The Downfall Of Ford Australia

Ford went out sad Down Under
In Todays videos, we talk about Ford Australia. Their rise to glory, the legend of the Falcon, their success in Supercars, and their ultimate downfall.
TAGS(IGNORE:) - Ford, Ford Australia, Ford Falcon, Ford Falcon XR8, Ford Falcon XR6, Ford Falcon Ute, Ford Fairlane, Ford Territory, Ford Territory XR6, Ford Falcon XR8 Sprint, Ford Falcon XR6 Sprint, Ford FPV, FPV, FPV Super Pursuit, Ford AU Falcon, Ford BA Falcon, Ford XA Falcon, Ford Barra, Barra I6, Barra Straight Six, Barra Turbo, New Mustang, Ford Raptor, Ford Ranger Raptor
00:00 intro
00:33 Beginnings, The Fairlane, And Territory
04:15 The Falcon
05:45 AU Falcon
06:09 The Barra and BA Falcon
07:40 The Final Falcons
09:35 Supercars success
13:03 The downfall of Ford Australia
14:47 Where are they now?
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. There are certain scenes where race footage is used. All those rights are property of their respective owners. Other photos and news elements are used solely for the purpose of assisting the original content to illuminate a more in depth story.

[@Jerseygarage]

What’s your favorite Ford car from Down Under?

[@wooly1950]

XY GTHO Phase 3 It was the fastest 4 door saloon in the world in 1971. Well done on your summary of the Ford Motors here, not bad for an American ! Cheers from Maroochydore, Queensland

[@Jerseygarage]

@@wooly1950 I know I didn't even come close to covering everything, but I really tried and really appreciate it. I read up a lot on the XY GTHO while researching the video, you guys effectively got the 4 door mustang. I'd KILL for one of those. For me it's gotta be the '95 XR6 Falcon Ute. It just looks so cool.

[@nevillejohnson8316]

1994 ED Falcon XR8 Sprint. Limited production of 300 in Australia, stoked to have one in the garage...

[@ausernameidk]

Honestly, the F6 ute was fast as hell and looked the part

[@JohnnyRoadRunner-rr6qf]

if you see an AU falcon, lowered and all, in real life, they actually look pretty good.

[@MrSloika]

The reason Ford Australia was tied-in with Ford Canada instead of Ford USA is because both Australia and Canada are part of the commonwealth...countries that were once part of the British Empire. There were certain tax and tariff benefits from dealing with Ford Canada instead of directly with Ford in the USA.

[@Jerseygarage]

good to know, thank you!

[@markdrennan5723]

In fact, Ford sold a licence to the Canadians to produce Ford vehicles to the British Commonwealth countries as Ford America were producing so many cars for the American market. This started in 1927 with the model T. Ford Australia was originally a subsidiary of Ford of Canada.

[@Jerseygarage]

@@markdrennan5723 another thing I didn’t know! I tried looking more into the beginnings of ford Oz by watching videos and reading articles, but most of them focus on the end, and skip over the beginning. Thanks for the help!

[@CJColvin]

Right and considering the Canadian Ford's and Mercuries we're mostly Meteors and Monarchs.

[@willl.3353]

Yes. The Commonwealth had a common market up until the 70s which offered benefits. Same with tractors. Canadian and US farm tractors were different. Canadian being Commonwealth market built. Many Canadian/US remote items worked on different frequencies (garage door remotes being an example.) Today we have the UK in the EU market and Canada in NAFTA, later USMCA.

[@vincekara9446]

As an ex-Ford employee, rumours of closure at 2016 was floating around back in 2008. Ford planned this for years. It's a shame!

[@Jerseygarage]

Makes sense, that’s right around the time the whole financial sector here in the states went belly up, and ford was up shits creek without a paddle to put it lightly

[@FRDKNG]

Yeah my Dad worked at Broady for 37 years!

[@railtrolley]

I used to deliver parts to Broady. In a Falcon Ute. Still drive a Falcon Ute today.

[@andrewg2618]

I've got a Modern Motor magazine from 1984 when the XF Falcon was launched. It was rumoured then that it would be the last Australian made Falcon.

[@vincekara9446]

@@andrewg2618 Plenty of rumours were flying around over the years. I was working on the production line Christmas break from Uni ~ 1987 and saw the last XF. It was a sky blue GL with the "last XF" banner on its roof. Then a few mins went by, and the EA started.

[@craigyeoman8721]

Ford Australia also have the longest sponsorship of anything of 99 continuous years for the Geelong Football Club since 1925.

[@GearHeadBoris]

As a heartbroken Aussie I can confirm all of this is true🙁

[@daniellebcooper7160]

The changing of australian motoring, coincided with the changing of Australian culture. People who were coming into the country, had no interest whatsoever, in either ford, holden, or motor racing in general.

[@Jerseygarage]

Sort of similar in America, NASCAR and Indycar are nowhere near what they used to be in terms of fan numbers. Nobody cares about performance or race cars here. Most of the people here who buy performance cars are either going through a midlife crisis, using daddy’s money and will total it in a month, or are just going to keep it in a garage and wait until the car skyrockets in value.

[@kallekas8551]

You are wrong. Peeps I know who migrated here almost always bought Australian made cars. Blame the government for dropping tariffs on imported cars…

[@daniellebcooper7160]

@@kallekas8551 and what sort of cars did the migrants buy, falcons and commodores?...or suv people movers?.

[@kallekas8551]

@@daniellebcooper7160 It would be fair to say the migrant demographic bought locally made cars in the same ratio as anyone already living here. The international trend towards buying SUVs has affected this country as well. Assuming we of the imported variety bought cars that were not locally made smacks of ignorance. My first 3 cars were Holdens from the 60s and 70s. When I could afford newer cars I started to realise the local product was no longer up to scratch… so I started buying Japanese made instead. Great balance of reliability,durability and quality the locals could not match. My father bought a VX Monaro new, I drove it back to back with my then 7 year old Skyline… the Holden felt like a second hand car. Survival of the fittest…

[@daniellebcooper7160]

@@kallekas8551 believe what ever you want. I'll stick to reality.

[@AussiePom]

One thing that always gets me with these types of videos is that the naturally aspirated Barras get ignored and yet in years to come it won't be the modified turbo Barras you see on the road with Falcons being driven on a daily basis but naturally aspirated Barras. Sure the turbo Barras are capable of amazing outputs but the highly modified ones shortens their lifespan. AU Falcons are still on the road in everyday service over twenty years after the last ones were sold new and are they the modified examples?, no they're the stock standard cars with the modified cars already in the wrecking yards. It's the same with a BA, BF, FG and FGX highly modified Falcons which will be in the wrecking yards long before the unmodified Barras join them. With high fuel prices turbo Barras only take the most expensive fuel with is 98 and 95 at a push. But N/A Barras will run happily on E10, 91, 95 or 98 giving their owners a cheaper choice with no risks of damaging the engine. If a Bogan asks what sort of car they drive and if they answer a Falcon like an FG then the next question the Bogan asks is "is it a turbo?" and if one answers NO. then the Bogan wanting to know says "oh you have to have a turbo". Well no you don't actually for my FG N/A Barra will outlast so many of these highly modified turbo Barras by many years. The Barra is tough but it's not unbreakable.

[@RUHappyATM]

Remember those days when almost all taxis were Falcons. The engine lasts forever and a half!

[@perpetualgrin5804]

Good comment, all too often people rubbish stock, but the engineers are not stupid.

[@Fgxguy]

Absolutely 100% correct the N/A Barras and intech engines will be the last ones running on the roads

[@moparmissile]

I have had wins on the street in my NA fg xt over loud exhaust fg xr6's its the ZF trans in mine that makes a big difference. a stocker but mighty.

[@mCblue79]

First car I bought new was an EF Fairmont. Beautiful car and I treated her like my child. I still miss that car, alas she's in car heaven now 😭

[@Jerseygarage]

That’s a hell of a first car, good taste dude!

