Consider the Ford 500 based Freestyle. In Australia it's rebadged & called the Territory.

Top power here is a 3.0 V6 at 200 horses. That's it. No biggie, right???




Ford Australia's version has a turbo model w/ a hoodscoop.

Not a small V6, but the 245kw/348 frigging horsepower blown straight 6 version, right out of the road blazing Falcon XR6.

Yes, it evidently fits.

The thing will outaccelerate the BMW X5 & a Porsche Cayanne S according to GoAuto (I had to look it up because I couldn't believe it myself!).


You may add this to the Falcon XR8 with it's Aussie-only 5.4 quad cam high output V8, The 2nd gen Ford Focus that's available everywher except the United States, and the latest Mondeo which would fit in perfectly between the Futura and Focus to the long list of stuff that Ford Motor Company refuses to sell here.

Perhaps it's good that they are on the brink.

 

I wonder what Ford has against making money and keeping customers happy in the US?

 

While the territory looks a lot like the Freestyle, it is not the same. Territiory is build off of the Falcon platform. And it is going to be refreshed soon with the NG Falcon.

 

Sorry, but this is a mean looking Ford,



I'd take that over a Mustang any day. Sorry it's off topic, but I didn't see it worthy of it's own post.

 

Doesn't surprise me, they've put the axe to several of the performance orientated projects.

 

Ive never understood why Ford wont bring over its better vehicles from overseas to sell here in the US. Hell, just the Falcon and Euro Focus would be a huge boost to their lineup

 

Gotta pull you up there, Guy - Territory is not a rebadged car. It was designed and built off of the Falcon platform, and other than some NZ and SA exports, it remains an Australia-only model.

 

Thanks guys.

But this brings up an even bigger issue:
Why on earth did Ford spend twice on 2 crossovers that look almost exactly the same???!!

An even more ominous question:
Why is the one that apparently cost less money to develop & is sold in the smaller market, better in that it has more potential for wide sales???!!

The traditional & possibly cheaper longitudinal AWD system can be used. The Porsche & BMW beating performance of the turbo model would win over performance fans who need a crossover. Even more impressive is that the turbo model (with Lincoln design changes) would give Ford a Lincoln that would compete (& perhaps beat) the Porsche Cayenne & BMW's X5. No doubt, boosting Lincoln's image.

At least if the Territory was a rebadged Freestyle, it would just be an issue of Ford not bringing an engine here. But being both are entirely different but look the same, and the better one's in arguably the smallest market Ford has a plant in and cost the lesser amount to develop, that's even worse!

 

Was developing the Territory off the Falcon platform cheaper than either manufacturing the Freestyle in Australia or developing a right hand wheel version of Freestyle to export to Australia?

 

From memory the Territory came out first? (I think)

 

My guess: it doesn't snow in Australia. The FWD Freestyle is more suited to sales in most of North America (when AWD is not chosen by the customer). Also Freestyle shares a platform and many parts with a vehicle already sold by Ford in North America. Perhaps the Falcon chassis would run into the same problems as Monaro/GTO when trying to bring it to North America, especially with that straight-six that has never been sold here.

 

It does snow but you have to travel up to the mountains and then you only get snow for a couple of months. But it does snow

 

woops pressed submit twice

 

I've been told that sometimes in the winter mornings it might drop below zero and you could get a few centimetres, but then it goes away by noon. I've never been there in the winter, only in the summer, so I definitely didn't get a chance to witness it

 

www.perisherblue.com.au
No snow there at the moment, but you get this drift (haha) ...