Best Aussie car of last 30 years

[ToryMikey]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

I note there is no-one mentioning the Cruze...


Or the Adventra for that matter. As a juxtaposition to the Territory it's really interesting! Edit: might as well include the creativity in all of Peter Hannenberger's extra variants of the VT-Z: the Crewman (anticipating the dual cab ute, but not really being what the market wanted?) the rebirth of the One Tonner, the rebirth of the Overlander as the Adventra, and AWD on all of these. Combined with the Monaro, it was very much like the Kingswood era and every spin-off you could think of, had come again. And it didn't work, perhaps?

I remember the Motor magazine of the era. Huge front page image of the Adventra. Tiny little text on the bottom mentioning the then new Territory.

[GTP534]

I've had 2 Territories, first an SYII Ghia in Ego and the second was the SZ Diesel Titanium.

Both excellent cars, drove beautifully, handled well and rode smoothly.

I kept each for about 5 years, the SZ was written off when I got t-boned (my fault); very sad to see the car like that.

Neither gave any trouble, routine servicing at the selling dealer who actually picked up a couple of issues albeit minor.

[ToryMikey]

Originally Posted by whynot

I agree with your sentiments that we shouldn't compare cars from different eras, without considering the available technology of the day.

However, I do disagree with a narrow interpretation of what "best" actually is.

Sure the GTHO produced a lot of power for its day (somewhere in the region of 260 to 280 kW). However, the Territory FPV F6X produced 270 kW, while complying with very erroneous pollution controls and only burning unleaded petrol.

The GTHO Phase 3 does the standing quarter in 14.2. The Territory FPV F6X does the standing quarter in 13.3 s @ 111.2 mph; whilst running pollution controls, whilst pushing a much heavier 2000kg+, blunt nose SUV body down the track.

Lets be realistic. Ford spent money on both the GTHO and the Territory with only one purpose in mind. To make a handsome profit on its investment. Everything else is marketing spin (e.g. blue flag fluttering in the breeze as Ford crosses first at Bathurst).

Development teams for both the GTHO and The Territory F6X raided the parts bin, to do "go faster" on the cheap, and stuck go faster bits on standard passenger vehicles. Only a few could afford to buy one, and numbers were very limited. But both certainly raised Ford's brand awareness.

For me, the criteria to judge what is the "best" Aussie car is to understand which car made the biggest leap forward (of its time) to position that brand for ongoing sales.

The GTHO Phase 3, as fast as it was around the race track, was just an iteration of the XY GT, which was an iteration of the XY.

The Territory is in another class of business thinking and engineering. FoA had a long hard think about where the car market was going. They came up with the answer of "big sedans are dying, it will be SUV".

Next, FoA raided the existing parts bin (engine, transmission, etc) while crafted a new shell around it. But this time concentrating on the layout, packaging, ergonomics, etc, etc, in the shape of an SUV.

When it was released, the Territory was a super controversial decision of its day. The typical left wing media (think SMH, The Age, ABC) absolutely panned it. Greenies bemoaned the Americanisation of Australian family cars. Wheels had a lot of explaining to do why that gave it car of the year.

Whereas the GTHO Phase 3 was an incremental engineering jump. The VE Commodore, as good as it is, was just another engineering iteration, albeit a $1B iteration, of the family sedan.

Whereas the Ford Territory is different. The Territory's development was a calculated business risk that leveraged some incredible engineering done on a modest budget. It was done with a long term view to provide a sales platform that could keep the production line running longer with both sedan and SUV variants as the local Australian market evolved.

And that is why, in my view, the Territory is the best Aussie car in the last 30 years.

Excellent post. The Territory came so far, in a way that it gave us a locally built SUV that could be compared to a BMW X5...compare it to the agricultural Prado, Pajero Sport, Hilux etc that dominate today's sales charts. Not to mention in terms of reliability, the Barra smacked any of those options. All while being more powerful and not really consuming any more fuel in the real world, meaning cost of ownership was considerably cheaper when accounting for the fact that the Territory's fuel consistently costs 30c less than the in vogue fuel of today!

It's amazing how little we've progressed in the Australian new car marketplace since the cessation of local manufacturing. It's like we have transitioned from a first world to a third world market.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by ToryMikey

I remember the Motor magazine of the era. Huge front page image of the Adventra. Tiny little text on the bottom mentioning the then new Territory.

