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#1 | ||
Ford screwed the Falcon
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 7,052
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Where can a list of the people who were at the head of Ford of Australia be found? If such a list does now exist, who can put together a list of names?
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Falcon: 1960 - 2016 My cars Current ride 2016 FG X XR6 - 6 speed manual Previous rides 2009 FG XR6 - 6 speed auto 2006 BF MkII XT ESP - 6 speed auto 2003 BA XT V8 - 5 speed manual 1999 AU Forte - 5 speed manual 1997 EL Fairmont - 4 speed auto 1990 EAII Fairmont Ghia - 4 speed auto |
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#2 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,806
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nobody?
okay let's start a combined effort: Bill Dix 1981 Jacques Nasser 1989-1992 John Ogden 1992 David Morgan 1995 Geoff Polites 1999- Tom Gorman 2005-2008 Bill Osborne 2008-2008 Marin Burela 2008-2010 Bob Graziano 2010-2015 Graeme Whickman Kay Hart |
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#3 | |||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,018
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Quote:
When you get C level executives doing short terms they have zero interest in putting in the hard yards to fix issues. You work there, what's your opinion, how many of the names on that list were worth the money they got paid and which ones should be in the Centrelink queue? |
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#4 | ||
^^^^^^^^
![]() ![]() Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: online - duh
Posts: 9,634
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Bill Bourke 1965 - 1971 (Falcon GT & Falcon 428 Cobra Jet GT daly driver)
The late, great (and AFF Member) Geoff Polites was the cream of the crop in my opinion. ( BA Falcon & Territory) I met both Uncle Geoff and his successor Gormon (AFF Raid's) but quickly lost interest in who headed the show after that. Jac Nasser (aka 'Jac-the-Knife') must have also impressed as went on to become VP and then CEO of the whole company (1996-1999). .
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. Last edited by Raptor; 06-08-2020 at 05:15 PM. |
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#5 | |||
Peter Car
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: geelong
Posts: 23,145
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Quote:
It's no surprise that Geoff put a heap of effort into the performance Falcons when he made it to the top. |
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#6 | ||
Ford screwed the Falcon
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 7,052
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Bill Bourke 1965 - 1971
Bill Dix 1981 Jacques Nasser 1989-1992 John Ogden 1992 David Morgan 1995 Geoff Polites 1999- Tom Gorman 2005-2008 Bill Osborne 2008-2008 Marin Burela 2008-2010 Bob Graziano 2010-2015 Graeme Whickman Kay Hart Charles Smith who canned the Zephyr and replaced it with the Falcon. Hubert French around the time the first utility was made.
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Falcon: 1960 - 2016 My cars Current ride 2016 FG X XR6 - 6 speed manual Previous rides 2009 FG XR6 - 6 speed auto 2006 BF MkII XT ESP - 6 speed auto 2003 BA XT V8 - 5 speed manual 1999 AU Forte - 5 speed manual 1997 EL Fairmont - 4 speed auto 1990 EAII Fairmont Ghia - 4 speed auto Last edited by Syndrome; 06-08-2020 at 07:48 PM. |
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#7 | ||
Regular Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,852
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Bill Bourke 1965 - 1971
Bill Dix 1981 Jacques Nasser 1989-1992 John Ogden 1992 David Morgan 1995 Geoff Polites 1999- Tom Gorman 2005-2008 Bill Osborne 2008-2008 Marin Burela 2008-2010 Bob Graziano 2010-2015 Graeme Whickman 2015-2018 Kay Hart 2018-2020 Andrew Birkic 2020- https://www.whichcar.com.au/car-news...y-hart-resigns
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2022 ZH Escape ST-Line AWD 2.0L Ecoboost |
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#8 | ||
