I heard from more than one Melbourne taxi driver a few years ago that most in the trade thought Holden's were cr*p as so many drivers had so many driveline and electrical issues , one would think that over time this follows to the private owner also , are "Holden people" more forgiving and haven't owned many other brands to compare with !
foxdonut,
May 23, 3:04pm
if there was more than just the Falcon here it would be a different story. There's no Mustang, no GT, no big name aftermarkets like Rousch or Shelby etc.
Whenever the subject of "Ford" gets raised, no one ever thinks "oh year, that 2 door heritage sports car with the 5.4 litre, water injected, supercharged mid engine layout and 210mph top speed" They think "10,000 dollar used V8 from 15 years ago with plastic window winders".
If _Ford_ came to the southern hemisphere it would be a different story altogether.
bellky,
May 23, 3:08pm
I agree with you^ foxdonut fwiw. Ford is not here (really) and why should they be - we're just a little back water of peculiarity.
foxdonut,
May 23, 3:09pm
I'm surprised you've even met a Melbourian taxi driver who spoke english.
gman35,
May 23, 3:14pm
From memory most were a Greek/Indian blend of some kind , I did seem to have some very big fares which ended up outside ethnic restuarants.
foxdonut,
May 23, 4:10pm
Well, sorry, but that's just you. The FPV stuff is just fringe buyers who wanted a fast car but didn't want to buy an HSV.
FPV's aren't popular here because they're _just not cool_ compared to other things. There's no social standing attached to domestic Fords. They're taxis or government cars.
foxdonut,
May 23, 5:17pm
Take off the stickers and put some less try hard wheels on it and it'd be even better.
I'm not saying they aren't fast for a cheap car, but they're not popular if you want an image car in Australia.
patiki1,
May 23, 5:48pm
That coming from a gay homo mx5 owner.
sr2,
May 23, 5:51pm
A R8 having the same performance as an M3! I'm by no means anti Aussi V8 but that's quite a big claim to make!
foxdonut,
May 23, 5:57pm
Straight line they're basically identical. Slap some mega expensive rubber on the magnetically adjusted R8 suspension and tweak the camber of the wheels a bit with a basic kit and I doubt there'd be much of a difference in lap times - 'cept for the massive price difference.
sr2,
May 23, 6:02pm
Never driven an M3 have we!
foxdonut,
May 23, 6:09pm
Not in anger.
i have put the boot down on a track spec SS with GT3 rated rubber though.
doug207,
May 23, 6:23pm
Beat me to it.
I love people arguing over cars that are nothing special. But for the sake of the argument; Holdens have been very popular even though they usually have a small price disadvantage. To my knowledge Ford started having proper sales issues with the AU in NZ, might have something to do with the ugliness. In my experience Holden has always made a comfier car, but, in the 90's it was a trade off, the 4.0L straight 6 was (IMO) a much nicer engine than the 3.8 in all its forms. When Holden brought the GEN3 out with the VT2 (a nice looker too) it was another big punch to Ford. Then there's the basic concept with the performance models, HSV has been around in reasonably priced grunty sedans since the VN really, Ford hasn't established a name like that as of yet unfortunately.
On a side note, who remembers the SVO EF/EL Fords! They were seriously cool bits of kit, the Hercules, Pegasus etc. Haven't seen one for years.
sr2,
May 23, 6:30pm
Not wanting to get into a slanging match but I think it??
foxdonut,
May 23, 6:42pm
Yeah, I don't doubt it, I guess what I'm trying to say is either A: For the money the HSV is a better car or B: For the money the M3 isn't up to much.
Because I live in Australia and this country is ten years behind the rest of the world I only have these things called "news paper articles" to go by instead of decades old Internet technology where I could show you, but even recently I was reading the comparisons by a reasonable reviewer that was comparing the two and for the massive cash difference, the M3 with the V8 isn't as clear cut a winner as it was with the 6 vs the pre VE cars.
doug207,
May 23, 6:55pm
I hate to admit it being an M3 fan, the newer HSVs have come forward in leaps and bounds. plus, who couldn't resist buying a 500kw Walkinshaw for less than M3 coin.Good God that makes me fizz at the root.
chris_051,
May 23, 11:30pm
lol you've got to be joking. so any homo cruising Ponsonby road in his AUTO 911 has more right to an opinion than anyone else. btw automatic porsches are for posers. No doubt the Germans make the best cars around, but considering Ford Au and Holdens budget they do very good. As for post #1 I went into North Harbour Ford looking at ordering the new 5.0l s/c V8 FPV in Feb 2012, and they handed me a brochure of the old 5.4 FPV range. 16 months after the 5.4 was discontinued. What does that say. And speaking of the new 5.0 supercharged motor, what a weapon, certainly shits on the 4.0 turbo and Holden/HSV offerings, up there with the M5 and E63.
clark20,
May 24, 5:22am
God there is a lot of one-eyed cr&p on here sometimes. No the M3 is better, of course it is, thats why they charge nearly twice as much for it. Nobody driving a Holden thinks they are getting a cheap M3. I have a VE V8, and it is miles ahead of the Falcon (not FPV) , but that is my opinion. For some reason I don't want a HSV.
timmo1,
May 24, 5:56am
hahaha a 'gay homo'.i.e. Heterosexual, yes you are correct. If you think owning a certain type of car will change your sexual orientation, then you must be veeeeery close to the boundary mate
bellky,
May 24, 6:40am
By 'here' you mean Australia - well who gives a toss!
bellky,
May 24, 6:41am
What's Australia got to do with it!
bellky,
May 24, 6:42am
That's killer.
mopsy3,
May 24, 7:37am
The biggest reason is that Holden/HSV spend millions on advertising and sponsorship. Ford in comparison spend very little. Their reckoning is that the fans will come which is an outdated way of marketing.
foxdonut,
May 24, 9:32am
Sure they do. The HSV is faster in a straight line. Its a major selling point and advertised that way.
foxdonut,
May 24, 9:34am
Considering that NZ is just a place where the left overs get shifted off to and the actual market for the cars is here, I'd say it has a lot to do with things.
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