Ford Falcon Au Bad Stigma?

[FordGeezer]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Unlike the taurus, can we agree that the rear 3 quarter part of the au wagons and utes were styled well and atleast they carried on to the b series. The sedans copped the most trearment to look better. The taurus wagon just looks weird to me.

Yes the Taurus is a generously curvy vehicle!
Didn't know such a beast existed

[aussiblue]

Yes the Taurus is a generously curvy vehicle! Didn't know such a beast existed

I bet you like the Pontiac G6 GXP too.

[aussiblue]

Still they all look much better than this; what I think was the ugliest high volume car ever sold here:

[Venomous1]

One thing i'm sure that doesn't have stigma is the Windsor V8 especially for reliability and torquey easy driving.

Fairly efficient too when compared with the 5.4 or Chev/Holden.

And the Sound fantastic at whatever RPM with a good exhaust way to soft out the factory.

I feel the forte/futura/ base models are indeed butt ugly but Tickfords/T-series get a free pass.

But i'm glad Ford took bold directions because that brought us the best looking falcons ever imo The B-series then FG.

[Venomous1]

[mondeomatureguy]

In September issue of Unique Cars it says " what muscle car can you stick in your shed for mere fifteen grand that offers plenty of mumbo and is a potential future classic to boot".
The AU11XR8 2001!

[Mechan1k]

But then out of it all ... we got this

[aussiblue]

In September issue of Unique Cars it says " what muscle car can you stick in your shed for mere fifteen grand that offers plenty of mumbo and is a potential future classic to boot".

....and watch as the clear coat self exfoliates if it hasn't done so already. Are there any AU Series 1 with an unblemished original clear coat (exclude the white ones that had no clear coat) ? The seemingly early exfoliation of the clear coat probably has exacerbated its ugly car image.

[PG2]

Originally Posted by Venomous1

image

Funny enough, the next car I hopefully add to the collection will be one those - a standard series 1 Forte with the only extras being a full set of plastics, mudspats, carpet mats etc.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by PG2

Funny enough, the next car I hopefully add to the collection will be one those - a standard series 1 Forte with the only extras being a full set of plastics, mudspats, carpet mats etc.

With or without the Chad Morgan grille bars missing.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by PG2

Funny enough, the next car I hopefully add to the collection will be one those - a standard series 1 Forte with the only extras being a full set of plastics, mudspats, carpet mats etc.

I like your style. See if you can get the AU office desk thingy that plugs into the cupholder area - rare as hen's teeth.

[Sprintey]

Also, AU was the last sedan/wagon with the column shift and 6 seater option.
Airbag was designed to protect centre seat passenger.

17 years later LandRover are now using 3 seat front as a selling point.

[ShootsWithFilm]

Thanks folks for taking me down memory lane.

I got rid of my Series 1 AU Forte 6 years ago. Yep, it had the water fall grill. Yep, it had those poverty pack wheel covers.

But, boy what a car. There are two cars I miss owning and this is one of them.

We did many country K's in ours - as a highway cruiser, it was the best damn car I have ever owned. Set the Cruise control on 110 and it would just purr along - the biggest surprise was the economy of such a big car - not uncommon to cruise sipping 8L/100K (don't talk about its economy in the city though, OK!)

One day when I have some spare cash, I'd love to get my hands on a Series 1 XR8 - it has to have the double decker spoiler though. I just hope by that stage, they haven't been priced out of the market...... or they are still producing petrol

Cheers

[Sprintey]

The Beetoota Advocate has realised just how the AU Falcon is now the yardstick by which all other cars are measured:



https://www.betootaadvocate.com/unca...ine-light-off/



excuse language in the link, it's a funny article - because good humour is based on truth

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

The Beetoota Advocate has realised just how the AU Falcon is now the yardstick by which all other cars are measured:



https://www.betootaadvocate.com/unca...ine-light-off/



excuse language in the link, it's a funny article - because good humour is based on truth

Comes up 404 as the forum censor wont allow the url, if you want to read the article type 'car decides' into their search engine.

[GT0132]

Originally Posted by Fiji

Plenty of the comments on here are very disturbing. I'm a ford fan but can call a spade a spade.

There is no doubting the AU falcon was the ugliest falcon of the last 30 years.

