Ford Australia is finished! 1925-2016.
dam shame all those people have to lose there jobs and now we are going to get mostly European rubbish that wont handle the conditions out here at all well Ford and Holden were just money pits the Australian people ( tax payers ) have been keeping them both alive for years so they can sell us cars that we have already partly paid for. |
05:51pm 07/10/16 Permalink
or even worse, american cars :(
it is pretty sad to see this happen. ive never bought a ford, but i still think it was awesome that we had australian made cars. i guess im part of the problem. |
07:20pm 07/10/16 Permalink
Definitely part of the problem because you bought a great wall
I am probably going to buy a ford focus ST next year. |
07:41pm 07/10/16 Permalink
So does that mean the only V8's being made are American?
|
08:41pm 07/10/16 Permalink
its a hyundai matey, not a great wall. and its f*****g awesome.
|
09:06pm 07/10/16 Permalink
Lol hyundai, great wall, mahindra - same s***
|
09:12pm 07/10/16 Permalink
yer, not really bro.
some are china, some are korea. u racist. |
09:23pm 07/10/16 Permalink
I was watching a review on the new Suzuki Vitara and they said it is made in Hungary!?!
So a small European country of 10 million ppl can produce a compact SUV but Australia with 25 million ppl can't? last edited by sLaps_Forehead at 22:03:37 07/Oct/16 |
09:54pm 07/10/16 Permalink
people simply didn't realise a good thing that was staring them in the face.
oh no, we need an SUV to go 'camping' and do outdoorsy stuff meanwhile the only offroading it ever does is parking on the oval at the local school fete y'all done goof'd, people. your love of being 'unique' and having some kind of impractical car instead of supporting your fellow aussies and driving an aussie car. think about what your grandparents would think about this. this imported from china future isn't the strong australia that won world wars. you're all gonna dismiss this because you don't want to face the 'whats in it for me' perspectives you all have now |
09:54pm 07/10/16 Permalink
I am speaking of the Bavarian Motor Works.
|
10:15pm 07/10/16 Permalink
One of my best friends is Argentinian. Loving your work Baz. |
10:22pm 07/10/16 Permalink
So a small European country of 10 million ppl can produce a compact SUV but Australia with 25 million ppl can't? Try thinking about it this way. That small European country taxes its citizens to give you cheaper cars. |
10:23pm 07/10/16 Permalink
Surprised none of you have blamed the unions for this yet like everyone has been in the Courier Mail.
|
10:25pm 07/10/16 Permalink
Surprised none of you have blamed the unions for this yet like everyone has been in the Courier Mail. well they didnt exactly give the manufacturers a competitive edge. |
10:45pm 07/10/16 Permalink
Classic business death, shoulda innovated bro.
Although, considering our driverless car future, perhaps they should have innovated into an entirely different industry. |
03:37am 08/10/16 Permalink
Although, considering our driverless car future, perhaps they should have innovated into an entirely different industry. Pretty much how it is. Not much they could of done to compete with the line workers in Thailand that work for $6 an hour with our cost of living. I have been in manufacturing here for awhile myself and can't compete with visa workers anymore so I am changing industries. |
08:14am 08/10/16 Permalink
Classic business death, shoulda innovated bro. yeah we've innovated from wool to mining, cattle and non-Indian call centres. |
08:21am 08/10/16 Permalink
people simply didn't realise a good thing that was staring them in the face. No. Ford and Holden in Australia kept trying to sell a car that nobody wanted. That's not Australian ingenuity, that's being stupidly in denial. The trend was towards smaller fuel efficient cars and while the Korean cars kept getting better and less faux pas, Ford and Holden never changed. |
08:48am 08/10/16 Permalink
Few comments here bit off the mark. It's not that we're going to get american cars not suited for our conditions and euro imports that fall to bits at the sniff of a dirt road etc etc.... Fords just stopped building cars here. All the R and D and the engineering and design is still here, Fords just stopped production...
