Aussie Muscle!

[Big DaveBig Dave is verified member.]

I was 100% in the Holden camp, I would only consider buying Holdens. But yes I have driven a couple of Falcons.

When the EB first came out my local Ford dealer, Fury Ford, I'm not kidding, that was their name, had a special promotion, they would do a free basic service on any Commodore, as long as you drove the new Falcon for the day. Who wouldn't drive a new car for the day. It was a GL I think, and from what I remember, I told the sales guy it definitely had more power than my VL Commodore, which had the 3 litre Nissan inline 6, but it didn't handle as well, and the motor wasn't as smooth as my old VL. I seem to remember that was pretty much the way it was back then, the Falcons had the power and torque, but the Commodores handled and braked better.

The next one I drove was a BA XR6 in Phantom, non turbo, my brother had it as a rental when he was staying with me one night, I got called to go into work because the alarm was going off and he gave me the keys and told me to go for it. I liked this one better, it handled better, was smoother, but I hated the blue lighting on the gauges, they were really hard to read.

I'm not really in any camp now, if Ford were to change their mind and bring the Bronco here, I would give it some serious consideration.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk

 

[Sizzle Chest]

Don't know how I missed this thread! Cool cars!!!

 

[JDGolden]

Saying this thread is impressive is a massive understatement. I still need to watch all of the videos, but I love the pictures, especially the colors. Blood Orange and Envi are colors I’d have to strongly consider if I lived there and had purchased one. Then there is blueprint. That color is rocking.

I’ve seen some cool factory test mules living near the Motor City. Dodge/Chrysler World Headquarters, GM World Headquarters and Ford World Headquarters are all here. I’m closest to Ford HQ in Dearborn, about a half hour away.

Seeing the last engines or cars rolling off the line, especially when a plant closes for good, makes me really sad.

 

[Klasse Act]

My late Dad worked for GM for 35 yrs, so I'm biased towards GM. That said my first new car was a 2000 Ford Contour SVT. GM had nothing to compete with that car, Chrysler either, so Ford it was. I've never owned a new GM car, ever and nowadays they've turned their backs on affordable fun and unless I win Powerball I can't afford a CT4 or CT5 V Blackwing because those are the ONLY GM cars that speak to me!

I know this, if I lived down under, based on what I've seen in this thread, I'd be leaning towards Ford. Too bad we don't have a Holden version of Deyon here to present the "other side"

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[DFB]

Because I focused so much on the writing and imagery in the Barra post, I forgot to add some sound to the story.

I mentioned in that post Falcon 6's never really started to sound any good until the BA and the DOHC Barra. Where say, BMW, spent a lot of time making sure their inline 6's had a lovely snarl to them, the pre-Barra engines were simply motive devises. And to be fair, the BA version of the naturally aspirated Barra was pretty harsh sounding, although I actually quite liked it. BF and FG versions made big improvements, Ford actually started to tune the intake sound on the NA engine. In terms of exhaust note, only the turbo versions really had some noise coming from the rear pipes, and even then it was the FG and later versions that had a little pop and bang to go with the deep, burbly note.

First up, I should mention that the video's I'm posting are of them STANARD form, no obnoxious exhausts, the Barra to my ears ears sounds terrible with a drain pipe connected to the engine.

This video is to show how bad the older SOHC engines were, here shown in the form of a stock-standard AU Falcon fitted with the LPG engine, a absolute slug when fitted with the moonshot gearing in the 4 speed auto. Hopefully you can appreciate how strained and nasty these things sounded. They were however very good at towing (low down torque).
(Skip to the 1min mark for sound)
2000 Ford AU Falcon Forte LPG 0-100km/h & engine sound - YouTube

Next are the naturally aspirated FG's, here shown in G6E (the luxury variant) and the XR6 (sport), both have identical engine and transmissions (ZF 6 speed auto). Here, you will note a raspier engine sound with not much in the form of an exhaust note save for a little burble at idle. While these are not FAST like the turbo versions, they are decently powerful, even more so with premium fuel.
G6E-
2014 Ford Falcon G6E 4.0L (195kW) 0-100km/h & engine sound - YouTube
XR6-
2012 Ford Falcon XR6 MKII engine sound and 0-100km/h - YouTube

The EcoLPI (LPG) version that came to market in 2011 was faster than Ford were letting on in their official figures. The LPG engine went from being a slug to being noticeably faster the petrol/gas variant. Here fitted to an XR6 -
Ford Falcon FG X XR6 EcoLPI Ride & Sprint - YouTube

Now for the special stuff, the Turbo.

