Ford tried to save our manufacturing plants: Mullaly

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Jut be grateful that during the huge Ford purge of 2006-08 our plants were not the first to go.
That is support.

I'll give you an example, Taurus plant in Atlanta was closed at the end of 2006 while still producing 200,000 cars a year

Why?

Because none of them were actually making money.

The Falcon was the reason the plants have stayed open this long. It always had an upgrade path with a few hundred million and she'll be right. They do things differently over there.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Buntz

The Falcon was the reason the plants have stayed open this long. It always had an upgrade path with a few hundred million and she'll be right.

That doesn't work anymore, enjoy the next Falcon because it's the last and the best.

[monte.b]

Originally Posted by jpd80

That doesn't work anymore, enjoy the next Falcon because it's the last and the best.

Sounds like you are really enjoying the demise of the falcon,good luck with your front wheel drive pile of rubbish

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by monte.b

Sounds like you are really enjoying the demise of the falcon,good luck with your front wheel drive pile of rubbish

All well and good to stick the boot in but when someone does it to falcon its WWIII.
Around 2 years ago I went to purchased an XR6T, walked out with an XR5T now have an ST. Not one regret.
I'd hardly call them rubbish, at least they sell....

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by P6LTD351

Lost an entire generation of fans? What...when Ford went number 1 and stayed number without a V8 all through the 80s? Or when Ford was still number 1 in 1995? Falcon not selling has nothing to do with Supercars or V8s. Those times may have had an impact in the 70s but not thereafter.

I don’t agree. I'm 33 & grow up in an era with no Ford in motorsports as a young kid. Most of my friends my age are Holden fans. Ford did lose an entire generation in the 80's. It is taking effect now, because we are now old enough to be buying new cars!!

[Gadgetman]

Originally Posted by DJM83

All well and good to stick the boot in but when someone does it to falcon its WWIII.
Around 2 years ago I went to purchased an XR6T, walked out with an XR5T now have an ST. Not one regret.
I'd hardly call them rubbish, at least they sell....

My Favourite car out of the entire range of Fords atm is by far the Focus ST. In the 17 years of working with the ford product and driving every model released since 96, I dont reckon I have ever driven a more complete car. If you havent spent quality time in one, Shut the hell up!

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by monte.b

Sounds like you are really enjoying the demise of the falcon,good luck with your front wheel drive pile of rubbish

He's put his money where his mouth is and bought a new Falcon, and is about to replace it with another on lease. Have you bought a new Falcon lately?

[leighm]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

He's put his money where his mouth is and bought a new Falcon, and is about to replace it with another on lease. Have you bought a new Falcon lately?

Even if it were selling do you think they would still be making them since it is not in One Fords business model? I think not.

[imugli]

I still can't get over all thes people saying Focus / Kuga would have saved the Oz factory... The key is efficiency. Broadmeadows simply does not have the capacity to build as many units as the Thai factory (which produces a total of 250,000 units per year). When you have a factory, you have to pay to keep the lights running, the generators running, the lines running. It's a lot easier to pay the bills when you're ammortising those costs over 250,000 units, as opposed to even 40,000 or 50,000. It's like a supermarket. They have to have the fridges, freezers etc and a certain amount of lighting on 24/7, so that becomes easier to pay if you can have paying customers in the store for more hours of the day.

Focus and Kuga wouldn't have saved the factory because FoA still wouldn't have been able to produce enough to cover the costs of running the plant AND making a profit, while being able to sell the things at a price the public would pay for them. Sure, you may have a profitable factory, but would you pay 30 or 35k for a BASE Focus just to keep the factory running? I don't think so. And if that's the case, and you'd only pay $20k (which is what they're going for ATM) the factory would still be losing money and we'd still be in the situation we're in.

Companies can handle higher labour costs (look at Germany), but add that to higher energy costs, higher costs for materials and a lower volume to ammortise them over and you're in trouble.

