What Exactly happened to Tickford

fourl6 · 20-01-2008, 01:18 AM

What Exactly happened to Tickford, like i know fpv have taken over but what happened to the staff... the ideas... the factory...? iv been reading the TE50 body kit thread and it says that the BA GT was going to be the T4 so some part of tickford must still be around... don't we all miss the cool options available on pretty much any falcon...

**Polyal** · 20-01-2008, 07:53 AM

Options? We get what we are given...

The AU is what happened to Tickford (Ford); Prodrive came in and probably brought them out for a song to rebuild them into FPV and market that with FPR.

It really wasn't a massive change like some people make it out to be, the majority of the staff stayed; its was more of a name change than anything.

**DJM83** · 20-01-2008, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Options? We get what we are given...

The AU is what happened to Tickford (Ford); Prodrive came in and probably brought them out for a song to rebuild them into FPV and market that with FPR.

It really wasn't a massive change like some people make it out to be, the majority of the staff stayed; its was more of a name change than anything.

I highly doubt it was the AU that was what happened to Tickford

Laminge · 20-01-2008, 08:57 AM

The Heart died with Happy Jack left as far as I am concerned and the new management turned away from the people that supported it so much.

If only Happy Jack had 2 more years smoking Cigars and the AU as his base model.

ELGT4me · 20-01-2008, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laminge

The Heart died with Happy Jack left as far as I am concerned and the new management turned away from the people that supported it so much.

If only Happy Jack had 2 more years smoking Cigars and the AU as his base model.

Could not agree more. FPV are now too "clinical". A lot of interstaters are very upset re the loss of the "Open Day" It was a good chance to catch up with Happy Jack & all the Tickford crew. As the "Minge" states " they have turned away from the people that supported them" Maybe the Open Day will return every second year. (I certainly hope so!!!)

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sbutler · 20-01-2008, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laminge

The Heart died with Happy Jack left as far as I am concerned and the new management turned away from the people that supported it so much.

Not only that when Tickford Asia Pasific sold to prodrive, Prodrive culled a hell of a lot of Tickford staff & put there own in their postions.
In the end Happy Jack {David Flint got pushed harder & harder untill he pulled the pin & left.
[But I think it might have been a part of the deal that he go two years after takeover.] Thats what I think anyways.
A very sad way of losing what you put your heart & sole into for over 10 years.

Thats why as you say [QUOTE Laminge]new management turned away from the people that supported it so much.] David was happy to make even, or turn a little profit, but. Nodrive want money & turn a huge profit to keep the share holders happy....The mighty dollar win again..
In the end David Richards is a very smart oparator & thats a good thing for him & the shareholders. Maybe Not so good for us, me thinks.

LeadFoot81 · 20-01-2008, 02:44 PM

I thought Prodrive always owned Tickford, and at some point before BA, Ford decided they needed to go head to head with HSV on their terms, so made a deal with Prodrive to turn Tickford (jack of all trades, mom and pop style operation) into a HSV-esque operation.

ELGT4me · 20-01-2008, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Fantastic_Ford

I thought Prodrive always owned Tickford, and at some point before BA, Ford decided they needed to go head to head with HSV on their terms, so made a deal with Prodrive to turn Tickford (jack of all trades, mom and pop style operation) into a HSV-esque operation.

Mom & pop style operation? A few of the cars these mums & dads built. EBXR6 (the start of our heritage!!!) EB GT, EDXR8 Sprint (awesome car) EL GT, The "Predator" The " Sequential" The "Clubsprint" Capri The FBT,s The mighty "T" Series. A few of the "mums & dads" that worked there. Happy Jack, Howard Marsden (RIP) John Bowe, David Orchard, Steve Hoinville, Steve Park, Ivan Veduka (a real nice guy!!!) Rolf Glenk. If this was a "mom & dad" operation, they did a pretty good job.