And tbh they were only really producing a couple of models anyways... Nearly all (and it's the same with Holden too) of their cars are built overseas. The Ranger for example has been built in Thailand for the last couple of years, but all the engineering and design has been done in Oz. There was a good little discussion on Hack about it hey. Worth a listen if you can find the podcast |
09:03am 08/10/16 Permalink
No. Ford and Holden in Australia kept trying to sell a car that nobody wanted. That's not Australian ingenuity, that's being stupidly in denial. The trend was towards smaller fuel efficient cars and while the Korean cars kept getting better and less faux pas, Ford and Holden never changed.No. Holden did change; producing the Cruze here for the past half a decade. They offered a sedan and hatch, in petrol, small turbo petrol and turbo diesel spec. They delivered exactly what the market called for. But buyers wouldn't buy it, because they'd prefer to pretend that they're cultured now and buy some s***heap Volkswagen or Poogeot or some other car with 'flair', whatever that means. Every single car manufacturing nation IN THE WORLD is subsidised by its government. Especially germany. Oh and germany has some of the worlds highest car import tariffs too, to protect the german government's investment in itself. Australia decided not to subsidise its car industry, so now it has to subsidise the workers by way of increase welfare and reduced tax recepits. One manufacturing job creates another one and a half jobs, and this increases as production gets smarter. Every single nation on earth that has gone from a s***hole backwater to a powerhouse on the world stage has done so with a strong manufacturing industry. No sector does more to generate broad-scale economic growth and, ultimately, higher living standards than manufacturing. Sources here and here |
11:15am 08/10/16 Permalink
Just my observation, here is what average punters are buying
* Little girly hatchbacks like Suzuki swifts * Mid size hatchbacks - Corolla's, i30's etc. Hipster wankers buy Golf's * Compact SUV's - Mazda CX, Rav 4's, ASX * Dual Cab utes - Hilux, Triton Non of these types of cars are made by Ford, Holden or Toyota in Australia. Except maybe the Cruze hatchback that nobody bought gg straya last edited by sLaps_Forehead at 12:50:23 08/Oct/16 |
12:46pm 08/10/16 Permalink
Cruze? Focus? Malibu? Barina? Trax? Astra? Spark? I don't know if all those cars are AU-made or imports, but Australians were spoiled for choice from Ford and Holden for mid and compact cars. |
01:20pm 08/10/16 Permalink
Never really liked any of the Australia made cars, not big into V8s etc though
<3 my golf gti :D |
01:44pm 08/10/16 Permalink
So what are we to do? That is the question. What sort of economy can we eek out in this barren sun burnt land? Mining is pretty good.......when the price is not like $50 a tonne.
Australia is in a s*** creek at the moment, I feel. We don't know what to do, Our MPs/Government doesn't know either by the looks of it. |
02:00pm 08/10/16 Permalink
Wonder what the car of choice will now be for the bogan meth brigade now that Ford and Holden are going the way of the dinosaur ? |
02:21pm 08/10/16 Permalink
easy one bro.
mustangs and something with a chev badge |
02:32pm 08/10/16 Permalink
^ yeh legit
Wasn't it a thing among some to rebadge Holdens as GM already? So what are we to do? That is the question. What sort of economy can we eek out in this barren sun burnt land? Mining is pretty good.......when the price is not like $50 a tonne. Same problem the rest of the advanced economies have. At least we still have what's in the dirt. |
02:38pm 08/10/16 Permalink
Wonder what the car of choice will now be for the bogan meth brigade now that Ford and Holden are going the way of the dinosaur ? Navaras, derr. |
02:42pm 08/10/16 Permalink
Our decline in manufacturing has been happening for a long time. We send raw materials off to have the valuing adding done overseas, and then off to production facilities. I worked in manufacturing for many years, could see what was happening, so only worked in industries where the stuff was too heavy to import by ship. There are a huge amount of smaller local manufacturers scattered all over (particularly Melbourne and Adelaide), who have been closing businesses as the car manufactures planned closures.
Lets say your playing WoW, or ESO and you collect some materials. You process them first before putting them on the auction house. Selling Iron Ore raw is odd, you sell ingots in WoW and ESO... and all the pollution.. well it runs from Iron Forge down to the Wetlands.. with the 6 legged crocs. Too hard for us to compete in car market as a local manufacture. You can buy a cheap ???can't remember? Daiwooooo? with 7 years warranty now. |
06:03pm 08/10/16 Permalink
Ford as a company I don't give two s**** about, they are handling shuddergate in the absolute worst way possible and we are affected by it personally which sucks. Ford can go suck a big fat one for offering a "staff discount" of 5% on an already s***** trade in for our 2013 Focus and then blame us for the issues.
I feel for those employed however, it sucks to lose your job and especially a company that was so integrated into our Australian image. |
06:14pm 08/10/16 Permalink
Oh hardware, blaming the people for not buying the s*** served up to them
I haven't read so much bullsit for a while No. Holden did change; producing the Cruze here for the past half a decade. They offered a sedan and hatch, in petrol, small turbo petrol and turbo diesel spec. They delivered exactly what the market called for. But buyers wouldn't buy it, because they'd prefer to pretend that they're cultured now and buy some s***heap Volkswagen or Poogeot or some other car with 'flair', whatever that means. Incorrect, the cruze didn't sell because it was a piece of unreliable s*** that at one point had not a single positive review. No idea if it got any better as it got older but it got a bad name earlier and that is why it sunk. The golf is a good car, the only person that would call them a s***heap is well someone like you who is delusionally trying blame the market for rejecting s*** cars. You remind me of gerry harvey complaining about the internet killing his business because he wouldn't adapt. |
08:18pm 08/10/16 Permalink
Incorrect, the cruze didn't sell because it was a piece of unreliable s*** that at one point had not a single positive review. my in-laws sold theirs because it kept refusing to start. mechanics couldn't diagnose it so they just sold it to some other sucker. |
08:40pm 08/10/16 Permalink
the cruze has pretty much the worst car review ive ever seen:
a mate of mine bought one at work after doing a heap of research, i guess he didnt see this review before purchasing; i love asking him if he can smell smoke anytime we go for a drive. last edited by Spook at 20:57:32 08/Oct/16 |
08:51pm 08/10/16 Permalink
not that golfs are much better. they leak oil almost as much as ls1's and their engines love to self destruct.
|
08:52pm 08/10/16 Permalink
so that Car Race tomorrow is the last time an Australian made Car will race.
Maybe the other drivers could consider letting a Ford win is that possible ? not a Car fan. |
12:46am 09/10/16 Permalink
most likely whatever whincup is driving will win (if he follows team orders)
|
07:57am 09/10/16 Permalink
Except that tomorrow isn't the last V8 race of the season
It is the last time an australian made ford will race in the v8 super cars around bathurst F**** given approaching 0 |
08:39am 09/10/16 Permalink
most likely whatever whincup is driving will win (if he follows team orders) Whincup races for Red Bull who are Holden. Fords best chance are Supercheap racing with Chaz Mostert I'd say. |
10:10am 09/10/16 Permalink
That was a good one spook. @7:50 Cars should not catch fire spontaneously. Pretty hard to fault that logic.
|
01:45pm 09/10/16 Permalink
The bathurst 12 hour race is about 5000000000 times more intersting to watch
|
02:57pm 09/10/16 Permalink
haha
did it seem to anyone else in the video that the firefighters were in no particular hurry to put out the burning car (or is that just how long it takes to set up) |
07:37pm 09/10/16 Permalink
09:49pm 09/10/16 Permalink
"Got the kids" one of these and some extra track a while back. About $300
https://hobbyhideout.com.au/content/images/thumbs/0002138_scalextric_thundering_v8s.jpeg If you have the space, cover a couple of tables with green cotton from fabric shop. They put farm animals and lego constructions between the tracks. The cars are pretty good. Spoilers will break off. Take your V8's one day to slot car raceway with kids, and then get lured into a Friday night session where you end up buying a $70 car after a couple beers. Bring good car home, freak when kids touch Dad's good car. Just saying.. |
12:42pm 10/10/16 Permalink
nmag do you have some pics?
