3V V8 dead?
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From the Drive.com.au site tonight
quote:
" Glenn Butler, drive.com.au, 13/08/07
A Ford engine plant closure in Canada has forced Ford Australia to end production of the V8-powered Fairmont Ghia, Fairlane and LTD, reports GLENN BUTLER.
Ford Fairlane G8
Ford Australia has announced it will no longer offer a V8 engine option in any locally built sedans, wagons or utes outside its sports-oriented XR range.
The decision to drop the three-valve 5.4-litre V8 engine from the Fairmont Ghia, the Fairlane G220/G8 and the LTD was not a hard one, says Ford boss Tom Gorman.
"We were selling 10 a month. We're not talking big numbers here."
Ford has referred to this engine as the Barra 220 and the Barra 230 in recent years.
The move to drop V8-powered Falcons will no doubt have some Ford fans on edge, given the negative publicity Ford endured throughout much of the 1980s by not offering a V8 across its range.
However, Ford points out that this time around the V8 shake-up is very different, because it will still offer some V8s on its sports-oriented models.
The four-valve 5.4-litre engine offered in the XR8 is not affected. It makes the Falcon XR8 sedan and ute the only V8 models in Ford's entire line-up. FPV models are not affected.
Ford Australia's hand was forced by the closure of Ford's Essex engine plant in Windsor where the three-valve 5.4-litre V8 was produced. Gorman says Ford Australia has stockpiled the engine to ensure it has enough to meet demand up until the arrival or Orion in the first-quarter of 2008. "
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