1 Million Anniversary XD ????

[Rodp]

Looks like a tidy XD (with XE tail lights tho!) wouldn't mind knowing what his reserve was. My 2nd car was an XD and loved it to bits. My XD didn't have a passenger side mirror.

[ebgtjames]

Originally Posted by EVILXC

Yeah I owned an xd with a badge on the glove box "one millionth xd falcon" there's was a few of em made

Originally Posted by spebgtsprint

yep I,ve actually seen 4 XD's with that same badge on the glovebox,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I've heard a few people say over the years there was one made for each state

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by FordFairlaneAU

It was quite common to not a have a passenger side mirror back then... they were a "optional" extra.. lol.

Oh the spoiled youth of today!!!
We've become too accustomed to cars with things that not that long ago were extras...stuff like:
* Passenger side rear view mirror
* Light in the glovebox
* Electric windows
* Air conditioning
* Cloth seats
* Rear window demister (really!)
* Remote boot release
* Locking petrol cap
* Carpets instead of vinyl floor covering
* Anything beyond an AM/FM radio
* Tinted windows...no such thing as "factory tint" until stupidly recently, so they were pretty much clear glass from the factory
* Dead pedal
* Front disc brakes
* Power steering
* Power brakes! (I'm old enough...just...to remember that as an option on a neighbours Holden Vacationer Wagon which he boasted about to my father...until my old man revealed that not only did our Mazda 929 wagon have power brakes standard from the factory, but they were power discs...also fitted with, amazingly, a push-button AM/FM radio. We wondered what the "FM" part was for in the early seventies, I can tell you... )
* Carpet in the boot...you knew you had a special car if it had that!

Some of these were many years ago...but some of them were surprisingly recent "standard fitments".

Many people now look at things like that XD and others and think it's bogus because it was a "special model" and yet didn't have a passenger side mirror or had steel wheels with simple chrome trim rings and vinyl seats.

Sorry, but that was life for us then...nowadays even my sons brand new little $11,990 on the road Suzuki Alto has a cloth interior, air con, power front windows, power steering, tinted windows, ABS brakes, and five speed box...all factory standard. We've been a bit spoiled and now expect far more as "standard".

[fordlova8]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Oh the spoiled youth of today!!!
We've become too accustomed to cars with things that not that long ago were extras...stuff like:
* Passenger side rear view mirror
* Light in the glovebox
* Electric windows
* Air conditioning
* Cloth seats
* Rear window demister (really!)
* Remote boot release
* Locking petrol cap
* Carpets instead of vinyl floor covering
* Anything beyond an AM/FM radio
* Tinted windows...no such thing as "factory tint" until stupidly recently, so they were pretty much clear glass from the factory
* Dead pedal
* Front disc brakes
* Power steering
* Power brakes! (I'm old enough...just...to remember that as an option on a neighbours Holden Vacationer Wagon which he boasted about to my father...until my old man revealed that not only did our Mazda 929 wagon have power brakes standard from the factory, but they were power discs...also fitted with, amazingly, a push-button AM/FM radio. We wondered what the "FM" part was for in the early seventies, I can tell you... )
* Carpet in the boot...you knew you had a special car if it had that!

Some of these were many years ago...but some of them were surprisingly recent "standard fitments".

Many people now look at things like that XD and others and think it's bogus because it was a "special model" and yet didn't have a passenger side mirror or had steel wheels with simple chrome trim rings and vinyl seats.

Sorry, but that was life for us then...nowadays even my sons brand new little $11,990 on the road Suzuki Alto has a cloth interior, air con, power front windows, power steering, tinted windows, ABS brakes, and five speed box...all factory standard. We've been a bit spoiled and now expect far more as "standard".

Well said.

[T-Pak Addict]

Even a radio was an option back then... and it was only AM & 1 speaker!!!

Now we have everything standard just about and its getting worse/better...
I remember getting insurance on my humble EA and they were going to charge me extra cos air con & power steer was an option!!! WTF I have not ever seen one without it!!!!!!

I think from memory they only started fitting radio's standard to Australian cars because the Japs started fitting them standard first..... I think that still continues to this day.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by T-Pak Addict

Even a radio was an option back then... and it was only AM & 1 speaker!!!

Now we have everything standard just about and its getting worse/better...
I remember getting insurance on my humble EA and they were going to charge me extra cos air con & power steer was an option!!! WTF I have not ever seen one without it!!!!!!

I think from memory they only started fitting radio's standard to Australian cars because the Japs started fitting them standard first..... I think that still continues to this day.

Yes, pretty much so.
That little Suzuki Alto of our sons has equipment levels that would, twenty years ago, have been options on even things like Statesmans and Fairlanes, and the Alto proudly states that it was "Australias cheapest on the road car", though several cars are down near that price as well today, just as equipment-laden.

[T-Pak Addict]

Wonder how much it would be to build a basic, no frills car these days....

No radio, No air-con etc etc.... Just basic commute to work transport and the second question would anyone buy it?? Everyone wants added extra's these days but I would think an entry level car would have its place....

The Government comes up with all these grand idea's about getting old cars off the road, maybe its something they could actually have a chance with.... You have an old bomb, The Government will give you a basic brand new car and it will cost you say $4000....

