Countdown to the Falcons emotional end, share your feelings here

[malazn mafia]

Would wish for Broadmeadows to be renamed to Fordmeadows in memory of what was once there...

[Eaturbo]

Yeah the site will end up like the Brisbane Ford site which is just a shell of a building which has now been demolished. It's hard to believe that currently there's a fully functional car manufacturing plant there which will simply be switched off this time next year. Imagine the bloke that has to flick the switch on the production line for the last time next year and hearing all that machinery coming to a grinding halt, than absolute silence as the last of the workers look around and realise that that it.

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by Eaturbo

Yeah the site will end up like the Brisbane Ford site which is just a shell of a building which has now been demolished. It's hard to believe that currently there's a fully functional car manufacturing plant there which will simply be switched off this time next year. Imagine the bloke that has to flick the switch on the production line for the last time next year and hearing all that machinery coming to a grinding halt, than absolute silence as the last of the workers look around and realise that that it.

Would be about as devastating as having to put down your own loyal pet dog of many years who has been run over by a semitrailer but didn't die, and nothing would make it walk again or live a normal life. This is basically what FTA and Globalization has done to Aus and it's way of life. GovCo obviously did not value their pet dog at all and let the semitrailer run right over it. Once upon a time people would fight to come to Australia for a better life, but now thanks to our incompetent mongrels we elected or allowed to go into power, now I really wonder how many will leave it in search of a better future...

[fps_grandma]

http://cargocollective.com/duvalk/Fo...Print-Campaign

Ford Falcon: Print Campaign
Problem: How does Ford sell their Falcon model to a younger crowd while also overcoming the preconceived notion that Ford Falcon's are big and wasteful vehicles?

Solution: A print campaign with a youthful design that conveys the idea that Ford's new EcoBoost engine gives the consumer everything - power, size, luxury, and class competitive fuel economy. Compromise nothing.

Perhaps it's too late but why not post it here?
I never bought mine for economy but I would definitely consider an EcoLPi if I were being very budget conscious

[XG_Falcon]

Thanks for posting those pictures, funnily enough I had never seen any of those advertisements until now.

[FNQracing]

This might sound a bit weird but I cannot imagine life without a Falcon in the garage. Sure I love many types of cars, but the Falcon is where it all started for me, and I've never been without a Falcon as a daily for 22 years. As long as I have a Falcon in any form, drivable, I'll be relaxed.

I think I'll buy a brand new FG-X Turbo towards the end as a salute to nearly a quarter of a century of motoring.

[mechanic]

Well, I completed the last half of my apprenticeship at a Ford dealership in the late 60's. Then continued with Ford through the early to the mid 70's, seemed like those years had some really good memories but a few rubbish ones mixed in as well.
Having also worked in Holden dealerships I look back now and the one thing that stands out is the longevity of Ford engines and running gear. Taxi owners and the police service didn't stick with Falcons for no reason.
Still think the best all round car for our conditions is the Falcon and I'm keeping mine even though it only does about 50 klms/week now.
Sad to see the end of the era but the whole world is moving to different modes of transport and the Falcon is going the way of Valiant and Holden.

[Sprintey]

+1 on the longevity of Ford Aussie drivelines.

[Craig@AUDI]

I wish more punters would get emotional enough to buy one...

Got 6 demo's here to move...

[Ford Falcon XR6]

^^ Got any utes?

[Craig@AUDI]

Sorry I don't, all sedans at the moment.

Happy to price up a new one but!

[theBlake]

My first car was a 71 XY in 1985. Cost me $400 plus $300 for repairs to get the roadworthy, and it had extractors!

One of my flatmates had a sporty jap car, but he used to beg me to let him drive mine because it was more fun.

I also drove it for one year without 1st or Reverse gears, the column shift just wouldn't go in there. In a pinch I could open the bonnet and change the gears by hand, but I managed just fine without it. Avoided traffic lights on hills and the work car park had a gentle incline so I could roll out backwards.

Since then I always thought 1st gear was overrated, had a couple of EH's after that and with both cars it was always a bit of fun dragging off people at the traffic lights, because I didnt have to change up gears and 2nd is good enugh for 5mph or 45mph, and they would always assume the big lag between 1st and 2nd, if yo uknow what I mean.