[@jamesgovett3225]

Ford USA didn’t want Ford Australia making cars in LHD and exporting into their markets and the USA and I think your powerful unions didn’t want it either to protect the workers, I believe that the Aussie FG Falcon with its wonderful Barra engine was regarded within the Ford empire as the best product of any of its world manufacturers, anyway one of my cars is a pristine series one FG XR-6 Falcon that I bought new and intend to look after and keep it in its Mickey Mouse condition as you cannot get another big rear wheel drive highway hauler anywhere for the price unless you spend obscene amounts for a big German product and lose too much in resale let alone the cost of maintenance, parts and simple reliability as a comparison, I’ve had many Ford Australia products over many decades as well as from Holden and some from Chrysler and I still can’t believe it’s all over and gone now, what a damn shame, I would never have thought that the end of our automotive history would turn out to be like this! It’s a real Piss off to say the least! 👍

[@australiantruckspotting8883]

The FG was a superb car. The Barra in it’s finest form hooked up to the ZF six speed was a match made in heaven. One day people will be amazed that such a brilliant car was designed and built in Australia.

[@kiwifruit2240]

None the less, ford Australia and there cars earned its spot in history, and yes along with holden to. Having said this thanks to the mighty barra this heritage will last for decades to come.

[@edugj23]

Australia is such a special and unique place for car culture. Really a shame that manufacturing turned unfeasible and killed off legendary nameplates. At least the tracks and races remain exciting to this day - BTW, Ford and Red Bull just shattered Mercedes's pride and joy once again by lowering the Bathurst lap record w/ a (2000hp) Transit, not even a week after the unrestricted AMG GT3 did it 🤣 Also, I can relate to the pain that this global restructuring can cause. The axing of the local manufacturing plants and the Troller off-roaders is still hard to swallow for many, even though it enabled the blue oval to turn a profit after a long string of losses for the Brazilian operations.

[@Jerseygarage]

I saw that the transit van smoked the Merc GT3. And it looks like there might finally be hope for that Gen 3 mustang in Supercars too. Even in the states we felt the restructuring woes of the late 2000s. For a while we got those Aussie holdens like the Monaro and the Commodore through Pontiac. We were even supposed to get the Commodore Ute in the form of the G8 ST. Unfortunately, GM restructured and had to kill off Pontiac which meant we stopped getting Holdens in the U.S. I do agree tho, it was necessary for ford and gm to stop making cars Down Under, the cost of labor there has (and continues to) skyrocketed and it just isn’t sustainable at all.

[@Ozvideo1959]

I posted this comment in another comments section, but I'll post it again here. Both Ford, Holden and Toyota have closed operations due to a long list of government failures. For a start the Button Car Plan, where all tariffs were eliminated, then, more recently, the decision to end any subsidies, therefore dooming a large part of our manufacturing to the scrapheap. Now our government is subsidising forgiven built electric cars, and mandating we will soon not be able to buy any ICE vehicles. Never mind that most of the electricity to charge those EV's will come from burning fossil fuels. Never mind that, our grid can't support EV's. Maybe the government should have mandated to protect our industries 10 years ago.

[@RUHappyATM]

Holden tried to export the Commodore and failed.

[@Ozvideo1959]

@@RUHappyATM Holden exported some vehicles into the US, starting with a rebadged Monaro, sold as a Pontiac GTO. Then it was a rebadged Commodore, sold as a Pontiac G8, or G6. After Pontiac was shutdown post GFC, GM were importing a few thousand rebadged Commodores as Chevy SS's. At no time was there any real attempt by GM to market the SS. There wasn't even a TV commercial for it. Many people in the US, including GM sales people, didn't even know the car existed at the time. The value of a Pontiac G8 GXP manual transmission, which is a 2008 Holden SSV, in the US, is anything from $US 70,000 up to and above $US 100,000. They are worth big money now.

[@Jerseygarage]

@@RUHappyATM they exported the commodore here. Started as the G8, then the Caprice, and finally as the SS. We were even supposed to get the Commodore Utes. Pontiac was gonna sell it here as the G8 ST, had a whole reveal at the Detroit auto show and everything. Then Pontiac went belly up and the G8 ST went with it. The Caprice was actually really successful here, but it was never available to the public. It was only sold as a fleet vehicle. Granted it did make for some super cool cop cars, but still kinda annoying. The SS was a total failure, but that was because Chevy didn’t do any marketing. If they did, I’m 100% sure it would have sold crazy here. They do market the CT4 and 5 blackwing, which are performance sedans, and those sell like crazy here. If GM actually put effort into bringing Holdens here, I really think it would have given them a massive cash boost, and maybe they wouldn’t be a dead brand.

[@ausernameidk]

Gee-long lol. Its more like jelong but good try mate. Id love to hear your pronunciation of cockburn 🤣. We really miss the falcon down here. Would love an AU falcon sedan. So stylish and sporty.

[@Jerseygarage]

I want an AU falcon as a beater tbh. I would love to weld the diff and LS swap one and turn it into a burnout machine.

[@EASTYJAZ34]

​@@Jerseygaragehow to make an au worse... ls swap it

[@Jerseygarage]

@@EASTYJAZ34 gotta give it some sort of Yankee flair...

[@cruize55]

@@Jerseygarage even just with a welded diff those things will go insane at burnouts, they have a sohc 4.0l 6cyl, basically a first gen barra and they go hard while also not breaking.

[@Jerseygarage]

@@cruize55 So I've heard. My friend knows Barras like the back of his hand. He's got one stateside its an old Pinto Mustang that he's working on Barra swapping. They rev so high and are bulletproof its a great platform. I swear by inline 6 engines as a whole, but IMO. Nothing beats the sound of a V8 in a burnout pit.

[@THELTX427VA]

bro the falcon upgrades are so fucking Australian its crazy

[@Jerseygarage]

It's such an awesome platform, everything about it is something we should have gotten in the states, but unfortunately never did :/

[@aussieausdeutschland4245]

Thank Detroit for that ​@Jerseygarage Ford Australia wanted to export into LHD markets like Europe and Middle East and Latin America... they said no as it might threaten their markets, hell, at the 100 year celebration Ford Australia sent over a BA XR6 Turbo and the people who where there started asking questions about it being sold there. For the the reply of no it may take sales from the Mustang

[@Jerseygarage]

@@aussieausdeutschland4245 which is total crap. They sold sedans here like the Taurus, crown Vic, and more. Ford American just didn’t seem to be too fond of what the Aussies had to offer, for whatever reason. At least GM did one thing right, we did get some Commodores and the Monaro.

[@nevillemander]

Ford Australia is the largest automotive employer in Australia with over 2,000 employees working on the Australian designed and engineered Ford Ranger and other Ford global designs. Manufacturing in Australia may have ceased due to high local labour costs, as it was for all car manufacturers here (and only a population of 23 million - scale of economics), but Ford Australia invests well in its Australian operations with 197 Ford dealers Australia wide, selling imported Ford products built in Ford plants globally. The Australian designed and engineered Ford Ranger (sold in many countries inc USA) is now the #1 selling vehicle in Australia overtaking Toyota.

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

"Australians are very comfortable with big government in their lives." John Anderson There's a very subtle authoritarian political culture here and we have an extremely efficient bureaucracy that's difficult to understand to people who haven't lived here. It's even more difficult to understand for the majority of the people who were born here.

[@AussiePom]

Take just two things that the government decided we had to have in Medicare and Superannuation. People in power in those times came up with good ideas but thought the majority of people are just too stupid to understand how it will benefit them. So we'll choose for them, a form of forced choosing that's fundamentally different to any other democracy in the world. Because of superannuation Australia doesn't have a pensions crisis like the US and the UK do. Medicare Australia's universal healthcare is some of the BEST universal healthcare in the world. Sure it's not perfect but it's so much better than many others. During the pandemic Victoria had the worst health outcomes of any state in Australia and yet Victoria out performed Germany which has the best universal healthcare of any country within the EU. The Australian and German universal healthcare systems are very similar.

[@cruize55]

Maate you've only got like 400 views on this?! i was sitting here watching the whole video and got to the end and realised you've got like 3k subs, i was thinking like 50k minimum and a lot more than 400 views, you did a killer job man good on ya you've got a new subscriber.

[@Jerseygarage]

Appreciate it a lot dude thank you so much!

[@Jerseygarage]

@@conkayias8989 I know Brock and SVG are Holden drivers, I was talking about Supercars as a whole, not just ford. I mainly focused on Supercars itself, and the rivalry between Holden and Ford. Been watching Supercars since I was 7 or 8. As for the other history, I tried to get as much right as possible, I used as many different sources as I could. Sorry that I got some things wrong tho!

