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Not content to end up in a punky post-apocalyptic world because of an energy shortage, a la the great Australian film The Road Warrior , the Australian version of AAA is requesting the government implement some sort of average fuel limits similar to our CAFE standards. The NRMA thinks the move could save the country 1.4 billion gallons of fuel a year, as well as drop costs for the consumer. Lacking these standards, the Australians have produced vehicles such as the V8-powered FPV Super Pursuit Ute and HSV Tourer . As an alternative they could just stop driving with Koalas in their grilles . Said the NRMA president, "For too long, Australia's automotive industry has been allowed to play by its own rules, setting paltry voluntary targets and consistently building and importing cars that consume more fuel than their overseas counterparts." That's ridiculous; voluntary standards always work ... [ Drive.com.au ]
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Despite claims that the car wouldn't be ready to race this year, Ford Australia's new FG Falcon "FG01" race car is scheduled to make its initial public appearance during the Sandown V8 Supercar Championship in Melbourne. The Falcon XR8-based race car will be making several appearance laps at Sandown, but won't be doing any actual racing. Ford claims the car may see its race debut at the Bathurst 1000 later this year which, if nothing else, is one of the best race names we hear all year. Watch out for the 'roos. Press release after the jump... FORD'S NEW V8 SUPERCAR WEAPON HAS ARRIVED Ford's new FG V8 Supercar 'FG01' is set to roll form its current home at Ford Performance Racing (FPR) to the tarmac at Sandown this weekend, making its public debut at the Midas 400 in Melbourne. Based on Ford's recently launched FG Falcon XR8 sedan road car, the new Blue Oval weapon will feature a striking 'Nitro' blue with white themed livery. The FG01...
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When Ford of Australia first announced their lineup of F6 FPV lineup we didn't pay too much attention to the various minor differences in the F6 Falcon lineup. Little did we know how far the Ford Performance Vehicle group was going to go in order to meet the needs of anyone with the cash to throw around $60,000+ USD on V8-powered goodness. Each vehicle in this range comes with the new 5.4-Liter Boss V8 good for 422 horsepower and 407 lb-ft of torque mated to a ZF six-speed auto transmission or TR6060 six-speed manual gearbox. The GT is your basic high-performance sedan while the GT P takes it a couple of steps further. The GT E is at the upper extreme, offering similar performance without all the boy racer styling and colors for the hoon with a briefcase. Press release below the jump. galleryPost('falconfpvgte', 6, 'This One Is Cleaner'); galleryPost('falconfpvgt', 6, 'This One Is Greener'); galleryPost('falconfpvgtp', 6, 'This One Is Meaner'...
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We hear this AM that Ford's taking a page directly from GM's Aussie-loving playbook. Bryce Hoffman of the Detroit News , who's never met a job he couldn't hand-le when it comes to Ford, is reporting they're looking at bringing the rear-wheel-drive Falcon platform up from down under to provide the basis for the next Ford Mustang. In addition to the muscular two-door, it'll also be used for new sedans from the Ford and Lincoln brands -- replacements for the Crown Vic and Lincoln Town Car -- both scheduled to meet their demise come 2011. The only problem is, Auto Week reported this same thing like umm, in January . So we've got a more important question that Bryce has seemingly left unasked. galleryPost('interceptorFord', 3, 'Ford Interceptor Concept'); So what about Mercury? Good question -- we've no clue, but we haven't seen any new product from the brand all about the heat in quite some time (wait, sorry, we mustn't forget the refreshed...
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Don't think the Muscle Car Wars are only taking place here in America. Our Aussie brethren -- the people who invented the word "hoon" -- have themselves a bitter rivalry going strong for years; Holden HSV vs. Ford FPV . And with Ford's new FG Falcon, FPV has itself some new hardware to do battle with. The team at Ford Performace Vehicles doesn't want to release official numbers until the official launch in June, but we're expecting big power from both the turbo inline six and the 'Boss' V8 mills. Although rival Holden's weaponry is shared among GM's global empire with British Vauxhalls , American Pontiacs , and even Chevys in the Middle East, these Aussie Fords will stick to doing battle in their homeland. Though a few will probably sneak into the UK on the gray market, we won't see these FPVs on 'merican shores at all (come on Ford, think Mercury here!). Galleries below and full press release after the jump. galleryPost('08FGFPVF6sedan'...
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It seems as though no one in Australia has a lock on their garage, as yet another rare Falcon has been stolen in the land down under. This time it was a 1970 Ford XY Falcon GT Sedan with special Bathurst Gold Mag Wheels valued at $250,000. This is following the recent theft of another rare Falcon worth $600,000. We wonder if someone isn't waiting for the apocalypse to begin and starting to horde all the rarest models so that they may be the Maddest Max of them all. Our advice to those of you who own rare Falcon models in the greater Australia area: buy a viper. Not an alarm system, not a car, but an actual viper to protect it. [ ABC.net.au ]
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newVideoPlayer("AussieCopHoon_gawker.flv", 475, 376);It's a mystery to the Australian police how this Falcon radio car ended up doing dirt-slinging donuts for a crowd of onlookers. But it's no mystery to us. Though the cops can't be sure it's a police officer behind the wheel of the cruiser, we imagine it's a highway patrolman that's tired of the hoons having all the fun. While the cops are promising to "get to the bottom of the incident," we'll continue to enjoy watching the added joy that sirens and lights bring to hoonage. No word yet on if they'll crush the cruiser when they find it. [ News.com.au ]
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A rare red 1971 Phase III GT HO Ford Falcon Sedan registration number 71 HO valued at over $600,000 was stolen out of the J & M Caporale Auto Body Repairs shop in Osborne Park, Australia. But since the Falcon was in the back of the store, they had to move a couple of cars to get there. Here's what the report in the Perth Times had to say about how the caper was accomplished: "Once inside, the offenders moved a number of vehicles in order to gain access to the car. These vehicles were driven out through the front roller doors which face onto Collingwood Street, and parked down the side of the premises. These include a Rolls Royce Stretch Limousine, a late model Holden GTS Monaro valued at $100,000 and a Honda Odyssey." Talk about knowing what's worth what, eh? Can you imagine the conversation going on during the midnight raid? "Guys, ignore the Rolls -- we're going FFTW, Ford For The Win!" The bandits were last seen hooning it up in the Falcon somewhere north of Osborne Park. ( Hat tip to...
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Toyota single-handidly bested the combined efforts of Australia-based Holden and Ford in new car sales in October, a first for the Japanese automaker (though we're guessing not a last). Toyota has been the market leader in Australia for the last four years, but the 20,212 vehicles it sold in October just eclipsed the 19,621 vehicles sold by Holden and Ford combined. Even worse for the homeboys, Holden and Ford were part of only 7 out of 42 brands that didn't post sales increases in October. Toyota execs continued to be annoyingly polite, suggesting that their competitors would bounce back when they updated their lineups later that year. Sales of light cars are up 9.2%, but four-wheel-drives are leading the market with a 15% increase year-over-year. The best-selling car is still Holden's Commodore sedan, but Ford's older Falcon was down 22% through October compared to last year. Ford is pinning its hopes on a refreshed Falcon to turn things around next year. [Sydney Morning Herald]
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Ford Australia just revealed details on the new Ford Falcon XR range before the new lineup's public reveal at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney next week. The newly revised XR sedan includes a new bodykit, revised mirrors and a bunch of other prettiness on the outside. In addition to the sedan, Ford's also dropped the sheet on a new limited edition Falcon XR ute -- it's the "XR by Craig Lowndes" Falcon Ute special vehicle pack, available on XR6, XR6 Turbo and XR8 Styleside Box models, including XR6 with the optional E-Gas dedicated LPG engine. As far as under the bonnet, we don't yet have those details, but we're told to expect engines more powerful than comparable engine choices from Holden -- but we'll believe that when we see the numbers ourselves. Full press release after the jump. galleryPost('FordFalconXRSedanUte', 4, 'Ford Falcon XRSedan And Ute'); Ford Announces Bold New Look on Falcon XR Ford Australia today announced details of a new look Falcon XR sedan range...
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If you thought only Americans went batshit batty over well-preserved muscle cars , you haven't met the Australians. A Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase 3 recently sold for nearly US$570,000 at auction. Now, a pair of GTHOs are expected to fetch upward of US$700...
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