No V8 ute confirmed

[bbbero]

http://yahoo.carsales.com.au/news/20...with-fpv-40056

Well we knew it was coming, now confirmed.
Would of been nice to finish the Aussie ute with a V8, since the very first was a V8.

[anto]

Yet another head scratcher for me, one would think xr8 utes would be quite a popular seller at the supposed lower price point.
If they were dropping the ute altogether then fair enough I spose ?

[Syndrome]

The dismantling of all things Falcon continues. I suspect the 2014 upgrade models will be very underwhelming.

[bbbero]

I wonder if this is a sign that the 335 will be in the XR8 sedan?? Given they wont put it in the ute, they are deleting the ute altogether.

[FPV+fteT3]

I like how the story brings up the performance ute buyer will have to make do with the XR6T until the Mustang Coupe arrival ... so the mustang coupe has a huge boot and canopy option to suit the performance ute buyer?....

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by bbbero

I wonder if this is a sign that the 335 will be in the XR8 sedan?? Given they wont put it in the ute, they are deleting the ute altogether.

Thats my guess.

Will be a shame not to have an XR8 ute! Dont know why they didnt just fit the 315 motor to it. Just shows how they have lost interest in the market.

XR8 utes outsold sedans back in the day... I would love one as a final hurrah to ford Australia.

[comagutsa]

yeah i for one are not happy with this
was looking forward to a new XR8 ute with a supercharged motor (at a cheaper price than the GS anyway)
the reason i brought my XR8 ute was because it was $12k cheaper than the GS when i was looking and at the time i didnt have extra money to spend to get the supercharged motor.
i dont want a XR6T ute i want a supercharged V8 ute
looks like the cheaper way to go now is to just buy a supercharger and fit it to my 5.4L ute
my ute has only done 20,000kms , just lose to much money selling and buying a GS now

[Pepscobra]

That's sucky news. Not surprising though.

[BOOSTEDGAZ]

And yet again Ford marketing dish out another kick in the balls go there loyal blue blooded fans with no consultation or warning!!!!

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by GTGAZ

And yet again Ford marketing dish out another kick in the balls go there loyal blue blooded fans with no consultation or warning!!!!

Our balls have been pummelled so severely that there is nothing left in the groin to be kicked anymore.

[I6DOHC]

Very disappointing news.

[Nikked]

They still made V8 falcon utes?

[EDManual]

They lose money on every car they make. The more they make the more they lose.

[rancidpunx]

Are we even going to get any type of ute?

[mik]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

The dismantling of all things Falcon continues. I suspect the 2014 upgrade models will be very underwhelming.

To the bean counters closing down a marque that ran for 5o odd years probably means nothing more than sweeping the floor, turning out the lights and putting the padlock on the gate before for sale sign comes out.

[bbbero]

I wouldnt be suprised if the ute carries on as the FGIII as the BFIII wagon did, and die a slow and painful death.

[stevefreestyle]

Originally Posted by FPV+fteT3

I like how the story brings up the performance ute buyer will have to make do with the XR6T until the Mustang Coupe arrival ... so the mustang coupe has a huge boot and canopy option to suit the performance ute buyer?....

I just posted this in another thread:

Quote:
Originally Posted by tezxr8man
How about a V8 ute with a manual for people who enjoy driving cars????

If you enjoy driving cars (like me), you would get the V8 (XR8) Sedan, and loose the "ye olde oxe-cart" rigid rear axel, and about 78Kgs in weight.

Yes, contrary to common belief, the ute is actually significantly HEAVIER than the sedan.

(The XR6T Sed = 1732Kg, XR6T Ute = 1810 Kg - as per Ford Specs)

You would also gain a very nice IRS rear end that is lightyears ahead of the ute's museum piece - and which is much more rewarding for the driver.

BTW, the Auto has Sequential Sports Shift - and can be used just like a manual.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by rancidpunx

Are we even going to get any type of ute?

Do we need one? The younger generation favour Japanese utes, or 4x4 varieties. It doesn't seem to make much sense to continue making them when the level of competition in that space is going up, not down.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by stevefreestyle

BTW, the Auto has Sequential Sports Shift - and can be used just like a manual.

you were doing so well until that...

[Guzz226]

Originally Posted by bbbero

http://yahoo.carsales.com.au/news/20...with-fpv-40056

Well we knew it was coming, now confirmed.
Would of been nice to finish the Aussie ute with a V8, since the very first was a V8.

And a Ford ute at that.

[Guzz226]

Read the article folks.