[syco26]

From the start I was destined to be a Ford man. I grew up in a family full of Ford fanatics. My grandfather had Fairlanes and Falcons, my dad had Stangs, Fairlanes and Falcons and both uncles had Falcons and Fairlanes.

As a young lad I longed for the mighty XY-HO to one day sit in my garage when I grew up and it was a dream I shared with both my uncles. Unfortunately still to this day none of us have fulfilled this dream but two of us now own a GT of one kind. I would sit for hours looking through magazines with my uncles looking at Fords and dreaming hard. We would get the locals and circle the Fords we wanted to purchase.

I remember vividly watching Bathurst every year with my uncles. Cars like Greens Tuff and True Blue where just so tuff and is where it was at when I was a kid. My grandfathers S pack was the closest thing to it and I loved driving in it even if it was in the back seat. I even loved washing and vacuuming it for $5 just to dream of what it would look like with a set of flared guards and a body kid. I was always dreaming of Fords.

My father had an XT 500 when I was a kid that had a 302 and top loader retro fitted. This car was the closest we had to a GT when I was a kid. I loved the huge black leather seats, the sound of the twin straight through 3" system, the rumble and vibration when parked, the fact that it looked like a GT. It was a beast and what all my cars where compared to when I grew up.

The banter at school from a very young age was always Ford vs Holden. It was a healthy hatred between mates. Both able to appreciate the other but the "hatred" was there none the same. Nothing has really changed with age except the fact that it is soon to be over for Aussie made muscle.

During my short life of driving my beloved Fords, 20 years of driving so far, I have been privialaged to have a great deal of Falcons and Fairlanes. I have owned a XA, XB, XC, XD, XE, XF, BA XT, BAII XR6, BAII XR8 and now proudly owned FGII GT. I have also owned a NF, ZC and ZD. I still have the ZD and XB proudly sitting in my shed which I am looking at adding two more. I want 4 old Fords to leave one each to my sons when I am too old to appreciate them any more.

I have also been privileged to marry a lady who loves Fords as much as I. We have 4 sons but the blue blood hasn't quite filled their veins like ours. They all like the two old Fords and the 335 GT but I feel they have missed the golden years where you had to choose, Ford or Holden, and the variety is just far to broad now for them to be brand loyal.

My wife tells very similar stories and the excitement when her parents purchased a new Falcon and also the sadness she felt at the same time when the last Falcon was traded.

I have recently purchased a BAII XR6 sedan. Lucky enough to find a 5 speed manual. This was purchased for my eldest lad who turns 16 this month. This will be his first car and he is learning to drive in it now. I am hoping with this car it will ignite his love of Fords. My second lad loves Utes and is quite fond of Falcon Utes so I think their is hope for him as well. My youngest two don't really care too much for any brand, they just like all cars.

As long as I have known what cars were and as long as I have been driving it has been Ford and always will be in one way or another. The Falcon has been such a great part of three generations of my family and it is so sad that my youngest lads won't really remember the excitement of the latest Falcon release.

It was said in an earlier post that it is the death of the Australian car culture and I have to agree 100%. Sure we will still have Fords but the Falcon range will leave a gapping hole for some time to come.

[Sabantien]

Never been big into cars, so much so, I got my licence quite late.

I had been shopping for a replacement car after a storm wrote off my old one, and was looking at 4 cylinders only. Took my brother along (he's a Falcon man) and he suggested I try a Falcon.

Well, the G6E I bought was the first car to put a smile on my face while driving. I wouldn't mind upgrading to a FG-X G6E, but they'll be a dead car long before I'm ready to buy something new. Heck, i'd even give the 4 cylinder a go, while it wouldn't save a lot on fuel, it'd save a lot on rego.

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by Craig@Rockdale

I wish more punters would get emotional enough to buy one...

Got 6 demo's here to move...

Therein lies the problem Craig. All of these emotional people crying about Ford laying the Falcon to rest, but, they don't buy new Falcons.