0o\==^==/o0
![]() Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Brisbane
Posts: 4,298
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Bill Bourke 1965 - 1971
Brian Inglis 1970-1981 MD Bill Dix 1981 Jacques Nasser 1989-1992 John Ogden 1992 David Morgan 1995 Geoff Polites 1999- Tom Gorman 2005-2008 Bill Osborne 2008-2008 Marin Burela 2008-2010 Bob Graziano 2010-2015 Graeme Whickman 2015-2018 Kay Hart 2018-2020 Andrew Birkic 2020- http://www.carsofaustralia.com.au/fo...8db923e7ce9db5
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Honorary Tony Oldest to youngest 1971 ZD Fairlane 1978 W123 Mercedes Benz 280e 2004 BA XR8 2007 W211 E63 ////AMG 2008 Fiat Ritmo -for the kids to take ownership of while I pay for running costs 2009 SYii Territory Ts now the kids swapped with below 2011 W212 Mercedes Benz E350 now the wife’s swapped with above |
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#9 | ||
Ford screwed the Falcon
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 7,052
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Falcon: 1960 - 2016 My cars Current ride 2016 FG X XR6 - 6 speed manual Previous rides 2009 FG XR6 - 6 speed auto 2006 BF MkII XT ESP - 6 speed auto 2003 BA XT V8 - 5 speed manual 1999 AU Forte - 5 speed manual 1997 EL Fairmont - 4 speed auto 1990 EAII Fairmont Ghia - 4 speed auto |
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#10 | ||
Regular Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 87
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The complete list:
Hubert French (US) 1925-1950 Charles Smith (UK/Canada) 1950-1959 John McIntyre (Canada) 1959-1963 Wallace Booth (US) 1963-1967 Bill Bourke (US) 1967-1970 Sir Brian Inglis (Aus) 1970-1981 Bill Dix (Aus) 1981-1990 Jac Nasser (Aus) 1990-1992 John Ogden (US) 1993-1995 David Morgan (Aus) 1995-1999 Geoff Polites (Aus) 1999-2005 Tom Gorman (US) 2005-2008 Bill Osborne (US) 2008 Marin Burela (Aus) 2008-2010 Bob Graziano (US) 2010-2015 Graeme Whickman (UK) 2015-2018 Kay Hart (NZ) 2018-2020 Andrew Birkic (Aust) 2020- Some left great legacies, others not so much..... |
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#11 | ||||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,018
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Quote:
Looks like they've come in, seen that it's a challenge and decided it was 'too hard' and got out early to save their own reputations - typical pig headed retards who back away from a challenge and work. We had an ex Toyota CEO come in at the top at one of the companies I worked for and he did the same, was too hard so he ran rather than doing the work. Real leadership drought at Ford Australia it seems - look at this lot, really what did they reside over? Quote:
Bob Graziano is the only one to go a decent length of service out of the mid 00s era. Graeme Whickman basically wound up the joint and what did Kay Hart do? Done so well she got 'promoted' to looking after the Transit. Last edited by Franco Cozzo; 06-08-2020 at 11:41 PM. |
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#12 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Geelong
Posts: 1,717
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Quote:
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#13 | ||
Regular Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,852
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Hubert French 1925-1950
Charles Smith 1950-1963 Wallace Booth 1963-1968 Bill Bourke 1968-1970 Brian Inglis 1970-1981 Bill Dix 1981-1990 Jacques Nasser 1990-1992 John Ogden 1992-1995 David Morgan 1995-1999 Geoff Polites 1999-2005 Tom Gorman 2005-2008 Bill Osborne 2008-2008 Marin Burela 2008-2010 Bob Graziano 2010-2015 Graeme Whickman 2015-2018 Kay Hart 2018-2020 Andrew Birkic 2020- References: https://www.carsales.com.au/editoria...istory-103766/ https://bauer-archive.x-cago.net/WHL...alcon-fly.html
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2022 ZH Escape ST-Line AWD 2.0L Ecoboost |
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#14 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,806
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I've been here through 7 of them! Definitely an acceleration since I've been on board.
