Ford is Looking Back - XR8

[Dr Smith]

From today's H-S Carsguide, sorry for the quality, wife can drive a G6ET but has no idea about scanners. Oh well hope they consider sharing the engine in something starting with a G...

[FPV8U]

Thats alot of article for the half a dozen words he had to say on the XR8.

[SSD-85]

Interesting. Not even I can figure out how theyre going to place it in the lineup. It would have to at least acheive parity to XR6T performance, along with being below the GS price by a significant sum. All this using the 5.0L.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by FPV8U

Thats alot of article for the half a dozen words he had to say on the XR8.

Me thinks XR8 title will drag more in than Kuga, lol.

[Bossxr8]

Forget it, they have been looking at XR8 for over a year now, its just a PR way of not having to say we won't bring it back.

Its too late now, nothing has changed from when it was put on hold 12 months ago.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Its too late now, nothing has changed from when it was put on hold 12 months ago.

^^^ What he said....

Bigger problems at the moment, like surviving and getting the basics right.

[G6ET8U]

Originally Posted by jpd80

^^^ What he said....

Bigger problems at the moment, like surviving and getting the basics right.

I tell you now I'd have decent dealer service everytime I went in before having another V8 added to the lineup.

Just sayin'

Jack

[babyf6]

wow, that article says alot???

[flooded one]

I'd love too see it return but cant see it happening. I wish they'd have a V8 falcon trayback ute again!!!

[sbutler]

Originally Posted by G6ET8U

I tell you now I'd have decent dealer service everytime I went in before having another V8 added to the lineup.

Just sayin'

Jack

Now that would be a revalation, & something to look forward to!!

[Luke Plaizier]

I wasn't planning on buying another V8 truth be told. I'd contemplated buying a GS (potentially converting it to LiLPG), debadging it and making it an XR8, but I had some 'moral' issues with that.

Release an XR8 with a Miami (I wouldn't be in it for a Coyote, sorrry), and I'm probably one of the 'pent up demand' buyers just sitting on my hands waiting.


Lukeyson

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Luke Plaizier

I wasn't planning on buying another V8 truth be told. I'd contemplated buying a GS (potentially converting it to LiLPG), debadging it and making it an XR8, but I had some 'moral' issues with that.

Release an XR8 with a Miami (I wouldn't be in it for a Coyote, sorrry), and I'm probably one of the 'pent up demand' buyers just sitting on my hands waiting.


Lukeyson

Can't see that happening now that GS II is sporting an XR8 nose.

[69Mach1]

Found this also....seems more negative then the Carsguide article...
http://canberratimes.drive.com.au/mo...224-1trrp.html

[EgoFalcon]

If they had the 5.0L Miami in the xr8, I'd possibly trade in my turbo for it. A v8 without the perfoamance sacrifice.

[Crazy Dazz]

For those of us that remember the 80’s why does this sound like déjà vu all over again?
There’s a ready market for a simple V8 option across all Falcon models, although I understand that Euro 5 makes it expensive.
Yet I see here a continuance of their strategy to slowly castrate the Falcon range, until Ford buyers are practically begging to be sold some FWD Taurus based POS.
By segregating out FPV as the purveyor of ridiculously over-priced performance variants, they hope to carve out a niche that can continue to supply extensively modified (AWD?) variants whilst the rest of us are stuck choosing between a Mondeo or bog-standard Faurus.

[mick457]

For Holden, though, V8-powered models are a crucial part of the Commodore range, accounting for about one in four sales and helping the brand appeal to private buyers.

this^
the ss is so popular and i think why is becasuse you know when a ss is coming down the street it has road presents where the xr8 is not
and that where i think ford went wrong compare a sv6 to a ss there differnt in so many ways
sometimes its hard to tell a standard xr6 and 8 apart if it wasnt for the red 8badge sometimes i wouldnt even notice it, so if ford dont change the style of the xr8 then dont bother releasing it the general public wont even know anyways

just my 2 cents

[Ibo]

Originally Posted by mick457

For Holden, though, V8-powered models are a crucial part of the Commodore range, accounting for about one in four sales and helping the brand appeal to private buyers.

this^
the ss is so popular and i think why is becasuse you know when a ss is coming down the street it has road presents where the xr8 is not
and that where i think ford went wrong compare a sv6 to a ss there differnt in so many ways
sometimes its hard to tell a standard xr6 and 8 apart if it wasnt for the red 8badge sometimes i wouldnt even notice it, so if ford dont change the style of the xr8 then dont bother releasing it the general public wont even know anyways

just my 2 cents

I agree, the XR8 needs more..

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by mick457

For Holden, though, V8-powered models are a crucial part of the Commodore range, accounting for about one in four sales and helping the brand appeal to private buyers.

this^
the ss is so popular and i think why is becasuse you know when a ss is coming down the street it has road presents where the xr8 is not
and that where i think ford went wrong compare a sv6 to a ss there differnt in so many ways
sometimes its hard to tell a standard xr6 and 8 apart if it wasnt for the red 8badge sometimes i wouldnt even notice it, so if ford dont change the style of the xr8 then dont bother releasing it the general public wont even know anyways

just my 2 cents

Road presence!!!!, you have got to be joking right. A XR8 has so much more road presence then the Commodore, the bulge is enough to tell what lurk's underneath, where as the Commodore SV6 is not much different from the SS only a badge seperates them from a distance.

