Re: End of Holden?

Originally Posted by
Lionking
Territory is actually the leader in its segment (medium SUV) coming in at the number spot ahead of the Kluger, Prado and Captiva.
Territory might be sales leader in Australia, but thats it, the Prade, Kluger and Captiva are sold in many countries around the world so the development costs are spreaad over much higher volumes. The Territory is the most endangered product made in Australia. Ford makes a number of SUVs designed in AMerica and Europe that sell in much bigger volumes. Alan Mullaly has a stated policy of moving to global platforms and this handout from the government only keeps the Falcon going to 2016. At some point it is going to need a major redesign and there is buckleys chance of Ford HQ approving the budget for a new Falcon when it is not even selling 20,000 sedans a year. Convincing the Aust Gov to kick in $34M to keep the production lines going is one thing but I can't see the Fed government kicking in cubic dollars for a full redesign (in the manner of the EA or AU update) or even a major upgrade (BA or FG style).
To Smitty, big deal if Holden or Ford shut shop in Australia. We won't be walking if they don't make cars, they will import Tauruses and Malibus in place of Falcons and Commodores. As for V8s? Well that will be yet another aspect of Australia's cultural history that comes to an end. Many cultural aspects surrounding V8 Holdens (and Fords for that matter) have nearly disappeared in the wider community. Be it because of high petrol prices, road safety, police enforcement or changing buyer tastes, things have changed in Australia. 40 years ago if you imagined the average Australian family getting into their car you would think of large sedan. Nowadays what sort of car do you think of when imagining the average Australian family hopping into their car? Me, I think of an SUV. You will be surprised at how few Australians will actually give a stuff about whether Holden or Ford builds cars in this country, they wouldn't missed after the initial hoo-haa.
Cheers, Matthew
I spent most of my money on unreliable cars and less reliable women, the rest I wasted.
W.C. Fields