My Dad is in to Model Trains got a huge layout. I really like doing the scenery stuff. Is it Digital ? |
12:50pm 10/10/16 Permalink
No. Holden did change; producing the Cruze here for the past half a decade. They offered a sedan and hatch, in petrol, small turbo petrol and turbo diesel spec. They delivered exactly what the market called for. But buyers wouldn't buy it, because they'd prefer to pretend that they're cultured now and buy some s***heap Volkswagen or Poogeot or some other car with 'flair', whatever that means.Great sources there, huffington post and INDUSTRYWEEK. Good job. Massive utter bulls*** spouting from a guy with a name HARDWARE. Of course if you lump the manufacturing of cars within "manufacturing sector" you get the crap you're spouting. Creating s*** is part of nearly ever economy but that doesn't mean we have to create cars to grow our economy. You do realise the worlds biggest manufacturer of s*** (China) has a bigger service sector and it's not even the biggest in the world. USA's service sector is 3 times that of China's manufacturing sector. "Broad scale economic growth" is jargon similar to "empty calories". Economic growth is growth. Before you start arguing like a dips*** on fire, go find some proper references. Here are mine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by |
01:13pm 10/10/16 Permalink
plz reply hardware
defend the cruze plz |
01:28pm 10/10/16 Permalink
It's not digital. I did a 3.5m x 1m layout thing with trees etc with AFX as it's smaller scale. I have some pics of that. I sold it. Cost about $400 to build (2nd hand bits off ebay and polystyrene from Clark Rubber, and a black sheet to keep the dust off it. Sold for $150. Was fun though. Here are pics of the AFX one I sold for $150: http://imgur.com/a/YLpOl |
07:04pm 10/10/16 Permalink
love me moar pave
yes, the original, korean made cruzes (09-10) were complete and utter pieces of s***. once manufacturing was done by australians, quality improved out of sight and the cruze quality became perfectly reasonable, not quite corolla standard but certainly in keeping with its competitors (lancer, focus etc). However, this proves my point. Australian manufacturing, from a quality perspective, is one of the best in the world. And this isn't just my falcon-loving opinion, why else would Toyota willingly export Camrys from here. in summary, whether you like the products 'commodore' and 'falcon' or not, they were the car for Australia for fifty years. As cars have gotten cheaper, which is partly the result of the govt reducing import tariffs, more families are able to afford two cars, leading to not needing a car big enough to fit the whole family, or one strong enough to do all the family's driving. It's been a domino effect right from the button plan. The government couldn't have done a better job in trying to get people off Australian cars. Many people bought an Astra (Pulsar) or Nova (Corolla) or Apollo (Camry) because they were a Holden, and found that their modern Japanese car, as they found, was the best car they'd ever had, and then bought Toyotas henceforth. Back in the early 1990s a Falcon was $25k and came with acres of space, auto air steer, central locking and power windows. A Laser from the same time only cost about 4 or 5 grand less, and you didn't get nearly as many features. Nowadays, its successor the Focus is about the same price, $20k-ish, much larger, where as a Falcon is $34k, same size as it ever was, and the Focus has just as much fruit, whilst chewing much less fuel. Of course the buyer chooses the Focus or Mazda 3 or Corolla or whatever. The current Corolla sedan is bigger in every way than the original Camry sedan. It's still a damn shame. No kid ever doodled a mazda 3 on his schoolbook - its always a GTHO or Monaro or something. |
09:24pm 10/10/16 Permalink
So because they did a half ass rushed job at the start it got a bad name and s*** has a tendency of sticking to a car name
Not to mention it is ugly boring ass looking slow car I think old people bought the cruze It really isn't that hard to see why people choose other cars It's been a domino effect right from the button plan. The government couldn't have done a better job in trying to get people off Australian cars. Many people bought an Astra (Pulsar) or Nova (Corolla) or Apollo (Camry) because they were a Holden, and found that their modern Japanese car, as they found, was the best car they'd ever had, and then bought Toyotas henceforth. So the crux of your problem there is that toyota make a better car? I am still just reading you blaming people for buying better cars.. |
09:37pm 10/10/16 Permalink
I like my mazda6 but good lord do I miss my 4age AE92 corolla. I regret selling that thing :(
|
09:59pm 10/10/16 Permalink
I miss my XB Fairmont put a 351 Cleveland in it and a nice toploader + 9inch with 355 gears then spent $6000 on making it go faster at the end it was like a 2 stroke motorcycle just went off )) 12.74 1/4 mile back in the 90 was pretty good for nearly 2 tonne then I was made redundant and had to sell the f***** nearly broke my heart.
