Category: Ford

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FORD FALCON 1998 – 2015

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2006 Ford Falcon XR6

In September 2015 Ford Falcon celebrated its 55th birthday in Australia. Sadly, it has just entered its final year of production. They have long been favourites on the used-car scene, especially for those living in the bush. Most Falcons are everyday sedans, station wagons and utes. Two-door hardtops and panel vans were also built back in the old days beyond the scope of this article. The demise of the Falcon may mean specialised models, such as XR6, XR8, GT, and any with supercharged or turbocharged engines (except for the four-cylinder… Read more

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FORD FOCUS PREPARES FOR SALES BATTLE

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Ford Australia was given the honour of hosting the Asian media launch of the facelifted Focus. Journalists from many Asian Pacific countries were flown to Adelaide to drive new Focus and sit in on multiple in-depth presentations. Ford’s head office is obviously keen to show off the strength of the Australian Ford operation. We were amongst the Aussie journalists included in the invitation. Sadly, Ford will cease manufacturing cars in this country next year, instead becoming a full importer. So it’s important to show Australian car buyers the company will… Read more

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NEW FORD MONDEO STEPS UP AS FALCON REPLACEMENT

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With the upcoming departure of the Ford Falcon the latest, fourth generation, version of the marginally smaller Mondeo, launched in Australia in April this year, takes on more importance than ever before. When Mondeo first arrived on the scene in 1992 it was marketed as the “world car” – hence the name, its French for world. Despite its success overseas, the dominance of the Falcon in Australia, and the fact that it didn’t come here until 1995, meant that Mondeo was never going to be more than a bit player…. Read more

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FORD ZEPHYR

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The Ford Zephyr, although built in Dagenham, England bore a marked family resemblance to the Ford Customline suggesting that its styling actually originated in Detroit, however some European input must have taken place as the car has the road holding and suspension which we have come to associate with cars of European origin. Originally introduced to Australia in the third quarter of 1956 the Ford Zephyr was updated in June 1958. The styling changes were not substantial. A chrome grille with horizontal strutting and a deep red circular emblem replaced… Read more

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FORD GT40

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Early in the 1960s, Ford of Detroit committed themselves to an all-out campaign to achieve supremacy in motor sport. It was conceived as Ford’s ‘total performance’ marketing package in which the youth market had been identified as the fastest growing sector of demand. The object was to beat the rest of the world, Ferrari in particular, at Le Mans. Initially they tried, unsuccessfully as it turned out, to take over the Ferrari business. After this foundered, in 1963, they started a sports racing project of their own. The AC Cobra,… Read more

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FALCON LPi COMBINES PERFORMANCE WITH LOW EMISSIONS

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Regular readers of this column will be aware that one of our constant gripes is that Australian governments of all persuasions are making little or no attempt to encourage us to switch to low-emission vehicles. So the cancellation, in mid-2014, of the previous $2000 federal government grant on private-use LPG vehicles – including this week’s test car, the Ford Falcon EcoLPi – while disappointing, should come as no surprise. The change means that buyers must now pay the full $2500 surcharge if they opt for the cleaner burning LPG fuel… Read more

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X-FACTOR FALCON STILL POTENT PERFORMER

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Dark clouds may be amassing on the Ford Australia horizon with the approaching demise of manufacturing but there is some sunshine still in the blue oval skies. Heading the Falcon flight is the FG X XR8 sedan, with which Ford has returned a V8 engine – the 5.0-litre supercharged Boss unit – to the Falcon XR Series line-up. The FG X XR8 six-speed manual selling for $52,490, plus on-roads, and six-speed automatic $54,690. The latter was our test vehicle. With the new Falcon FG X series already in showrooms and… Read more

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FORD FAIRLANE, LTD 1997 – 2007

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Fairlane and LTD are long-wheelbase versions of the Ford Falcon. For decades these super sized Fords had their own specific shape to make them stand out from their shorter – dare we say lesser? – brothers. However in the early years of the 21st century, Ford Australia decided to save money by having the Fairlane and LTD share most visible body components with the Falcon. Potential buyers didn’t appreciate the looking as though they were driving a Falcon not a more prestigious LTD or Fairlane. They stayed away in droves… Read more

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MORE POWER TO FORD KUGA

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Ford Kuga is the only affordable small SUV imported from Europe. As such it has the sort of handling dynamics and solid feel that appeals to keen Australian drivers. Also, this revamp of Ford Kuga uses the European design philosophy in that all the budget has gone to the engineers and there are no appearance changes. The biggest news is that the lowest cost model, the two-wheel-drive Kuga Ambiente, is now available with an automatic transmission. At $28,990 it’s a very reasonable $1500 more than manual. It’s not just the… Read more

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TERRITORY EXPANDS ITS BORDERS

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Hanging on the coat-tails of the new Falcon FG X, is a refreshed Ford Territory SUV. And in line with the new-look sedan, the Territory SZ Mk II gains Ford’s advanced in-car connectivity system, SYNC2, standard across the range, as well as WiFi hotspot and voice control smart technology. Three variants of Territory – TX, TS and Titanium – are on offer in either rear-wheel, or all-wheel drive, while the well-sorted 4-litre in-line six-cylinder petrol and 2.7-litre V6 TDCi engines carry over into the 2014 line-up. Most importantly, prices have… Read more