Wheels at the time had a very favourable review and big front cover "An Aussie X5 for Falcon bucks", and then it won COTY in 2005 as well - kept both issues.

I've driven a LX6 Adventra and personally really liked it (especially the 2 part tailgate window, surprise and delight...) but it does not feel as nimble as a Territory and that, plus the SUV shape/practicality is probably what swayed thousands of sales. For our family, it came along when there were 2 kids under 10, it was perfect, the Falcon power and comfort and handling, and a whole lot more.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by GTP534

I've had 2 Territories, first an SYII Ghia in Ego and the second was the SZ Diesel Titanium.

Both excellent cars, drove beautifully, handled well and rode smoothly.

I kept each for about 5 years, the SZ was written off when I got t-boned (my fault); very sad to see the car like that.

Neither gave any trouble, routine servicing at the selling dealer who actually picked up a couple of issues albeit minor.

My brother's SZ TS petrol died in a similar manner with the SIL driving and two kids in the back - car saved them all and they were OK.



"It's amazing how little we've progressed in the Australian new car marketplace since the cessation of local manufacturing. It's like we have transitioned from a first world to a third world market."

Agree completely TM. The next phase shift in the market has begun and it's to electric - the last shift after SUV was the dual cab ute becoming 3 box transport of choice. The electric shift is different to those prior ones - instead of being market driven (we'll forgive the dual cabs' favourable tax treatment here) the electric shift is top-down driven via international and government policy. It's making a shift to more expensive to make vehicles, which should logically price many people out of the market. Will it stick in a similar way to those shifts driven by market demand? If our industry was still hanging in there, I'd hate to be the one in charge wondering how to navigate the shift.

Oh special thanks to Govt departments who specified a CO2 rating (iirc) that Ford developed the 4cyl Ecoboost Falcon for, and then never bought any of them.

[whynot]

After praising Ford for the development of the Territory, I should also be a realist about what happened in the following years.

Ford dropped the ball. The most glaring mistakes was;

A) working on getting the turbo into the Territory when they should have released the diesel with the SY.

B) not releasing a revised front end to fix the ball joint issue, much, much sooner.

From memory, the plan was for the Territory to replace the Falcon Wagon. However, the Territory was gulping way too much fuel in city traffic for the fleets to swap across from the wagon. There was also ample warning from the various government fleets that the Territory had excluded itself from selection, purely on its fuel consumption.

As an aside, I would regularly see 18-20l/100km out of my Territory, as it was stuck in the peak hour crawl down Gympie Rd during works for the Clem 7 tunnel. The fleet manager hated me as he was being measured on average fuel consumption, and the Territory stood out in bold on his naughty list.

Fitting the diesel would have corrected this problem. And Ford lost a lot of sales because of the misplaced effort in the Turbo Territory.

I can only assume that the development of the FG Falcon in the period 2005 to 2008 simply saturated what little development capability FoA had left.

It would have been very interesting if Ford went the Prado route with the Territory. Lifted the ride height, converted the rear back to a solid axle (maybe even leaf sprints), installed manual hubs on the front, and given the Territory a low range automatic gearbox. But, that is not to be.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by whynot

After praising Ford for the development of the Territory, I should also be a realist about what happened in the following years.

Ford dropped the ball.

No they didn't. After the last Geoff Polities was moved overseas, FoA became a revolving door of CEOs as Dearborn systematically dismantled FoA as it wasn't part of their "One Ford" goal.

I bet Dearborn now wishes FoA was again the Falcon car company instead of the Ranger car company.

I agree the Territory Turbo was a a mistake. The ECOLPi was the saviour but it wasn't allowed to succeed.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

I note there is no-one mentioning the Cruze...


Or the Adventra for that matter.

Both were half-arsed products that Holden expected to sell based on brand image alone.

For the Adventra, I actually liked the concept, a Subaru Outback with a big engine if you like. At the time, the buzz word was AWD or 4WD, and on that basis, Holden thought that all they had to do was give the Commodore wagon an AWD system and some black plastic cladding and buyers would flock to it.

However, as we eventually learnt, buyers were not buying SUV's for the AWD system, they wanted the SUV "look" and high ride height. A jacked Commodore wagon was never going to satisfy that desire. And the fact they launched the car with the wrong engine, by the time the V6 arrived, it was too late.