[@BenMccormack-im3ru]

100% Agree! well done mate

[@Jerseygarage]

@@BenMccormack-im3ru thanks dude, appreciate it!

[@sriley064]

A lot of the information isn't what id call accurate

[@lisegraham1593]

This is a story about corporate power vs what the people want and the corporates won. Our engineers may not have had the money or the full backing of their US corporate fathers but what they achieved on a shoestring budget was truly amazing. Beginning with the engines in the Phase Three's which were a spin of of the US Boss 351 Mustang, they modified the oiling system on these engines to better lubricate the cast cranks these motors ran amongst other things. In fact the Boss 351 had a lot more upgraded parts in the engine than a Phase Three, what it didn't have was Australian cunning and resource. We managed to achieve more reliable horsepower with less upgraded components which is no easy task! then there were the suspension systems, how do you get a falcon to handle like a racing car? give it to an Australian! The mods included: 1. Front spindles from the Ford Fairlane, for better steering angles. 2. A reverse leaf in the rear springs to reduce bounce. 3. Greater upstroke damping on the shocks front and rear for more controlled handling. 4. Stronger upper and lower front ball joints and suspension arms. 5. Stronger coil springs for the front suspension. This was all 20 years before the Barra, so that tells you why the Barra and indeed FPV's were so good and still are a an engineering masterstroke. But to be fair the boy's from the "Dark Side" ( Holden) also achieved great things ( the GTR XUI & A9X Torana's). OUGH THOSE AUSTRALIANS!! Regards Ken Graham.

[@poestsmith6730]

I love the fact that all of your "original cars" listed at the start of the video are just Falcons. The Fairlane? A Falcon with an extended wheelbase and a luxury trim. The Territory? Built on the Falcon chassis. You gotta realise, with Australia's unique needs and relatively small market size, the Falcons (and commodores) were EVERYTHING. Taxis? Falcons. Cop cars? Falcons. Trade Vehicles? Falcons. Race cars? Falcons. Teen's first car? Falcon. Dad's midlife crisis car? Falcon. Grandpa's pride and joy? Falcon. Here's the thing. Before the SUV, mid size sedans and coupe utilities ruled out land. Simple. Rugged. Versatile. Holden and Aus Ford ruled because these beautifully crude machines could do everything an Australian needed at the time. More fuel efficient than an American road boat, more rugged than an Asian hatchback, more aerodynamic than a truck chassis pickup, easier to work on than a European sedan. But, since the Falcon and Commodore were the only unique things these two companies had, once the traditional RWD sedan fell out of fashion, there was no way to adapt. Every car configuration now considered desirable was already being sold by their competitors and by their parent company. Once the Aussie government refused to bail out the auto industry in 2016 (I think), every brand moved their manufacturing out of the country. From there it was only a matter of time before GM and Ford pulled the plug on their respective Aussie institutions, which had become nothing more than badges on American and European market cars.

[@RUHappyATM]

A friend of mine told me about his Ford AU. Did

[@Fadsy2001]

I have a 2007 BF XR6 NA and she’s old and rough but she’s still my girl and takes me everywhere I need to be thinking of buying a new ranger in the future but the Falcon will be parked up and hopefully restored to its former glory one day

[@TheVelionaEberbachXXX]

Update. Ford no longer sells the Puma in Australia. It's set to be replaced by E-Puma (EV) later on. I wish Ford didn't cut Sedans all entirely. Fusion, Taurus and Falcon were my favorite ones. The Falcon, one generation for now, is finally legal in our shores.

[@Jerseygarage]

I know, I want a 95 XR6 Ute so bad. They lowkey look like a foxbody pickup. As for the Puma, that makes sense. It's the same for GMSV, they are both hyper focused on bringing EVs to Aussie shores. Almost all the new cars they are bringing down under are EV's.

[@aussieausdeutschland4245]

More than one generation, there's 5 generations you can currently choose from from the 1960 XK first gen to the 1998 EL fifth Gen Falcon for the USA 25 year rule

[@TheVelionaEberbachXXX]

@@aussieausdeutschland4245 thanks for the correction. 👍

[@huleeyaxerssius7]

@@TheVelionaEberbachXXX Going off that 25-year rule, it's actually up to the AU Series I you'd be able to import into the US, as it's been legal to for 6 or so months now (production of the AU started in September 1998). So there's a little more information for you, being six generations you can pick from.

[@TheVelionaEberbachXXX]

@@huleeyaxerssius7 Once again, thanks. 👍

[@stuarthancock571]

Ford also had a big UK influence. So the Cortina and Escort were made in Australia until 1982, But then Ford USA bought a big share of Mazda. So then Ford Australia had Mazda based vehicles with cosmetic changes to replace the Escort and Cortina. The Mazda 323 hatchback built by Ford was called a Laser, , the sedan variant was called a Meteor and the Mazda 626 to replace the Cortina was called a Telstar. Sadly the Cortina's replacement in the UK, the Sierra and it's racing Cosworth model was never sold in Australia.

[@astrawally8448]

Can you say Ford Granada. XD Falcon was a direct styling copy, but stretched and adapted for local conditions. No different to what Holden did with the VN years later, using the Opel Omega/GM V-Platform of the era.

[@pauluno8390]

The Granada and the XD Falcon were similar styled cars but completely different. The XD was a reskin of the XC - it even retained its leaf spring suspension. The Granada was a reskin of the most 2 model, but at least had coils with independent rear suspension (Ford Oz believed that owners wanted the leaf springs for towing purposes). If you look at both cars closely, you'll noticed that the XD Falcon has a deeper window line than the Granada of the same vintage. But otherwise, kudos to Ford Oz for going down the Euro style path. I have much respect for the Granada 👍

[@kennethjones6650]

One of my dads mates was a union rep for ford for years the only reason we don’t make fords anymore was because ford America pulled the carpet out under them and they took the blue prints and castings to the Barra engine which we were actually exporting them around the world as generators and we all know about the uprising at the time with wages why pay someone 40+ dollars hour were you can pay someone a quarter of that. Even though the cars we made were better produced but yeah

[@Jerseygarage]

It's starting to happen in the states too. The unions keep asking for more, and its becoming harder and hard business wise for the big 3 to keep making cars here, especially when they can open plants in Eastern Europe and Asia and pay workers a days wage that here in the States wouldn't cover 15 minutes of work.

[@Andronicus2007]

Once the import tarrifs (taxes on imports) were removed, our local industry was done for. It would'nt have even survived in the 50s, 60s or 70s without these tarrifs.

[@astrawally8448]

@@Andronicus2007 tariffs remain to this date and were only significantly reduced during the 1990s and 2000s, during which time the local not only survived but thrived and had some of their best and successful years. Starting at 60%, they were reduced to 47.5 in the late 1980s, then declined by 2.5% percentage points each year until 2000, then by another 5% percentage points in 2005 and 2010 to a total of 5% where they sit today (except for cars imported from US or Thailand under respective FTAs). But the tariffs were gradually replaced by subsidies and other government policies aimed at keeping local manufacturing viable which had the same effect. The fact that Toyota pulled out of local manufacturing in 2017, some 15 years after the bulk of the tariffs were reduced, and some 7 years after the current levels were introduced, and now manufactures the same models elsewhere - this tells you how lucrative the subsidies were. What did kill the industry was the Button plan of the 1980s, which attempted to improve efficiency by forced consolidation, limiting the number of local models which could be produced locally (and under subsidy) by each manufacturer. This is what gave us the badge-engineered Nissan Ute and Toyota Lexcen, neither which were a hit with the market - case proven decades later with the ZB Commodore. The badge-engineered numbers were dismal, approx. 10-20% of sales volumes compared to the original. Other global markets at the time did the opposite, they encouraged consolidation of marques into groups, recognising that each brand had its own identity, but which could benefit from sharing the costs of the “under the bonnet” engineered and non-stylistic components. VAG with their Audi/VW/SEAT/Skoda etc models all sharing the same engineered and non-stylistic components, all the way up to the chassis and some body work. Tell an Audi driver that their car runs VW bits and wait for the reaction. The Koreans took it next level - despite Hyundai’s minor ownership of Kia, they are head to head competitors in market but they co-develop and share the same platforms for effectively every passenger car they’ve made in the last 20 years, yet they could arguably be compared to their own versions of Ford and Holden (GM). There was an opportunity for Australia to do similar. In response to the Button plan, Toyota and Holden formed a joint venture - the United Australian Automobile Industries company - but as said, that didn't do much more than just allow them to sell rebadged vehicles. An opportunity lost to consolidate manufacturing, think co-develop and adapt Corollas which looked like a GM product rather than import Suzuki Barinas, a Camry sized replacement for Torana once the VN went larger etc. Ironically, the V8 Supercar’s Gen3 program has effectively done what the local industry couldn’t in 70 years by creating a single platform.

