impala (1958) names. If I had my way, Ford would still use the Falcon, Fairlane/Torino, and Galaxie names. I know most like the modern names. Those names weren't used continuously 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 (edited) 1988 -1994 Falcon was inspired by Taurus Styling of the time As was the 1998-2002 AU Falcon Edited February 20, 2016 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 But that's the biggest myth surrounding Falcon, it's not the same platform. Falcon's evoluton is not unlike Mustang's evolution with quantum jumps at the change of product cycles. How is that possible when the Greenhouse more or less remained the same since the 1980s? The Mustang used the same platform from 1979 till 1993, it was updated in 1994 and carried on to 2004. The S197 was completely new platform that had a serious upgrade in 2015 with the addition of IRS. The Fox/SN94 platform carried on for 26 years in almost the same basic form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Pretty sure S550 isn't an upgrade of S197, but rather a whole new platform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 (edited) How is that possible when the Greenhouse more or less remained the same since the 1980s? The Mustang used the same platform from 1979 till 1993, it was updated in 1994 and carried on to 2004. The S197 was completely new platform that had a serious upgrade in 2015 with the addition of IRS. The Fox/SN94 platform carried on for 26 years in almost the same basic form. The greenhouse is not the same, there are distinct changes and product cycle breaks but at 10 year mark 1979-1988 Falcon (XD to XF) 1988-1998 Falcon (EA-EL) From 1995-1998 the second half of the product cycle was given new nose and tail treatment. From 1988-2008 AU -BF Falcon copied Footabll Taurus to please Dearborn It was a new platform that introduced IRS and new rounded body shell From 2002 to 2008, the BA-BF was given more squared off nose and tail to recover sales lost by the stylining in the AU The DOHC 24 valve I-6 arrived and later the ZF 6-speed auto From 2008, the biggest change was lengthening the rear greenhouse, the use of EUCD slim door technology and reorganization of the build process to align with other Ford vehicles. The wheelbase was also lengthened, removing the last original body hard point that had been carried since the mid 1960s. Edited February 20, 2016 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justins Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 The Falcon platform is a bit like grandpa's old axe. It's had a few new blades and the handle has been replaced a few times, but it's still grandpa's old axe, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Nope, that's the great fallacy. For example the 2008 to current Falcon cost $700 million to develop when approved in 2006. They all look similar but much changes in them every 7 to 10 years. The only original hard point surviving for 56 years is the engine's bore center line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justins Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Nope, that's the great fallacy. For example the 2008 to current Falcon cost $700 million to develop when approved in 2006. They all look similar but much changes in them every 7 to 10 years. The only original hard point surviving for 56 years is the engine's bore center line. Sorry, the sarcasm didn't come through in the type :-) I was trying to demonstrate that the perception of the current Falcon (the current axe, new handle, new blade) being anything like the 60's or even 80s Falcon (grandpa's axe) is incorrect. :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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