Ford Go Further 2013

Bigger than Ben Hur

When Ford New Zealand’s communications man Tom Clancy invited us to a media event claiming it would be “bigger than Ben Hur” we could have been excused for thinking he was exaggerating just a little. But when we were bussed to a movie studio along with around 850 others we started to realise we were part of the cast in perhaps the largest single event hosted by any automotive brand in Australasia for a very long time, if not ever, and that this was a pretty big deal.

Hosted at Fox Studios in Sydney, attendees of Ford’s Go Further event included Australian and New Zealand motoring media, dealers, sales and service people from both sides of the Tasman as well as VIP Ford brand-loyal customers and enthusiasts. Not only that, but the show was fronted by Ford’s seriously heavy hitters from the USA and Asia Pacific region.

Ford Australia’s President and CEO, Bob Graziano kicked things off by saying there were two reasons for such an extravaganza. “Firstly, to show Ford’s commitment to Australia and New Zealand, and secondly, to share our vision for the future,” he said.

He was soon to be joined on stage by David Schoch (Ford Motor Company’s Group Vice President and President, Asia Pacific), James Farley (Group Vice President, Global Marketing Sales and Service) and Mark Fields (Chief Operating Officer).

Even the President and CEO was there

As important and senior in the Ford Empire as all these guys are, when Ford’s President and CEO Allan Mulally walked out onto the stage, there was no question that this event was very, very important to Ford. For Mulally to come Downunder, it was obvious that Clancy’s claim that this was going to be bigger than Ben Hur was no exaggeration.

Mulally came to Ford in September 2006 from Boeing where he was responsible for all of the company’s commercial airplane programs. He has sat on the advisory board to NASA and among the long list of major awards Mulally has under his belt are "Businessperson of the Year" as voted by the readers of Fortune magazine, "Industry Leader of the Year" awarded by Automotive News magazine and he has been named one of “The World’s Most Influential People” by TIME magazine.

There’s no question that Allan Mulally’s vision has been instrumental in turning the company around. In 2007 he launched the One Ford programme, a strategy devised to globalise Ford product, drawing from the company’s strengths and capabilities from all corners of the globe to produce a line of platforms and vehicles suitable for all world markets. And where many of Ford’s competitors continue to haemorrhage money or seek government bailouts, Ford has had black ink on the bottom line for the past sixteen consecutive quarters, so Mulally is definitely doing something right.  

The Go Further plan continues along the same philosophy, with Mulally saying the plan is “to deliver a future that’s even brighter, with a full family of vehicles.”

More to Ford than the Falcon

Now, a cynic might say that this monster event was merely a damage control mission, in an attempt to minimize fallout from the recent announcement that Ford’s Falcon, Territory and entire production facility in Australia will cease by 2016. However, although they’re obviously concerned about any potential brand damage in Australia, there was a lot more to it than that.

No question, the current Falcon is a very capable car but let’s face it, the sun is setting on the large car sector and in the 21st century it doesn’t make economic sense to produce any car that’s only sold in a market the size of Australasia. And when the entire segment only accounts for single digit market share on both sides of the Tasman, to continue building a model in such small numbers would equate to economic suicide. However, we will still see a revamped Falcon for 2014 which is planned to continue until 2016.

Although we’ll see the the closure of Ford’s Australian manufacturing arm, the Australian Design and Engineering team is clearly held in high regard and Ford remains committed to continuing with R & D in Australia as part of their Go Further plans. The 1,100 employees will remain and continue to work on developing Ford products of the future, with Dave Schoch saying “Ford Australia has a world class facility with highly talented people.” He said “there is a lot of engineering expertise in Australia – some of the best in the world.”

New models rolled out

Unveiled at the event were no fewer than four entirely new models, in addition to numerous facelifts, models that will be new to us and some new technologies. MyKey is one such technology, which allows a key to be programmed to limit speed, continue audible seat belt warnings, ensure ESP can’t be disabled etc, the idea being for parents to place limits on young drivers.

The forthcoming new Mondeo was shown in both hatch and wagon form, albeit in LHD configuration. We’re told that when it does reach our shores in around 18 month’s time, we’ll be offered petrol powered 1.5 litre EcoBoost and 2.0 litre EcoBoost engines and a 2.0 litre Duratorq diesel.

The Mondeo will be the first model to be built on Ford’s new global CD-segment global platform and we’re told to expect around 133kW/240Nm from the 1.5 EcoBoost engine which will have an integrated intake manifold and watercooled charge air cooler. There will also be various additional fuel saving devices, such as a clutch-controlled water pump to reduce warm up time.  

It will also be the first model to have inflatable rear seatbelts which are designed to reduce injury by rapidly expanding to disperse crash forces across a body area five times greater than conventional belts.

Other vehicles previewed were the large 7 seat SUV Everest concept vehicle which is based on the Aussie designed Ranger ute, a new Transit Cargo van and the attractive looking EcoSport which is a diminutive little SUV/Crossover based on the Fiesta platform. The EcoSport is offered with options of 1.0 litre three cylinder and 1.5 litre four pot powerplants, although Kiwi buyers will most likely get the 1.5 only as the 1.0 litre isn’t available with an automatic transmission.

And although nothing was said, an empty box with “SUV coming soon” written on it hinted that perhaps a new SUV between the Kuga and Everest is on the horizon. A likely Territory replacement?

Continuing with the global theme, petrolheads will be pleased to know that we’ve been promised a RHD Mustang for our market in the not too distant future. We’re led to believe there will be V8 and V6 models available here, with 2+2 Coupes initially, and Convertibles rumored to come later. 

The overall message was a positive one and quite convincing, however, the big wigs were reluctant to deviate from the script during the Q&A session, giving some rather guarded and indirect answers. But they did get their point across that Ford is a global brand, building global products with design features, safety, efficiency and value to compete into the future on a global stage.

But many of those present still wanted to talk about the Falcon and judging by some of the questions and post-event discussions, there is still a feeling in certain circles that Ford in Australia is Falcon. But the reality is that while perhaps it once was in our part of the world, that was then and this is now, and it’s time to Go Further with a full range of more relevant new product.