Focus and Kuga were not the straw that broke this camel's back.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by monte.b

Sounds like you are really enjoying the demise of the falcon,good luck with your front wheel drive pile of rubbish

Your're new here, arnt ya?

[Gadgetman]

Originally Posted by Nikked

Your're new here, arnt ya?

Not only new to the Forum but new to thinking as well.

[Adamz Ghia]

Originally Posted by imugli

I still can't get over all thes people saying Focus / Kuga would have saved the Oz factory... The key is efficiency. Broadmeadows simply does not have the capacity to build as many units as the Thai factory (which produces a total of 250,000 units per year). When you have a factory, you have to pay to keep the lights running, the generators running, the lines running. It's a lot easier to pay the bills when you're ammortising those costs over 250,000 units, as opposed to even 40,000 or 50,000. It's like a supermarket. They have to have the fridges, freezers etc and a certain amount of lighting on 24/7, so that becomes easier to pay if you can have paying customers in the store for more hours of the day.

Focus and Kuga wouldn't have saved the factory because FoA still wouldn't have been able to produce enough to cover the costs of running the plant AND making a profit, while being able to sell the things at a price the public would pay for them. Sure, you may have a profitable factory, but would you pay 30 or 35k for a BASE Focus just to keep the factory running? I don't think so. And if that's the case, and you'd only pay $20k (which is what they're going for ATM) the factory would still be losing money and we'd still be in the situation we're in.

Companies can handle higher labour costs (look at Germany), but add that to higher energy costs, higher costs for materials and a lower volume to ammortise them over and you're in trouble.

Focus and Kuga were not the straw that broke this camel's back.

I dunno, we can pump out 125,000 odd cars a year here (please correct me if I'm wrong). If we were building cars for ourselves and exporting the rest at full capacity I think the plant would be right...

[ltd]

I've read a lot of crap in my time like our illustrious PM's return speech, but some of the crap in here takes the cake. "These overpaid executives" etc etc seriously, are some of you deranged? These executives in particular Alan Mulally SAVED Ford. Not only did they not go chapter 11 in the USA like their American rivals did, they also rationalised the business to the extent of paying off all their debts and since then continuously making profits. Ford is loved in America, as they refused to take the bailouts and Mulally and his team literally saved the company from going under. Furthermore, their commitment to the customer has seen them make cars people want, and they have rapidly become the leader in several markets.
On form, Mulally also saved Boeing when he was there too, and the best thing Ford ever did was employ these "overpaid executives".

The fact of the matters are thus. Ford has kept on with the Falcon for years especially given the diminishing sales and the market perception of "gas guzzlers". We should be grateful for the continued support. Further, you want to know who is responsible for the Falcons demise? Look in the mirror, look to your family and friends and ask yourself if you truly are supporting the brand. Don't confuse it with loyalism, I mean have you bought Fords or are you masquerading loyalty with other brands? Another thing, look toward the middle east and OPEC for another valid reason why large cars are in demise.
Then look to your governments and the diminishing percentile of Australian Made vehicles.
Then you can look to every single person who believes that the locally made product is garbage and have an almost passionate hate for Australian made things.
Look at the dealerships who have let the customers down, look at several factors and not just blaming the executives who by their actions have in fact supported Ford Australia for all the years it was losing money.

As I said earlier, we've been lucky to have Falcon come this far and frankly the ridiculous comments like "I'll never buy another ford" surely are made by people without the intellect to see the reasons as to why things have transpired the way they are, and are likely people who will never be able to afford a new ford anyway - so no great loss.

[jpd80]

Never mind.....

[fte50]

Originally Posted by DJM83

All well and good to stick the boot in but when someone does it to falcon its WWIII.
Around 2 years ago I went to purchased an XR6T, walked out with an XR5T now have an ST. Not one regret.
I'd hardly call them rubbish, at least they sell....

My wife don't mind it as well !