For the Cruze, that car was Korean junk. The ones that were assembled here were simply Australian made Korean junk. Again, Holden just expected people to buy the Cruze because "Holden" and "Australian Made". It had none of the styling flamboyance of the Mazda 3 or the impeccable reliability reputation of the Corolla. Combine that with a terrible record for expensive engine and gearbox failures, well the Cruze was a too little, too late exercise for Holden. A lot of owners were given NDA's when Holden repaired or replaced engines and transmissions.

I once detailed a top spec Cruze, one of the last made here, and I couldn't believe how chintzy the whole car looked and felt. It even had the beginnings of clearcoat failure, on a car that was only a few years old at the time.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the Cruze, and Captiva for that matter, are what ultimately killed Holden as a brand after the closure of the factories. Buyers burnt from crappy Captiva's and crusty Cruzes were never going to return to the brand for another round of GM mediocrity. Years and years of complacency came home to roost.

[ToryMikey]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

My brother's SZ TS petrol died in a similar manner with the SIL driving and two kids in the back - car saved them all and they were OK.



"It's amazing how little we've progressed in the Australian new car marketplace since the cessation of local manufacturing. It's like we have transitioned from a first world to a third world market."

Agree completely TM. The next phase shift in the market has begun and it's to electric - the last shift after SUV was the dual cab ute becoming 3 box transport of choice. The electric shift is different to those prior ones - instead of being market driven (we'll forgive the dual cabs' favourable tax treatment here) the electric shift is top-down driven via international and government policy. It's making a shift to more expensive to make vehicles, which should logically price many people out of the market. Will it stick in a similar way to those shifts driven by market demand? If our industry was still hanging in there, I'd hate to be the one in charge wondering how to navigate the shift.

Oh special thanks to Govt departments who specified a CO2 rating (iirc) that Ford developed the 4cyl Ecoboost Falcon for, and then never bought any of them.

I think there's a lot to be said for our local product in the 2010s. The prevailing media narrative at the time was two fold:

1. Consumers want SUVs and the local manufacturers didn't build them - umm did everyone miss the Falcon SUV, available in petrol or diesel power? Yes Holden misread the market but it's difficult to say that Ford did.

2. Consumers are sick of gas guzzlers and want efficient cars because they're sick of paying for the high cost of petrol.

Now that second point has proven to be complete codswallop over the past seven years. We have lost almost all of our efficient small cars from the market - only leaving crap behind like the MG3 - and what is left has moved up in price to be equivalent to what a Falcon XT cost in 2016. That Falcon XT was available in classic inline six, liquid injection LPG or four cylinder turbo versions. The latter two providing you with small car running costs.

What are people buying these days? Let's look at the top sellers. Hilux. Ranger. D-Max. Navara. Landcruiser. Everest. Prado. With the exception of the price leader MG3 and the pensioner favourite Corolla (which has ballooned in price), all the top sellers are heavy, thirsty and crap to drive. Reliability? None are a patch on a Barra. Just look at the DPF controversies, and reliability marketing leader Toyota's messing up of the new Landsnoozer's engine. Why did they move away from inline six again?

I personally feel a little aggrieved because I'm 29 now and can easily afford a new car, any one I like. But I couldn't in 2016. I used to hear it all the time, "you love the local cars so much but they have to shut down because nobody is buying them". What 22 year old can afford a new car! As for now, a low kilometre FGX XR6T in manual sounds great, and I'll get a local trimmer to make a top notch leather interior for it. What else would I buy, without stepping up to the Supra or M3?

As for electric cars, everything under $65k is just rubbish. Heck my dear old mum just bought a Chinese (!) EV for close to $80k. Cupra Born looks alright though...as does the BMW I4...but that's just it. In 2023 Australia, all the interesting cars are expensive.

[ToryMikey]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Both were half-arsed products that Holden expected to sell based on brand image alone.

For the Adventra, I actually liked the concept, a Subaru Outback with a big engine if you like. At the time, the buzz word was AWD or 4WD, and on that basis, Holden thought that all they had to do was give the Commodore wagon an AWD system and some black plastic cladding and buyers would flock to it.

However, as we eventually learnt, buyers were not buying SUV's for the AWD system, they wanted the SUV "look" and high ride height. A jacked Commodore wagon was never going to satisfy that desire. And the fact they launched the car with the wrong engine, by the time the V6 arrived, it was too late.