[@Andronicus2007]

@@astrawally8448 So there is a 5% tarriff left, surely the reduction from 60% to 5% was a factor in the demise of our industry? Plus a lot of cars coming from Thailand now. Our industry seemed to be mostly focused on large traditional cars too, which started losing popularity around 2005 or so. I myself refuse to own a SUV or ute, and will keep my Aussie made car until the wheels fall off!

[@FRDKNG]

Just to make it clear the Geelong Site was the engine plant and the Broadmeadows site was the manufacturing site - Both in the state of Victoria.

[@galactica1980]

Engine and body stamping plant, I'm pretty sure the Geelong-Broadmeadows route was the only B triple run in Victoria too.

[@noordhup]

The FGX sprints were produced by Ford Australia as the final Falcon. The last car built by FPV was the GTF and pursuit ute. please don't forget the current Rangers were designed and Engineered in Australia

[@DangerAngelous]

You're definitely not wrong about Fairlanes being old people cars, my Pop who would've been 100 this year had a bunch of Fairlanes over his life, including his last car being an NL Fairlane Ghia

[@markdrennan5723]

Ford Australia certainly sti engineer and design vehicles in Australia. The Ranger and Bronco are engineered and designed in Australia, they employ over 1700 employees in Melbourne designing and engineering cars. Melbourne is one of Fords global design studios.

[@Jerseygarage]

Yeah which is good, because at least they still have some jobs there. I did read recently tho that they are moving design of the Ranger and the Everest over to Detroit, which sucks.

[@G-C-G]

That was a really impressive video! I was 9 when Ford Australia stopped producing vehicles, and I remember the dealerships going from Falcons and Territories to Rangers. It sucked, especially with Holden ceasing production not long after (at least in Australia, they continued in Germany for a very short amount of time). (Toyota build cars in Australia up until 2017 too I think!) I went to a massive Holden meet in the dealership car park when it closed down and that was fun but also sad knowing that there were no longer any Australian production cars being made. I guess the only cool thing is there's more variety on the roads now, they used to be almost only Falcons and Commodores and now we're starting to see lots of Mustangs, and more recently the really, really big utes like the Ram 1500 and 2500, and the Silverado.

[@Jerseygarage]

You’d be correct, Toyota also closed its plant down in 2017, and Mitsubishi closed its plant down in 2010(?) I believe. I get that entirely, here in the states we got some Holdens like the Monaro and Commodore through Pontiac. But then in 2010 Pontiac went tits up and it wasn’t the same. And yeah over here in the states our roads are infested with what you call super Utes, it’s kinda becoming a problem because they’ve become so big that and expensive that people who actually need to use them like tradies and farmers are starting to have a tough time affording then. Not to mention they clog up city roads and a whole bunch of other issues. But that depends on who you ask some people swear by them here.

[@DOHC16vMPFI]

@@Jerseygarage Mitsubishi ceased local production in 2008 with their only Australian made model by that time, the 380 (aka Galant internationally)....🙂 And with utes (and also some larger SUVs), some carparks locally just weren't designed for them, so they can take up space.

[@TAVOAu]

To be a little more precise, from 1962, with the release of the XL model, Falcons received more and more Australian design and engineering, not simply a locally built US Falcon. The XP model of 1965 was a very unique to Australia looking car, even though it was based on the US model, a lot of engineering differences were phased in. XW and XY models were heavily redesigned over the previous US based XR/XT models.

[@frederickherring2284]

I grew up in Brisbane, and you were either Ford or Holden. But when my dad died, mum didn't have a license to drive. So she paid for instruction and got a license. So when dad;'s estate was settled she bought a car. A Datsun Bluebird. All the men that were dad's friends were horrified. Taat car will never do they said. It isn't built for Australian Conditions they said. Should 'ave bought a Holden or a Ford they sed. But actually she had thaat car to about 1975, and you couldn't kill it. great car had aa few myself fords and holdens, but my favourite was the Barina sedan

[@daniel-it2lw]

the turbo territory was way ahead of its time in performance SUVs, if it came out today it would sell well

[@RiiaUwU]

Currently the XR6 Sprint FG X u can get ur hands on it there is total 19 for sale i see rn and price for cheapest $48k and the expensive one is $145k

[@Jerseygarage]

Yeah I tried to look into seeing how much were for sale but every time I tried to go on car sales sites in Oz they asked for my post code and idk post codes down under. Thank you for the info!

[@robertmorris6529]

​@Jerseygarage just enter 3000 Melbourne City Postcode same as your Zip Codes

[@robertmorris6529]

​@@Jerseygaragealso Google Australian Postcodes for some funny town names .

[@diegosilang4823]

Every Aussie made Ford and Holden (and Mopar too) should be preserved, specially the classic ones.

[@Jerseygarage]

Agreed. Mostly bc, they ain’t makin any more of em.

[@danieljones7843]

@JGarage okay this was an awesome video! Every other American KZbinr that has tried talking about Australian cars has been laughably misinformed! You have clearly done a heap of research! I’m definitely subscribing to you but I do want to address a few inaccuracies. You did mispronounce Gelong, all good though, our accents are a lot weirder than you think and weirder than we would like to admit. you pronounce the first three letters the same way you would pronounce the first 4 letters in Jello. Aussie falcons have never had a V6. It has always been V8 or inline 6 with only the FG fitting an inline 4 which was a flop. US imported falcons fell to bits in Australian conditions and were a flop in the beginning, so ford Australia decided to do the falcon our way and in 1965 we held a 70,000 mile marathon to prove that the new Australian built (or at least modified at that point in time) falcons would survive our harsh roads. They did and we fell in love with them. The BF falcon cobras were V8 not turbo 6, but still fast and cool The V8 supercars formula started in 1993 not 1991, it wasn’t rebranded to V8 supercars until the end of 1996 I also want to share with you something too. The AU looked the way it did for a pretty nefarious reason, so did the EL. Ford America actually wanted to kill off the Aussie falcon in the mid 90’s. They started with the EL falcon back in 1996. They demanded that ford Australia redesigned the EL falcon to look like the Ford Mondeo. They would sit the two together in the show rooms and the salesman would try to convince the Australian public to buy the mondeo. It didn’t work. People wanted the Falcon and the mondeo was a flop in Australia. Fortunately Ford Australia had already shown the XR, fairlane and LTD before being told to redesign the EL so only the base models got the ugly front end. Ford America then did almost the exact same thing with the AU but wanted the AU to look like the Taurus to try lead people into buying the Taurus instead. As ugly as the AU was, people still wanted the falcon more and the Taurus flopped in Australia. The AU fairlane and LTD were released before ford America demanded the AU be redesigned which is why they look so different as well. Ford America were forced by the media and public opinion in Australia to take a step back and let the Aussies go which resulted in the BA and the Barra inline 6 which is really just a redesign of the same inline 6 in every previous Aussie falcon. The dual overhead cams unlocked a Pandora’s box of untapped horsepower which ford Australia actually had to restrict at first. Ford Australia also wanted to export the falcon to the US and Europe in the late 80’s. They came to ford America wanting enough money to develop the next generation of falcon (the EA) and to export it. Ford America vindictively replied with “I’ll give you enough funding for just one of those things. You decide which one.” Ford Australia was forced to choose the former because exporting the now obsolete XF falcon would have been a flop in such competitive markets as America and Europe.