However it was a very reasonable car mechanically. I've owned one and it was nice to drive but it has a face not even a mother could love.

For those on here trying to compare it with the VT commodore, outside of this community you will be laughed out of any room. it's a ridiculous argument. The VT commodore slaughtered this au car so bad, in looks, interior and exterior, engines were better (supercharged 6 and LS1). They sold 4 VT/VX commodores to one AU. Prior to this it was a 50/50 sales split between falcon and commodore, then after the AU it was a 50/50 split in sales.

People in here say it's looks were ahead of its time? More they were way behind the times. The AU shape was a better fit between EA falcon and EF falcon, very weird tri angular hard edges yet droopy and sort of looked like a sad clown. The EF / EL then B series were the more modern looking cars. It was simply a dark period for ford in Australia whilst the AU was on sale. Some credit the AU falcon for the downturn in the Australian manufacturing industry and it's eventual demise.

VT commodore was a beautiful looking car, still is today

The best part of the AU is if you can look past the looks (yes it's hard), today they are a really cheap reliable car to drive. Excellent value for money

Have to agree with all of that above….In 2000 or 2001 my 1993 EB series 2 Mont was getting long in the tooth and needed upgrading . The AU at the time (series 2 by then I think) was just too butt ugly to be considered as a viable upgrade. I did like the look of the VT/VX Commy but couldn't pluck up the courage to move to the dark side , so waited until late 2004 when the second re-incarnation of the BA came out

Even today 17 years on I don't find them getting any less undesirable (T series cars excluded of course – A T series in Blueprint is just car porn IMO). They're not even widely sought out by P platers but do agree they are great mechanically, especially the Windsor donk.

Never knew the AU design team also designed the FG until reading the above, but can see the resemblance as I'm not keen on that shape/style either.

I class the AU and EA as the biggest falcon disappointments.

[Cav]

Hey Mods

Plenty of hate speech here in this thread.

Let's ban those cretins what hate the mighty AU.

[Polyal]

I think someone has been sipping a bit to much Kava...

[Adamz Ghia]

Originally Posted by Fiji

Plenty of the comments on here are very disturbing. I'm a ford fan but can call a spade a spade.

There is no doubting the AU falcon was the ugliest falcon of the last 30 years.

However it was a very reasonable car mechanically. I've owned one and it was nice to drive but it has a face not even a mother could love.

For those on here trying to compare it with the VT commodore, outside of this community you will be laughed out of any room. it's a ridiculous argument. The VT commodore slaughtered this au car so bad, in looks, interior and exterior, engines were better (supercharged 6 and LS1). They sold 4 VT/VX commodores to one AU. Prior to this it was a 50/50 sales split between falcon and commodore, then after the AU it was a 50/50 split in sales.

People in here say it's looks were ahead of its time? More they were way behind the times. The AU shape was a better fit between EA falcon and EF falcon, very weird tri angular hard edges yet droopy and sort of looked like a sad clown. The EF / EL then B series were the more modern looking cars. It was simply a dark period for ford in Australia whilst the AU was on sale. Some credit the AU falcon for the downturn in the Australian manufacturing industry and it's eventual demise.

VT commodore was a beautiful looking car, still is today

The best part of the AU is if you can look past the looks (yes it's hard), today they are a really cheap reliable car to drive. Excellent value for money

I gave up as soon as you said their supercharged 6 was a better engine...

[Cav]

Originally Posted by Polyal

I think someone has been sipping a bit to much Kava...

[dead_man00124]

When the AU first came out I hated the design.
20 years later i own 2 V8's

personally I believe the AU2/3 XR's and FTE's have aged the best.
I see so many BA/BF/FG's around and even my own and i dont really car for them anymore.

im even developing a softspot for the T1 FTE's

[Mont5.0]

Originally Posted by Cav

Hey Mods

Plenty of hate speech here in this thread.

Let's ban those cretins what hate the mighty AU.

Its gonna be a quiet forum.....

[Falcon SXR8]

Originally Posted by Fiji

I don't hate the AU but for people on here to say it's a great looking car, it's a very tough steak to try digest.

I love my Ford's but the AU isn't the pick of the litter

Thats your opinion, some think it looks good others don't, its not hard to digest at all.