[Qwerty321]

As an 18 year old Kiwi, it's weird for me to have such an attachment to Aussie cars, but there's something about a big rwd aussie sedan that just gets the blood flowing. I remember growing up as a kid, I always had a love for cars. I don't know where it started but I reckon the biggest influences for me were the Police and the V8 Supercars. The Falcon was the first car I ever wanted, and I think that was around the time all the cops around here were driving the old AU Falcons, and Ford had won the first ever Bathurst I watched (Of course I didn't know it was Bathurst, I just stumbled accross it on TV and ended up watching for hours). Though I hate to say it, when the Holden VE was released I was converted, sure the BA looked amazing, but the VE just had that amazingly aggressive look about it that (that front bumper ). But I remember even then I'd always say "If it ain't a Holden, it better be a Ford". Fast forward a while and my first car was a hand-me-down Toyota Windom (Lexus ES300) a somewhat floaty, decent all around FWD car. It was jam packed with little gizmos and stuff the Falcodores of the era hadn't even thought off. But at heart I always wanted an Aussie V8, it was an irrational love of mine.

About a month ago my Windom shat it's guts out in traffic and left me borrowing my mothers Camry (Aussie made, but not the Aussie sedan I wanted) till my neighbor (bless his soul) came to my rescue. Having just upgraded to a showroom Caprice, he was happy to give me his old Fairlane for only 1.5k!! (Talk about mates rates. That's a whole new level!)

And what a car she is. I've been a proud owner of my BA MkII Fairlane for about 3 weeks and have been a member of the AFF community for just 2 weeks. She may not be the XR8 I dreamed of, but she'll do me just fine! It's sad to see the Aussie sedans come to an end, and after my fairlane I can't honestly imagine myself driving anything other than a Ford or a Holden. Sadly I belong to the generation that killed this car, people more concerned about the leather and the bass, than the engine and the trans. Sure you're Audi has bass that shakes the car, but my Ford has an Engine that does it better

People my age will call me a bogan (which is odd cause I'm of indian decent. Yep you've seen it all, the first ever Indian bogan ), or even call my Fairlane an "ugly barge" but I don't care. Just give me a Ford and give me some fuel, that's all I'll ever need

R.I.P Falcon and Commodore. Gone but never forgotten

[Eaturbo]

Originally Posted by Qwerty321

As an 18 year old Kiwi, it's weird for me to have such an attachment to Aussie cars, but there's something about a big rwd aussie sedan that just gets the blood flowing. I remember growing up as a kid, I always had a love for cars. I don't know where it started but I reckon the biggest influences for me were the Police and the V8 Supercars. The Falcon was the first car I ever wanted, and I think that was around the time all the cops around here were driving the old AU Falcons, and Ford had won the first ever Bathurst I watched (Of course I didn't know it was Bathurst, I just stumbled accross it on TV and ended up watching for hours). Though I hate to say it, when the Holden VE was released I was converted, sure the BA looked amazing, but the VE just had that amazingly aggressive look about it that (that front bumper ). But I remember even then I'd always say "If it ain't a Holden, it better be a Ford". Fast forward a while and my first car was a hand-me-down Toyota Windom (Lexus ES300) a somewhat floaty, decent all around FWD car. It was jam packed with little gizmos and stuff the Falcodores of the era hadn't even thought off. But at heart I always wanted an Aussie V8, it was an irrational love of mine.

About a month ago my Windom shat it's guts out in traffic and left me borrowing my mothers Camry (Aussie made, but not the Aussie sedan I wanted) till my neighbor (bless his soul) came to my rescue. Having just upgraded to a showroom Caprice, he was happy to give me his old Fairlane for only 1.5k!! (Talk about mates rates. That's a whole new level!)

And what a car she is. I've been a proud owner of my BA MkII Fairlane for about 3 weeks and have been a member of the AFF community for just 2 weeks. She may not be the XR8 I dreamed of, but she'll do me just fine! It's sad to see the Aussie sedans come to an end, and after my fairlane I can't honestly imagine myself driving anything other than a Ford or a Holden. Sadly I belong to the generation that killed this car, people more concerned about the leather and the bass, than the engine and the trans. Sure you're Audi has bass that shakes the car, but my Ford has an Engine that does it better

People my age will call me a bogan (which is odd cause I'm of indian decent. Yep you've seen it all, the first ever Indian bogan ), or even call my Fairlane an "ugly barge" but I don't care. Just give me a Ford and give me some fuel, that's all I'll ever need

R.I.P Falcon and Commodore. Gone but never forgotten

Top post mate, very mature writing for a young lad. I'm glad you posted and thanks for your contribution.