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#15 | ||
Donating Member
![]() Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 12,169
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Some research I put together a few years ago -
Hubert C French - 1925 to June 1 1950 Charles A Smith - June 1 1950 to Late 1959 John George Wallace McIntyre - Late 1959 to July 1963 Wally Wray Booth - July 1963 to ? Bill Burke - ? to July 31 1970 Sir Brian Inglis - September 1970 to July 1981 Bill Dix -August 1981 to February 1990 Jacques A Nasser - February 1990 to Early 1993 John Ogden - Early 1993 to Mid 1995 David Morgan - November 1995 to March 1999 Geoff Polites - March 1999 to 2004 Tom Gorman - 2004 to 2008 Bill Osborne - 2008 to 2008 Marin Burella - 2008 to 2010 Robert Graziano - 2010 to 2015 Graeme Wickman - 2015 to July 2018 Kay Hart - July 2018 to Aug 2020
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PX MK II Ranger FG XR6 FG X XR8 Mustang GT T3 TS50 - gone but not forgotten |
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#16 | ||
Regular Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 87
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Their legacies
Hubert French 1925-1950 - started FoA, built Geelong manufacturing Charles Smith 1950-1959 - chose Falcon over Zephyr, built Broadmeadows John McIntyre 1959-1963 Wallace Booth 1963-1967 Bill Bourke 1967-1970 - created the Falcon GT Sir Brian Inglis 1970-1981 - first locally designed Falcon Bill Dix 1981-1990 - market leadership, approval of 5th generation Falcon Jac Nasser 1990-1992 - reintroduction of V8 John Ogden 1993-1995 - approval of 6th generation Falcon David Morgan 1995-1999 Geoff Polites 1999-2005 - Territory, Performance image, 7th generation Tom Gorman 2005-2008 Bill Osborne 2008 Marin Burela 2008-2010 Bob Graziano 2010-2015 Graeme Whickman 2015-2018 Kay Hart 2018-2020 Andrew Birkic 2020- Other contributions welcome.... |
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#17 | ||
T-Series Club Member Vic
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Melbourne (South-East)
Posts: 2,755
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Any way for you to check on their actual job titles? There's a bit of a debate on what Geoff Polites title would have been, triggered by someone buying his old TS50 and putting CEO-220 plates on it. Original two local bosses were Managing Directors. Last few have been titled "President and CEO", but that leaves a lot in the middle!
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#18 | ||
Ford screwed the Falcon
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 7,052
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Robert Graziano - the man sent by Dearborn to make sure the Falcon was killed off. Not once was the EcoLPi advertised while he was in charge. That engine could have save the Falcon.
__________________
Falcon: 1960 - 2016 My cars Current ride 2016 FG X XR6 - 6 speed manual Previous rides 2009 FG XR6 - 6 speed auto 2006 BF MkII XT ESP - 6 speed auto 2003 BA XT V8 - 5 speed manual 1999 AU Forte - 5 speed manual 1997 EL Fairmont - 4 speed auto 1990 EAII Fairmont Ghia - 4 speed auto |
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#19 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,806
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no, it is only ever a stepping stone to something bigger.
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#20 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 7,683
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Wasn't Edsel Ford in the mix when they released the XD?. I know his son, Henry Ford 3rd was born in Melbourne in 1980 coz him and his wife Cynthia were at the same pre-natal 'huff and puff' classes as us
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I reserve the right to arm bears
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#21 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,978
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Geoff Polites was an absolute legend, wish he served all the years.
