SA: Ford looks to Barra to put it back in the sales race
By Tim Dornin, National Motoring Correspondent
ADELAIDE, April 18 AAP - Could this be the most scrutinised facelift in Australia'sautomotive history?
Certainly, believes Ford president Geoff Polites, acknowledging that the soon-for-release,new-model Falcon will play a vital role in the resurgence of the struggling local vehicleproducer.
Ford hopes the new model, Codenamed Barra, will put the company seriously back in thesales race against Holden and Toyota and provide a real challenge to the Holden Commodore'sdominance in the large car sector.
Through much of the 1990s the rivalry between the Commodore and the Falcon for thetitle of Australia's top-selling car was a close affair.
Since the launch of Ford AU series several years ago, however, the Commodore has surged ahead.
Last year Holden sold 85,422 Commodores to Ford's 53,534 Falcons while in the firstquarter this year Commodore sales were running at almost double those of Falcon.
Ford expects demand for the new model to return its finances into the black in 2003after recording a $5.5 million loss in 2001.
To arouse public interest in the release, Ford set up a web site whereby people couldfollow the car's development.
Selected details about the new model - it has velour seats and new interior trim coloursand patterns - have also been released, an unusual step given the competitive nature ofthe new car market.
According to insiders the new Falcon looks similar to the current Commodore while,paradoxically, the new Commodore, which is also due for release later this year, is believedto look more like the current Falcon.
The company says some of the changes to the new model will be industry-leaders, whileothers will bring new technology to the Australian automotive market.
Each model will have its own individual colour scheme, pattern and texture, while thetop of the range Fairmont Ghia seats will come standard with leather.
Barra Falcon seats will have four-way power adjustment as standard, with the range-toppingFairmont Ghia featuring six-way adjustment.
Ford will introduce five new exterior metallic colours, including Phantom, a deep purple,Acid Rush which is a bright yellow, Ice Mint Silver and Blue Pearl.
Design manager Sharon Gauci said Australian car buyers were no longer accepting ofthe muted exterior colours previously on offer.
"The wider range of colour called for today can be directly attributed to the increasingawareness of lifestyle trends, the merging of fashion seasons between the hemispheres,and a deeper awareness of the value colour adds to our surroundings," she said.
All very interesting but will the changes help Ford sell more cars?
Mr Polites believes they will and remains optimistic about Ford's ability to reclaimlost sales and market share.
He says the release date for the new car has been locked in for almost two years andthe company's dealers have "intimately familiar" with the new car for about a year.
"All is progressing to plan," the Ford boss says.
AAP tjd/mjm
KEYWORD: MOTOR FALCON
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