Ford to close Aussie operations in 2016

[sambo]

Sad news for all those who work in the local automotive history.

Ford Australia to close Broadmeadows and Geelong plants, 1,200 jobs to go - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

On the bright side maybe we'll finally get access to reasonably priced Mustangs?

[MRGEORGE077]

Wow, what a loss, after so many years building cars down under, what in the world is the labor or benefit cost there?

[twobjshelbys]

no more utes?

[Gav]

I did my apprenticeship with ford Geelong and still have plenty of mates working there.
Genuinely I would expect them to close up earlier than 2016.
Their sales will now plummet, and that will give them an excuse to close sooner.

Very sad news for the Australian manufacturing industry.

[boxhead]

That is a sad thing.

[Aussie Mike]

Very sad indeed. No more Falcons, No more FPV cars. This sucks.

[d488y2]

Sad day for any car fan. Shell is talking about closing in Geelong as well.
What is this country coming to??

[sambo]

For the price of a Commodore/Falcon there are now so many other options, particularly with the high AUD. At the high end, you really have to be a die hard fan to spend $90k on a HSV/FPV, when for similar money you can have the performance and refinement of a European sedan. That's not necessarily how I'd spend the money but I think it's how a lot of people feel.

[400TT]

Very sad news, how about all the flow on consequences, even the affect on V8 Supercars etc. We won't know the real impact for years to come.

Originally Posted by sambo

you really have to be a die hard fan to spend $90k on a HSV/FPV,

Hmm, brand new VF HSV GTS with Supercharged 6.2LT 430KW, 6 piston brakes front and rear, active LSD diff etc. I've heard they are selling like hot cakes...

[Jethrow]

Originally Posted by sambo

For the price of a Commodore/Falcon there are now so many other options, particularly with the high AUD. At the high end, you really have to be a die hard fan to spend $90k on a HSV/FPV, when for similar money you can have the performance and refinement of a European sedan. That's not necessarily how I'd spend the money but I think it's how a lot of people feel.

Not sure what european you can buy for $90K that also has a mighty V8 and goes like a FPV/HSV, but I would sure like to know.

Personally I think the Falcons/Commodores represent great value for what they are, but also I think in this current economy most people do not want to spend $40K plus on a car. All the best sellers these days are low cost vehicles.

I rue the day when the only 4 door rear drive V8 I can buy is a $150k euro.

[sambo]

Originally Posted by Jethrow

Not sure what european you can buy for $90K that also has a mighty V8 and goes like a FPV/HSV, but I would sure like to know.

Tim, you're right, not many brand new bahnstormers on the market for 90k but if you don't mind buying a 12 month old car there are plenty of options. BMW 335i, Audi S5, Cayman, etc.

[Merv and Sharon]

Originally Posted by Jethrow

Not sure what european you can buy for $90K that also has a mighty V8 and goes like a FPV/HSV, but I would sure like to know.

Personally I think the Falcons/Commodores represent great value for what they are, but also I think in this current economy most people do not want to spend $40K plus on a car. All the best sellers these days are low cost vehicles.

I rue the day when the only 4 door rear drive V8 I can buy is a $150k euro.

Have you driven an Mercedes C63 AMG Tim? I have and it is pretty dammed impressive. I don't know how they pass the noise test.

[Aussie Mike]

Originally Posted by Merv and Sharon

Have you driven an Mercedes C63 AMG Tim? I have and it is pretty dammed impressive. I don't know how they pass the noise test.

My sister has one and it's mental.

Cheers

[Merv and Sharon]

Originally Posted by Aussie Mike

My sister has one and it's mental.

Cheers

There is an older one at our local Merc dealer. I was down here last month looking at a car for my wife and there was this 2010 C63 with about 15kms. I made an enquiry and was told that it was not for sale and that it was bought new back in 2010 and was never picked up. Apparently was worried that his wife might not approve ...

They are the best car Mercedes has made for 20 years.

[Jethrow]

Originally Posted by Merv and Sharon

Have you driven an Mercedes C63 AMG Tim? I have and it is pretty dammed impressive. I don't know how they pass the noise test.

Oh I am a big fan of the C63 AMG. They still run to $150K or so, and are much smaller inside than the HSV. But I do like them.

[Gav]

The downturn of the Australian car industry came with the removal of tariffs on imported cars.
Sure we paid a little more but at least we had local jobs.
It is quite difficult to imagine what is to become of Aus once a few more major manufacturers pull out and go OS.
Unfortunately Ford, GM and Toyota source parts for their local products from the same places, loosing one of the remaining 3 car manufacturers will put extra pressure on them and could possibly make it too difficult to be competitive with OS suppliers, resulting in further losses of jobs.
Sorry to be all doom and gloom but I reckon we are heading for a bit of a rude wake up call in the future.

[sideshow]

Thank fk for that
The last few years their quality is pretty piss poor
The ba and bf are probably worst car they ever made
Good motors but rest of the car is pisspoor
So beware do not buy a cheap ba falcon
I get 10 or more calls a week regarding them breaking down

[Dimis]

Very sad indeed.

Blame can be distributed to this or that. But the truth is why would any car manufacturer (or other manufacturer for that matter), burden themselves with the high labour cost that Aus has comparered to other developing nations in Asia or South America for example.

It's not a matter of "if" but sadly "when" the others fall by the way side also.

What upsets me most is that as obvious as this is the dumb ass government still thinks its a good idea to pump money into them to keep em afloat under the guise of saving jobs.
More like prolonging the inevitable and lining the pockets of the bigs wigs.

[fordracing65]

Originally Posted by Dimis

Very sad indeed.

Blame can be distributed to this or that. But the truth is why would any car manufacturer (or other manufacturer for that matter), burden themselves with the high labour cost that Aus has comparered to other developing nations in Asia or South America for example.

It's not a matter of "if" but sadly "when" the others fall by the way side also.

What upsets me most is that as obvious as this is the dumb ass government still thinks its a good idea to pump money into them to keep em afloat under the guise of saving jobs.
More like prolonging the inevitable and lining the pockets of the bigs wigs.

AGREED, well said...

[sambo]

Originally Posted by Dimis

What upsets me most is that as obvious as this is the dumb ass government still thinks its a good idea to pump money into them to keep em afloat under the guise of saving jobs.

Labor government, blue collar jobs, translates into... votes!