[@Jerseygarage]

Appreciate it so much dude. Apologies for my mistakes. Some of it is down to poor wording on my part, like the Supercars bit. The rules were passed in 1991 by the FIA, but obviously Supercars didn’t come around like you said, till a few years later. I just gotta work on my wording. And I saw the import woes and the overall butting heads between Ford US and Ford Oz. It was a similar trend with Holden and GM in the U.S. I personally, really believe that if Ford Oz and Holden were allowed to do what they wanted, when they wanted, there’s a good chance they would still be around today. They both saw massive success in the 90s and very early 2000s because for the most part, they were left alone to do their own thing. But then Ford and GM tried to reign in their respective brands right around the time of the financial crisis here in the states, and they tried to force all their overseas brands to only sell cars meant for the U.S. market. Other factors obviously played a role, like skyrocketing cost of living and manufacturing costs in Oz. But I don’t think it would have put them under, like it unfortunately did in our timeline…

[@Twenty_Six_Hundred]

Was sad when Ford closed the doors and as a huge fan i was gutted. Still got my daily BF Fairlane and a AU Fairmont that sits in the shed after buying it from my grand parents just to save it. Over the years i have owned ever model from an 83 XE to 06 BF atleast once with the exception of the EF that never interested me. Brilliant cars that should have replaced the Fusion in the States

[@danozism]

I spent a lot of time in Geelong back in the 90's and 00's. The locals were very loyal to Ford- many people drove their cars - and not just those who worked at the plant. It was a sad day when it shut down for good. Their last Falcon design was the best since the 1970's in my humble opinion.

[@alexvagalex96]

Being an Aussie myself and an absolute Falcon fan especially the AU I can appreciate the video, I do how ever wish you spoke of the AU in a little more detail for what it really is, yes it was a marketing flop but they released some very exciting models especially the T series range and XR8 all having hand built aussie V8s and the later T series actually had a 5.6L factory stroked Windsor which was 250kw and as for the Fairlane I'd take a look at the TL50 which came with the said 5.6L Windsor, the AU was the backbone of the later Falcon models many of the designs being used all the way up to the FGX

[@Jerseygarage]

I do plan on making a video solely about the Falcon. Focusing mostly on the AU falcon because of how iconic and monumental it is. Obviously, there’s a lot to talk about with Ford Australia, and I really struggled to fit everything I did into just this video. Trust me tho, Ford Falcon video is on the way.

[@allanmaher5171]

I would like to see that video

[@Jerseygarage]

@@allanmaher5171 it’ll be up soon. Got like 1 or 2 videos before the falcon one, but I promise, it’s in the works

[@noelgibson5956]

I once had an XE Falcon from 1983.......one of Ford Oz's most successful models, along with the XF. It was a cream GL sedan with the four speed manual and 3-3 six. After a while, i became disalussioned with the company........ making only Falcon based vehicles locally and importing everything else when the market was shifting away from large sedans. I love the look of the new Ford Ranger. It would have been a great vehicle for Ford Australia to make locally. Unions made our workers too expensive to employ. That combined with low tariffs is not a business model you want if you want manufacturing to be sustainable. I drive a 2012 Corolla sedan now. If i must buy imported anyway, then it may as well be of the most reliable badge there is. This car has given me literally no dramas in eleven years of ownership.

[@SyntaxTerraMotorsport]

Bet you wish you still had that xe haha

[@noelgibson5956]

​@@SyntaxTerraMotorsport I doubt it still exists. It was a rust bucket by 1993...... when it was only 10!

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

My 2000 AU Falcon Ute is THE BEST car I've ever owned... I love that thing and it's never getting sold. She's getting up towards 500,000kms now and a little rough around the edges. But the original engine and 'box still function like the day they left the factory and it has always been used for towing and work. Absolutely bulletproof. It rides great too (on its third set of shocks), i could drive that thing across around the country no problems and is especially comfy when towing a trailer. Has some glorious old school feeling sofa seats as well... You just don't get that anymore. It has never ever even hinted at letting me down, not once and has outperformed in everything I've expected it to do. Which is not something I can even say about my 70 series TDV8 LandCruiser, to be brutally honest. It's let me down twice. The 'Cruiser was hella expensive and it's a beast... But I could part with it if I didn't need it. The Falcon I bought for $5k as a stop gap work vehicle, I just needed something to get me by until I could afford something new. Didn't expect to love it so much in the end. Shows cars are an emotional thing and can get you in the heart in so many ways. I have trust issues with people, but never with the Falcon Ute.

[@Jerseygarage]

I know I said it was na ugly car, but I do like the AU falcon. I'd love to get an old beater, weld the diff, barra swap it and just hoon around in it till the wheels fall off. It's got a unique look, but in a good way.

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

@@Jerseygarage No need to swap out the old Intech... They're a great and overshadowed engine since the Barra.

[@magikvfx]

Sad to see it happen, i loved those cars... BUT WHO CARES BECAUSE I WENT TO THE TORONTO AUTOSHOW! uploaded a couple of vids on it 😳

[@Jerseygarage]

I saw some tik toks on the Toronto Autoshow, it looked super sick from what I could see. Super lucky dude

[@bluejayfabrications2216]

15:30 negative the thing that killed local manufacturing wasn't quality It was price and body styles plenty of them are still driven as dailys my daily is a 50 year old unrestored one tonner ute but the buyers move was away from sedans and towards SUVs because of the practically given the distance between population centers And the lack of sedans and 2wd utes a really made a push for the dual cab market that is currently booming Basically the only thing the holden and ford couldn't complete with aa far a quality was Toyota but no one can compleat with them for quality My 27 year old hilux with 400k in the clock still has its factory headlight globes and ac gas

[@Jerseygarage]

Yeah, I said in the end of the video that when Holden and Ford went tits up it was bc the cost to make vehicles in Australia just became too much for manufacturers to justify staying there. I mean even Toyota pulled out at the same time with their Camry plant and they are easily top dogs in Oz in terms of car sales. I do appreciate the insight tho, I wish I could have used more sources from actual people who live in Oz, but I don’t know anyone who lives there.

[@orinokonx01]

I lived in Adelaide during the early 2000's, and went to a few of the Clipsal 500 races. These were the first of that season, so tensions were high after the season break to really test out new car configurations and driver set ups. It was an absolute blast. We had main straight seated tickets, and sat there all day getting roasted by the sun while these beasts screamed around the track. The rivalry between Holden and Ford was this healthy 'my car is better than yours!' sort of thing, and wearing colours and waving flags and such just added to the excitement. Later on, I got my license and bought my first car. Being a Holden family, I naturally bought a second hand Holden Commodore VP V6 for way too much. I loved that car to pieces. Cleaned it every weekend. Kept up its maintenance. It was even in a Commodore car club and won a awards at Show n Shines. Long story short, its age quickly caught up with it, and the V6 was getting tired. I wanted a V8, so I bought a second hand VN SS 5l V8 'Aussie' engine, and all the bits needed and swapped the engine. My VP was now a V8. But it needed a new coat of paint. It was looking rough after living in the backyard for a couple of years while I worked on it. In 2013 I bought a second hand Holden Calais VS V8. Basically a V8 Commodore with extra trims and options. Very nice car honestly. I hadn't finished the VP project, but then I had to move to Melbourne and leave that project behind. And around this time, we found out the sad news. Holden were going to stop all local production. And then later, they closed off completely. Suddenly, us Aussies with our locally grown beer powered cars were no longer. We still have the V8 Supercars, but I've long stopped watching. The thrill isn't there anymore.

[@Jcmprofessional]

I still drive a BA ute its already done 465,000kms, motor got a small head gasket leak, valve steam seals leak. The fuel injectors, coil packs, ECU, 4 speed gearbox automatic and motor are still the original, the air conditioner still blows cold air and hasn't had regas since new.

[@Big_Red_Wade]

One thing known about Bathurst is that 60,000+ people come together get drunk and there is almost no fights.

[@perpetualgrin5804]

Everyone forgets Mitsubishi and Toyota in Australia.

[@Jerseygarage]

I read a lot about them while researching this video. I don’t think there’s any denying tho that the Holdens and Ford made in Oz have more emotional connection than the Toyotas and Mitsubishis made down under

[@perpetualgrin5804]

@@Jerseygarage The forgotten two.

[@robvegas9354]

@@perpetualgrin5804 i had a 2003 Magna for many years. Solid car. Regret selling it.

[@perpetualgrin5804]

@@robvegas9354 Still very happy with my 380, best car to close down a factory.

[@Dico6]

and Volvo, and Nissan, and Chrysler, and Buick...

