Today is five years since the announcement that shook Australia and destroyed an industry.

[asagaai]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Adding to this, over the weekend i saw 3 Falcons (BA-FG) with their roof lining at the rear falling apart. I have only ever seen this on Falcons and Commodores. Feature? Shading from that unique Australian sun

If they were built for Australian conditions I'd hate to see if they weren't.

I had a camry 3 litre manual- ceiling lining fell off, lining on rear doors wore and started peeling off, new camshaft belt every 100,000, rear suspension bushes needed total rebuild after about 115,000.

Got Honda Euro new, at about 75,000 km the computer LED on dash started playing up, then got a very loud dah dah dah knocking noise in hot weather that I suspect was something connected with steering and sounded expensive, I drove that thing hard- for sure- and the gearbox at about 90,000 synchromesh into 3rd was going.

Got 55,000 on my FGX and some very very hard kms- and aside from the boot spoiler led falling down- there have been no issues yet touch wood. Feels very strong in engine and gearbox.

Agree with cultural cringe- funny really-we think a lot of Asian stuff is crap and handmade Australia stuff is great- ie leather couches -or cutting edge Australian surgeons- but Australian cars made by Australians even with handbuilt engines- no good as it has no 3 pointed star or Olympic rings-despite the dubious morality of a certain german manufacturer

[Mercury Bullet]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Difference with AU is that we have a consolidation of many of the changing conditions seen across the globe; heat, humidity, snow, desert, etc.
Though it is NOT unique at all.

The problem we have is UV and it is unique to Australia.

Most readily seen in skin cancer rates.

That being said FoA wasn't exactly liberal with its paint in latter years.

[PooDog]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

The problem we have is UV and it is unique to Australia.

Most readily seen in skin cancer rates.

That being said FoA wasn't exactly liberal with its paint in latter years.

Its not unique its actually worse in NZ

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by muzman

Its not unique its actually worse in NZ

Beat me to it.

https://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/niwa.co...ts/Liley_2.pdf

[Vesper Martini]

Yeah its a southern hemisphere thing. hole in the Ozone thinner atmosphere etc.
and from my own experience you can get sunburn on a 20 deg day in Auckland with seemingly cloudy skies.

[whynot]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

I still admire my own humble FG, in that after nearly 4 years and 116,000Kms of ownership since new, it still does not have a single rattle or squeak in the body, suspension or cabin interior and that's after driving many country miles.

The same cannot be said by friends who have expensive Euros or Korean cars.

I have had a different experience.

I had one of the early G6E. From a quality control perspective, it was one of the worst vehicles I have ever leased. During the two year lease, the vehicle was back at the dealer every second month either with a new problem or trying to resolve an existing problem. Loose universal joint in the steering shaft, incorrect installed bolts on the power steering box rubbing tyres, leaking fuel tank, electrical gremlins, etc, etc. Sure, by the time the lease had ended, I had all of the issues sorted and it was a great vehicle to drive. However, I don’t have the time to be trudging back and forward to the dealer just to get fobbed off, and I suspect most others don’t either. My experience with FoA was so bad that I swore off Fords (only to relent to get a Territory). Whereas the Japanese vehicles I have had since (Forrester, Outland PHEV, and now a CX-5) have nary a squeak, rattle, or quality control issue, and the various service departments have been a pleasure to go to. Work colleagues with Commodores at the time had a similar list of complaints about poor quality of their vehicles (oil leaks and electrical gremlins from memory).

Yes, it is a shame that Australia does not have an automobile manufacturing base. But it doesn’t meant that vehicle manufacturing is dead. The trucking industry is alive and well, and shows what can be achieved. https://www.fullyloaded.com.au/indus...voorhoeve-says

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by whynot

Yes, it is a shame that Australia does not have an automobile manufacturing base. But it doesn’t meant that vehicle manufacturing is dead. The trucking industry is alive and well, and shows what can be achieved. https://www.fullyloaded.com.au/indus...voorhoeve-says

I don't know of any Gov subsidies to Volvo/Mack or KW either.

[Bill M]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

I don't know of any Gov subsidies to Volvo/Mack or KW either.

You can bet they benefited indirectly though.

[Danny]

Look, face it, the only people shook by the announcement were the die hards who blindly (some would say ignorantly) considered the falcon as the be all and end all, over ANYTHING else on the market. The sort of people who (if given the choice of a free vehicle) would take an FG XR6 non turbo over let’s say a Mercedes Benz E63s or BMW M5 or even a 911 Turbo and truly think it was better.

By the time the announcement was made, the Falcon was a s**t car, with no redeeming features at all. Most people either didn’t know, or didn’t care. I certainly wasn’t surprised at all (and I didn’t really care either apart from feeling for the poor souls whom lost their livelihoods). Apart from the Utes which actually had a purpose, I don’t see how or why anyone would have bought a Falcon in its last few years. That’s the cold hard truth of it.

[antisocial]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Adding to this, over the weekend i saw 3 Falcons (BA-FG) with their roof lining at the rear falling apart. I have only ever seen this on Falcons and Commodores. Feature? Shading from that unique Australian sun

If they were built for Australian conditions I'd hate to see if they weren't.

Most cars with foam under the fabric headlining do this, I've seen mates Toyota's, Saabs, Landrover's and others.

[bretts351]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

I don't know of any Gov subsidies to Volvo/Mack or KW either.

Isn't there size restrictions on what can be shipped?

ie: you don't see imported caravans but you do see more local vans thriving than you can shake a stick at.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by bretts351

Isn't there size restrictions on what can be shipped?

ie: you don't see imported caravans but you do see more local vans thriving than you can shake a stick at.

Um, shipped where? Volvo's are made in Wacol Qld and Kenworths are made in Bayswater Vic.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Strangly enough i have found the exact opposite to be true...my falcons and territory struggles with suspension knocks always had brake shudder and rattles and all at sub 100,000kms on the clock.

My euro and jap car never suffeted those issues..others i talk to agree and have had similar experience.

Only AFF gslcon owners have trouble free rattle free falcon motoring

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Sentiment echoed here. Both my euro ford's were bulletproof, not a rattle squeak or anything. My fg on the other hand. And it's done 65k kms. Imo the only good thing since the AU falcon to come from FoA, was the blown v8 and turbo 6.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Sentiment echoed here. Both my euro ford's were bulletproof, not a rattle squeak or anything. My fg on the other hand. And it's done 65k kms. Imo the only good thing since the AU falcon to come from FoA, was the blown v8 and turbo 6.

YES...my F6 Rspec cant fault that I6T, best Ford engine ever...

[bretts351]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Um, shipped where? Volvo's are made in Wacol Qld and Kenworths are made in Bayswater Vic.

ie: do the local trucks need to compete with asian imports?

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by bretts351

ie: do the local trucks need to compete with asian imports?

Not much (if any) competition in the Heavy vehicle (B-Double rated) market from Asia

They do however have to compete with other Truck manufacturers that import Trucks.