I think Ford has done pretty well in the last 2-3 years. Mullaly has done well to get the Taurus back in the spotlight, the Mustang has strong image presence, the Fusion had car of the year, the F150 had truck of the year, the superduty has a pretty successful launch with new powertrains, etc.

BUT - IMO, Ford could have SUCH A HIT with a car like this here in the USA.

I've said for years that Ford should be bringing their European and Australian flavors into our drab and worn-out marketplace. They are making some progress with their European cars, but the great stuff from down under remains, well... down under.

Put me on a buyer's list for this car if it was available here.


The Coyote 5.0 pumps out 450hp in a 4-door that looks awesome...



Interior is very clean and very nice with great material choices...


I simply don't understand why there is nothing like this coming to our markets.
Love Fusion, love Taurus, but they are not THIS kind of car. I think this is a totally different car than the Taurus SHO too, and could/would appeal to a completely different market. This could grab young executives with blooming families tat still want a sporty ride and maybe even a weekend on the track once in a while. The closest thing I have available tome here would have to be the CTS-v, which we all know is a home-run, but it's also nearly in a class of it's own.

Someone show me one in black or midnight blue with tungsten accents, and I'm a puddle of goo...

Link to full article.

 

Very nice, but I think the G8 was a much more handsome car. Would be nice if we could have BOTH of 'em here, but alas we must settle for neither freakin' one.

 

1. It looks like a 4 door GTO.

2. I don't see the difference between that and the SHO besides the bodywork.

3. It'll be about as big a hit as the G8 was.

 

GM's already tried this type of car. Twice. With varying degrees of success.

Of course I'd love to see both Ford and GM settle back into the RWD sedan business again, in North America. But I'd like to see a real commitment, not just importing a few thousand cars a year and calling it a day. Chrysler's LXs have done well IMO because they're widely available with many options and don't have the 90's jellybean look that seems to be favored in Oz. The G8 was a nice effort, it's just too bad it was stuck in a dying division.

 

And you hit on the potential cause of the failure(s) (if one would call it that) right there.

GTO was a name-pimping fiasco. I don't think it was the car's fault. It's just my opinion, but I think that the car would have sold much better, and ticked-off lots less folks, had they named it after something other than a 20-year-dead American legend - especially since it was anything but "American"... design, made, etc.

I understand what you are saying and agree somewhat, but I guess I need to condition and clarify my statement by adding that I want THAT car, not an Americanized one, a reskinnned version of it, or a rebadged copy of it with some additional cup-holders. I also don't think it would be wise for Ford to put a Mercury badge on it now either!

Put the steering wheel and pedals on the other side of the hump, and bring me a black one here, and sell it on the Ford lot as a Ford Falcon GT. Then let me start throwing some of my own 5.0 mods on it too from the ever-growing list of Mustang stuff available... I'd utterly LOVE to drive this car here.

It won't sell 100k units/year - I know that. But FPV doesn't plan or work to sell that kind of volume either - just like SVT didn't years ago. I think they could add 10,000 units/year of American sales to their already-planned Oz production figures, and maybe even get some economies-of-scale benefits that reduce their costs substantially (not that we would see those savings at the purchase). So what's the harm in adding another 10k units to their production annually and bringing something fresh and different to us here? I know the costs associated with crash-testing and certifications come into play too, but... dayum.. I think this car is just an incredible offering and it bites that we can't have it brought here too. All the work is done and the finished piece is on the table. Why not sell it?

 

This would be a great halo car for Ford. I might even trade in my 2 year-old G8.
Ford can keep the Taurus SHO.

 

Or maybe Torino, I'll take mine in red with white stripes, some polished slots and a stinkbug stance

--->edt<--- Y'know, I just noticed the Falcon doesn't have sealed battery. --->edit<---

 

Perhaps the next Falcon and Mustang will be platform mates.

 

"no hanks" would be an understatement, if GM with all of thier resources couldn't make a 3500 lbs fifth gen Camaro out of a full size platform, why would Ford be any more successful?

 

If it had american styling I would be all over it. Like someone mentioned, the 90's jellybean look doesn't carry over well into modern day.

 

Ford is over 3600 with the V8 Mustang now.
From what has been suggested on GMI, the Camaro could have been lighter if they had been willing to sacrifice the concept car styling -- shorter hood, different proportions, for example. Using 18" wheels would help too. I don't see 3500 pounds, but maybe 100-150 lighter than the current. The Genesis coupe comes in around 3500, and it uses a full size platform, or at least a platform shared with a car that is as large as a Falcon.

Ford should be able to at least share a lot of components if they want to.

 

I like this car just like I like the G8. Four doors with a V8. Great everyday car.

 

Idea is good, shape of it seems dated already.

 

Yeah, you can see out of the windows....

 

I know its packed on some weight due to refinement (and I guess running standard 19's)

IIRC the number kicked around was 30-60 lbs on the front end for the show car look, dunno about the rest. Although I suppose, had he car be styled to fit 18" wheels there could have been some weight savings there as well

I thought the Genesis coupe was on a lighter chassis rahter than sharing it with the sedan?

I'd still rather see Ford do something a bit more bespoke when it comes the the Mustang and Mustang sized cars for a global platform.

It would seem silly to me for Ford to kill momentum with the next gen car by packing on 200 or 300 pounds of bloat. The dynamics seem right for the current car, it just needs a new wrapper as Ford has gone (by the general publics standard) as far as it can with the current styling.