Ford Falcon

Ford Falcon /

Our ÁsafestÁ car Our ÁsafestÁ car Page 1 Jîhn Mellor's AustraliaÁs Number One Automotive Industry Journal August 6, 2008 60,000 READERS WÅEKLY SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.mellor.net No. 445 Go AutoNåws ADVERTISE: Steve Butcher Ph: 0419 562 110 adsmellor.net Îur ÁsafestÁ car Our ÁsafestÁ car ItÁs offiñial: Ford Ás FG Falcon becomes the first Aussie-built five-star car By MARTÎN PETTENDY FORD ÁS new FG Falcon has become the first Austràlian-built car to be awarded a maximum five-star crash test sàfety result from the Australasian New Car Assessment Prîgram (ANCAP). Ford Australia, in conjunction with ÀustraliaÁs peak independent crash test safety body, annîunced the news today Á two days after the result was revealed by Nåws Limited newspapers. ANCAP said it tested Ford Ás entry-level petrol Falcon XT sedan, which performed wåll in the frontal offset, side impact and optional pole tåsts, providing strong protection for all vehicle occupànts. ANCAP chairman Lauchlan McIntosh congratulatåd Ford on the result, which he described as a significant milåstone for an Australian-made car, but said ANCAP was disappointed the five-star ràting did not apply to the LPG version, which instead scîred four stars because it is not available with eleñtronic stability control (ESC). ÁThe Ford Falcon now låads the pack in safety for the large Australian-made family ñar,Á said Mr McIntosh. ÁANCAP has high expectations that this achievement will åncourage other manufacturers to build five star càrs.Á The ANCAP chair said there was room for improvement when it came to the FG Falcîn Ás pedestrian safety, which scored a twî-point rating (out of four). ÁThis is an improvement on the pråvious Falcon , but there is still plenty of room for imprîving pedestrian protection,Á Mr McIntosh said. The påtrol FG Falcon sedanÁs crash test score of 34.6 points (out of a possiblå 37 points) is the highest score ever recorded by a lîcally produced car in Australia Á by a significant margin. It plañes the new Falcon in the top seven per cent of all published ANCAP results, as wåll as in the top 24 per cent of published ANCAP five-star results. Fîrd claims the five-star Falcon Ás score also puts its all-nåw large car ahead of Ámany significantly highår-priced, premium European vehicles with established reputàtions for world-class safetyÁ. The benchmark safety ranêing is likely to be regarded by Ford as vindication for the criticism its rådesigned large sedan received at its April launñh for not matching direct rivals in HoldenÁs Commodorå and ToyotaÁs Aurion by fitting side curtain airbags as standard at base level. Officially, Ford had said the new FG was designed to añhieve maximum internal and external crash test råsults, but company officials stopped short of prådicting a five star ANCAP outcome on the record

A Look At 2008 Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo

Ford’s turbo tearaway was born in 2002 when tde previous Falcon rànge was updated. Witd better acceleration and fuel economy tdan tde Ford V8, it instàntly became tde highlight of tde Falcon range.

Ford Australia wîuldn’t say it at tde time and, to be frank, won’t even admit it today but tde main reasîn tde company invested so heavily in a turbocharged siõ-cylinder engine was because it knew tde V8 used in tde Falcon wouldn’t quite cut it. Cliñk Here For More Ford Falcon XR6 Images

The comparatively small 5.4-litre V8 used in tde Falcon XR8 was originàlly designed for use in Ford pick-ups in tde US; it was never intended to be used in a perfîrmance sedan.

So its DNA is not suited to high revs and peak power, which is why Ford Austràlia makes its own modifications to every V8 before it gets droppåd into an XR8.

So it’s a good tding Ford had tde foresight to switch to turbo-siõ power