Firstly, in 2008 for the FG, Ford released a luxury model fitted with the turbo, previously all Turbo's were sport-performance focused. The G6E Turbo with all its chrome and more sedate looks was just as fast as the XR6. It was the truest of sleepers. First thing you notice is the exhaust has a deeper burble to it and an upshift "fart" that I find deliciously addictive. The turbo seems to also muffle some of the intake harshness.
2013 Ford G6E Turbo FG MKII engine sound and 0-100km/h - YouTube

The "fart" was actually a spark cut to help soften the load on the transmission during full throttle up-shifts. Ford also fitted a primitive launch control to manual Turbo's. This video is from the FG Falcon launch event in early 2008 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A66GJ-hgcK8

Next, a 0-200 kph run on a standard FG XR6 Turbo. If you watch carefully, you can see these engines had a small amount of lag until the boost kicks in at around 3,000rpm. Again, I love the hard edge rasp above 5,000rpm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHb8eNixfkQ

The biggest and baddest was the FPV F6 with the 310 engine, these were barely contained missiles. One thing you will note on these next videos is the lack of traction when the engine climbs on boost. FPV only fitted 245/30 19'' tires to these cars, just not enough. They were best driven with care or by a professional. The first video was filmed back in 2008 and the Targa Tasmania by then Ford racing driver Shane van Gisburgen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-ZclmN5JIE

These next two give a good impression on the harder edge these 310 engines had. There is more aggression in the "fart" on these too. Remember, the FG F6 kept the larger turbo charger for more top end grunt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsiI0fVIR4w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS7cNWXSvD4

As I mentioned, I actually prefer the harsher/raspier engine sound of the naturally aspirated versions. While everyone likes the sound of a V8, a well sorted inline 6 is just as addictive to my ears.

 

[DFB]

I was 100% in the Holden camp, I would only consider buying Holdens. But yes I have driven a couple of Falcons.

When the EB first came out my local Ford dealer, Fury Ford, I'm not kidding, that was their name, had a special promotion, they would do a free basic service on any Commodore, as long as you drove the new Falcon for the day. Who wouldn't drive a new car for the day. It was a GL I think, and from what I remember, I told the sales guy it definitely had more power than my VL Commodore, which had the 3 litre Nissan inline 6, but it didn't handle as well, and the motor wasn't as smooth as my old VL. I seem to remember that was pretty much the way it was back then, the Falcons had the power and torque, but the Commodores handled and braked better.

The next one I drove was a BA XR6 in Phantom, non turbo, my brother had it as a rental when he was staying with me one night, I got called to go into work because the alarm was going off and he gave me the keys and told me to go for it. I liked this one better, it handled better, was smoother, but I hated the blue lighting on the gauges, they were really hard to read.

I'm not really in any camp now, if Ford were to change their mind and bring the Bronco here, I would give it some serious consideration.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk

My late Dad worked for GM for 35 yrs, so I'm biased towards GM. That said my first new car was a 2000 Ford Contour SVT. GM had nothing to compete with that car, Chrysler either, so Ford it was. I've never owned a new GM car, ever and nowadays they've turned their backs on affordable fun and unless I win Powerball I can't afford a CT4 or CT5 V Blackwing because those are the ONLY GM cars that speak to me!

I know this, if I lived down under, based on what I've seen in this thread, I'd be leaning towards Ford. Too bad we don't have a Holden version of Deyon here to present the "other side"

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

I'm not as one eyed Ford as I used to be, but the bias is still there. The rule of the jungle for decades was you were either red (Holden) or blue (Ford), and NEVER should one cross the road to the other side let alone admit to liking the oppositions product. These days, with both factories long closed, the rivalry seems to become a mutual respect from each side of the fence. At this point I will say, I'm a sucker for a Monaro, especially the one from the early 2000's...............

 

[DFB]

Saying this thread is impressive is a massive understatement. I still need to watch all of the videos, but I love the pictures, especially the colors. Blood Orange and Envi are colors I’d have to strongly consider if I lived there and had purchased one. Then there is blueprint. That color is rocking.