[@maxrockatanksyOG]

Been a Ford Oz bloke since 15; first car was an ex- NSW highway patrol 351ci XD sedan with single rail manual. Later bought an ex police BA XT, then onto a BF2 XR8 manual (later GT500 engine swapped), had an F6 Tornado as my daily driver, and now have an FG2 XR6T manual; will never sell it. Would love to get an FG-X XR6T Sprint, but thats a dream

[@floydfreak-vn2uj]

Holden was a long-established company well before they became a subsidiary of GM. Having started as a saddlery business in the 1850s, they expanded into carriage-building and during WW1 they were building motorcycle sidecars for the army. That led to Holden becoming motor body builders, manufacturing and installing bodies and interiors for cars that were imported as rolling chassis' from the US and Europe. If you bought a Model T Ford in Australia, what you got was a US-built Ford drivetrain and chassis with a body and interior built by Holden (to Ford's design). GM established a company called General Motors Australia in 1926 and contracted Holden to produce bodies exclusively for GM products. GMA bought Holden in 1931, with the new company renamed General Motors-Holden and the rest, as they say, is history.

[@greenhouse3505]

Nice vid mate. Informative, accurate & passionate in your descriptive account of events. Easy to see your love for cars globally. Well done!

[@Jerseygarage]

Appreciate it! I have some more videos in the pipeline more specifically covering the Falcon, and other vehicles like Europes Mondeo. I think American enthusiasts focus too much on vehicles like JDM legends, and forget that our own big 3 brands made some properly cool cars overseas.

[@greenhouse3505]

@@Jerseygarage Awesome. I'll keep an eye out. ;)

[@armenian_man]

Great video. Been here since day 1 and you're still killing it

[@EBfalconV8]

Finally an American talking about Ford AUSTRALIA. The life blood. All 3 of my cars are V8 Fords. 2 different Fairlanes and a Pursuit ute ;) No I'm not old either 😂

[@daniel-it2lw]

i have a bright yellow, 2005 v8 manual falcon ute. i love it haha, among other traffic it just stands out and makes people smile. cars dont do that anymore. its as shame too because the fg x falcon was by far the best falcon ever made

[@lyedavide]

It's a real tragedy that the Aussies didn't look to export their legendary Ford and Holden V8s. I guess the Yanks didn't wanna have their local V8s get absolutely stonked!

[@josephmaganja650]

Peter Brock isn't a champion.He's a legend😊

[@Big_Red_Wade]

I also carted the last load ever of rotors out of Fords Geelong castings to Lonsdale in Adelaide. Is something I’m very proud of.

[@australiantruckspotting8883]

V8 Fairlanes were also the car of choice for those who towed caravans. Long before the era of comfortable large four wheel drives.

[@GregoryShtevensh]

I own a VF SS series 2, LS3 manual, black sedan Commodore. Best car mate honestly... everything you could need in a car. Thinking about selling though, so I can buy my wife a nice car. She has driven an astra for over 10 years, and I wanna sell my SS, get something cheap, and get something for my wife. She was with me when I got my 1st SS (VP 5.0ltr v8) 20 years ago. Always supported my petrol head. Now I wanna repay her I think. Will he sad to see her go... worked for years to get to it and don't owe anything on it... It's 100% mine

[@markeastman1503]

Tony Abbott wears 90%of the blame why Australia has no car industry and Turnbull has the remaining responsibility for Australia's loss of its total car industry

[@richlawrence4160]

Whitlam started removing trade tariffs (import taxes to protect local industries) to lower prices as the global free trade ideal progressed across the world that subsequent governments have driven. Till then, radios, TVs, whitegoods, clothing, furniture, cars, trucks, machinery etc were all locally manufactured. The result was reduced prices that closed every one of these manufacturing industries as a small population cannot compete with a much larger one producing many more products.

[@gerardwallis8709]

That's fake news: Nissan closed in 1992 under the Keating Labor Government, Mitsubishi closed in 2008 during the Rudd Labor government and Ford announced its closure of local manufacturing in May 2013 during the Gillard Labor government. Abbott became PM in September 2013. By then the fate of Holden and Toyota manufacturing in Australia was already sealed.

[@gordonclark7632]

GM USA ripped off Australian consumers accepting government funding while at the same time closing manufacturing here and then to add insult to injury took the equipment. They have never recovered when they tried to import a vehicle which they called a Commodore - it never took of because it was front wheel drive. Ford dumped us and then Toyota did the same. Toyota is still popular with the marketing hype being reliability. Ford lives on the Ranger model even though there are reported endemic problems. We are now the dumping ground for what other countries don't want. We are a small market in the world and therefore the manufacturers don't want to waster their time on us. South Korea and Japan (Mazda) are the preferred vehicle now.IMO

[@Jerseygarage]

From the outside looking in, you guys have a cool thing with Toyota. You guys get the 70 series new to this very day, even though it’s horrendously overpriced. Along with the GR Corolla, GR Yaris, and Supra. We here only get the GR Corolla and Supra, and the 4Runner which is our land cruiser substitute. All of those vehicles are horribly overpriced, so I can totally understand preferring Mazda over other brands. You are 100% correct tho Oz is a super small market compared to Europe and the US, so naturally it’s just going to be a dumping ground bc they won’t make as much money, which sucks.

[@allanmaher5171]

GM did take the money and ruin ford built the raptor without taxpayer money

[@allanmaher5171]

GM did take the money and run whereras ford built the raptor without taxpayer dollars

[@Discoworx]

Mt Panorama is the big hill just outside of the town of Bathurst. It was hand built by prison labour back in the day. I walked it once. You can't appreciate how steep it is on camera.

[@Jerseygarage]

I don't doubt it. I know its nowhere near the real thing, but I've done many a sim race on Assetto Corsa Competizione and its easily the most difficult track in the entire game. The descending corners make you pick up so much speed you don't even realize it until you press the brake and realize you're doing 120MPH and about to kiss a wall. I can't imagine how steep it is in real life to make race cars ceramic brakes feel like someone fitted the brakes off a Honda Fit onto a Ram TRX.

[@Andronicus2007]

Up until the early 90s, Ford, Holden (GM), Mitsubishi and Nissan all manufactured cars en mass in Australia. Nissan were the first to stop in the 90s, then Mitsubishi. Once Ford pulled the plug in the 2010s, local industry was too small to survive. Holden and Toyota announced the end of manufacturing shortly after, with the last models being built in 2017.

[@Jerseygarage]

It’s a shame, most of my favorite cars were made in Oz.

[@richlawrence4160]

Chrysler, Ford and GM from USA, plus Leyland (BMC) built Austins and Morris cars here that were all modified to be unique/different to the overseas parent versions. Australia also built VW, Peugeot and a few others. AMI (Australian motor Industries) assembled Ramblers and then Toyotas, and was later bought by Toyota (no more Ramblers). Chrysler made the Valiant with local design updates then started manufacturing Mitsubishi Colt & gallant, then sold to Mitsubishi (no more Variants). Nissan also set up manufacturing. They all closed down manufacturing in favour of imports. I think the problem was they were all foreign owned, and when it became cheaper to do overseas as tariffs etc were reduced they pulled out. Export opportunities were limited by foreign owners, which with a small population meant no economy of scale.

[@Andronicus2007]

@@richlawrence4160 Yeah good points, I knew we built some other brands here in the past. My Dad used to be the guy who put the springs in the seats at Holden (Eastgardens, Sydney).

[@haydnsam3871]

Barra turbo's will only go up in price. Even the N/A versions

[@yabbadabbadoo8225]

It all began in the 70's when Japan began to really get their plan together They added aircon, a radio and tape player, a smokes lighter and spots in the ticket price Then the quality soared and driveways became oil drips free The 4's were matching 6's in power Then reliability left both Aussie brands for dead My Nissan from the past has never missed a beat, Those who can afford the Ultimate off road kit would buy anything but a Cruiser, any vintage will do. Oz will never produce a mainstream product again , wages , annual leave, sick pay, Supa, 10 days paid public days off are too insane.

[@Hapkido82AUS]

I remember a Ford Australia employee getting upset when interviewed at the closure. At the end of rhe news segment, i saw the same guy drive out of a carpark- in a Toyota Hilux, with Australian flags on the back 😂🙄

[@garrypetersen4675]

Every year the car companies begged for more Government money or they would leave Australia. This went on for years. They would get money and then the Unions would strike for more money and get it. Round and round. Toyota was the last one. The workers agreed to a halt in increases and the union went against it. Court case. Toyota left. GM in America wouldn’t advertise the imported Commodores.