[monte.b]

I see my attempt at humor didnt go over too well ,sorry about that .I have bought 4 new falcons over the last few years ,well utes really ,a xh in 1998 a ba xr6 in 3003 a ba xt in 2005 and a bf mr 2 in 2007 so im not really a bum and i have enough money to buy a new one if i so desire ,im not really new here i just dont post a lot as i find most threads on here end in a big bum fight anyway ,so i can say i will never buy a imported pile of rubbish ,but i might buy another lovely ute before they take the axe to them as ive had a great run out of the last one ,anyway have a nice day

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by fte50

My wife don't mind it as well !

So i know what your trying to say albeit will be denied upon my posting this.

But good for her.

Originally Posted by monte.b

so i can say i will never buy a imported pile of rubbish

Good buy local built rubbish then....

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by imugli

I still can't get over all thes people saying Focus / Kuga would have saved the Oz factory... The key is efficiency. Broadmeadows simply does not have the capacity to build as many units as the Thai factory (which produces a total of 250,000 units per year). When you have a factory, you have to pay to keep the lights running, the generators running, the lines running. It's a lot easier to pay the bills when you're ammortising those costs over 250,000 units, as opposed to even 40,000 or 50,000. It's like a supermarket. They have to have the fridges, freezers etc and a certain amount of lighting on 24/7, so that becomes easier to pay if you can have paying customers in the store for more hours of the day.

Focus and Kuga wouldn't have saved the factory because FoA still wouldn't have been able to produce enough to cover the costs of running the plant AND making a profit, while being able to sell the things at a price the public would pay for them. Sure, you may have a profitable factory, but would you pay 30 or 35k for a BASE Focus just to keep the factory running? I don't think so. And if that's the case, and you'd only pay $20k (which is what they're going for ATM) the factory would still be losing money and we'd still be in the situation we're in.

Companies can handle higher labour costs (look at Germany), but add that to higher energy costs, higher costs for materials and a lower volume to ammortise them over and you're in trouble.

Focus and Kuga were not the straw that broke this camel's back.

Just for your information, the engine plants power bill is over $100,000 a month and it probably uses a lot less power than the other plants do. I wouldn't be surprised if across all of Fords plants in Vic the combined power bills weren't at least 1/2 to 3/4 of a million dollars a month.

[monte.b]

[QUOTE=


Good buy local built rubbish then....[/QUOTE]

So are you saying the falcon is just rubbish

[mr smith]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Just for your information, the engine plants power bill is over $100,000 a month and it probably uses a lot less power than the other plants do. I wouldn't be surprised if across all of Fords plants in Vic the combined power bills weren't at least 1/2 to 3/4 of a million dollars a month.

BM site is close to $1M/month.
I'm not sure the average punter understands the costs involved in these operations.

[WILDB]

Originally Posted by ltd

As I said earlier, we've been lucky to have Falcon come this far and frankly the ridiculous comments like "I'll never buy another ford" surely are made by people without the intellect to see the reasons as to why things have transpired the way they are, and are likely people who will never be able to afford a new ford anyway - so no great loss.

Very well put, as a matter of fact you took the words right out of my mouth.

The same as all of the clowns on the Ford Australia Facebook page posting negative drivel every time they post up about Focus, Kuga, Fiesta etc.

Ford is in business to sell NEW cars in the present time, not to entertain people who might have been looking to buy a new Falcon in 2022. People who buy used cars are NOT supporting FoA.

Those posting up garbage such as "never buying another Ford" or "import garbage" are fools and to be quite honest not customers Ford likely wants to keep....

[69XWGT]

Originally Posted by P6LTD351

Geoff Polites was an amazing man with such a passion for Ford. Man, we could do with him today RIP.

But...

Lost an entire generation of fans? What...when Ford went number 1 and stayed number without a V8 all through the 80s? Or when Ford was still number 1 in 1995? Falcon not selling has nothing to do with Supercars or V8s. Those times may have had an impact in the 70s but not thereafter.