[jpd80]

Ford keeps treating its Ute as a tool of trade where as Holden treats it as a quasi sports coupe,
that's where an awful lot of V8 SS sneak under the radar, as well as SS Sedan and Calais.

Holden managed to sell over 11,000 V8s last year, that's what successful marketing can do.
I can't help feeling that Ford keeps compounding mistake on mistake and uses that as the excuse
not to do things and fall further behind, effectively dissolving the glue that held Falcon together.
It's like watching an old friend die the death of a thousand cuts by new people who don't give a rats...

The best we can hope for is that they get fleet sales right with EcoLPI and Ecoboost and give some
thought to private buyers beyond ripping them blind on G6ET, lovely car with murderous price.

[mick457]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

Road presence!!!!, you have got to be joking right. A XR8 has so much more road presence then the Commodore, the bulge is enough to tell what lurk's underneath, where as the Commodore SV6 is not much different from the SS only a badge seperates them from a distance.

oh its got a bulge woopy do, a bulge and a v8 doesnt make you buy a car
its gotta be differnt ever wonder why so many xr6 owners are putting the boss buldge on the xr6 coz its cheaper then buying a 8 and then suddenly iit looks like one
does that mean a xr6 has road presence, and from an outsider looking in the ss stands out for me much more then the xr8

[FPV GTHO]

SS having road presence over SV6 is laughable. I wouldn't oversell Holdens marketing either. As already said on this forum (and others), put the V8 next to Holdens v6 and it sells itself.

[mick457]

ok fair enough but at the end of the day if they did bring back the xr8 i wouldnt look twice at it coz to me its a xr6 with a bulge, id be going for a gt

[prydey]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Holden managed to sell over 11,000 V8s last year,

holden don't have any other performance option. xr8 would sell much better if xr6t didn't exist. it does exist and is probably the biggest reason for the xr8's demise.

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

There’s a ready market for a simple V8 option across all Falcon models,

um, no there isn't.

[Franco Cozzo]

Lets face it, GM V8s have been better since they had the LS1 and onwards, The 5L Windsor was a heap of crap, which all it does is converts petrol into a nice noise, doesn't actually move very quickly. The 5.4L 3V Triton is a boat anchor which was designed for the F series and same with the XR8 version.

I don't understand why you would buy an XR8 when the XR6T handles "better", faster and probably uses less fuel when cruising.

Ford for 6s, Holden for entry level 8s.

[comagutsa]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

I don't understand why you would buy an XR8 when the XR6T handles "better", faster and probably uses less fuel when cruising.

.

coz you can't get the V8 note out of a 6T. that is the reason i brought mine over a turbo and a few other things, so what if the turbo is faster blah blah it will never be a V8 and i'm happy with my 10L/100km while cruising but you dont buy a V8 coz you are worried about fuel

[Redrum]

I am all for bringing the XR8 back. The GS has no appeal to me. Especially in the ute market.

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by mick457

oh its got a bulge woopy do, a bulge and a v8 doesnt make you buy a car
its gotta be differnt ever wonder why so many xr6 owners are putting the boss buldge on the xr6 coz its cheaper then buying a 8 and then suddenly iit looks like one
does that mean a xr6 has road presence, and from an outsider looking in the ss stands out for me much more then the xr8

Who said anything about buying it, you clearly mentioned the difference in road presence and said that the XR range has none compared to the SS, please in your bright wisdom tell me how an SS Commodore has more road presence then a XR8, and then tell me the difference in a look's perspective that both the SS and SV6 has that diffrentiates them, as far as I can tell from a road presence stance, the SS and SV6 look similar, same bodykit, same size rim's standard, the only difference would be a badge wouldn't it ?.
Now let's compare the XR6 to XR8, oh hang on one has a whopping great big bulge on the bonnet and the other doesn't.. man that must be so hard to see from a distance.
To me that is road presence
Not once did you mention the interior and I fail to see how that has anything to do with road presence anyway

Um and in case you hadn't notice, yes a XR6 with a aftermarket bulge on it would have road presence.

[mick457]

you xr8 fan boys crack me up hit a nerve did i?

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by mick457

you xr8 fan boys crack me up hit a nerve did i?

No not at all mate, I think it's quite amusing that you made the comment but can't back it up once your in the corner and then have to result to other mean's

[DanielXR8]

The XR8 sales figures probably looked very niche, even in 2010, but with current Falcon sales, that niche is probably looking pretty nice to have right now.

Problem is they have damaged that market with this neither confirm or deny nonsense that has gone on too long. Even if they got the car out tomorrow it would be a hard sell. For a start it would have to match the discounted prices of the SS and SS-V and I can't see how they would make that work. Even if they did, all they would probably do is cannibalise Prodrives market and get them to have a dummy spit and possibly walk away from FPV.

I love the XR8. I've owned one and think they are a great brand, but Ford just screwed around with this one too much and lost the opportunity. Ford management marginalised the V8 Falcon with their actions over the past few years and I think it is just to late to turn that around now. It is like so much Ford Australia does, another lost opportunity.