[Ford Falcon XR6]

Originally Posted by GCRXR6

Therein lies the problem Craig. All of these emotional people crying about Ford laying the Falcon to rest, but, they don't buy new Falcons.

I agree and disagree the only thing that stops me from buying one is the money factor. It's not like i'm going and buying a new ranger or focus if I could afford a new car it would be a falcon.

[78xcgxl]

I'm still in denial of Falcon stopping production and for some reason i have a hope that it won't actually happen even though it is going to happen no matter what. My dad has worked at Ford all his life and have been around falcons from day dot. I can't ever see my self driving something else even though i'm only 19 and have many years of motoring left in me. I can see myself still driving a FG mk2 falcon in 40 years time

Falcon really is more than just a car, for me it is a culture and way of life. I have meet so many great people through the love and passion for falcons that is truly priceless and i am grateful for.

It will defiantly be a sad day in my life when Broadmeadows grinds to halt.

[78xcgxl]

I'm still in denial of Falcon stopping production and for some reason i have a hope that it won't actually happen even though it is going to happen no matter what. My dad has worked at Ford all his life and have been around falcons from day dot. I can't ever see my self driving something else even though i'm only 19 and have many years of motoring left in me. I can see myself still driving a FG mk2 falcon in 40 years time

Falcon really is more than just a car, for me it is a culture and way of life. I have meet so many great people through the love and passion for falcons that is truly priceless and i am grateful for.

It will defiantly be a sad day in my life when Broadmeadows grinds to halt.

[Nial@BlueHive]

Hi Ford17,

That's a great story!

I’m from Blue Hive, Ford’s marketing and advertising agency. We’re reaching out to the fans to hear more stories like yours.

It would be great to touch base and discuss this more.

Cheers,
Nial

Blue Hive Australia. The Ford Marketing & Advertising Agency.

Originally Posted by Ford17

Was brought home from hospital in my Dad's XY V8 Fairmont, remember fondly Dad's XC company cars, mostly XC 4.9 Fairmonts in various colour combinations.

Studied all the brochures from XE to EL when young, couldn't afford any of them.

Remember how tuff lowered XF's looked when new, the Turbo AIT (?) phase when Falcon six's were made to go. The Mick Webb/SVO & Brock EA's; Dad's EA Ghia.

Was overjoyed when I could finally afford an AU XR6 S3 ute with the full bodykit.

Traded it in for a BA turbo, then an FG turbo, and then finally put a deposit down on an FGX XR8. So yeah, living it while it lasts.

[Dezza]

I'm from a mostly Ford family. My Dad's first car was an XA GT coupe, purple with a white roof. He used to drive it like he stole it, a far cry from how he drives now! Growing up, my parents had a gold XF S-pack wagon, but later upgraded to an everglade green EBII wagon. It was factory manual and an 8 seater, and gave very little trouble in the 16 years they owned it. These days they drive a BFII Ghia, which has also been a great car. Even from a young age, I could pick differences between Falcon models. It was inevitable I'd become a Ford fan.

I bought my EAII Fairmont Ghia back in 2002, as my first car. While I admit it certainly hasn't been a trouble free run, I've added over 160,000kms to the 148,000km it had when I got it. I've sunk a lot of money into it but the way it kept me and my family safe after crashing it 9 days after buying it means it has a lot of sentimental value to me, hence why I've kept it after all these years. In 2010, when the EA was just getting too unreliable (after 300,000kms and 20 years, you can't blame it) I bought my AUII Fairmont. It was cheap, and was never immaculate but I owned it for 5 and a half years without a single breakdown. It also reached 300,000 and was getting a fair bit of rust so it was time to upgrade. While it was a bit sad to see it go, I decided to stretch the budget and buy myself something I could feel proud of, my FG XR50T ute, and am loving it so far. It will be sad to see the Falcon go as it really has been a big part of my life.

[Blue Shadow]

Originally Posted by Uncle Tone

I remember back when every sales rep and company employee drove a Falcon.

What happened to that? What changed?

Now it's all imported dual cab Utes.