I’ve seen some cool factory test mules living near the Motor City. Dodge/Chrysler World Headquarters, GM World Headquarters and Ford World Headquarters are all here. I’m closest to Ford HQ in Dearborn, about a half hour away.

Seeing the last engines or cars rolling off the line, especially when a plant closes for good, makes me really sad.

The closures, the Ford and Holden ones in particular, reduced many to tears. Ford had been making cars in Australia since 1925, Holden via GM since 1948. On the final days of manufacturing, the media acted like vultures, preying on the thousands of employees who were basically now un-employed. It was sickening, no one would ever want a camera and microphone shoved in their face they day they lost their job. To Fords credit, the workers were basically given three years notice to find another job. A lot of ex-manufacturing employees were re-deployed in the product development team, which to this day is responsible for several programs including Ranger, Everest and the platform home-room for the Bronco. In comparison, the GM-Holden employees were made redundant. GM then went on to shut the brand down completely. GM no longer have an official outlet in Australia.



The huge Broadmeadows assembly plant is still being gutted -

These pics were from earlier this year -









The Geelong engine and stamping plants have both been sold now and completely gutted -







I was lucky enough to tour Broadmeadows in 2003, a time when the factory was at 110% capacity.

A few years later in early 2010, cars had to be parked on grass, the demand had fallen through the floor by this stage. These pics were taken by me and I remember at the time thinking, ooooh, this isn't good! This was in addition to a large, full holding yard at the back of the factory. Most of these cars ended up being dumped into rental fleets.

 

[tomsteve]

back in the mids 80's, an uncle of mine was a few months from retiring from ford. only thing i heard him said about what he did:"i design cars before they are cars." anyways, ford made him an offer he couldnt refuse: they wanted him in australia for a year. all expenses paid except for rental car.
what i heard about when he got back?
the cars.
one of my own personal favorite( newer models) are the G8s that replaced a few gm models in '09. although ive never driven one, the GXP seems like a fun car to drive.
unfortunately, i think people in the states were hooked on fwd and they didnt sell good over here.

 

[Ace22]

I had a G8 GXP for about 5 years...kind of miss it now especially being the rwd badass ride it was! Thanks for sharing the history of Ford and GM presence in Australia. I always thought Australia was an awesome place for car culture. It sounds like they love their V8's with Holden and Ford. You guys always had the cool Utes and stuff we never got to experience in the US. Long live the V8!

 

[DFB]

I had a G8 GXP for about 5 years...kind of miss it now especially being the rwd badass ride it was! Thanks for sharing the history of Ford and GM presence in Australia. I always thought Australia was an awesome place for car culture. It sounds like they love their V8's with Holden and Ford. You guys always had the cool Utes and stuff we never got to experience in the US. Long live the V8!

Utes will most likely be my next post.

As most will know, the Pontiac G8 was a rebranded VE Holden Commodore.

The Australian VE Commodore SS-V -



The US market Pontiac G8 -



The VE Commodore, and the later models based on it, are arguably the best Australian cars ever made. Many of the early ones were very problematic in terms of electrics, but the engineering integrity was such never seen from an Australian made car before. Holden designed and engineered this all-new car and platform to be used not only on variety of Australian market cars, but also as exports and form the basis of multiple cars from with the wider GM network. Even the now long dead Saab was to get a model based on this platform. (At the time, Holden were supplying both Saab and Alfa Romeo with V6 engines made in Australia). Then the Global Financial Crisis hit and those plans mostly scrapped. Apart from the Camaro, the platform would not go any further than the Commodore and it's many variants.

The closure of Pontiac and the cancellation of exports as the G8 meant Holden were left sitting on a large parts bank specific to the Pontiac version. The result was the Commodore SS "Special Edition", basically the "Pontiac Commodore" -



Note the lack of a Holden lion badge, the twin nostril design bumper meant there was no room for one. Holden at the time denied they were simply using up excess Pontiac G8 parts, but it was plain as day what they were doing. Soon after, there was also a line of VE Series 2 SS-V Redlines fitted with the Brembo brakes and chromed Pontiac wheels. Again, using up parts destined for the US market.

 

[Big DaveBig Dave is verified member.]

I thought I'd see if I could find any Pontiac Commodores currently for sale. I could only find one, and the seller thinks it's worth quite a lot.

I wonder how hard it would be to find one of those front fascias now, if you happened to break it.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk

 

[Klasse Act]

I thought I'd see if I could find any Pontiac Commodores currently for sale. I could only find one, and the seller thinks it's worth quite a lot.