[@galactica1980]

The Melbourne design centre is responsible for Ranger-Everest and most of the new Amarok.

[@Jesse-B]

At last count there were three small companies developing Barra i6 billet alloy blocks. Some years back an Aussie dragster squeezed 2,200 HP from a cast iron barra.

[@geoff1971]

Excellent content, well researched. I have an AU falcon ute , BA wagon with a supercharged barra, a VT COMMODORE ex police car and a VT commodore wagon ex department of justice. The AU is getting a rebuild with the barra and I want to take it across the US on a road trip in 2025

[@Jerseygarage]

Good luck with the road trip. Bringing cars into the U.S. is a massive headache. But especially since it’s an AU Falcon it should be doable, since it’s old enough.

[@BomberFletch31]

It's pronounced "jeeLONG", emphasis on the second syllable, and a soft 'G'. And incidentally, there was never a V6 Fairlane. In-line six and V8 were the only two engine options. But overall, an excellent, well researched video, thank you for telling the Ford Australia story that deserves to be told.

[@Jerseygarage]

appreciate it! Yeah I just misspoke with the whole V6 thing.

[@nmc356]

Ive owned all three, ford, holden, chrysler and Japanese and English. Im getting older and have my dads old 5.0 NC Fairlane now. I've always been a ford man and have had 17 registered daily drivers in my name not including company cars over 31 years since I got my licence. 9 of them being fords. 3 V8 XD's, V8 XB, V8 NC Fairlane, 6 cylinder EL, BA S2 XR8 ute, 3.2 4x4 Ranger, and if you could call it a ford, a 4x4 Courier. Others include 2 HG's, 2 HX's, HJ one tonner, Hilux, Skyline Silhouette, LC Torana, Toyota Soarer, Hillman Imp, Morris Major, and 72 Valiant ute. The Falcon/Fairmonts I have owned have been my favourite. They rode nice, they went well for their day and I had a lot of fun in them. I lost interest in V8 super cars around Ambroses departure in the late naughties. And I couldn't tell you who even drives these days. Times change and we have had a kick in the guts with the loss of Ford Australia manufacturer and GMH as an enterprise. It would be good to see Australian Touring Cars go back to grass roots and race anything stock standard off the show room floor as a proof of manufacturing reliability again. And if you got this far, if you can pronounce Jeans or the Gee wiss. you can pronounce Geelong. 👍

[@Jerseygarage]

Like I keep saying to people, next up on mispronouncing Aussie town names is Cockburn... Stay Tuned

[@dougstubbs9637]

Ford Australia started Hyundai car manufacturing, in 1967, Ford Australia set up the production line to make RHD Cortina.

[@MuscleCarLover]

The G in Geelong is pronounced like the G in General. Like "gee, long", but as one word. Okay, so the hype behind the Commodore and Falcon in in their versatility. It could be your first car, your taxi, your police car, your family car, your muscle car, your luxury, your race car etc depending on what trim level you get and what your intension is. They're a great platform for whatever you want and they also speak to an Australian's patriotism. That was such a hilarious and accurate description of Bathurst

[@MuscleCarLover]

Also, yeah. As soon as the Corolla topped the monthly sales charts, the writing was on the wall. As someone who leans on the Holden side, Ford ended things better...and treated their workers a whole lot better

[@SilveradoDudeDk]

This is the first video of yours i am watching, and i gotta say, very well done. I subscribed All hail the algorithm, which did good today :-)

[@Jerseygarage]

appreciate it dude thanks! Not to self promote, but I do have a few more videos about Aussie cars and utes soon, as well as a ton of other stuff.

[@TimBorg]

one of the happiest days of my entire life was the day that Ford and then Holden announced shutting down

[@stephentaege6255]

My favourite 4x4 will always be 1984 Ford Bronco ,🐎🐎🐎🐎🤠👍

[@Jerseygarage]

Even here in the states people still love those things. There's a whole massive market and some resto mod ones go for north of 100k USD.

[@Deevo037]

The reason Ford and GM pulled out of manufacturing is that the government were getting tired of blowing taxpayer funds subsidizing them and the companies realized the days of fleecing the Australian public were over. Now if they'd have done some actual development work back in the 70s instead of just presenting cheap copies of American designs then the market might have been different.

[@wrbBrooks]

Ireland was our original v8 sedan tow vehicle and a fantastic long distance driver. When you drive 2500 kilometers to visit family you want comfort and that's what the fairlane have us.

[@mockbattles]

A scene from one of the BA Falcon ads is shot in New Zealand. Eglington Flat and Milford Sound to be precise.

[@ceegee3664]

GeeWizz, Geelong, great history, mortgage market made wages for employees unsustainable, once land tax was removed cost of living went through the roof

[@Jerseygarage]

So I’ve seen. I was curious about moving down under, mostly because the wheeling culture there is the best in the world IMO. You got places like Frazier Island and Cape York, we don’t have anything like that in the states at all. On top of that the street car culture is the best behind the U.S., you guys have a crazy JDM scene and the Aussie cars too are some of the coolest in the world. Then I saw the house and apartment prices, and that killed my dream on the spot😂

[@allanmaher5171]

You should come over for a working holiday

[@TG-pd3ft]

The push to EV's was absurd in AUS. What could be the reason for such a catastrophic mistake?

[@JeffreyArthur-ff3vv]

Good effort mate. Always enjoy a well researched video from an outsider looking in. It is a massive shame we lost our great car manufacturers. I really loved my Falcons, still have a BA Station wagon with almost 400k km on it. So you asked if you pronounced Geelong correctly. Sorry but it wasn't correct. The "G" is pronounced exactly how you would say it if you were saying the alphabet or like in the "Bee Gees" but then with typical Aussie slang it's been shortened, or made to say quicker and we pronounce it more like Jalong

[@txddyfarquh3916]

As a guy who grew up around Holdens, this was pretty sad.... and then too Holden would see its own demise. Now?, the OG aussie built Ford and Holdens are worth alotta money.

[@paulwatson6013]

Bathurst well.... yeah the place is a pretty wild ride. Yeah its a conventional 2 way road outside of when its not being used as a race circuit. If you think it looks tight and steep going down the mountain on the telly, its not until you actually drive it that you can actually appreciate how much. Saw some dickhead towing a dual axle caravan around the circuit starting to go around the opposite direction. Cant see much approaching from opposite direction in a few spots, so gotta be careful giving the car too much stick. Its like 60 km/h zone and there's like a vinyard up there. Camped up top one year back in the 90s when Bathurst was on. It was as crazy off the track as on. Even the cops kept their distance.

[@noobsaibot7006]

I lived close to broadmeadows. Closure of the site has also affected local takeway shops. As a lot of ford workers would go there for lunch. Ford factory was really bustling with life my dad even took me there for a open day. Ford had a open day they had v8 supercars on display and various other Aussie ford cars from past and present. Now the site most of it has been demolished. Lots of jobs went but also the place was really bustling with life before closure. Really saddens me.

[@ZenoGy]

Nicely crafted production and enjoyed your perspective . Future generations have missed out . The final Fords and Holdens were very nice . Old Maloo owner :)

[@Jerseygarage]

Appreciate it! We were supposed to get the Maloo with the Pontiac G8 ST, but it never happened.

[@piglos]

I'm just a couple of minutes in, but I paused it for a couple of minor corrections. Geelong is pronounced with a soft G at the start like Jersey. Holden didn't start producing cars under that name until after WW2, in 1948. The Fairlane may have been the first car made in Broadmeadows, but the Falcon soon followed, and by it's second model (the 1962 XL), it was a design that was based on the US Falcon, but modifed to better suit Australia's rougher conditions. The following 2 models, the XM and XP were nothing like the US Falcon. The Fairlane was never a mainstream model for Ford Australia, more a niche model.

[@atomicmillenial9728]

The XM is just an XL with the taillights shifted up about 3 inches and more shiny stuff tacked on. The XP is an XM with a '60/'62 Mercury Comet front clip with a dodgy local single-headlight grille slapped on to try and mask the styling.

[@TastierBackInThe80s]

I'm Holden/GM fan, but the Fairlane despite whether you agreed with the styling or not, had the most plush and comfortable seats and interior of ANY car of its times. Ford seemed to go out of their way to make the higher end Falcons unbelievably plush.