|
10:14pm 10/10/16 Permalink
What do you do for a living hardware?
I am really keen to know. Are you in... manufacturing? |
11:28pm 10/10/16 Permalink
he used to be a taxi driver or something, hence his defense of falcons and the taxi industry
|
09:14am 11/10/16 Permalink
My Dad had a 1990 Ford Fairlane from new, it was a piece of s***. Poor build quality and handled like a boat. About its only redeeming feature was it was spacious. From memory it was ~$40k.
He then ditched that and bought a Eunos 500. Chalk and cheese. The Eunos, for the day, was awesome. Far better quality, smoother, more refined and could actually go around corners. About the same money but the Eunos was a fair bit smaller and had a 2.0 V6 versus the 3.9 inline 6. I think it’s as simple as Ford resting on its laurels and not planning for the future, or more likely misplanning. |
10:53am 11/10/16 Permalink
And yeah, pretty much this:
Incorrect, the cruze didn't sell because it was a piece of unreliable s*** that at one point had not a single positive review. No idea if it got any better as it got older but it got a bad name earlier and that is why it sunk. Both Ford and Holden had so many s*** cars in the last 10-15 years I'd struggle to name them all. They bring in a model, then discontinue it, then bring in something else hoping to fix their previous failure. |
11:09am 11/10/16 Permalink
he used to be a taxi driver or something, hence his defense of falcons and the taxi industry right that adds up... no it doesn't. Defending taxis because you were one, sure, but wtf does it have to do with what cars they drove? They drive toyota now I think, does that mean he loves Japan and America because they have factories there? |
05:31pm 11/10/16 Permalink
He has always championed s****** falcons running on LPG as the greatest feat of engineering last century.
Probably this century too |
07:45pm 11/10/16 Permalink
Back in the day I used to swing spanners off cabs. An unqualified mechanic, you might have called me. More of a parts fitter than a mechanic, really.
At any rate, I'm not here to defend falcons. Buyer tastes have changed, and I'm simply disappointed. Disappointed that no-one sees that their diesel-pollutin', DSG-chewing nazi mobiles are jeopardising Australian jobs, and in turn, Australian tax receipts. Car buyers are dumber than they've ever been. Diesel 4WDs are pretty much the antithesis of smart - heavy, complex and expensive to service, especially as they age. But that's what people like, because they get sold by advertising. I just miss the Australia I grew up in. Where men were the head of the household and they drove Kingswoods and Fairlanes. Big cars for a big country. Australian pride that wasn't bigoted or bogan. |
09:07pm 11/10/16 Permalink
Yeow hardware, that's kinda understandable and a somewhat inevitable plight for all of us as we grow older whilst the world continues forward on the unrelenting march of progress.
