The last Falcon should be called?

[FTe217]

Base model has waned for so long and has not been the high seller it once was, I suppose cabbies would be the highest purchasers but IMO a xr6 with all the trimmings or a G6ET those 2 are the Falcon of today and 6ET is the pick for me.

[MisterAU]

Maybe it won't be F anything. We've gone from Au, ... B a and f, ... then to Fg. So maybe we'll see a fresh series starting with say .... let me see; how about H.?


So ......



........ what about HO ??

[HSE2]

I think what Glenn is asking is which actual car model should be the last one, you know the one with all the photos of the workers around it. Which Falcon says falcon the most?

The current range hasn't be around forever. The XR models would be up there, I guess GT although that's come and gone and although its engine is Australian it hasn't been around long enough for me. Obviously there will be a last GT to come off the line. History will tell us its will be build number xxxxx but even if they build just 10 Falcons XTs or what ever the call them the very last car should embody what Falcon has been imo.

[HSE2]

Maybe it won't be F anything. We've gone from Au, ... B a and f, ... then to Fg. So maybe we'll see a fresh series starting with say .... let me see; how about H.?


So ......



........ what about HO ??

Now you have put the cat amongst it!

[Perko]

How this is done will be very interesting.

Your question Glenn is one that been on my mind too. Obviously there will be lasts of each model and while Ford might auction them off I suspect they might be kept by Ford.

I think for mine it just has to be a Falcon 6. It started as a humble car, I think its fitting that the very last car just be the basic Falcon.

The other question too I guess will Falcons replacement be in the yards around the same month. End in Oct then need to sell something in Nov. I know employees have asked this question and if Ford do know they aren't telling anyone which is to be expected.

I would expect that the last will be auctioned. Ford will not doubt put something around the last GT to come off the line etc but to see what the very last car to come off the assembly line would be very interesting. However I would also like something else to be considered by Ford Oz. As a sign of respect to the many people who have built the vehicle I hope that Ford offer some sort of deal so that they can afford to purchase some of the last available or book them in early. Would be a nice sign of gratitude to make it affordable and build your own last vehicle. Maybe I am wrong but I think it may be a way of thanking the men and women who have been making the great cars that we currently drive. Just as long as they save one for me...

[VZTRT]

I thought the base model was now just called a falcon and not xt.

[Road_Warrior]

Hmm...the 2014 HO Falcon. They won't do a real GTHO, so the best way to pay homage to the nameplate is with a model everyone has measured the Falcon by.

[4Vman]

Hmm...the 2014 HO Falcon. They won't do a real GTHO, so the best way to pay homage to the nameplate is with a model everyone has measured the Falcon by.

Without different racing rules its impossible to do a modern day GT-HO.


The only reason the original HO's existed was to qualify for the national racing rules at the time.

[defective]

FZ has a nice ring to it.

Using ho is a minefield...

[HSE2]

Without different racing rules its impossible to do a modern day GT-HO.


The only reason the original HO's existed was to qualify for the national racing rules at the time.

This is where most people roll out the we cant do it reasoning.

There is another two questions and answers before you get to the racing disclaimer.

Racing then as it is today is a tool. The justification to race is something completely different. There is a basic, a fundamental to be in business and that comes first. Its the reason to race not the rules at the time that's important and trust me I have had many many conversations with the guys that previously held the key to this lock.

We try to make this too complicated, having Allan Moffat at the table at the same time this conversation was happening provided a completely different perceptive. He was against it too but for a reason we don't want to talk about.

The racing rules argument is as a legitimate excuse as there is but for me its ignores a much more simpler prerequisite. I am not big on excuses and Ford for too long have said no no no no and hell no for reasons that in the end don't matter.

You cant let history dictate your future. There is merit in everything, and if people want to see the negative stuff well they will no matter what you do. If its one thing Falcon has taught us, its that.

What Ford are faced with now is rational when its striped away comes down to 50 plus years of emotion. It was never intended to be like that, just as the HO was never intended to become the myth that it is. How Ford play this now is very important.

XR is the biggest selling Falcon, a model that was so named because of the first GT, the 67 XR GT Falcon.

The people that buy the XR today probably don't know that and care even less but there is a belief in the platform of front engine rwd sedans. Ford risk losing all that passion with this transformation. They are trapped now.

They are going to have to try to tell us that 50 plus years was wrong, this is the way we need to be and through all this there will be nothing underpinning our heart strings to the new product. I think its mission impossible and they choice to move forward will hinge on the merit of the product.

Motor and Wheels if they are still going will test the old v the new. I reckon I could predict the verdict now.

I think this transition is very important, what they do with FPV is very important, how they try to drag passion for one product and link it to a great brand identity is vitally important.