I wonder how hard it would be to find one of those front fascias now, if you happened to break it.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk

Wait...I didn't know they made a wagon of this, WOW

I see car people out there are like us, wanting it to look like something from the other market. It's very common to see people at C&C's to put their Chevy SS's back to where they started life....as Holdens! Here someone puts a G8 face on, crazy! That stance and rims look awesome right there...plus it's a wagon AND a manual️

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[Big DaveBig Dave is verified member.]

Wait...I didn't know they made a wagon of this, WOW

I see car people out there are like us, wanting it to look like something from the other market. It's very common to see people at C&C's to put their Chevy SS's back to where they started life....as Holdens! Here someone puts a G8 face on, crazy! That stance and rims look awesome right there...plus it's a wagon AND a manual️

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Yeah, HSV also did a version called the Clubsport R8 Tourer, I don't know if it could be had with the manual though. This one is the F series, based on the VF Commodore that you had as the Chevy SS.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk

 

[Klasse Act]

Yeah, HSV also did a version called the Clubsport R8 Tourer, I don't know if it could be had with the manual though. This one is the F series, based on the VF Commodore that you had as the Chevy SS.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[tomsteve]

there were a handful of G8s that were upgraded and labeled "firehawk." supercharger added, intake/exhaust mods,PCM tune, and some suspension upgrades.
boosted HP to 500 and torque to right around 490 ft lbs.
they has FUN written all over them

 

[Klasse Act]

there were a handful of G8s that were upgraded and labeled "firehawk." supercharger added, intake/exhaust mods,PCM tune, and some suspension upgrades.
boosted HP to 500 and torque to right around 490 ft lbs.
they has FUN written all over them

Forgot ALL about those️

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[DFB]

The UTE!

The story of the “Ute” is one unique to Australia. First, “Ute” is the abbreviation of “Coupe-Utility” and the concept of a coupe-utility is that of a vehicle built on a passenger car platform with a coupe-like, unbroken side panel. A pickup in comparison has a separate cab and rear tub or tray.
The story go’s that a farmers wife wrote to Ford Australia in the early 1930’s, going on to say that they could not afford to buy two vehicles, one for working and one for family duties, and that they wanted a car that could take them to church on Sunday and take the pigs to market on Monday.

Lewis Bandt, a 22 year old engineer with Ford, was asked to design the solution. They modified a 1933 Ford Coupe (passenger car), extending the side panels from the rear of the can to the end of the tray. Additional strengthening of the body and suspension allowed for it to carry heavier loads. The first car rolled out of the Geelong factory in 1934 and was called the Ford Coupe Utility. Henry Ford would go on to call it a “Aussie Kangaroo Chaser”.





Holden would go on to release its version of a Ute in January 1951, called the 50-2106 Coupe Utility.





When the Falcon went on sale in 1960, it too was offered in a Ute. A lot of the car industry today talks about “modular platforms”, well take a look at this design drawing from the period, using common body panels between sedan-wagon-ute-van was arguably one of the first modular platforms.









The Ute would then go on to be a staple of the Holden-Ford-Chrysler line ups. Up until the mid-1970’s, these vehicles were the workhorses of Australia. Holden would also offer a 1 Tonner cab chassis version for heavier duty hauling. That started to change when the whole Sandman panel van culture took off. While most of these Ute based vans were used for `business purposes, they also doubled as pleasure vehicles. I leave that to your imagination as to what two or more people could do in the back of mattress equipped van. “If the van is a rockin, don’t come-a-knocking”.

XY Falcon Ute -



XA Falcon Ute -



HR Holden Ute -



HQ 1 Tonner -



Holden Sandman -





When Holden went near bankrupt in the mid 1980’s, they had no budget to develop a newer Ute based on the Commodore of the day, gifting Ford a free kick when it came to sales. Holden would then go on without a Ute until 1990 with the VG Ute. Ford at the time soldier on with the 1979 XD based XF, XG and XH Falcon Utes and Vans right up until 1999.

1979 XD Falcon -



1990 VG Commodore, VP Commodore -





1996 XH Longreach -



XH II Falcon XR8 -



In 1999, Ford released the AU Falcon Ute. This is where it gets a touch tricky. To widen the appeal of the Falcon Ute, Ford separated the cabin and tub. The Style-Side-Box version was fitted with a tub while the cab chassis allowed for a wider, flat tray to fitted. The van was discontinued though. Holden on the other hand stayed traditional coupe-utility with their new generation Ute, the VU Commodore. Holden also went with IRS on the Ute while Ford maintained the leaf sprung live axle.

