Falcon & Territory : Alternate Reality

[malazn mafia]

So, with Ford Australia a year away from shutting its doors forever, I can't help but wonder what will happen to all the dies & stamping equipment used to build Falcon & Territory. The Falcon & Territory are relatively modern platforms with good handling, good crash safety, etc and it is a pity that they are going to waste. What are some possibilities if someone were to purchase these from Ford Aus, ship them overseas (or maybe give it a try locally first), and produce some world class vehicles.

As far as I see, the Falcon and Territory are nearly there to make it big worldwide: an LHD conversion, modernised interior, small tweaks to the bodywork, new electrics, new drivetrain that is Euro 5 / 6 compliant (what about an electric drivetrain?). Perhaps they could be the new taxis for developing nations in Asia, replacing those eyesore ageing Toyota Crown Comforts/Nissan Cedrics (which are still being built, and would have terrible safety, with platforms originating from the late 70s).

The Ford Falcon 2.0 EcoBoost is just the right size for those Asian nations with engine-capacity based road tax. The 2.7 LR V6 TDCI is also suitable, as diesel vehicles have lower road tax.

All the basics are there, structural integrity, chassis dynamics, good manufacturing techniques, so why not ? It would certainly be a better base to start from, than spending the hundreds of millions for creating 2 new vehicles from scratch?

The question would be, how much of the Falcon & Territory are actually produced in-house by Ford, vs components built by 3rd party suppliers or imported from overseas? I am assuming the equipment in-house at Ford would be capable of producing a rolling shell, complete with all hanging panels, and basic suspension/steering components? Ford would probably have no in-house capability to manufacture the seats/dash/plastic bumpers/lights etc.