Holden and the Commodore were dead in the late 80s. They were bailed out prior to the VN. The VN was a last ditched effort. If the EA was not so rushed on release - there would not be a Holden today.

That's nice, applaud him first then bag him next.

Polites also said it wasn't just about V8 Superfarce or selling Falcons.
He said it was a complete marketing package for the whole company and whether people support motorsport or not, it was a valuable tool.

He also said people like to be associated with winners and that included all the models Ford sold.

You can doubt it all you want but tell me this thing.
If it doesn't work why do so many people by inferior cheap Daewoos rebadged as Holdens.
Why do they buy Colorados when the Ranger out performs it on all levels

People are buying the brand and name plate not whats behind it.
Holden have leveraged the whole brand by making sure they had all their bases covered

[monte.b]

Seems to me that there is lots of ford dealers or sales persons on this thread ,but us mere mortals are just too stupid to have an opinion ,well lets see how your sales go over the next few years with your wonderful imported cars ,one thing about real ford fans is they are loyal and we have been screwed and we wont forget it

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by monte.b

Seems to me that there is lots of ford dealers or sales persons on this thread ,but us mere mortals are just too stupid to have an opinion ,well lets see how your sales go over the next few years with your wonderful imported cars ,one thing about real ford fans is they are loyal and we have been screwed and we wont forget it

Not a sales person here, im a buyer of NEW cars
So now im/we arent real ford fans because my Ford isnt stryan eh. Pull the other one goose.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by monte.b

Seems to me that there is lots of ford dealers or sales persons on this thread ,but us mere mortals are just too stupid to have an opinion ,well lets see how your sales go over the next few years with your wonderful imported cars ,one thing about real ford fans is they are loyal and we have been screwed and we wont forget it

The highest selling fords are imported...

We are all real Ford fans, with the love of a Ford product...


For me, it started with dads gold (with brown vinyl roof ) TD Corty, learning to drive in a "big block" EA...to My XR8 and my missus Mondeo...


Ford is not screwing anyone, they have come out and said that despite the loss they will make, they will build the Falcon as promised till 2016.


It happened the New Zealand, and now us.

[munners]

Originally Posted by ltd

I've read a lot of crap in my time like our illustrious PM's return speech, but some of the crap in here takes the cake. "These overpaid executives" etc etc seriously, are some of you deranged? These executives in particular Alan Mulally SAVED Ford. Not only did they not go chapter 11 in the USA like their American rivals did, they also rationalised the business to the extent of paying off all their debts and since then continuously making profits. Ford is loved in America, as they refused to take the bailouts and Mulally and his team literally saved the company from going under. Furthermore, their commitment to the customer has seen them make cars people want, and they have rapidly become the leader in several markets.
On form, Mulally also saved Boeing when he was there too, and the best thing Ford ever did was employ these "overpaid executives".

The fact of the matters are thus. Ford has kept on with the Falcon for years especially given the diminishing sales and the market perception of "gas guzzlers". We should be grateful for the continued support. Further, you want to know who is responsible for the Falcons demise? Look in the mirror, look to your family and friends and ask yourself if you truly are supporting the brand. Don't confuse it with loyalism, I mean have you bought Fords or are you masquerading loyalty with other brands? Another thing, look toward the middle east and OPEC for another valid reason why large cars are in demise.
Then look to your governments and the diminishing percentile of Australian Made vehicles.
Then you can look to every single person who believes that the locally made product is garbage and have an almost passionate hate for Australian made things.
Look at the dealerships who have let the customers down, look at several factors and not just blaming the executives who by their actions have in fact supported Ford Australia for all the years it was losing money.

As I said earlier, we've been lucky to have Falcon come this far and frankly the ridiculous comments like "I'll never buy another ford" surely are made by people without the intellect to see the reasons as to why things have transpired the way they are, and are likely people who will never be able to afford a new ford anyway - so no great loss.