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2021 Fiesta ST find me on instagram @adm.history for daily automotive historical Australian advertisements. |
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#22 | ||||
Peter Car
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: geelong
Posts: 23,145
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Quote:
Quote:
Burela tried hard, his heart was in it being a local boy, but at that point he would have been banging his head against a brick wall. I hated Graziano with a passion cause I suspect he was sent here on a mission to cripple Falcon and kill it off. The others after him I thought did pretty good jobs. |
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#23 | ||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,018
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#24 | ||
Peter Car
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: geelong
Posts: 23,145
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#25 | ||
Limited supply
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 1,441
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He wasn't a president of Ford Australia but I heard a story about one of the Ford's coming to Melbourne in the 60's or 70's and basically driving around Toorak until he saw a house he liked, knocked on the front door and said I want to buy your house. Basically he paid cash and moved in within a week. No idea if it's true but made a good story
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#26 | ||
Donating Member
![]() Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 12,169
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Yes, the diesel Territory was cancelled under his watch. Geoff Polites was quoted before his passing that he was furious over that decision.
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PX MK II Ranger FG XR6 FG X XR8 Mustang GT T3 TS50 - gone but not forgotten |
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#27 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Melb.
Posts: 4,437
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Quote:
I have to confess to something, there was one month in 2003 when BA overtook the Commodore for sales and I was driving in Brighton and stopped at the intersection with Nepean Highway. I suddenly noticed to my right the passenger sitting in lhs front seat of a Caprice was none other than Peter Hanenberger, Holden's Chair and MD....I reached across the seat and grabbed a newspaper article I had just read with pride.. and held it up against my window so he could see the headline....I think he retired at the end of that year as well. Then that weekend my golden retriever almost tripped up a man jogging along the beach...it was GP...how's that for a double... https://www.theage.com.au/national/f...04-gdwh1u.html Falcon outsells Commodore October 4, 2003 — 12.54am A year after its launch, Ford's BA Falcon has knocked the Holden Commodore off its perch. According to the official sales figures for September, the Falcon finally outsold its Holden rival. The result ended the Commodore's reign of more than 70 straight months as Australia's top selling car. The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) said Ford sold 7,409 Falcons last month, just 48 more than the 7,361 Commodore's retailed by Holden. However, on a year-to-date-basis, the Commodore was still clearly ahead, 64,906 compared to 55,489. Ford President Geoff Polites said it was the best Falcon result since March, 1996 and a 100 per cent improvement on Falcon sales from September, 2002. "One year after launch, the BA Falcon was September's biggest selling car in Australia," Mr Polites said. "That excellent result is validation of the hard work by everyone at Ford to deliver a car the Australian market wanted." |
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#28 | ||
T3/Sprint8
![]() Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 16,334
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Here's a summary by W.
I'm surprised no GP in the top 10 but like I said that their decision. https://www.whichcar.com.au/features...ord-falcon-fly
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Tickfords T3/TS50 '02 Sprint8 manual Sept 24 '16 Daily Macan GTS "Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Abraham Lincoln" |
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#29 | |||
Donating Member
![]() Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 12,169
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Quote:
While I can understand his inclusion, Bill Ford only did what he did so that he could please the shareholders, nothing more and nothing less. Geoff Polites on the other hand made the Falcon desirable again. If BA didn't fire the way it did, I doubt that FG would have happened. Geoff gave the Ford faithful what they wanted, be that the power, be that styling, be that wild colours, be that success on the racetrack again. He made sure that the Falcon was a car that people wanted and could be proud they owned.
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PX MK II Ranger FG XR6 FG X XR8 Mustang GT T3 TS50 - gone but not forgotten |
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#30 | |||
Ford screwed the Falcon
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 7,052
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Quote:
Geoff was the right man for the job after the AU debacle. He knew the customer and knew the product they wanted. After he was moved it was all downhill for the Falcon.
__________________
Falcon: 1960 - 2016 My cars Current ride 2016 FG X XR6 - 6 speed manual Previous rides 2009 FG XR6 - 6 speed auto 2006 BF MkII XT ESP - 6 speed auto 2003 BA XT V8 - 5 speed manual 1999 AU Forte - 5 speed manual 1997 EL Fairmont - 4 speed auto 1990 EAII Fairmont Ghia - 4 speed auto |
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