Now that the new President has settled in to his role at Ford Australia he has kindly agreed to answer another set of questions from the forum members.
We've agreed to keep the list to about 10 questions and these should be questions that are likely to be of wider interest throughout the membership rather than minor detail questions.
Please submit your suggestions in this thread and these will be then collated into a list for submission.
Remember that questions related to future product plans are not likely to make the short list as they won't be answered!
1. With all the media attention regarding high powered local cars, do you consider that there is a real issue where by the government will put pressure on local manufacturers to limit power outputs? how does this make you feel considering the importers and high performance european cars seem to be exempt from the negative media attention and criticism?
2. Do you consider it is necessary to follow Holden in the 'bigger is better' philosophy when it comes to the high performance V8, or will Ford AUS adopt their own philosophy and develop other technologies to remain competetive? Do you consider that Ford has done enough to remain competetive considering Holden have just released their LS2 engine with much more development potential...? is the 5.4L V8 enough to keep in touch in a marketing and performance point of view?
3. Is a falcon/territory export program becoming more achievable, would it be beneficial to the business plan??
1. How do you aim to increase quality in the manufacturing process, and in respect of just in time manufacturing, how do you plan/implement quality control measures at suppliers, and what indeed has ford used to measure quality in the past (I assume warranty/recall data). Also, will Ford continue to focus on long term agreements with suppliers, or will you take a more active role in periodic tenders for new suppliers ?
2. With rumours surrounding a possible diesel or turbo diesel variant of Territory by implanting an already made ford diesel, could you ever see, for any intensive purposes a possible business plan for a diesel falcon to the range, or do you believe this area is sufficiently covered by the LPG variant of the inline 6 ? I mention this especially in the respective light of Ford's prior adverse reaction to rising fuel prices in the 1980s.
3. With an obvious gap within the Ford lineup and difficulties with import tarriffs and the like on the euro fords, is the option open to Ford Australia to explore the possibilities of Mazda derived passenger cars like what was common place in the 90s, or is there now a general feeling within Ford internationally that previously generic car models (eg 626/telstar) should belong to one specific brand eg Mazda 6.
How much does Ford HQ in the USA influence product design and devlopment here in Australia? How similar is it to GM/Holden where Holden are "advised" to use the GEN engines?
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Truly the deepest kiss one can feel, and the one most sought after, is the one you will not survive....
With the growing use of exotic materials such as aluminium and magnesium in cars (particularly european) how does this fit in with extended design processes for Ford Australia. Given that these materials simulate better (for example computer aided crash analysis), is there a possible timeline for their use in a locally manufactured car for Australian family (or performance) consumption?
Question 2)
Is Ford Australia likely to become something other then the "Falcon Company"? Admittably the Territory has/is doing exceptionally well and it shows that the (market and R&D) research performed has paid off. However how does Ford Australia see the integration of alternative vehicles and their justifcation in the Australian market (presence or lack thereof) such as the new Focus and Fiesta Diesel variants.
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Falcon Killer (if you believe what Ford Service Departments have to say about me)
AU II XR6 - October 2001 ~ December 2002 - RIP
BA XR6 - December 2002 ~ Soon to disappear if Ford CRC can't fix it....
45,000km service coming up - and i'll be asking for a sizable list of fixes:
* Gearbox (3rd time)
* Steering click (5th time)
* Brake Shudder (2nd time, and has the applied "Fix")
* etc...
1) What's one engine you would like to see brought into Australia from Ford's global parts bin?
2) Territory's success has seemingly opened up a whole new avenue of oppotunity for Ford. How do you perceive the future trends i.e. is the Falcon going to remain a RWD only variant, or will some of Territory's features such as AWD and DSC eventually find their way into other models?
3) Is the organisational structure of Ford AUS different to/better than/worse than that of Ford US?
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