My thoughts exactly. Some of the posts in this thread are not only wildly inaccurate but childish and embarrassing as well.

I was surprised that Alan Mulally and co were here, that speaks volumes to me about how they feel about our market. These guys are the top of Ford management, there is no one higher. They felt it was important enough to fly all the way down to be here in person and still we get muppets on this forum complaining that they wanted to hear more Australian speakers! Seriously? If we only had Australian speakers I bet people would complain that "someone from head office should get down here and explain things!" I think the significance of their visit has been lost on some people, but they are the same ones who now hate Ford and will never buy another Ford blah blah blah...

Get over it.

Face facts. The Falcon was a good car but simply not good enough to survive. That's all there is to it. It isn't what people want to buy anymore. If it was then they would still be selling in big numbers and Ford would still be making them.

For those complaining about Alan Mulally I recommend getting a copy of "American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company" and reading it (don't worry, it has some pictures)

It might just change a few peoples minds.

Munners

[monte.b]

Sorry if i come across a bit harsh,im an old boilermaker and thats the way i am ,i just feel let down by the decision to close ford au down after all the loyalty shown over the years by us ford people ,we stuck with them over the years even though some of their cars were not up to scratch ,and they made lots and lots of money in this country ,something most people forget but when times get a bit hard they pick up their little pink skirt and go prancing home .Im not a goose and i dont pull things ,not like some other people ,and im off to bed ,have a great night folks

[Bill M]

Originally Posted by P6LTD351

Geoff Polites was an amazing man with such a passion for Ford. Man, we could do with him today RIP.

But...

Lost an entire generation of fans? What...when Ford went number 1 and stayed number without a V8 all through the 80s? Or when Ford was still number 1 in 1995? Falcon not selling has nothing to do with Supercars or V8s. Those times may have had an impact in the 70s but not thereafter.

Holden and the Commodore were dead in the late 80s. They were bailed out prior to the VN. The VN was a last ditched effort. If the EA was not so rushed on release - there would not be a Holden today.

If buts and maybes have no relevance and you can bet with VF Commode hitting the streets no one is thinking about VN, well except you.

Wheels did an experiment years ago, they parked a Falcon and a Commode outside a school and all the interested kids came to the fence and when asked by the Wheels guys which they preferred they just about all chose the Commode. Holden by keeping the V8 appealed to the youth market which has the effect of locking in buyers when they become affluent enough would buy SS Commodes, HSVs and Calais. It worked, then.
Now with just about the largest choice in the world for new car brands the competition is much greater and the pool of followers have much more to choose from in terms of hipo performers with world wide appeal.
On a different vein what I find disgusting is the volume of posters here under the guise of Ford fans who cannot resist sinking a boot into the local efforts and seem keen to bury it while the body is still breathing.
Some even are up to concocting fairy figures to make themselves sound impressive!
WTF!

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by leighm

Even if it were selling do you think they would still be making them since it is not in One Fords business model? I think not.

They're NOT selling at the required levels .... That's why they're NOT IN the One Ford business model. Come on people ... stop floging a dead horse ... he won't get up again. Buyers ... apart from a few diehards ... DON'T want Falcons anymore. Accept it. I love the things ... but time for a divorce .. Ranger coming.

[P6LTD351]

Originally Posted by 69XWGT

That's nice, applaud him first then bag him next.

Polites also said it wasn't just about V8 Superfarce or selling Falcons.
He said it was a complete marketing package for the whole company and whether people support motorsport or not, it was a valuable tool.

He also said people like to be associated with winners and that included all the models Ford sold.

You can doubt it all you want but tell me this thing.
If it doesn't work why do so many people by inferior cheap Daewoos rebadged as Holdens.
Why do they buy Colorados when the Ranger out performs it on all levels

People are buying the brand and name plate not whats behind it.
Holden have leveraged the whole brand by making sure they had all their bases covered

Please tell me where I bagged him? Unbelievable.