Ford Australia reveals new FPV Falcon range

Interesting! The six by theory will beat the V8 off the line and the V8 a higher top speed. Theory being torque gives you acceleration and horsepower top speed, hmmmm!

So when is Billy boy going to bring this to the U.S? Better yet stuff the six in a Mustang and give it an independent rear suspension and I'd be on the waiting list to buy one.

Oh and I want mine in that "look at me"Blue

P.S. Gus will think I'm off my meds wanting a Yank Tank.....

next gen mustang spy shots are hinting at IRS already. and it's widely anticipated that ford's going to drop the 4L (210hp) v6 for the 3.5L (270hp) v6 in response to the expected power figures from the camaro, and because of economy.

the generation after that, the mustang and falcon will share platforms.... with a lincoln (possibly)

How is a turbo 6 that makes over 400hp an entry level engine? Entry-level my ass, I want that motor in my next Mustang...

Wheels: Try the current Mustang GT (I can't speak for the V6, I've never tried one), drive one, trust me, you won't be dissapointed, and you can't tell any difference in the rear suspension. I know, I used to own the most sophisiticated 5-link IRS available in the Benz 300E, and this car handles better and is just as smooth. The way this solid axle puts down torque, and how flat the car stays on power through a turn is astonishing, you can easily control the car and back end using just your right foot...

gus, well put. even the 4L is pretty impressive for a "beater v6 pony car".. as I've heard it called before.

I'm surprised about what you say about the benz. How new was it at the time? I mean, I know the mustang handles pretty well,.. but a benz?

But this whole discussion kinda summarizes the whole problem I have with mustang haters. yes, the drive train resembles a truck more than a ferrari, but anything that is done well enough...... well.. you get the point.

The Benz was a 1987 300E, and it handled extremely well. Perfect trailing understeer and throttle induced oversteer at the limit. That was a great car.
It does not compare to a modern Benz or BMW (at least not to my mother-in-law's 335i), no way. It just doesn't have the same planted feel. But it does feel really, really good, and is easly driven at it's limits and can keep up with the 335i on any road.
Not bad for 1/2 the price, I guess...

Fairly nice car, with some Audi accents in the design (always a good thing). I'd take the European Mondeo and then this one... It's worth repeating: the Aussies get this and we Americans (isn't this where Henry Ford created FoMoCo?) get the Taurus?

A very big F*CK YOU to Ford.

How is a turbo 6 that makes over 400hp an entry level engine? Entry-level my ass,

hi guys im an Australian and jsut want to clear up a couple of things for you !
firstly: the inline 6 in this car is stated as a base model but only for the HiPo versions of this car. Trust me there i s a staid inline 6 that is represented in the base models that hasnt been tricked outby Tickford (as is thisone).
secondly: your complainst about not getting this car and the real versions of the commodore, sorry but if you guys get this car at a reasonable prices then i want the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger to come out here for a reasonable price. they will sell like hotcakes. The Camaro i can understand if it doesnt come because holden want to develop a new Monaro (an ozzie classic), but the mustang should already be here, Ford don have a car to compare..

just my 2 cents worth.

oh and if you want to keep up to date with whats happening in the Australian motor scene have a look at subscribing to Wheels magazine. Its a monthly australian car magazine that will give you all you need to know about the Commodore and Falcon

Wiz - thats about all they do talk about in Wheels!

I took a look at the new falcon at the motorshow recently and after looking at a mondeo it was like stepping back 10 years in terms of design and quality on the inside (nasty plastics, poor control feel etc etc)- it may have a big engine - but it just seems oldfashioned and too big in todays world. I can see the next generations of the Falcon and the Com getting smaller and more economical - they will have to - just look at the sales figures now!

Actually for those of you that don't know, we are HQ'd out of Australia. We started this site primarily because of the heavy bias towards locally built cars in the Australian media. I understand this is the case in all countries with locally manufactured cars, but Wheels and Motor were really getting beyond a joke in terms of their promotion for these models. I guess those advertising budgets must have been huge, eh?

