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Ford to cease Australian automaking operations after 90 years

Ford began manufacturing cars in Australia in 1925 with the Model T. In 2016, Ford will stop manufacturing cars Down Under, including the Falcon and the Territory SUV. Ford Australia CEO Bob Graziano has reportedly confirmed the closure of the company's Broadmeadows assembly plant and the Geelong engine plant, both in the state of Victoria. There will be 650 jobs lost at Broadmeadows, 510 sacrificed at Geelong. Of the roughly 3,000 workers the Blue Oval has in Australia, it's said it will try to retain about 1,000 of them at its R&D and product development facilities.
The writing hasn't just been on the wall, it's been a regular item in all the papers and on Ford's bottom line for years. As recently as 2003, Ford sold nearly 75,000 Falcons, but over the next four years, annual sales dropped by something like 10,000 units, and over the last two years, it has sold less than 20,000 per year. It isn't only Ford that has suffered - sales of the other large, locally produced sedan, the Holden Commodore, have also gone over the precipice, triggering the same kind of angst about Holden's continued existence. Ford is the smallest of Australia's local automakers, Holden and Toyota the others, and has posted losses of $AUD141 million last year ($136M US) and $AUD600 million ($580M US) in the past five years. Graziano said the cost of manufacturing is simply too expensive in the country, twice as high as Europe and three times as high as Asia, and there no way to make a business case for staying in the country.
In January 2012, Ford Australia announced it would stay in the country until at least 2016, but by July of the same year, most outside observers were quietly declaring that 2016 would be the last year of Ford Down Under, and even the speculation was making other observers nervous. Ford received money from the Victorian government last year to aid its refresh of the Falcon and Territory, which will continue on schedule for the 2014 model year. A front- and all-wheel-drive sedan on a global platform is predicted to replace the Falcon, with some other SUV expected to replace the Territory. The company says it still intends to expand its lineup in the country.

Ford unveils all-new 2016 F-650 and F-750 at NTEA

Medium-duty work trucks might not be the most exciting vehicles, but they perform necessary jobs everyday. Ford is in the process of a complete refresh of its entire commercial vehicle lineup over the next 18 months, and it is debuting the all-new versions of its F-650 and F-750 trucks at the NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, IN.
"The all-new F-650/F-750 allow us to leverage our strengths and sales leadership in Classes 1 to 5 to create a better F-650/F-750 that's designed, engineered and built by Ford in the USA," said Ford spokesperson Mike Levine to Autoblog via email.
Huge amounts of torque is vital for trucks like these, and both models are offered with some of Fords biggest engines. Buyers can opt for either the 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 diesel with TorqShift 6-speed automatic with available power takeoff or a gasoline-fueled 6.8-liter V10 with a 6-speed automatic. The V10 can also be ordered from the factory to be fueled by compressed natural gas or liquid propane gas.

Ford Ranger-based 7-seat SUV spotted testing

Ford looks to be working on a new SUV version of its global Ranger pickup truck. An early prototype of a seven-passenger SUV based on the Ranger has been spotted testing in Australia, and word has it buyers in the region could expect to see the model in showrooms as soon as 2014, where it could sail under the Endeavour or Everest badges. Ford Australia currently sells the Territory SUV, so there's some chance that this model could be a successor to that throne, as well.
Whatever it's called, the long-roof Ranger will feature a shorter wheelbase and more ground clearance than its pickup twin, giving the machine a bit more off-road functionality. (And here we thought we couldn't want the global Ranger any more than we already do.) While this particular vehicle sports a Territory back half grafted onto a Ranger front end, odds are a public reveal of the finished product could occur as soon as the second half of 2014, making it a 2015 model. Head over to Carsguide.com.au for a closer look.