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by T-Pak Addict

Wonder how much it would be to build a basic, no frills car these days....

No radio, No air-con etc etc.... Just basic commute to work transport and the second question would anyone buy it?? Everyone wants added extra's these days but I would think an entry level car would have its place....

The Government comes up with all these grand idea's about getting old cars off the road, maybe its something they could actually have a chance with.... You have an old bomb, The Government will give you a basic brand new car and it will cost you say $4000....

heres one i prepared earlier..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_Motors

[Ford_The_Win]

All you oldies were getting ripped off back in the day, new cars were so expensive back in the 1980s and 1990s in terms of what you got for your money. 23 grand for an EA GL with pathetic throttle body injection, rubbish vinyl interior (no cloth inserts on the door cards even!!!), a tape deck, manual windows, manual windows, ugly unpainted plastic exterior trim, no A/C, no tacho... look at what you get for that price these days, a cool midsize Japanese car with all the technology and safety you'd ever need and actually gets more than 15 mpg..

[2011G6E]

The first time I actually went and looked at a brand new car was a 1983 Falcon. It was a "family pack" model, a special release, with a lot of basic stuff. It had vinyl seats (front buckets with fold down seat part in the middle for six seats), column shift, rubber flooring instead of carpets, AM/FM radio...erm...and that was about it. Basic as buggery.
I recall my 18 year old self being almost begged to buy the damn thing by the dealer...he didn't know why they were being lumbered with the things, as even at $12,990, people didn't want to know about it...or at least they wanted to know how many options they could stuff into it to make it "liveable".

many many times there's been a call for a "basic bare bones" car...but who would buy it? Unless it came with a comprehensive list of options, no one would. And truth be told, if you look at the market, there already are plenty of cars for down under $15,000 that have all sorts of great features like air con, power steer, and ABS brakes. I think that when people moan about a "bare bones dirt cheap" car, they really mean they can't afford a Commodore or Falcon...they really mean a "BIG cheap car"...which just ain't going to happen. It's only places like the USA where you can get stuff like a bare-bones Chrysler 300C for down a bit over $22,000, and massive Chev twin cab trucks for stupid prices like $22,900 drive away.
Not going to happen here...

[aualright]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Oh the spoiled youth of today!!!
We've become too accustomed to cars with things that not that long ago were extras...stuff like:
* Passenger side rear view mirror
* Light in the glovebox
* Electric windows
* Air conditioning
* Cloth seats
* Rear window demister (really!)
* Remote boot release
* Locking petrol cap
* Carpets instead of vinyl floor covering
* Anything beyond an AM/FM radio
* Tinted windows...no such thing as "factory tint" until stupidly recently, so they were pretty much clear glass from the factory
* Dead pedal
* Front disc brakes
* Power steering
* Power brakes! (I'm old enough...just...to remember that as an option on a neighbours Holden Vacationer Wagon which he boasted about to my father...until my old man revealed that not only did our Mazda 929 wagon have power brakes standard from the factory, but they were power discs...also fitted with, amazingly, a push-button AM/FM radio. We wondered what the "FM" part was for in the early seventies, I can tell you... )
* Carpet in the boot...you knew you had a special car if it had that!

Some of these were many years ago...but some of them were surprisingly recent "standard fitments".

Many people now look at things like that XD and others and think it's bogus because it was a "special model" and yet didn't have a passenger side mirror or had steel wheels with simple chrome trim rings and vinyl seats.

The XD to me was a giant move forward - as a 9-10 yr old I used to love being taken to footy training by a team mate's parents who were 'wealthy' enough to afford the XD s-pack (GL badged but with alloys and cloth trim and the stripe).

A couple of years later my dad got an XE Falcon S which had a/c, 2 mirrors, only an AM radio and was badged as a Falcon S. I remember the price being $12k and the stripe finished with a large 'S' at the rear quarter.

4 yrs later, an upgrade to the XF Falcon S ($16k by then) which was a more 'modern' version with digital odometer, temp gauge, etc. I actually was able to drive that one and remember how quiet and smooth it was - the old 250 was as refined as it ever was with the XF.

These models still resonate with me and seeing them in original condition such as in the advertisement makes me appreciate them again.

BTW - I'm pretty sure all three models took the fight to Commodore and outsold them more often than not.

Edit - they all had tachos which was very rare for new family sedans.

****

[Olbucko]

The XD was a luxury car compared to the Ford Escort 1100 panel van I bought new in 1970 for $1830 drive away. It came with one external mirror, the internal RV mirror was a $5 option, no radio, no heater, no glove box, steel dashboard, single speed wipers, pre warped drum brakes, a generator, and 12'' wheels with crossply tyres. However it did come with 2 usefull features, if you wanted to hose out the interior you removed the large rubber plugs under the plastic floor mats to let the water drain away. It also came standard with a crank handle, must have been one of the very last cars made in Aust with one.

[2011G6E]

Back in the early days of Commodore they used to always say that "The Commodore is a drivers car and the Falcon is a family car", meaning that the Commodore was a more "spirited drive" (being based on a European car it was very different to anything on the market made here at the time), and the Falcon was seen as a "solid and reliable but hardly exciting" family car. Some articles even used to point to the thickness of the doors of the Falcon compared to the Commodore, which were thinner.