[Cav]

Originally Posted by Fiji

If you want to pretend with the others that the AU was a masterpiece go for it.

Maybe the sales figures tell us a more accurate story of how buyers rejected it. Ford even tested the waters a few years earlier with the similarly ugly Taurus. It flopped up against the EF falcon but remarkably and despite the heads up, ford still persisted with the AU. The AU falcon then Almost killed off the falcon single handedly. Even the hero t series cars were sitting in dealers for many years after, being discounted massively to finally shift them. whilst the b series turbo 6 and V8 when released had massive waiting lists for months. Let's not have a short memory.

Now Read the OP, the poor guy is getting heckled by his mates a good 20 years after the cars introduction to the market. The stench still lingers with a sting in the tail 2 decades on.

Your right just my opinion

To the OP, enjoy your car, it's a robust car that will be cheap to run and unlikely to let you down. Hopefully you bought at a cheap price , good value car. The design is your mates issue with it.

You can't fight the taxi fleet.

Cheap, honest, reliable transport.

Let's not talk up the AU otherwise prices may well rise above the current level of $1,000.

[Ben]

They hate AU's cause they aint AU's

[PooDog]

Originally Posted by Fiji

Plenty of the comments on here are very disturbing. I'm a ford fan but can call a spade a spade.

There is no doubting the AU falcon was the ugliest falcon of the last 30 years.

However it was a very reasonable car mechanically. I've owned one and it was nice to drive but it has a face not even a mother could love.

For those on here trying to compare it with the VT commodore, outside of this community you will be laughed out of any room. it's a ridiculous argument. The VT commodore slaughtered this au car so bad, in looks, interior and exterior, engines were better (supercharged 6 and LS1). They sold 4 VT/VX commodores to one AU. Prior to this it was a 50/50 sales split between falcon and commodore, then after the AU it was a 50/50 split in sales.

People in here say it's looks were ahead of its time? More they were way behind the times. The AU shape was a better fit between EA falcon and EF falcon, very weird tri angular hard edges yet droopy and sort of looked like a sad clown. The EF / EL then B series were the more modern looking cars. It was simply a dark period for ford in Australia whilst the AU was on sale. Some credit the AU falcon for the downturn in the Australian manufacturing industry and it's eventual demise.

VT commodore was a beautiful looking car, still is today

The best part of the AU is if you can look past the looks (yes it's hard), today they are a really cheap reliable car to drive. Excellent value for money

Each to their own with looks ....I never thought much of the basic AU and didn't go much for the XR twin headlights, loved the look of the Fairmont and T series, but they've all grown on me , where a lot of Holden designs I liked where now to me they just look dated you can look at the triangle shaped tail lights etc and see similar design in late model Mercedes the interior in the Fairmont ghia would be my favourite interior of all Falcons , they would have to be one of the best handling Falcons and to me the t
T3 TS50 is the best looking Falcon ever made not just for the body kit but the whole body shape
You can't blame the AU for Ford's down turn they did it to themselves ....advertising was non existent .....even the T Series didn't sell well because no one knew about it despite being far superior to the opposition's

[jphanna]

i know its been said time and time again.....but the CLS MERC came out with near identical proportions not long after the AU and i recon for a whole generation of MERCS since then........they still paying homage to the AU shape.

just go to your local MERC dealer, walk around the second hand cars, and some newer ones and see how that SHAPE......is still evident.


The AU.....was a generation ahead of its time. aussies just didnt comprehend it.

[PooDog]

Yep the ba turbo has much more potential stock for stock maybe the xr8 or FPV 8 ....nup been to a few drag meets in NZ I've never seen a T3 beaten in a 1/4 mile by a 5.4 ....same round a track 5.4 is far to heavy

The opposition from memory at time of the T3 would have been 255kw 260kw I've raced a 255 and 260 in my 240kw Fairmont in 1/4 mile and beaten both .....I've never beaten a T3

You say your a Ford fan yet you sold your fgx blown coyote coz it was boring .....sounding like a bit of a turn coat

[Falcon SXR8]

Some people are just.........green......with envy

[ebv8]

all this AU hate makes me want to go to the garage and sneak a peak of my series 1 AU Futura and take a moment to remember why i bought it...

that's better i have had my AU fix now