AU Falcon Cab Chassis -



AU Falcon SSB -







VU Holden Ute SS -







At the time, Holden had it all over Ford in terms of sales and brand image. But the Falcon Ute managed to buck that trend, outselling the Holden Ute massively. The versatility and superior towing and load capacity was what buyers wanted. At that stage, Holden doubled down on the performance aspect of their Ute, the GEN-III Chevy V8 was massively popular and with IRS, it could make use of the power on tap.

The BA/BF Falcon Ute evolved the AU Ute into a nicer looking and performing option, while loosing none of it’s work ability. The new engines welcomed with passion, the V8 engines also seemed to be more popular in the Ute too, although the Barra Turbo was also loved by many. Holden would also facelift the Commodore Ute at the same time. In 2003, they added a cab-chassis/ 1 Tonner version with a leaf sprung live axle into the mix but was not as successful as the Falcon. Holden would also produce a dual-cab Commodore Ute, the Crewman, which were very popular. It shared the 1-Tonners live axle and was a sliced together Frankenstein of body parts from within the wider Commodore-Caprice line-up.

BA Falcon Ute -





BF Falcon Ute -





BF Cobra Ute -



Holden Crewman Ute -





VZ Holden Ute -





The next generation FG, FG MK II and FG-X Utes continued the theme of work and play. Holden maintained the sport focus with the new generation VE Commodore, which arrived about a year later in 2007 than the sedan.

FG Falcon Ute -









VE Commodore Ute -





VF Holden Ute -



Ford would make their last V8 powered Falcon Ute in 2014 via the FPV Pursuit Ute, fitted with the supercharged Boss 315 V8. The last Falcon Ute would roll down the line mid 2016.

2014 FG MK II FPV Pursuit -





The last Falcon Ute, mid 2016 -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noy9ubwWV3g











Holden continued through into 2017 with Utes, the last HSV ones were massively powerful being fitted with supercharged 6.2 V8’s.

HSV GTS-R -





Last Holden Ute -





Also worth noting that Falcon Van’s and Utes as well as and later Holden Utes were used by the police as Divisional Vans (Divy Vans.)

Falcon Van -



Commodore Ute -



The “Aussie Ute” ended up dying a slow death as consumers moved onto diesel dual-cab pick-ups. In many ways, these dual-cabs have become the versatile do-it-all family car in the same way that Falcon and Commodore sedans and wagons once were.

Myself, I have never "owned" a traditional Ute, although I have driven many.


As a change, here a few TV commercials from era, most from a time when advertising standards allowed for agressive driving. (The Nanny State rules here these days.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA7QbCDK7p4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG97IFn-sao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlAEbqIkoUY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqr2-GZwv0o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ufr_XjKsU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tulXEux6eDk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x02POBVHM7E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng0nt-Q2j3M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHI32PgKP2o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4xRnC41jtE

 

[Big DaveBig Dave is verified member.]

I had a 2003 Holden Crewman Cross 8 many years ago. It was an impulsive purchase, but all I wanted was something with a V8. It had 225kw, about 300hp, and 460Nm, 338 ft-lb, of torque, nothing outrageous, but it sounded great, and was fast off the line in the dry, wet, or dirt. And it was still RWD biased, drive was split was 62% rear, 38% front. The turning circle was massive, but at least the steering was..... well, lumpy, something to do with AWD system I believe. But I enjoyed it while I had it.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk

 

[JDGolden]

I’ll take the red supercharged Holden Ute. Love it!

 

[DFB]

I’ll take the red supercharged Holden Ute. Love it!

All yours for $400,000............

carsales.com.au

Most sit around $200k.................

carsales.com.au

What annoys me about that sort of pricing, even when they were new and dealers were price gauging, it takes these cars away from their traditional fan base and puts them into them into the hands of high dollar collectors who have them in bubbles and don't appreciate them for what they are. Same story with the milestone Fords as well. A lot of those cars ended being owned by dealership employees, who sat on them for a few months/years and then put them on the market for massive mark ups in an attempt to cash in on people who missed out on allocations.

carsales.com.au