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The Pub For General Automotive Related Talk |
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09-04-2014, 06:22 PM | #31 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: S.A.
Posts: 4,611
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Ford Australia management then slowly killed it by resting on short term success. They were too slow to bring in a diesel option, too slow to fix problems, too slow to upgrade, too slow to build an export market. Blame Ford Australia management - lazy and pig headed. And previous Australian Federal and State governments - lazy and pig headed.
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The true danger only occurs when you take a potentially dangerous piece of machinery and place it in the hands of the most unpredictable species on the planet. Human behaviour, as history has catalogued, cannot account for what any persons actions may be, especially concerning their love of the motor vehicle. http://www.fireservicecollege.ac.uk |
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09-04-2014, 08:14 PM | #32 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Melb.
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09-04-2014, 08:33 PM | #33 | |||
buickman
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: eastern suburbs Melb Vic
Posts: 1,462
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FG XR6 50TH Nitro |
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09-04-2014, 10:00 PM | #34 | |||
DJT 45 and 47 POTUS
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 7,318
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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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09-04-2014, 10:01 PM | #35 | |||
Render unto Caesar
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: ::1
Posts: 4,231
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It is (like its predecessor) a good looking car that is sure to get people into dealers. It may or may not sell in big numbers but if it helps get people through the door and look at the Ford range then so be it.
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"Aliens might be surprised to learn that in a cosmos with limitless starlight, humans kill for energy sources buried in sand." - Neil deGrasse Tyson |
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09-04-2014, 10:04 PM | #36 | ||
DJT 45 and 47 POTUS
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 7,318
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Yes and no. The Territory is testament to what can be done when somebody who runs Ford Australia actually understands the local market. But Geoff also turned around Falcon sales with the release of the BA and was part of the team which ensured a seventh generation Falcon (FG) would be designed and built in Australia.
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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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10-04-2014, 10:36 AM | #37 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: S.A.
Posts: 4,611
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If local management really wanted it they would have sold it to Gorman. What happened to the international sales? Died before it took off. Couple of token models to inappropriate markets, very little support, etc. Quality control took too long to rectify, bad publicity through owner issues took too long to sort, etc. This and other problems are issues that local management should have fixed fast; before the competition started to take hold of the market. Instead, local ford management rested on the initial success of the Territory and then blamed head office USA when things started to fall apart. Yes, the rest is history. Ford sales so low they couldn't cover local cost, end of an era. Production line closed (closing).
__________________
The true danger only occurs when you take a potentially dangerous piece of machinery and place it in the hands of the most unpredictable species on the planet. Human behaviour, as history has catalogued, cannot account for what any persons actions may be, especially concerning their love of the motor vehicle. http://www.fireservicecollege.ac.uk |
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10-04-2014, 10:41 AM | #38 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: S.A.
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Only Holden and Toyota had a serious go at exporting, but they had the wrong product - sedans. Ford had the right product - SUV's were top of the sales list world wide. Geoff laid the ground work, the staff he left behind failed him and Ford Australia.
__________________
The true danger only occurs when you take a potentially dangerous piece of machinery and place it in the hands of the most unpredictable species on the planet. Human behaviour, as history has catalogued, cannot account for what any persons actions may be, especially concerning their love of the motor vehicle. http://www.fireservicecollege.ac.uk |
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10-04-2014, 12:54 PM | #39 | |||
Peter Car
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: geelong
Posts: 23,145
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Quote:
That's why Geoff Polites bundled him up at a colleagues funeral they both attended and got stuck into him over it, he knew how important it was but Gorman was too dumb to see. I pin most of the blame on Fords management screw up post Polites on Gorman, he royally screwed up all the ground work that GP had left him. It's no wonder he now works for Brambles and was never promoted within Ford, he did a disgraceful job. |
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10-04-2014, 02:35 PM | #40 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: S.A.
Posts: 4,611
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Quote:
Ford Australia's problems can not be blamed on one person. All Chairpersons & Presidents have a team behind them to advise, persuade and inform. Twelve months after the Territory was released Ford was in trouble - slow to fix quality control issues, slow to repair warranty issues an broken relations with customers, slow to release fuel saving measures - 6 speed auto, diesel option. There are many reasons why Ford Australia has suffered, one person is not all of the reasons. That goes for Holden as well. Check out the early Territory threads. I was one of the Ford customers that issues, they made promises and never delivered, they procrastinated with repairs and they lied. At the end of the day - business can not afford to lose customers, can't afford bad publicity, can't afford to lose positive word of mouth recommendations.
__________________
The true danger only occurs when you take a potentially dangerous piece of machinery and place it in the hands of the most unpredictable species on the planet. Human behaviour, as history has catalogued, cannot account for what any persons actions may be, especially concerning their love of the motor vehicle. http://www.fireservicecollege.ac.uk |
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10-04-2014, 07:25 PM | #41 | ||
Peter Car
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: geelong
Posts: 23,145
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Yes, you can't entirely blame one person, but it's quite clear that the rot set in after Gorman took over. And he was the one who said, when asked about a diesel Territory by a journo, "why would anyone want that", or something to that effect.
Dearborn must have agreed, they never gave him a promotion and he ended up leaving with a tarnished reputation. It effectively killed his career with Ford. |
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16-04-2014, 02:22 PM | #42 | |||
Regular Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 487
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In its history FOA did the best when people who understood the local market ran it - Bill Bourke and Geoff Polites come to mind. Jac Nasser also understood the DNA, re-releasing the V8. The other major obstacle to continued production here was Ford NA's inability to let the much better Falcon platform go head to head with other Ford NA product like the Crown Vic in international markets. In future, only a wholly owned Australian car company will have the flexibility to export - if other countries do not raise walls against us. |
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