Lots of questions that you would know the answer to if you simply clicked and read.

The ute is continuing but with a v8 alternative.

Given pricing on the XR8 sedan is not announced to assume it is less than the current GS is speculative - for those planning to get one hopefully it is cheaper, but I am not sure it will be on par with the current xr6 or even xr6t pricing which is heavily discounted already.

[SpoolMan]

Falcon XR8 only returning as a sedan, ending a lineage that stretches all the way back to 1934

Ford has confirmed there will be no XR8 ute when the iconic badge returns to showrooms in late 2014 as part of the final Falcon overhaul prior to the end of the Blue Oval’s local manufacturing no later than October 2016.

That means the death of the Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) range next year will also signal the demise of the V8-powered Ford Falcon utility, a vehicle which can trace its lineage all the way back to the vehicle which is said to have created the category, original Ford ‘coupe ute’ V8 developed by Lew Bandt in Geelong and first sold in 1934.

Instead, buyers of Ford performance utes will have to turn to the turbocharged 4.0-litre XR6 Turbo – at least until the imported Mustang coupe arrives.

And anyone anticipating a power step-up for the special-edition models marking the departure of FPV will be also disappointed.

The message from inside Ford is there will be some modifications, including cosmetic updates, but no drivetrain upgrades.

The decision to only roll out a sedan version of the XR8 is simply a matter of economics, Ford Public Affairs Director Sinead Phipps told motoring.com.au.

“We’ve decided that the V8 ute market is so small that we are just going to concentrate on the sedan,” she said.

The ute market has been in steady decline for some years, with 8686 Falcons and Holden VF utes sold so far in 2013. The Holden, in which V8 sales account for nearly 50 per cent of volume, has claimed 4782 of those sales.

The XR8 ute was first launched in 1999 as part of the AU Falcon range. It was powered by a 5.0-litre pushrod V8 engine that produced 185kW and 412Nm.

By the time the FG XR8 ute was retired in September 2011 it was powered by the Boss 5.4-litre DOHC V8 and produced 290kW and 520Nm.

That left FPV to offer the only V8 ute in the Ford line-up, the GS, which produce 315kW and 545Nm from its supercharged ‘Miami’ 5.0-litre engine.

The question now is which version of the supercharged V8 will power the returned XR8 sedan – the 315kW GS engine or the 335kW version currently offered with the FPV GT and GT-P sedans.

That’s an important detail Ford is yet to reveal, and nor has it confirmed whether FPV’s 310KW F6 version of the locally-built turbocharged 4.0-litre inline engine will survive in some form.

Phipps said Ford announced the end of FPV and the return of XR8 so early because it wanted to give people time to plan their purchases.

But it is also understood that Ford decided to pre-empt leaks that were almost certainly bound to start as the dealer ordering process of FPV’s special models began.

article from carsales.com.au

[roberts]

its sad really but expected

[Nikked]

Be good if they got their facts right, XR8 ute started with the XH in 1997!

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by bbbero

http://yahoo.carsales.com.au/news/20...with-fpv-40056

Well we knew it was coming, now confirmed.
Would of been nice to finish the Aussie ute with a V8, since the very first was a V8.

Ahhh ... the very first ute was not a V8. First Falcon ute was XK,L,M series with their little sixes.

[outback_ute]

Originally Posted by EDManual

They lose money on every car they make. The more they make the more they lose.

That's not true. The basic cost of having the factory doors open is the same whether they make any cars or not, so spreading it across more cars rather than less would be beneficial. I would be surprised if there was any cost item that would be lower on low volume when you average it across the number of vehicles produced.

[FGII-XR6]

It's all well and good to say everyone wants a V8 ute but if they were likely to sell they would make them . just because you have 15 mates who want one ( but won't buy one till they are 5 years old and cheap) that does not mean the general motoring public want or will buy one .
80% who are whinging will not go and lay the cash down on a V8 ute if they made one so your opinion is irrelevant in Fords decision making process

[Spammy]

If they could sell enough to make it viable, they would / end of story.

[Guzz226]

agree with the last few comments.

The coulda, woulda, shoulda crowd on here and various FB groups are starting to drive me nuts...if they were do-ers and had bought the car in the past Ford would be still making them.

Simple supply and demand rule of business - some people I reckon have trouble with the basics.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by GCRXR6

Ahhh ... the very first ute was not a V8. First Falcon ute was XK,L,M series with their little sixes.

Ummm....

First ever ute, 1934 Ford. With a 221c.i. Flathead V8...