Ford (undeservedly IMHO) won the Gold P76 award last year for the AU Falcon. This year Drive have shared out a number of Silver P76 Awards with Ford (and other models under the PAG umbrella) taking out 4 of the 9 on offer. Holden (surprise, surprise) only received one mention and that was for the now banned advert of the father slaloming his Commodore through the kids toys up the driveway - no mention of the contraversial VY styling.
Silver P76
For crimes against fossil fuels -- and journalists: Ford
The media campaign for the new Falcon vied for the title of "world's most drawn out". It started in April, even though the car didn't go on sale until October, and included separate unveilings of such exciting things as the rear suspension. Omitted from this flood of information was that, while the rest of the world continued to become leaner and greener, the Falcon had packed on 130kg and was considerably thirstier.
Unfortunately the 1700kg Falcon wasn't the worst of it; in the US, Ford unveiled the "Tonka concept", based on the fuel-guzzling, war-on-Iraq-inspiring, F350 pick-up truck. It's so gargantuan that when Ford's chief of design, J Mays, drove it onto a motor show stage, he had to use its hydraulic ladder system to reach the ground. Ford executives have promised to put the Tonka into production. Their uppance will come.
Silver P76
For finding new ways to reskin a cat: Jaguar
At last, a new big Jaguar ... and it looks just like the old one. That makes it a good match for the new small X-Type Jaguar, which looks like a pre-shrunk variation on the same theme. And the $54,000 price leader (in which everything is optional) now has a front-drive system that exposes it for what it is: a reskinned Ford Mondeo.
The same company also dumped plans to build the lovely F-Type sports model.
Silver P76
For inheriting the girth: Range Rover (among others)
The new Range Rover has gained 300kg and now weighs in at an obscenely larduous 2500kg. Even green, safety-conscious Volvo spat out a two-tonne-plus family truck which, as the tarmac-only test drive during the international press program proved, is intended for city bashing rather than bush.
Silver P76
Press release of year: Glenn Seton
A record number of spin sheets hit our desks, most cantilevered so far over the edge of truth they were at risk of bringing down the whole pile of press packs. But what caught our eye even more were the daftly optimistic and supremely un-newsworthy outpourings of V8 Supercar back-marker Glenn Seton.
Heading to the Winton round, Seton was said to be setting his sights "on moving up the order and even eyeing off a podium result". At the previous round, "if not for some minor troubles before the first race and a collision in the day's final race, he was set to finish well inside the Top 10".
Seton's relentless pursuit of bronze culminated with a spectacular Top 29 finish at Bathurst.
They also swerved
Ford US: Announced the revival of the GT40 coupe -- then discovered it hadn't registered the name and couldn't use it.
Full read at
http://www.drive.com.au/news/article...XKXM7YS8D.html
and it feels like most journos are against us
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