I've always thought that change is one of the few real constants in life, so the best thing we can do is get comfortable with it and look for the positives. Or as JFK said "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future". |
11:05pm 11/10/16 Permalink
I just miss the Australia I grew up in. Where men were the head of the household and they drove Kingswoods and Fairlanes. Big cars for a big country. Can't argue with that. Think I grew up at the end of that era but still grateful I got to experience some of it. I even owned a Kingswood at one stage too. Unfortunately I ended up wrecking it though as the battle with rust became too much. |
05:48am 12/10/16 Permalink
Diesel 4WDs are pretty much the antithesis of smart - heavy, complex and expensive to service, especially as they age your view on diesels is old. diesels have evolved bro. |
06:41am 12/10/16 Permalink
your view on diesels is old. diesels have evolved bro have you read any of his posts in this thread? he wishes he was 50 years old, not 31 |
08:58am 12/10/16 Permalink
Great quote:
I've always thought that change is one of the few real constants in life, so the best thing we can do is get comfortable with it and look for the positives. Or as JFK said "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future". The world has got much smaller over the last 20-30 years and Holden/Ford didn't change accordingly, or they tried to too late. In the end, if Australia is crap at building cars, which they generally are, leave it to someone else and concentrate on something we are good at. |
09:24am 12/10/16 Permalink
see, i knew paveway loves me! and i thought it was only fpot who kept a spreadsheet on people's vital statistics.
|
09:04pm 12/10/16 Permalink
I don't keep a spread sheet of anything
I remember you mentioning your age on here(same age as me) and it has always completely contrasted with how old you seem to wish you were. |
09:22pm 12/10/16 Permalink
Where men were the head of the household and they drove Kingswoods and Fairlanes. Big cars for a big country. Australian pride that wasn't bigoted or bogan.Piss off wog, you're not taking the bloody Kingswood - Ted Bullpitt |
02:52am 14/10/16 Permalink
Where men were the head of the household and they drove Kingswoods and Fairlanes. Big cars for a big country. Australian pride that wasn't bigoted or bogan.
Just a healthy blend of chauvinistic and misogynistic! They were the days. It really sucks now how women are stating to be treated as equals, they even demand the same pay as male colleagues who do the same job - how dare they! Get back in the kitchen and fix me a chicken sandwich. |
09:14am 14/10/16 Permalink
Piss off wog, you're not taking the bloody Kingswood - Ted BullpittInterestingly, Ross Higgins died the same day the Falcon did. |
07:29pm 14/10/16 Permalink
I just miss the Australia I grew up in. Where men were the head of the household and they drove Kingswoods and Fairlanes. Big cars for a big country. Australian pride that wasn't bigoted or bogan.The juxtaposition of the comment about not being bigoted/bogan but keeping men head of the household is pretty funny, if that's what you intended. |
08:48pm 18/10/16 Permalink
The juxtaposition of the comment about not being bigoted/bogan but keeping men head of the household is pretty funny, if that's what you intended.Yep. Sexism, Racism and Homophobia were rampant, but love for Australia 'the lucky country' and care for one's fellow man (see: the union movements, huge levels of socialism) were amazingly high. I feel like it's almost the opposite today, everyone gets treated as an equal, by and large, and everyone cares more about their own selves, perhaps as a result, as they don't share any common identification. Why should I, a whitebread married falcon-driving homeowner WASP see anything in common with a 'brown poofta' who lives in a townhouse, drives some french or german hatchback and shares almost no common values? It's just too hard. |
07:30am 19/10/16 Permalink
it's too hard because you are a racist.
thanks for clarifying that btw |
01:22pm 19/10/16 Permalink
Why should I, a whitebread married falcon-driving homeowner WASP see anything in common with a 'brown poofta' who lives in a townhouse, drives some french or german hatchback and shares almost no common values? It's just too hard.hard like thinking that Ford drivers are superior to Holden drivers and caring about what cars people drive because it makes them better or worse people hard? or a different kind of hard |
11:40pm 19/10/16 Permalink
