Ford Falcon to ditch rear-wheel-drive

[Oz_Beachside]

With Holden keeping RWD Comodooro as global RWD model, and Ford centralising to the US Taurus, what will come of Australia's V8 Supercars???

What will this do to motorsporrt photography?? smells like when the Nissan GTR came in...


http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/ford-falcon-to-ditch-rearwheeldrive-20110111-19lel.html

[photohiker]

smells like when the Nissan GTR came in...

Maybe they should let the GTR back in so we can have a real race again. Its no fun watching a bunch of cars with virtually the same major components under a very slightly different outer skin. The formula has been honed into a one make series with two labels on it.

The Ford guys might as well just use Holdens and change the badges.

This cancer started when they decided to eliminate any brand of car that wasn't a Ford or Holden. Destroyed the spirit of the race IMO.

Michael

[Wink]

That story is a bit of a beat up really. I wouldn't be so sure it will happen.
FPV just engineered a new engine for their cars. I doubt they would've gone to the trouble if the RWD was heading for the bin.

V8 Supercars won't be effected. The race cars are nothing like the road cars anyway.

[aim54x]

IF they are so keen on ditching the RWD Falcon platform...why not build a RWD Falcon that share the Mustang Platform?

[Wink]

That idea has been mentioned.
Apparently more will be decided in around 6 months.

It annoys me that the Yanks can't see outside their world. The Falcon is so far ahead of what they produce in their local market. They should be killing off their platform instead.

There's been quite a few US journos that have driven the Falcon and been left wondering why Ford US won't embrace it.

AWD is being mentioned also, but that would increase price and running costs. That kind of goes against the market trend for the mainstream product IMO.

[Oz_Beachside]

I can understand what they are doing, taking a look at the model portfolios and globalising. That makes economic sense. And redundancies of models would be selected on impact to the bottom line, and there is no way we can be foolish to think Australia is a profitable market for our own models, coupled by zero exports of the falcon I think it's days are very limited if it's a USA decision.

Let's assume the falcon is dropped. And aust market is replenished with USA made mustangs. Will v8 supercars be comodore vs mustang? Will this mean Nissan can bring in the r35 skyline gtr?

[Wink]

I think the idea is that the car will still exist, but the platform and drive configuration of it won't be as we know it.

[aim54x]

Let's assume the falcon is dropped. And aust market is replenished with USA made mustangs. Will v8 supercars be comodore vs mustang? Will this mean Nissan can bring in the r35 skyline gtr?

That would be very interesting...

Commodore Vs Mustang or Taurus? I would vote to keep the Skyline's out because they aint V8's

[gstark]

What will this do to motorsporrt photography?? smells like when the Nissan GTR came in...

Bugger the V8s.

They're boring and slow, and it's basically just bash and barge stuff.

Let's go back to the days of the Farm and Bathurst of the late '60s and early '70s: Minis - proper Minis, not this crappy BMW yuppie shit (Mini Van with a Cooper badge? Pure marketing bullshit; give me a bloody break). Alfa Berlinas and GTVs. Ford Concertinas. Sorry, Cortinas. And Mustangs. Proper pony cars.

Paddy Hopkirk rolling his car on Conrod, getting out, pushing it back onto its wheels, and carrying on in the race.

The days when the cars were cars, the drivers had real personality, and the racing was racing.

[Oz_Beachside]

agree, I'd love to see more variety. yes seems like the marketing chiefs of ford and holden have stitched up the v8 supercars, for now... but im hoping that if ford no longer make the cars required locally to satisfy the current V8 supercar "production cars" that we put it all on the table. I think given our globalised economies, its pretty reasonable to drop the "made in australia" rule, and have a "minimum sold in australia" in its place. that helps local sales and marketing so that keeps sponsors happy, and the crowd can see their own family car, albeit a compleley revamped version, punt around the track, and wave a flag etc (what ever it is that keeps the crowd on the Hill of Mt Panorama happy).

Wouldnt you love to see a variety, such as a bombadore, mustang, GTR, hilux, impreza and corolla line up on the grid (sure have was of standardising or controls to acheive entertainment value)?

[Reschsmooth]

What will this do to motorsporrt photography?? smells like when the Nissan GTR came in...

Bugger the V8s.

They're boring and slow, and it's basically just bash and barge stuff.

Let's go back to the days of the Farm and Bathurst of the late '60s and early '70s: Minis - proper Minis, not this crappy BMW yuppie shit (Mini Van with a Cooper badge? Pure marketing bullshit; give me a bloody break). Alfa Berlinas and GTVs. Ford Concertinas. Sorry, Cortinas. And Mustangs. Proper pony cars.

Paddy Hopkirk rolling his car on Conrod, getting out, pushing it back onto its wheels, and carrying on in the race.

The days when the cars were cars, the drivers had real personality, and the racing was racing.

Sounds like you are 'dissing' [to use the vernacular of today's youth] the Mark I Corti! I will have none of that.

But, high-brow touring cars continued well into the 80s. Who will forget (despite attempts to) Robbie Francevic's ATCC win in 1986 in the Swedish tissue box. BMW won twice in the 80s, Mazda once.

[gstark]

But, high-brow touring cars continued well into the 80s. Who will forget (despite attempts to) Robbie Francevic's ATCC win in 1986 in the Swedish tissue box. BMW won twice in the 80s, Mazda once.

Highbrow?

That's not where I'm coming from; the MkI Concertinas were fun, especially those with the Lotus (power)plants embedded within.

And the real minis? Was there anything better? Anywhere? Any time?

Around the same time you had the early Alfas with Mildren, A. driving, and that was good. Perhaps up to the times of Moffatt and Bond in the Santa Specials, but after that, it started to become too corporate.

Today, you cannot do anything unless there's a full board meeting, followed by the AGM and obligatory notification to the ASX. I'm sorry, but that is not car racing; never has been, and never will be.

[photograham]

For the V8 Supercars, Mercedes have already had talks to Corcorane &Co. re racing here, especially after the new common car designs hit in 2013. Lexus have also had a chat, and I know that toyota were quite keen to race in the V8's as I went to a group session with a marketing company in 2003.
The reaction against Nissan was a factor in toyota not continuing.

[gstark]

I know that toyota were quite keen to race .

There we go.

Accountants going racing. That should be <yawn> really exciting.

[surenj]

Accountants going racing.

Maybe they will modify MYOB to tune the cars...

[aim54x]

Hmmm

V8 Aurion vs V8 Commodore....now that would be interesting! (and dull)

Maybe V8 Supercars should become something more interesting....like GT or ProCar