Hi guy's I was there working part of the time but got to see the main race in the corporate box. I am Ford right through but what a finish.( dark secret I still own a Chev pickup back in NZ0.The Ford parts in the winning car stood the test of the race. Got a good look through pitlane and saw some of the specs. These race cars are not your family Holden or Ford.I have to say it could have been anyones race on the last few laps, both those drivers were amazingly skilled. Best indurance test though is to look at Aussie taxi's they have 500,000 plus k's and are mainly Fords. The drivers reackon nothing can beat them for reliability. Bathurst buzzed all weekend, it is something all petrolheads should experience at least once. Will be different with the Mercedes and Nissan input, but what the hell it will still be the track, and driver skill. Got to drive round the track too its difficult in some places.
splinter67,
Oct 9, 3:04pm
thats interesting not that I would buy one 4 cylinders has been tried before in larger cars and it didnt work. So no v8s from ford australia how long before no more sixes
smac,
Oct 9, 3:13pm
Yep, will be a bit of a mind shift for the aussies. I think fleet buyers will buy them though.same retail and less gas, so win win. They flick them after 2-3 years so don't care about the big question mark around long term longevity.
The reality is the 8 and maybe the 6 are on the way out for all but exotics. The latest direction for american economy/emission standards makes for some interesting (read: scary for petrolheads) reading.
splinter67,
Oct 9, 3:22pm
NOOOOOOO it cant happen hmmm time to start buying up v8s and storing them for later I think I need a bigger shed
chris_051,
Oct 9, 3:26pm
What are you on about, the Euros have been successfully using small capacity in large cars for decades now, the introduction of direct injection and turbo just makes the concept a whole lot more compelling. Maybe you should crawl out fromthat rock you've been living under.
Audi A6 2.0t, 150kw, 350nm@1500rpm, 0-100 in 7.5 secs BMW 5 series 2.0t, 187kw, 350nm @ 1250 rpm, 0-100 in 6.7 secs Ford Falcon 2.0t, 187kw, 353nm@2000rpm, 0-100 in 7.1 secs
Holden failed miserably by trying do do the same by adding the 3.0 to gain economy, and its a dud much like the starfire 4 25 years earlier. Real world tests when the 3.0 came out show the 4.0 Falcon to use less gas.
splinter67,
Oct 9, 5:12pm
Time will tell chris are they going to sell any of these 4 cylinder falcons I very much doubt it people who worry about economy dont buy big cars and before you start quoteing facts about holden you might want to do some research or have you forgotten the toranas they used an opel motor not the starfire
chebry,
Oct 9, 5:24pm
You might want to learn a little about the Aussie car market it obvious you've never bought a car there. Fleet sales are at signifigantdiscounts many thousands below retail The cars are kept to between 40-50,000kms the sold at dealer only auctions. These ex fleet then become Joe publics new car still with some factory warranty and nicely run in 2-3 years yeah nah finance contracts run for 5 years for private buyers and noone is buying Falcons at present except taxi operators but those are a seperate model actually built as a taxi with LPG and low compression engines for longer life span
smac,
Oct 9, 5:31pm
OK I used the word retail.should have said price. Everything else stands: I think commercial buyers will buy the 4 pot. No point arguing it, just have to wait until the sales figures are available to see.
boss17,
Oct 10, 1:19am
Holden is also in the same situation with low sales volumes of the Commodore platform and the end is near for that too. Remeber the Territory is built on the Falcon platform by Ford Aus and in August sales data they sold 1357 Territorys and 1353 Falcons which makes a total build of 2710 on the Falcon Platform and Holden sold 2435 Commodores off that platform so the build figures are not much different between the two companies. Head office for both companies in USA will have the same question to ask.
chebry,
Oct 10, 1:27am
True nothing is selling well at the moment however the OZ govt just gave GMH several billion dollars to stay in the OZ market place into the 2020s. No such deal for Ford as they have already announced thye death of the Falcon its being replaced by the Taurus. GMH next year will begin shipping OZ built Chevrolets to the US which increases its market coverage along with the ME and South africa and of course Vauxhalls to England. THe Holden has become a world car the falcon not so much.
boss17,
Oct 10, 2:32am
Wrong. They have not announced all of those things. They have announced financial help with the Cruze for Holden but the Commodore is in the same boat as the Falcon with no plan past the update due soon.and that is the same with Falcon which has an update due 2014. Ford hasn't announced an end to manufacturing in Aus nor has it said the Falcon is ceasing and the Taurus is to be imported. This may end up happening but certainly nothing has been announced by Ford. So far all that has been announced is Falcon/Territory are to run until at least 2016.
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