Anyway, we recently started CarCentral.com.au for the Australian market. It's a more serious news site compared to MotorAuthority and previews what this site will become in the near future. Some of the content is shared with MotorAuthority but there will be a lot more local information very soon.

Hey Mr Admin....yes i do know that you are HQ'd out of Australia, infact one of your staff contacted me directly and asked me for some viable input for the site. I offered my services, but as yet have still to get a response back.
I have kept the email i sent to yourselves so if you want me to send it again i will. Let me know. Cheers

RB - i agree one of the failings of Wheels and Motor is is blanket coverage of the Falcon and the Commodore. I think last year between the 2 the covers of each magazine had on or toher on them 10 times out of the 12. I think the only time not was the M3 launch and the Mazda 6 launch. Even when the Aurion was released they still managed to stick the commodore on the front page. Needless to say the general sales trend should be an indicator to these publications that Falcon and Commodore and the local insustry behemoths they believe themselves to be and are in fact a dying breed. look at the figures for the Corolla and the Mazda 3 for proof. If Honda hadnt made their latest Civic in Sunderland UK and imported it, that would have been in the top 5 also.
Me, i drive a Toyota. Why? because i can depend on it, its going to keep running for near on 10 years (when i can afford to purchase a new one) and if something happens the parts and service are cheaper than local products. Also i can be assured of a good return on my purchase if i do decide to sell up. A -30% post showroom price drop for my Toyota, compared to -55% drop for Commodore/Falcon is another reason.

admin; that finally explains a lot about what I like about this site. to the americans, don't take this the wrong way, but this site clearly wasn't american. MA has a great mix of everything, from all over. you wouldnt get that from an american or a euro site. not possible. plus the reporting is a little... shall we say "big picture".. something that I think you can only get from non american/euros :D. But I will have to keep this in mind the next time I say "domestic" hahaha.

Wizards; unfortunately for you, my understanding of aussie car culture leads me to believe that it will be a cold day in hell before the falcon gets replaced or even shares the lime light with the mustang. it's your own mustang. Its definitely got strong points over the mustang. but the two cars are too similar to be sold in the same market. even if they go over to the same platform (which you can almost guarantee), you wont see it. same reason why you wont see the G8 or the Camaro. I don't know about chrysler's market share in Australia but something tells me they've got bigger concerns than trying to get a couple thousand challengers and chargers to the other side of the planet.

I definitely agree that you can expect the mustang to get smaller again. not much though. realize that the mustang is already about the size of the focus. its really not that large of a car. It could definitely use a diet though. And the latest reports that I've heard about the next F150 is that they're targeting a 10% weight reduction through the use of higher grade steel (weighs less and is stronger so you use less). I'd expect that to translate to the mustang as well. I'd like to see the mustang with the 3.5L v6 to replace the 4L but I don't know if that will happen,.. not enough low end torque to be "fun". Personally I'd like to see the mustang under go a rebirth like caddy has seen. shake off all the old guys (sorry gus) and get the mustang into the younger hands. make it smaller, more manageable, maybe a little more 2nd row room, get the weight down, and bring back a 4 banger base option. I think you'd sell a lot of mustangs in the next 10 years if you could get it down to 2800lbs or so, with the 2.5L turbo, and a little more rear space. make it an angry focus.

Chris - the Falcon after this run will be a full import from about 2012, it will no longer be made locally...as for the Mustang...trust me it as big as the Falcon, so the drivetrain will be the same in the future. I cant see how you can say it is the same size as the focus though !! we haave the new mustang here and it is massive...on parwith the falcon and its only a 2 door.....The focus is the size of a corrolla...
I may be misunderstanding you but the G8 is a HSV...made and sold in Australian. the Camaro is a different car altogether, but would be in comeptetion with a future Monaro, and seeing as Cadillac want to get in on the booming Austrlian market they will bring their coupe over which will cancel the need to have the camaro and even the monaro locally.
Chrysler woudl be a good sell if they came over, but like you said they have to get their own house in order first.

p.s sorry for my spelling......:-(

oh missed this...chrysler obviously are doing well here due to the 300C etc....but i would love to see the american muscle cars here...