From what I've heard, it's simply not engineered to be built as a left hand drive and it would be cost prohibitive on the existing platform. Zeta was planned to offer both from the beginning. Maybe the next generation Falcon will be, too?

 

I thought this current generation of Falcon was planned to be LHD-capable, but someone at Ford NA nixed the plans to protect the Crown Vic.

If Ford brought the Falcon over here and sold it instead of the Five Hundred around the time it was introduced, I think they would've struck gold. They would've rode on the Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger wave.

 

It slipped under OUR radar because it isn't even being sold here...who cares? Its too bad Ford saves its best stuff for other markets...

 

Like Scorpion mentioned, the FG was in fact supposed to be engineered to be Left Hand Drive compatible. However, also like mentioned, the Crown Victoria still had a strong market in the Middle East (at the time) and there's no doubt that "person or persons" wanted to protect against any potential of risking any Panther platform sales here in North America.

Engineering for making this Falcon LHD halted about a year and a half ago, much to the chargrin of the Australian Government, which felt that Ford was doing it's share to cripple the continued existence of the Australian car manufacturing sector by making a car that (unlike Holden's VE) couldn't be exported to anywhere but the miniscule New Zealand market.

Ford came looking for government loans a short time later and one of the stipulations of Ford getting that loan was they would have to use that money to make export capable vehicles and/or drivetrains. The Aussie Government had to actually bound Ford and FORCE them do something that any company should want to do in the first place!

 

WOW that is a really nice looking car! I'd like to see some performance numbers but that looks like it would fit in nicely with the Charger/G8 competition.

 

Its funny.....you guys must have missed the constant articles about these cars (and the Holden competition) in mags like Car and Driver, Motor trend and Road and Track. I think they may have b!tched about them not being available over here for well over a decade.

I think the falcon is stunning.

 

Interesting. I wasn't aware of those restrictions. Thanks guys!

 

Nice, Ford needs that in the USA.

I still like the G8 better.

 

Really?

The center console is really one note, steering wheel out of 1997 and that fabric is garrish to me.

 

I don't know about stunning.....but it is nice, from looking at pics. it looks to be on the same level as the G8. I don't see how one could be stunning and the other not, they are so close in design it looks like the same person designed them.
I actually like the G8 layout a little better, but I do like the Nav/info screen on top of the center stack in the Ford, but the rest of the center stack looks plain and the layout seems out of place.

 

Why anyone would actually think the panther chassis had enough life left in it to protect is beyond me. That chassis should have been scrapped/completely overhauled 10 years ago. After a move like that, ford deserves all the crap they get.

 

I like the front end much better than the G8, but still not as much as the Charger. Interior is NICE!!

 

I suspect the opposite is true: that the Panther was weak enough to need protection. This is by no means the only Ford screwup this decade that is simply mind boggling. Between Proudpony and myself, we can come up with a pretty massive list.

I'm sure the logic behind protecting the panther was a combination of protecting CAW and UAW jobs and headaches, Ford pinching pennies on investing in manufacturing the car.

Making a US version in Oz would require at least doubling and maybe even tripling the size of the plant there. Making it in North America would require alot of new tooling and remodeling of an existing plant. Something Ford saw no need to do as long as they are able to keep making Crown Vics, Grand Marqs, and Town Cars.

It probally sounded infallingly logical to a numbers cruncher and someone with a business MBA with little to no feel to the car business. However, what actually happened as a result is that Ford was stuck with an archaic product for many years afterwards while a far superior and up to date product made by them was locked out of the country, and both Ford divisions are hurt.

 

Reminds me of my brothers 05 subaru....

 

The Falcon FPV GT:





The Ford Falcon XR8:



FPV Ute: