How can ford make a better car?

**Stav** · 17-04-2005, 06:57 PM

I have to ask after seeing dismal air fuel ratios from eecv and diff clunking in others.Will Ford wake up and improve the things that people want ???

Yesterday I saw several standard AU ecus dip down to air fuel ratios of 10 !! Is this some bad joke from ford?

I have seen the new ba fords with a fixed sound system.BA turbo typhoons which break clutch components while being used in a performance fashion.

If you could tell ford what they can fix to improve their cars ,what would it be to make it excellent?

Kryton · 17-04-2005, 06:59 PM

an alloy block would be good.

GlennBA · 17-04-2005, 07:37 PM

more research and evelopment, and better quality control. Also some weight reduction.

cArSiK · 17-04-2005, 07:40 PM

quality of interior plastics , after 100,000 they rattle and makes all sorts of noises.....take some tips from audi

James

XplosiveR6 · 17-04-2005, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennXRT

more research and evelopment, and better quality control. Also some weight reduction.

all equals a much more expensive car for the consumers, just remember these cars are very cheap for what they are, and the Australian market is very small

SpoolMan · 17-04-2005, 07:48 PM

No: 1 would be the driveline in the BA Boss powered cars, the manuals are breaking driveline parts easily.

GlennBA · 17-04-2005, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EF_Dave

all equals a much more expensive car for the consumers, just remember these cars are very cheap for what they are, and the Australian market is very small

Well they should be at least acceptable. Our brand new BA XR6 Turbo has had 24 warranty claims, i think if the cars had more time put into them this wouldn't happen.

EFFalcon · 17-04-2005, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by useless

I have to ask after seeing dismal air fuel ratios from eecv and diff clunking in others.Will Ford wake up and improve the things that people want ???

Yesterday I saw several standard AU ecus dip down to air fuel ratios of 10 !! Is this some bad joke from ford?

This is whats called an VERY safe tune... IMO ford have done with right thing with this, not everyone maintains their car and wants it to be 100% efficient, they just want it to be reliable.

T3man · 17-04-2005, 08:52 PM

How can Ford make a better car? Easy - have the Mazda factory in Japan build them for us ...

parawolf · 17-04-2005, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T3man

How can Ford make a better car? Easy - have the Mazda factory in Japan build them for us ...

Actually i'd expect to see something being built by Ford China in the next few years. Australian market could take advantage of cheap labour, quality materials and something that was negotiated last year called a "Free Trade Agreement".

paul7v7 · 17-04-2005, 09:46 PM

just fit the interior with quality parts. engine is fine. body is ok. driveline needs an overhaul.

rob_o · 17-04-2005, 09:50 PM

How about the ute? Am I the only one that thinks that the falcon ute body doesnt look as sexy as it should? Take a look at the commodore ute, the cabin and the back connect together to give it a nice smooth finish. Dont get started on the tailgate and the back lights...

XRQTOR · 17-04-2005, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRFPV8

No: 1 would be the driveline in the BA Boss powered cars, the manuals are breaking driveline parts easily.

No no no Mark we have it all wrong, if we didn't drive them over 15oorpm we wouldn't brake anything.

**Full Noise** · 17-04-2005, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by useless

9-10 air fuel ratio???? Its good to be safe but....it seems we are always fixing always improving....why should we?

Ford have to take into account worse case scenarios. If a vehicle is driven in extreme conditions or not serviced properly they still have to cover the vehicle though the warranty period.
Whether or not they honour the warranty claim is another story.

Cheers, Danny

XRQTOR · 17-04-2005, 10:07 PM

Better build quality would be #1 on my list. Stronger drivline parts in the performance models would be #2.

If ford focused on better build quality and stronger parts they wouldn't have half as many warrenty claims.

Once they sort quality and strength issues i would love to see ford aus spend the money and build their own engine plant, they could build engines to their own specs. Making lighter alloy versions of both the 6 and 8 would really help these heavy Ba's. If it was tooled right they could build engines here and ship them overseas.

Where do the I6 get made now, block and stuff aswell.

AUIII XR8 MAN · 17-04-2005, 10:08 PM

Just the over all finish on the cars. Better QA is what is really needed in all area of this cars. I mean it the little thing that **** you off. Just look at the over all finish on some other makes & you can see that Ford need to left their game in the over all finish of the cars. They just need to be more fussy over the cars they produce.

AUIII XR8 MAN · 17-04-2005, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRQTOR

Where do the I6 get made now, block and stuff aswell.

Well the bit for the I6 motor come from all over the world including here in Oz. Ford Oz is the only Ford company with the I6 still in mass production. I was lucky enough to get a tour of the I6 plant early this year & it the same old story, it's who every can make that part the cheapes get to supply the part.

loxxr6 · 17-04-2005, 10:32 PM

Quote:

How about the ute? Am I the only one that thinks that the falcon ute body doesnt look as sexy as it should? Take a look at the commodore ute, the cabin and the back connect together to give it a nice smooth finish. Dont get started on the tailgate and the back lights...

The falcon ute def looks way hotter than the one piece look of the commie. Yuck.

loxxr6 · 17-04-2005, 10:39 PM

Quote:

always ford try to worm out of many a warranty like that

You'll get that with any manufacturer...

**Full Noise** · 17-04-2005, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by useless

Danny a car which is not serviced has a voided warranty.

The worst case scenario in a perfomance vehicle is only if a wally designed and built them for 110 year old blokes who need viagra to get anywhere.A performance car should not be released if it cant handle the everyday pressures of performance driving.But as always ford try to worm out of many a warranty like that .Thank god ford did not build the space shuttle because if the heat got to much they may void the warranty on re entry when the heat tiles fail.

Thanks for your reply Useless, however, I’m pretty sure that I said “not serviced properly”. So when a Ford dealer services your car and the first year apprentice stuffs it up I think it will still be under warranty.

M14A-Mclaren · 17-04-2005, 10:46 PM

I reckon quality control, a bigger production line so its not pushed all the time and such faults might not occur in the first place, it'll probably end up cheaper for them cause they aren't having to fork out for warrenty repairs.

Sylox · 17-04-2005, 10:49 PM

Paint behind all brakets to stop rust
Develop a set of brakes that isnt prone to wear out/fail in record time
make a ecu thats tunable
Get some real performance out of the performance models
Make spare parts more reasonabley priced
it goes on and on

M14A-Mclaren · 17-04-2005, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by useless

Mate I wish you get Geoff Polites job when his expry date comes up...you are talking my language!!

Ah, Tom Gorman already got it....

**Full Noise** · 17-04-2005, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by useless

Just remember one thing.I took my car in for a steering rack recall and it ended up leaking dry the very next day.When I went back they denied everything.So it is the luck of the draw too.

Go back to them and be the biggest pain in the **** that you could possibly be, as with some people this is the only way to get through to them. If it leaked the next day don’t take no for an answer.

Cheers, Danny

VZSS250 · 18-04-2005, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loxxr6

The falcon ute def looks way hotter than the one piece look of the commie. Yuck.

Now you're just kidding yourself.

The next gen ute has to be one piece.

As for the sedan, it definitely needs a higher waistline. The current car has way too much glass which makes it look crap without the addition of sideskirts.

philstoj · 18-04-2005, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VZSS250

Now you're just kidding yourself.

The next gen ute has to be one piece.

No it should stay the way it is, it has been a sales succsess because of its versatility.
It is way more a workhorse than the commie ute the way it is, utes dont need that IRS crap, as they are supposed to be a workhorse, not a show pony...
try putting a tonne in the back of an SS ute :thebirds: where as my XR8 handles it fine and without a complaint

:

Dave_au · 18-04-2005, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianmcginley

Australian market could take advantage of cheap labour, quality materials and something that was negotiated last year called a "Free Trade Agreement".

We don't have one yet - that's what Howard is over there talking about at the moment - http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/...676650591.html

I think your refering to the drop on import tarriffs ?

rob_o · 18-04-2005, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philstoj

No it should stay the way it is, it has been a sales succsess because of its versatility.
It is way more a workhorse than the commie ute the way it is, utes dont need that IRS crap, as they are supposed to be a workhorse, not a show pony...
try putting a tonne in the back of an SS ute :thebirds: where as my XR8 handles it fine and without a complaint

:

1-tonne in an XR8? Can they really handle that much weight in the back?

XplosiveR6 · 18-04-2005, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philstoj

No it should stay the way it is, it has been a sales succsess because of its versatility.
It is way more a workhorse than the commie ute the way it is, utes dont need that IRS crap, as they are supposed to be a workhorse, not a show pony...
try putting a tonne in the back of an SS ute :thebirds: where as my XR8 handles it fine and without a complaint

:

lol, so true iRS in a ute is the stupidest thing i have ever heard, you would hate to have more weight on one side of the tray, the thing will drive lop sided. i think the SS utes are only rated at about 400kg or so, what a joke, enough capacity for the tool box and thats about it, its only for show.

turboute · 18-04-2005, 02:32 PM

I would like to see Ford do a limited run of a decent 'hero car' just to enhance the brands image - could use the supercharged engine from the GT40 - It would have to be something up in the ferrari type specifications for a substantially lower price. Maybe even a 2 door version of XR8 or similar. It would also have to be extremely light - making some of the panels / bonnet etc out of alloy could help. This could also help them set up for introducing similar parts into the standard range.

The other thing I would like to see would be a smaller rwd mid sized car with 2-3L engine and maybe performance versions of it.