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LeadFoot81 · 21-01-2008, 01:55 PM

I didnt mean 'mom and pop' in a derogatory sense, it always seemed like a small-ish operation with a personal touch, (like 'mom and pop' would run) a shame its been replaced by the slick euro trash stylings of FPV. Wheres the love?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ELGT4me

Mom & pop style operation? A few of the cars these mums & dads built. EBXR6 (the start of our heritage!!!) EB GT, EDXR8 Sprint (awesome car) EL GT, The "Predator" The " Sequential" The "Clubsprint" Capri The FBT,s The mighty "T" Series. A few of the "mums & dads" that worked there. Happy Jack, Howard Marsden (RIP) John Bowe, David Orchard, Steve Hoinville, Steve Park, Ivan Veduka (a real nice guy!!!) Rolf Glenk. If this was a "mom & dad" operation, they did a pretty good job.

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XA-Coupe · 20-01-2008, 04:45 PM

I think crap marketing is what happened to Tickford. People still don't know about T series unless you happen to be an enthusiast and particularly with the T3, it was a fantastic car. They were sort of like the XA RPO83, you needed to know they existed before you could find out much about them.
FPV are in IMO going to do no better than before as they won't let an Aussie make decisions about cars destined for the aussie market. The current boss ( can't remember his name ) is quite candid about stating he is not really the boss but a mouthpiece for Prodrive.

**CAT600** · 20-01-2008, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XA-Coupe

I think crap marketing is what happened to Tickford.

Perfectly summed up in less than 10 words.

Tickford's demise was never about the product, rather the production.

Daniel

ELGT4me · 20-01-2008, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAT600

Perfectly summed up in less than 10 words.

Tickford's demise was never about the product, rather the production.

Daniel

Yep, Gotta agree. " MARKETING" was obviously a "dirty word" I plead guilty to not knowing what a T3 was, until it was too late. :togo:

sbutler · 20-01-2008, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ELGT4me

Yep, Gotta agree. " MARKETING" was obviously a "dirty word" I plead guilty to not knowing what a T3 was, until it was too late. :togo:

Thats were the differance lies. Ford were in charge of marketing with Tickford having no hand in it at all.
FPV on the other hand, do ALL there own marketing..

XA coupe hit the nail right on the head.
The RPO83 A GTHO by another name.
The T3 a 21st century GTHO by another name.
Same man hours went into both, but know one knew about them.
Very limited numbers sold.
Marketing by stelth you could say. :togo:

XA-Coupe · 20-01-2008, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbutler

XA coupe hit the nail right on the head.

I thought you had me ignored

:

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbutler

The RPO83 A GTHO by another name.
The T3 a 21st century GTHO by another name.
Same man hours went into both, but know one knew about them.
Very limited numbers sold.
Marketing by stelth you could say. :togo:

I think the HO was more widely known than the T3 due to the advertising. It used to be ' Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" Back then it was " maybe come second if we are lucky on Sunday and hide the performance cars on Monday" I remember upon the launch of the BA they were just about dumping T3s because the market just didn't know what they were. I saw new ones at New Oaks at $44k .. too bad I couldn't afford one.

**data_mine** · 20-01-2008, 10:11 PM

FPV isn't doing any better at marketing now.

Everyone knows what a Clubsport is. Ask someone what a Typhoon is, and you'll get a blank stare.

edit:

Heck I've even had to explain what a GT is.

ELGT4me · 20-01-2008, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by data_mine

FPV isn't doing any better at marketing now.

Everyone knows what a Clubsport is. Ask someone what a Typhoon is, and you'll get a blank stare.

edit:

Heck I've even had to explain what a GT is.

Never a truer statement made. 4V Man for president of FOA!!! :eclipsee_

**Raptor** · 21-01-2008, 02:58 PM

I seem to remember that the other significant share holder in the organisation (Ford) were not too happy that their enthusiast market were calling their cars 'Tickfords' rather than 'Fords'. Thus there was almost zero brand recognition for Ford amongst the general public and no flow-on benefits to the broader Ford range. Thus the new name Ford Performance Vehicle or FPV (if you can't beat em (HSV) might as well copy them).