For the Cruze, that car was Korean junk. The ones that were assembled here were simply Australian made Korean junk. Again, Holden just expected people to buy the Cruze because "Holden" and "Australian Made". It had none of the styling flamboyance of the Mazda 3 or the impeccable reliability reputation of the Corolla. Combine that with a terrible record for expensive engine and gearbox failures, well the Cruze was a too little, too late exercise for Holden. A lot of owners were given NDA's when Holden repaired or replaced engines and transmissions.

I once detailed a top spec Cruze, one of the last made here, and I couldn't believe how chintzy the whole car looked and felt. It even had the beginnings of clearcoat failure, on a car that was only a few years old at the time.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the Cruze, and Captiva for that matter, are what ultimately killed Holden as a brand after the closure of the factories. Buyers burnt from crappy Captiva's and crusty Cruzes were never going to return to the brand for another round of GM mediocrity. Years and years of complacency came home to roost.

Agree totally. Everyone knew Holden was the Commodore Car Company, and the rest of the range was filling space.

Holden burned a lot of goodwill when the 2 star ANCAP rated Daewoo Barina came out in 2006. Australians are suckers, they'll buy anything with a lion playing basketball on it! That said my next door neighbour seems to like her red one...

I do remember Joshua Dowling praising the Captiva's virtues on a 3AW segment back in the day though. "People call the car funny names" was his euphemistic radio-friendly quote.

[DTFRMONT]

Someone mentioned the Mitsubishi 380 earlier, saw one doing service as a Taxi here in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, complete with fading paint!

The Camry's would have to have an honourary mention, given how many are still on the roads, still see loads doing Taxi duty, including some from the mid 2000's. They have taken over from the Falcon as the car that can't be killed no matter how it's treated.

The Territory is a class act though, just sold my Mum's SX Ghia, which was still a very nice thing to drive. The little design touches were very classy.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by ToryMikey

I think there's a lot to be said for our local product in the 2010s. The prevailing media narrative at the time was two fold:

1. Consumers want SUVs and the local manufacturers didn't build them - umm did everyone miss the Falcon SUV, available in petrol or diesel power? Yes Holden misread the market but it's difficult to say that Ford did.

2. Consumers are sick of gas guzzlers and want efficient cars because they're sick of paying for the high cost of petrol.

Now that second point has proven to be complete codswallop over the past seven years. We have lost almost all of our efficient small cars from the market - only leaving crap behind like the MG3 - and what is left has moved up in price to be equivalent to what a Falcon XT cost in 2016. That Falcon XT was available in classic inline six, liquid injection LPG or four cylinder turbo versions. The latter two providing you with small car running costs.

What are people buying these days? Let's look at the top sellers. Hilux. Ranger. D-Max. Navara. Landcruiser. Everest. Prado. With the exception of the price leader MG3 and the pensioner favourite Corolla (which has ballooned in price), all the top sellers are heavy, thirsty and crap to drive. Reliability? None are a patch on a Barra. Just look at the DPF controversies, and reliability marketing leader Toyota's messing up of the new Landsnoozer's engine. Why did they move away from inline six again?

I personally feel a little aggrieved because I'm 29 now and can easily afford a new car, any one I like. But I couldn't in 2016. I used to hear it all the time, "you love the local cars so much but they have to shut down because nobody is buying them". What 22 year old can afford a new car! As for now, a low kilometre FGX XR6T in manual sounds great, and I'll get a local trimmer to make a top notch leather interior for it. What else would I buy, without stepping up to the Supra or M3?

As for electric cars, everything under $65k is just rubbish. Heck my dear old mum just bought a Chinese (!) EV for close to $80k. Cupra Born looks alright though...as does the BMW I4...but that's just it. In 2023 Australia, all the interesting cars are expensive.

YES, great post. I reckon we've gone backward, lost in a sea of ladder frame chassis and diesel particulates, maybe it's 80's retro?

If you can get a low km local, today's the best time you possibly could (or: in a few months if we go recessionary...). Ie, they will just put kms on them as time goes by... I was lucky enough to do a factory order custom build from an Australian factory. Still have the build sheet, waited 5 weeks for a brand new car. That was special.