Yep, i think nations need manufacturing industries, it creates so many jobs, problem is we want $150,000 a year to tighten up bolts. RIP FORD AUSTRALIA

[OzriderXR8]

My memories and experiences started with my uncles old early 60's wagon with all the kids in the back and the parents all smoking with the windows up. Then my mates older brothers XY Panel van back in the mid seventies, we went everywhere in the back of that thing, green shag pile carpet and all.

Since then I've owned XW's, an XF, EA, EL and now the AU2 XR8. I've driven many thousands of kilometres in Ford Taxi's from XA's to XC's, XD yellow cabs, XE's and XF's. I've even driven one with over 1 million Klms on the clock.

[RobFPVGT]

The last of the Sprint signals the end is near for Ford it will be a very sad day in Australia Motoring:(
I think I will be hanging on to the GT for a long time yet!

[au2000]

well this week marked a milestone in my home.. the boy stepped up & showed he really has blue blood in his veins..
He brought himself a weekender to go with his XR6
car of choice ?? 1978 XC Fairmont.
that currently makes 5 falcons sitting at home ATM for 3 drivers stretching from 1978 to 2014,
When asked if he had to get rid of one car right now which would it be.. he struggled & said none.. cant do it.. this is from a 17 yr old !

[FalconXV]

Here's mine:
http://performancedrive.com.au/edito...-tribute-1715/

I was a strange child, more fascinated by mechanical items than sports or social activities. This extended to our family car, though to be fair, our family car was pretty sweet, even if nobody knew it back then.

1982 Ford XE Falcon

It was a vanilla yellow 1983 Ford Falcon GL sedan nicknamed ‘Falcy’. An XE, with a Super-slurping 3.3-litre tied to a four-speed manual. With its sad looking face and distinctive whining noise, it was more than a conveyance to me; it was alive. Even my mother cried when we traded it in. This endearing character kick-started a rich intrigue for all things automotive, with an intrinsic hunger of every fact and figure available to me.

My father often brought home Ford and Holden station wagon company cars, much to my delight, and when I first eyeballed an EF XR6 from the school bus, I freaked out. The menacing and mysterious EL GT occupied some space on my bedroom wall.

The first time I attended a motor show, I was positively dazzled by the golden 1998 EL Predator concept – possibly the most exotic-looking Falcon ever.

When the AU came out, I was 10 years old, and therefore impervious to the shock and controversy it generated to adults. What I saw was an unusual, imaginative-looking car, and enjoyed its triangles and ovals. The XRs in particular, with their H.R Geiger-inspired faces and bi-plane rear spoilers were just awesome. Getting to see them made in person at the Broadmeadows factory in 2000, I felt like Charlie in the chocolate factory.

Wheels magazine’s inaugural Young Designer of the Year competition, in which the goal was to design a Falcon for 2010, captured my imagination and I even sent in an entry. (By this stage I was drawing cars and even had my own model line). The winner, Nick Hogios, went on to design the BA XR front end, before moving on to Toyota Style Australia.

My first viewing of Bathurst was the 1-2 victory of 1998, with a l-o-n-g drought after that. Ford didn’t have the widespread fanship of Holden, and I copped heaps of flak for being a Ford fan. Little did I know at the time, this was due to Ford axing the V8 and withdrawing from racing in the 1980s, but that lent it an underdog status which, to me, is a genuinely Australian virtue.

Thankfully, reprieve came with the 2002 BA, both on the track and in the showroom. The BA was leaps and bounds ahead of the AU and VY Commodore of the day, with the XR6 Turbo becoming a new cult car. It was here, at the helm of Geoff Polites, Ford finally gave Holden an existential fright again.

Mitchell Jones-XE Falcon

When the time came to buy my first car, I approached it with an open mind, but as soon as I clocked on to a mint XF Ghia in a small used car lot, all rationality went out the window.

I certainly didn’t do that car justice, but it re-inforced my loyalty to Falcon. I managed to sell a few during another life as a car salesman, and even went to a meeting which included David Katic, the head of Ford marketing in 2012, where I tried to persuade him that a sports-themed Ecoboost Falcon was a good idea (which obviously fell on deaf ears).