So the name change wasn't all Prodrives doing and I don't think either of those owners were all that happy about 'Happy Jacks' failed attempts to convince the Aussie market that Falcons could be down under versions of Astin Martins

fou_bleu · 21-01-2008, 03:10 PM

Anyway, who came up with the dumb name "Tickford"? They could've just kept it in the "Ford" family! (ie: Ford TS50 etc...)

sbutler · 21-01-2008, 03:23 PM

Tickford name goes back to the 1800s Tickford body builders of England.

When Ford called for a partner to provide a performance car to its very boring stable of Falcons many people put there hand up for the job. A few that that come to mind were DJR, Mick Webb, & even Tom Walkinshaw of HSV fame.
David Flint worked for Aston Martin who was partly owned by Tickford & Ford & did all the enginering for Aston years back .

Ford owned Aston Martin, who were tied up with Tickford. They did a hell of a lot of engineering for many car companys in those days, not just for Aston. Jaguar was involved in there too & many others.

David Flint left Aston Martin, moved to Ozz & put his hat in the ring to start TVE over here. He won the contract with Ford, & the rest they say is history.

Do a google & you'll find out the full history of the Tickford brand.

XA-Coupe · 21-01-2008, 03:37 PM

I was reading last night in an old AMC about the very beginning of HSV. They too suffered from a brand recognition issue as they were marketing cars as 'SV' not 'HSV' I can't remember the details but they changed to 'HSV' and the brand recognition just appeared, much like FPV except it took Ford / Prodrive / whoever longer to work it out.
It's a tough gig convincing people that a car that looks almost identical to the other models ( early T series were very ( too ?? ) subtle ) that it's a different manufacturer and worth a bucketload more. Really, the T3 was the first Tickford to wildly stand out from it's lesser brethren but I think it came way too late. The early T series were a world ahead of the Forte in every way but most people still can't tell a commodore and a falcon apart so what hope did the T1 and T2 have except from enthusiasts?

**Raptor** · 21-01-2008, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XA-Coupe

.. car that looks almost identical to the other models ( early T series were very ( too ?? ) subtle ) ... are worth a bucketload more...

Not to mention that those willing to spend the sort of money being asked for these Fords or Holdens want then to stand out, not blend in, and give them some bragging rights.

Hence they have become the decal, stripes, wing and bodykit company that we all bag them for and are caught up in a senseless ****ing competition over peak kw.

Fairlane · 21-01-2008, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XA-Coupe

I was reading last night in an old AMC about the very beginning of HSV. They too suffered from a brand recognition issue as they were marketing cars as 'SV' not 'HSV' I can't remember the details but they changed to 'HSV' and the brand recognition just appeared, much like FPV except it took Ford / Prodrive / whoever longer to work it out.
It's a tough gig convincing people that a car that looks almost identical to the other models ( early T series were very ( too ?? ) subtle ) that it's a different manufacturer and worth a bucketload more. Really, the T3 was the first Tickford to wildly stand out from it's lesser brethren but I think it came way too late. The early T series were a world ahead of the Forte in every way but most people still can't tell a commodore and a falcon apart so what hope did the T1 and T2 have except from enthusiasts?

Yeah well HSV in its early days suffered from the difficulty of living in the shadow of Brocky and HDT, they decided to take the route of rebrading everything in the car as HSV and establish a seperate name whilst always having Holden in the name.

FPV is a dead set copy and as a tickford fan an abberation to a century of heritage. Tickford had the unfortunate role of being a vehicle enhancer (Like the joke of Lotus tuning Proton suspension or saving your car is styled by Ghia), having the tickford name on Xr6 and Xr8's did not help. Tickford should have really dug into a higher range market ie the FTE (Ford Tickford Experience for those who dont know) setup earlier and really got the tickford wings out there. Tickford wings should have been embossed on everything, cars, merchandise, flags, V8 supercar teams whatever.

It should have been the Tickford TS50, not the Ford TS50 'Enhanced by Tickford', it wasnt a ford it was a tickford. People dont call it a Holden Clubsport or Holden Senator, but a HSV. That was tickford number one downfall and IMO FPV hasnt fully escaped though it may well in time.