Electric cars... Sprintey would presently rather drop the 75K on a well timed entry into a rare earths stock, and rock around in an 5K AU

[zilo]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Did any of you own one of the AWD Magnas? What were they like? Always thought it was a good idea, and hoped they would do a wagon version.

yep...but they were all autos and used 20% more fuel.
But ...noone could keep up with it off the line...especially in the wet.
Quite a few guys have now fitted the bigger V6 from a 380 into them and boy...do they go hard off the line.

Originally Posted by ute83

I have one. Love the thing. Over 500k km and still on the original nearly everything. Still goes like it did when I bought it. Base models look like crap though. Not much clear left though.

I still have one with 14,000k on it.

My brother just had his 380 engine rebuilt...didn't need to do it, but had it done cause the engineer who does great work is retiring....his engine had done 580k.

[hackney]

The funny thing is though, the AU, eclipsed all previous model Falcons in production numbers @ 322,838 units.This is for all models(series 1,2,3) the next is the XF (1,ADR37,2) 322,778.Even the BA series couldn’t achieve those numbers in their production runs.

[anobserver]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2vwYMO...ature=youtu.be

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Did any of you own one of the AWD Magnas? What were they like? Always thought it was a good idea, and hoped they would do a wagon version.

Bought new in Feb 05, and only just moved it on, 243000 km later. It was a reassuring car to drive, heavier and thirstier than the fwd but a small price to pay for always feeling planted. Took it on a skid pan, understeered like mad, but could oversteer with some handbrake.

Had some design issues including the auto trans wave spring, and some rear suspension issues meaning regular replacement of worn bits. Stem seals were no issue provided the oil was changed half yearly.

We had it for 18 years, but longer term there were looming pain points suggesting it was time to go. Not being mechanically inclined, I couldn't work on it myself. But in all, a very overlooked car. Many magnas weren't maintained, and a part failure often meant they were junked prematurely.

Sounded good too. Took it to Lakeside for all Aussie day, and the young guy at the entrance to the tunnel didn't believe it's been made here in Oz. So funny.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2vwYMO...ature=youtu.be

[Big_Daz]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Both were half-arsed products that Holden expected to sell based on brand image alone.

For the Adventra, I actually liked the concept, a Subaru Outback with a big engine if you like. At the time, the buzz word was AWD or 4WD, and on that basis, Holden thought that all they had to do was give the Commodore wagon an AWD system and some black plastic cladding and buyers would flock to it.

However, as we eventually learnt, buyers were not buying SUV's for the AWD system, they wanted the SUV "look" and high ride height. A jacked Commodore wagon was never going to satisfy that desire. And the fact they launched the car with the wrong engine, by the time the V6 arrived, it was too late.

For the Cruze, that car was Korean junk. The ones that were assembled here were simply Australian made Korean junk. Again, Holden just expected people to buy the Cruze because "Holden" and "Australian Made". It had none of the styling flamboyance of the Mazda 3 or the impeccable reliability reputation of the Corolla. Combine that with a terrible record for expensive engine and gearbox failures, well the Cruze was a too little, too late exercise for Holden. A lot of owners were given NDA's when Holden repaired or replaced engines and transmissions.

I once detailed a top spec Cruze, one of the last made here, and I couldn't believe how chintzy the whole car looked and felt. It even had the beginnings of clearcoat failure, on a car that was only a few years old at the time.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the Cruze, and Captiva for that matter, are what ultimately killed Holden as a brand after the closure of the factories. Buyers burnt from crappy Captiva's and crusty Cruzes were never going to return to the brand for another round of GM mediocrity. Years and years of complacency came home to roost.

Ditching the Opel stuff (you know, cars that where actually decent) for rebadged Daewoo garbage was the beginning of the end for sure... Barina, Cruze (even the AU ones), Craptiva, Epica, etc. All garbage. My brother bought a Captiva 5 brand new. I told him not to, but they just had a baby, needed a new car and didnt have a heap of $$$. Needless to say he regretted that decision. And dont get me started on the Cruze. My old employer had a heap of them (all CD Petrol N/a auto's) as "pool cars" and company cars for junior staff. I had Commodores as my company car but at times was subjected to these little rot box's.... When a 3 litre V6 Commodore Omega feels like a rocket ship in comparison.. you know something's wrong...

They finally started bringing in decent cars again towards the end but by then it was too late. Holden didn't have a "Ranger" to hold them up like Ford did...