On May 23, 2013, when the closure and cessation of Falcon and Territory production was announced, I was absolutely shattered. How can a machine elicit a reaction of human-like almost-grief?

The truth is, Falcon is more than a car to many Australians. It’s a part of our scenery and culture, and will remain so for some time before slowly diminishing into obscurity. To enthusiasts, modifiers, taxi passengers, it’s part of their lives. It has inspired the imaginations of many people, just as it did mine.

It is also a living, breathing expression of the hard work and passion from the factory workers who assemble it, the designers and engineers who develop it. Over 6 million examples are scattered throughout our landscape, in various states of vibrancy and decomposition.

That some versions have gone under the hammer for almost a million dollars is a testament to its broad-ranging appeal and desirability. The car will be missed due to its simplicity, comfort, ease-of-maintenance, abundance of parts, effortless power, and performance.

It is also prescient that as the world enters an exciting new chapter of electrification and autonomous driving, with even Apple tipped to launch a car before the end of the decade, Australia no longer has an industry to participate. Falcon may have adapted to this new paradigm but in the end it was head office in Dearborn, USA, that deliberately stifled it.

Its reluctance to integrate it into Ford’s global portfolio may cost them here, and it has arguably robbed them of some opportunities. The straight-six engine of the Falcon is arguably superior to the Duratec V6 available in the Mustang and F-150. A straight-six powered Mustang would be historically relevant to the original, while the torquey 4.0-litre Barra would have won many friends in the F-series truck, if it had the chance. As Lincoln launches a new Continental, we can’t help but think they had access to a rear-drive, inline six platform over a decade ago.

Just as Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz are tipped to revert back to straight sixes, Ford is shooting a real gem of an engine in the head.

But there is too much to be excited about to be butthurt. There’s a plethora of great and interesting cars in the pipeline and on sale today, and it was Falcon which opened me up to that world, so thanks, Falcon.

Have you got a Falcon story? Feel free to share it with us below.

[Rodp]

I don't know what to think. My earliest memories of being in a car was in my father's Falcon. He never owned anything else.

I'm biased towards Ford but I've splashed out into other manufacturers. Holden, HSV, VW, Mitsubishi and have just picked up an XR8 (my first ever new Ford - could never get what I felt was a fair deal out of a new Ford salesman until a week ago). But over the years, I've owned 11 Fords - earliest being an XW - and 8 of them were Falcons - the rest being an Escort (first car), Cortina (second car) and an FPV (which you could count as #9)

A Falcon has been part of my life for as long as I've lived. I'm probably not as emotionally invested in the continuation of Falcon as I should be or I just haven't been able to contemplate a world where there will never be another new Falcon. I'd have loved to know what my father would have thought of it. A man that wouldn't let me park my HX Kingswood in his driveway despite paying for it. I know he would have loved being behind the wheel of my new XR8, though.

[Olbucko]

In 1960, already a car nut, I remember the release of the XK Falcon, and the TV and newspaper adds.
In 1961 I was thrilled when my Father came home in his new XK wagon.
For years I used to go to the Sydney Motor show and sit in the latest Falcon and dream of having one.
In 1963 I learnt to drive in the XK.
In 1966 I drove a new XP van at my first job.
For the next 25 years I had a Mk 1 Cortina and 3 Escort vans.
In 1986 swapped a Datsun 180B for a clapped out XM Futura, which was used as a daily driver for 10 years.
In 1992 bought an XE van which was my second home for the next 15 years and 650,000 km until a boom lift on a building site smashed the roof in.
In 1997 started restoring the XM.
Finished the XM in 2005.
2006, saved a ZL Fairlane from the wreckers, and it's still going
Bought an SY Territory in 2007.
Finally, only last week I took delivery of my first new Falcon, an FGX XR6, the car to see me out.
Plus at least 10 other dead Falcons that lay around my farm for 30 years, that donated parts to me when I needed them.

I have had many other makes and models of cars, inc. Chev, Morris, Fiat, (Fix It Again Tony), Datsun, Holden, Isuzu. Hillman, Chrysler, a Mitsubishi Stigma, and a Subaru, but Falcons have always been my favourites.

So sad to see the end of an era.

[menil]

Does anyone know when production officially stops I just ordered a new falcon with delivery quoted as August 2016