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The Pub For General Automotive Related Talk |
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#1 | ||
5.0 means business
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Busselton, Western Australia
Posts: 1,021
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Why is it that Ford don't seem to respond to all the vocal Ford Enthusiasts that know they have some great engines but don't deem them necessary for our market.
Australia seems to gravitate towards American style drive trains bigger displacements more cylinders! I wonder why we crave them too is it because we have always had access to powerful falcons? [Sarcasm]. All the exciting options that would indeed do well here are left for USA and we are lumped with the limp wrist EU. They seem to have the attitude we don't need it. Australia is a big country with challenging terrain we want bigger more powerful! Examples: TTV6 Endura? TTV6 Fusion/Mondeo? (XR6 type car) Ecoboost Ranger Petrol? F150?
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Windsor V8 Enthusiast! Turbo Barra Lover! ![]() |
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#2 | ||
NOT A TOYOTA :/
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Eastern Suburbs, Melb
Posts: 2,554
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Have they been engineered for RHD?
Does the business model for the production and logistics of having them delivered to Australia stack up to a point where the car can be sold for a competitive price? Generally these are things that stop those cars from making it here.
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06 Land Managed to remain in the v8 fraternity |
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#3 | ||
Regular Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 478
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We are a small market and RHD at that and have our own ADRs. Ford do a pretty good job with their mix of ecoboost and diesels engines and we get the v8 in the mustang. they also make a small allotment of high performance models available at times. I don't think we can complain too much.
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#5 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,824
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most people who buy simply don't care about engines or performance. we are an exception
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#6 | ||
Oo\===/oO
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Tamworth
Posts: 11,348
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If we are gravitating towards bigger engines, why do car sales show the opposite?
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#7 | ||
Boss 335
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,330
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#8 | ||
*barks incessantly
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: SA
Posts: 1,556
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#9 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 11,293
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The simple answer is that we get lumped in with RHD UK and get what is already
earmarked for them because Americans think that we all like the same thing and it's just easy to give us off the shelf stuff that doesn't quite jibe with our tastes. |
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#10 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,824
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wouldn't mind if we did get UK stuff, but we only get a small subset of that! no manuals, no high power diesels. ffs we only just got a focus wagon after 20 years!
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#11 | ||
Boss 335
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,330
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#13 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Perth, Northern Suburbs
Posts: 4,924
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The problem with Focus and similar can be summed up in two words. Power Shift.
Ford took the best small/medium cars in the world and ruined them. Now they are stuck trying to worm their way back into a Saturated market. For us to get a model, it must first be available. Simply being available in the USA in LHD, or even in Europe is not enough. It needs to be something they can knock out in Thailand or maybe SA, or something the Seppos are already building in RHD. Some models may stand the cost of importing from Europe, but there's no point offering a Manual variant from Belgium, when the equivalent Auto from Thailand is landed $5k cheaper. Then its got to be economically viable to stock the car nationwide, and provide technical, service, and parts support for a period of years. We're the first to complain when dealers don't have cars, don't know how to fix them, or can't get the parts. Then there's the marketing to consider. Ford Australia has a terrible record of producing great cars and failing to market them. You also have to understand that the world has changed. 60 years ago we were an important market for US and UK makers, because most of the world was too busy saving for a new donkey. And/or was completely closed to the West. And even the emerging markets couldn't afford much more than a 2-stroke Honda. Now, in a global sense, we are an afterthought. Back in the 60's, when America was developing the F111, and Britain the TSR2, the Australian order was actively pursued. We even got our own version, the F111C with bigger wings, and the loss of Australian interest triggered the cancellation of the British program. Now days, they probably sell more aircraft to the UAE. |
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#14 | ||
*barks incessantly
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: SA
Posts: 1,556
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#15 | ||
Boss 335
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,330
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#16 | ||
*barks incessantly
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: SA
Posts: 1,556
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New York wouldn't be much fun either as far as I'm concerned.
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#17 | |||
Boss 335
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,330
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Quote:
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#18 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: NSW
Posts: 4,325
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Quote:
I know of someone who moved from California to Florida as a sea change. He is into cars and said one of the reasons he wanted to leave his home state is because the police harass car enthusiasts and the laws are ridiculous relating to mods. |
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#19 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 3,633
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O/T but ..
Quote:
Firearm-related death rate per 100,000 population per year Australia 0.16 USA 4.62 Personally I feel very fortunate I live in a country where society is stable enough that police can spend some time on traffic enforcement ... |
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#20 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Victoria
Posts: 7,854
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Quote:
Trival offence? what if they mowed down a tourist visiting the WTC rough stats from googling 120 pedestrians die and 200 motorists die annually in NYC. Ive head the cops are pretty tough, so i'm quite surprised they let stuff like that go. but I've never been there so.
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______________________________ 2015 Territory Titanium RWD Diesel - SOLD 2016 BMW X5 xdrive 30D Msport Seadoo Challenger 210SE 310HP |
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#21 | ||
Peter Car
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: geelong
Posts: 23,145
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We unfortunately get lumped in with the fuel economy conscious Euro's.
If we had more pull via larger sales numbers we could probably get the higher performance petrol engines. Would be good to offer people the choice though. Petrol is reasonably "cheap" atm. And not everyone wants a bloody diesel. |
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#22 | ||
I am Groot
![]() Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Burnett Heads, Qld
Posts: 6,840
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Honest question:
What other countries outside of the US receive all or some of these High Performance Ford engines that Australia misses out on.....?
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.. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() "Those were the days when the cars were cars, they weren't built out of an Ikea pack like they are now and clothed in plastic; they were real cars." John Bowe |
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#23 | |||
Peter Car
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: geelong
Posts: 23,145
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Quote:
![]() Possibly some middle east markets where petrol is 20 cents a litre and they are LHD. Can't think of any RHD markets that get them. If another RHD country got them we would most likely get them too. |
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#24 | |||
Cabover nut
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Onsite Eastcoast
Posts: 10,841
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Quote:
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heritagestonemason.com/Fordlouisvillerestoration In order that the labour of centuries past may not be in vain during the centuries to come...... D. Diderot 1752
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#25 | ||
Regular Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 240
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People here are not even buying Mondeo sized cars. Look at last months sales figures. The reason they stopped selling big cars is that people were not buying them. They are buying SUVs and crew cab pickups. Ford would sell bigger cars with bigger engines if they thought they could make a profit out of them. Enthusiasts like you guys are not a big enough market to make it worth while.
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#26 | ||
*barks incessantly
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: SA
Posts: 1,556
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Seems like everyone wants one of these ugly "SUV" type vehicles. Bloody annoying as far as I'm concerned. Good luck seeing past one of these monstrosities in traffic if you're in a normal car.
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