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Big_Daz

Ditching the Opel stuff (you know, cars that where actually decent) for rebadged Daewoo garbage was the beginning of the end for sure... Barina, Cruze (even the AU ones), Craptiva, Epica, etc. All garbage. My brother bought a Captiva 5 brand new. I told him not to, but they just had a baby, needed a new car and didnt have a heap of $$$. Needless to say he regretted that decision. And dont get me started on the Cruze. My old employer had a heap of them (all CD Petrol N/a auto's) as "pool cars" and company cars for junior staff. I had Commodores as my company car but at times was subjected to these little rot box's.... When a 3 litre V6 Commodore Omega feels like a rocket ship in comparison.. you know something's wrong...

They finally started bringing in decent cars again towards the end but by then it was too late. Holden didn't have a "Ranger" to hold them up like Ford did...

I know this is a biased comment but thinking about all those years where people flamed Ford and their products in comparison to Holden. Well, look who had the last laugh. Holden who?

My employer had a family member Holden discount, so most of the extended family had Holden's. Two Captiva's, Cruze, the original Suzuki based Cruze...........well, they all drive Japanese made Subaru's and Mazda's now. When the discounting stopped, and the Commodore no longer commanded respect, buyers evaporated literally overnight.

I actually feel very sorry for Holden fans. The way GM treated the band in the end was disgraceful. And rather than sell the brand and potentially give it a new lease on life, they chose to selfishly keep it and shut it down completely.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

And rather than sell the brand and potentially give it a new lease on life, they chose to selfishly keep it and shut it down completely.

TBH Glad they did, otherwise we would have had another MG, Cannondale or dare I say MACK.

FORD left the building years ago in the truck market which helped the GM associated (at the time) Isuzu truck brand to flourish, which after 35 years, are still the highest selling truck brand in Oz.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by hackney

The funny thing is though, the AU, eclipsed all previous model Falcons in production numbers @ 322,838 units.This is for all models(series 1,2,3) the next is the XF (1,ADR37,2) 322,778.Even the BA series couldn’t achieve those numbers in their production runs.

Does that include XA-B-C? I thought they had the best volumes?

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by anobserver

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2vwYMO...ature=youtu.be

Bought new in Feb 05, and only just moved it on, 243000 km later. It was a reassuring car to drive, heavier and thirstier than the fwd but a small price to pay for always feeling planted. Took it on a skid pan, understeered like mad, but could oversteer with some handbrake.

Had some design issues including the auto trans wave spring, and some rear suspension issues meaning regular replacement of worn bits. Stem seals were no issue provided the oil was changed half yearly.

We had it for 18 years, but longer term there were looming pain points suggesting it was time to go. Not being mechanically inclined, I couldn't work on it myself. But in all, a very overlooked car. Many magnas weren't maintained, and a part failure often meant they were junked prematurely.

Sounded good too. Took it to Lakeside for all Aussie day, and the young guy at the entrance to the tunnel didn't believe it's been made here in Oz. So funny.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2vwYMO...ature=youtu.be

That's epic, well done!

[FTE217]

XA's 129,473
XB's 220,765
XC's 171,082
521,320 total.
As long as all the above is accurate where I found the info.
XC finished in '79, long before your best aussie car of last 30yrs

Terri total 178,214 if I'm right.

For the unliked AU TBH and against the fierce more popular Commodore punched way above its weight selling 322+thou units, long live the mighty AU easily the King lol.....
Feck SUV's and feck Commodores couldn't vote for one but of any holden the dinausor A9X.

[hackney]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Does that include XA-B-C? I thought they had the best volumes?

XC units produced 171,080. XB :211,981. XA: 111,082.All the figures I have quoted are official Ford figures.AU is listed as the top model for production volumes.(as distinct from the three model variants of the XA,XB & XC.)

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by FTE217

XA's 129,473
XB's 220,765
XC's 171,082
521,320 total.
As long as all the above is accurate where I found the info.
XC finished in '79, long before your best aussie car of last 30yrs

Feck SUV's and feck Commodores couldn't vote for one but of any holden the dinausor A9X.

Now in this category I would have some choices.

[BENT_8]

Not sure sales volume is necessarily an indicator of where a vehicle sits on this topic or the XF with its rust prone plenums and 'A' and 'C' pillars plus broken door handles and a gear shift that would literally pull out in your hand would be right up there.
So whilst the XF was widely regarded as the AU of its generation, its not in the convo of best Aussie cars just because it sold well and im an XF enthusiast of 35yrs, was my favourite model growing up.