[@Jerseygarage]

Yeah it looks like that in the photos I saw, I think it’s bc in the states we are spoiled with so many luxury options that when someone like Ford or Chevy comes out with something luxurious we know it won’t be as good as something from Germany or Asia.

[@Veryfastslowcar66]

Had a 87 Fe LTD (extra luxo fairlane) absolute boat of a thing but genuinely the most comfortable ride on earth, plenty of guts too even with the old efi 6.

[@AussiePom]

@@Veryfastslowcar66With Fairlanes and LTD's in Australia the most comfortable seat was NOT the driver's seat but the rear seat for you sank into it. Even with my FG G6E my young niece and her boyfriend riding in the back fall asleep on long drives because the rear seat is just so comfortable. Having a conversation which then ends and looking in the rear vision mirror and both are asleep with words being replaced by snoring. Both of them are good snorers and I stamp on the brakes to wake them up. Modern imported cars all have a much harsher ride exacerbated on our poor quality country roads.

[@Veryfastslowcar66]

Couldn’t be truer, id buy some back seats just to make into a couch if I could! My Nissan 300c was a close contender but still no where near the same level of outright comfort from the ultra plush velour….

[@hairy-dairyman]

My first car was a BA Fairmont manual. I miss that car

[@TyDean22]

Hey! 2:53-2:54 that’s my old Fairlane! Probably my favourite car I’ve owned 😁

[@Jerseygarage]

thats awesome dude, so cool!

[@Pipack_]

It's truely devastating how we lost local car production here, losing Ford and Toyota to Thailand and GM shutting down entirely. Not completely doom and gloom though as Australian designed and engineered car still exist with the forth and fifth generation Ford Ranger being a completely Australian product (just not made manufacturered here sadly). Too bad the car is a bit of a lemon, not our best work I must say.

[@tba3900]

Yes you are right Ranger and Everest was designed in Australia . Which part in lemon , I don’t own one but I have a workshop and compared to most out. There they definitely aren’t a lemon

[@Jerseygarage]

I mean it’s pretty good work I gotta say, us Yankees are finally gonna get the ranger raptor and I really want one.

[@tba3900]

@@Jerseygarage as long as you get the ecoboost twin turbo variant they go hard , but the exhaust note reminds me too much of the Buick V6

[@Jerseygarage]

@@tba3900 same issue with the F-150 Raptor here, especially with the newest generation if you hear the exhaust they sound exactly like those hoons who cut the muffler and cat off a G35 or G37, not the best sounding truck.

[@tba3900]

@@Jerseygarage these things have a bi-modal exhaust. Smaller pipes for quiet and big pipes for loud. Doesn’t matter which way you look at it still sounds crap. Turbos usually cancel out the shock waves and it becomes a more linear sound but not in this case.

[@AussiePom]

Ford US asked Ford Australia "what is the distance between the Geelong plant and the new Broadmedows plant?". Back came the answer "4.5miles". It's actually 45 miles and to this day nobody knows if it was a typo or a well aimed fly poo spot. When the Geelong plant opened Ford Australia asked the Victorian Railways if they could have a spur line off the Melbourne-Geelong railway line into the new plant and if they could how long would it take to build the new line. Victorian Railways answered "Yes you can have a spur line and it will take five years to build". Ford Australia thought stuff that we'll build it and so they did and it was done and in use within three months. In the days of the endurance trial with the XP Falcon Edsell Ford II paid a visit to see for himself the Falcons hooning round the track in the endurance trial and he remarked "You're all mad ya bastards". In the 1970's Ford Australia produced the P6 LTD Silver Monarch which was silver with chrome bumpers, chrome wheel caps, silver vinyl roof, white wall tyres and a plumb coloured vulgarlour interior. People working at Ford said it was hideous and would never sell. One Ford Australia exec said "don't underestimate the bad taste of the buying public" He was right for it sold. Ford people from Victoria went to Mount Panorama to see what cars the die hard Ford fans were driving. They were driving Toyota Rav 4's, Kia's and Hyundai's. Die hard Ford fans in name only. It's people like them that saw the demise of the Falcon for the car industry model is real simple. Build cars and sell cars but if people won't buy the cars we build then there's no point in building them. They could wave their big blue oval flags as often as they wished to but as they weren't prepared to put their money where their mouth was on a new Falcon as a secondhand purchase doesn't count for car manufacturers don't make used cars then they played their part in the kissing of the local produced blue oval goodbye. Marketing of the Falcon was woeful at the end with the new 2.0L four cylinder turbo eco boost finding more Ford employees owning one than the general buying public. One person said that the marketing department at Ford would have been better off marketing washing powders than marketing new cars. But it was all part of the grand plan in winding down local manufacturing. As soon as the closure was announced marketing of all locally produced vehicles ended full stop.

[@lukeclifton4392]

Summed up Australia’s absolutely absurd and unnecessary bureaucracy perfectly.

[@lukamite0]

got a 1995 EF XR6 in gunmetal out in garage, treat that thing like my child. great video my man! (P.S - geelong is pronounced ghee-long😉)

[@cyclops92]

Good job mate very well researched

[@Jerseygarage]

I know I’ve made some mistakes, but I really did spend an assload of time researching and tweaking this. Thanks for the support boss!

[@cyclops92]

@@Jerseygarage I didn't pick up on any mistakes, it kept me captivated enough to watch it and I'm a Holden Maloo owner

[@Jerseygarage]

@@cyclops92 what Gen and trim maloo do you have?

[@cyclops92]

@@Jerseygarage Gen F Maloo R8 6.2 litre six speed in green, it's my only toy and the wife still wants to sell it, but I keep telling her the car price is appreciating, so when I die you can then sell it

[@Jerseygarage]

@@cyclops92 it’s true too, especially now, Holdens not makin any more of em!

[@QIKUGAMES-QIKU]

Old HOLDEN still beat anything today ❤😢

[@Jerseygarage]

100% Nothing quite like that Aussie 5.0 on the limmi.

[@maxmeister747]

Australian licencing isn't that bad, only the fishing licence doesn't make that much and that is not in all states. You do need a licence for electrical work but we do have higher voltages. Also we don't have much enforcement.

[@Bomaderry]

The first Australian Ford was the 1934 Ford Ute made from a 1934 Ford Coupe

[@vaultdweller2287]

It’s unfortunate how much crossovers have ruined the car industry.

[@jamesgudgeon4868]

The GTHO Falcon Phase 3 8:14

[@wazza33racer]

Ford dropped the ball in the 1990's..........Holden had the V6-3800 buick engine which was reliable and good on fuel. Ford on the other hand a good straight six 4.0 OHC engine......but because it was non EGR.......to meet emissions they had to cripple the engine with a camshaft profile that made it heavy on fuel. Once the Ford 4.0 straight six gets a "torque and economy" grind camshaft, it uses 25% less fuel on highway driving. Ford Australia also shot itself in the foot with the AU model ( 1999-2002) which was Fugly. When Ford got its act together with the awesome "Barra" straight six DOHC engine in the early 2000's it had already lost a lot of ground. At the same time, Holden crippled itself with the V6 Alloytec-3600 engine which had a lot of problems with stretched timing chains common to all GM vehicles it was used in, and oil sludge caused by a stupidly small engine oil filter.

[@user-wt7ec1pb7u]

LMAO the Capri as we called it "The mobile swimming pool" us guys & gals from plant 1... it would leak like a kitchen sieve in the rain.... plant 2 put all the parts in & on them. we just did the body shell & paint that's it....

[@brianlove8413]

No v6 in the Falcon

[@Jerseygarage]

If I said there was my bad, I meant I6.

[@Rob-fc9wg]

3:07. No, you said: "Inline 6, V6, V8 options.

[@Brandonvscars695]

While there was the pov pac fortè falcons, which were then re badged once BA came out as the xt, followed by the xr6, xr6 turbo and xr8, ford also did things like the Fairmont, Fairmont ghia, later badged the g6, g6e and g6e turbo which were the more luxurious models, leather seats, nicer feeling interior pieces, slightly different body styling and so much more The ‘Falcon’ as its own throughout all of its years had so many different models, shapes and sizes Also the territory, which was practically a Falcon xt with diabeetus