Really it should have been the dream to turn Tickford into a Mercedes AMG, not a HSV clone or even an 'inhouse' BMW M division.

XA-Coupe · 21-01-2008, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fairlane

Yeah well HSV in its early days suffered from the difficulty of living in the shadow of Brocky and HDT, they decided to take the route of rebrading everything in the car as HSV and establish a seperate name whilst always having Holden in the name.

FPV is a dead set copy and as a tickford fan an abberation to a century of heritage. Tickford had the unfortunate role of being a vehicle enhancer (Like the joke of Lotus tuning Proton suspension or saving your car is styled by Ghia), having the tickford name on Xr6 and Xr8's did not help. Tickford should have really dug into a higher range market ie the FTE (Ford Tickford Experience for those who dont know) setup earlier and really got the tickford wings out there. Tickford wings should have been embossed on everything, cars, merchandise, flags, V8 supercar teams whatever.

It should have been the Tickford TS50, not the Ford TS50 'Enhanced by Tickford', it wasnt a ford it was a tickford. People dont call it a Holden Clubsport or Holden Senator, but a HSV. That was tickford number one downfall and IMO FPV hasnt fully escaped though it may well in time.

Really it should have been the dream to turn Tickford into a Mercedes AMG, not a HSV clone or even an 'inhouse' BMW M division.

Even if they called it the Tickford Atom Splitter and it could time travel, it wouldn't have helped if no one knew about it.

**data_mine** · 21-01-2008, 07:54 PM

FPV's still have plenty of Ford badges on them.

ELGT4me · 21-01-2008, 09:19 PM

Raptor is exactly right. I can remember when my EBXR6 was new, the locals always said "if you want a decent Ford you must buy a Tickford" I don,t think FOA were impressed with that statement at all!!! Also interesting comments re the "bland" styling of the T1/2 Series cars, yet the EB/L GT was criticised for "over the top" styling? I think it was "HAPPY Jack" who met the "old school" GT owners @ Bathurst (Nationals?) & was besieged by the owners who wanted the BA GT to have the stripes put back on the car, like a real GT has on it.

DaveTE · 22-01-2008, 12:24 AM

I'm still a Tickford Fan and love my T the way it is. It's a mysterious beast that you see now and then but if you don't know what it is then you're not sure if you seen it at all except for the echoe of that 5.6 stroker dissapearing off in the distance.
The point I'm getting at is that yes Tickford went by the wayside but boy did it leave us some great cars. Some of which weren't marketed for mass but have some individual qualities all there own. If they were successfully advertised and sold to the larger populous I wouldn't have owned this type of vehicle. One reason being that there would be too many of them and two they wouldn't have had that small produced loving care to make the Series III T.

MRJUCY · 21-01-2008, 11:32 PM

Basic little run down of the history of Tickford on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tickford & the Tickford Owners Club UK http://www.btinternet.com/~aff/Tickf...sClub/hist.htm

This is Tickford's current website but not much to see at the moment http://www.tickfordpowertraintest.eu/

**data_mine** · 22-01-2008, 06:38 PM

^

Unfortunately that kind of production, doesn't make money, and business will go out of business.

So now FPVs are made to order, just means you need to pick some of the rarer colours and options to make yours unique.

ELGT4me · 22-01-2008, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by data_mine

^

Unfortunately that kind of production, doesn't make money, and business will go out of business.

So now FPVs are made to order, just means you need to pick some of the rarer colours and options to make yours unique.

An interesting statement, Tickford always made money. "HAPPY JACK" is an astute businessman, he did not have all his eggs in one basket, hence his foray into S.E.A. & dedicated lpg vehicles. Whilst Ford floundered, Tickford "shone through" They had always increased their market share. Don't forget the XY GT Phase 3 program lost money for FORD, The same as the SLR 5000 program lost money to the "Dark Side" :voldar02:
'

EFFII · 23-01-2008, 01:03 AM

ok i havnt really read everything but as far as i know EB to EL XR's were Tickford right? then with the new name FPV why arnt the BA/BF FPV? someone said it was a name change more than anything..