Certainly was popular though.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Not sure sales volume is necessarily an indicator of where a vehicle sits on this topic or the XF with its rust prone plenums and 'A' and 'C' pillars plus broken door handles and a gear shift that would literally pull out in your hand would be right up there.
So whilst the XF was widely regarded as the AU of its generation, its not in the convo of best Aussie cars just because it sold well and im an XF enthusiast of 35yrs, was my favourite model growing up.

Certainly was popular though.

The fact Ford did still build a car based panel van at that point in time was a good thing which the opposition had dropped previously.

[hackney]

‘Top ten Models’(Ford Aus figures) #1 AU(1,2,3) Total: 322,838. #2 XF(1,ADR37, 2) Total: 322,778. #3 BA (1 & 2) Total:281,197. #4 XB Total:211,981.#5 EA( 1 & 2) Total:209,936. #6 XD Total: 200,849.#7 XE Total:191,174 #8 XC Total:171,080. #9 EL Total:153,791. #10 BF(1 & 2) Total:136,473. Now we have figures for total Falcon sedan,Wagon,Tudor(yes that is correct) ute,Van. #1 XB Total 211,981.#2 XD Total 200,849. #3 BA Total:199,303.#4 XE Total: 191,174. #5 XC Total:171,080, #6 EL Total:153,791. #7 XF2 Total: 144,750. #8 AU2 Total:133,047. #9 AU1 Total:130,451.#10 XA Total:129,473.

[willo56]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Not sure sales volume is necessarily an indicator of where a vehicle sits on this topic

Certainly was popular though.

If sales were a factor then the EF-EL falcon would be in the running

Might be wrong but I think this was the last time the Falcon outsold the commo

[hackney]

Ute/Van:(all manufacturing plants) #1 XF2 Total:59,283.#2 BA1 Total:43,225. #3 XB Total:37,494 #4 AU2 Total: 32,570. #5 XC Total:31,562. #6 FG Total:34,656. #7 XG Total:24,592. #8 XD Total:22,136. #9 BF2 Total:21,167.#10 BA2 Total:19,335. Fairlane,LTD Volumes: #1 ZH/P6:Volume:28,878. #2 ZG/P5/P6 26,831. #3 ZJ/79 :24,866. #4 ZK/82: 20,332. #5:ZF:17,306. #6 ZL/84 13,693. #7 NA/DA:13,468. #8 ZD:12,797. #9:ZC:12,513. #10 ZB: 10,708.

[Dr Smith]

Thanks for the info...
If ok, Just wanted to change your formatting as I did my eyes in trying to read it...
Original post by hackney
Ute/Van:(all manufacturing plants)
#1 XF2 Total:59,283.
#2 BA1 Total:43,225.
#3 XB Total:37,494
#4 AU2 Total: 32,570.
#5 XC Total:31,562.
#6 FG Total:34,656.
#7 XG Total:24,592.
#8 XD Total:22,136.
#9 BF2 Total:21,167.
#10 BA2 Total:19,335.

Fairlane,LTD Volumes:
#1 ZH/P6:Volume:28,878.
#2 ZG/P5/P6 26,831.
#3 ZJ/79 :24,866.
#4 ZK/82: 20,332.
#5:ZF:17,306.
#6 ZL/84 13,693.
#7 NA/DA:13,468.
#8 ZD:12,797.

[Dr Smith]

Reformatted...

Originally Posted by hackney

‘Top ten Models’(Ford Aus figures)
#1 AU(1,2,3) Total: 322,838.
#2 XF(1,ADR37, 2) Total: 322,778.
#3 BA (1 & 2) Total:281,197.
#4 XB Total:211,981.
#5 EA( 1 & 2) Total:209,936.
#6 XD Total: 200,849.
#7 XE Total:191,174
#8 XC Total:171,080.
#9 EL Total:153,791.
#10 BF(1 & 2) Total:136,473.

Now we have figures for total Falcon sedan,Wagon,Tudor(yes that is correct) ute,Van.
#1 XB Total 211,981.
#2 XD Total 200,849.
#3 BA Total:199,303.
#4 XE Total: 191,174.
#5 XC Total:171,080,
#6 EL Total:153,791.
#7 XF2 Total: 144,750.
#8 AU2 Total:133,047.
#9 AU1 Total:130,451.
#10 XA Total:129,473.