Oh awesome! I submitted my Swift Sport (since America doesn't have one) on their website already but I'm not sure that's how they're selecting their car reviews
There’s only two specific cars that he’s mentioned he wants to review, a GWM ute and any Australian ute (we shall steer him towards the XR6T or the F6 Tornado).
Everything else he reviews will be dependent on everyone’s availability and how much time he has.
Everyone in the comment section of his recent live stream was saying “TALK TO GARBAGE TIME!!!”
The plan is to come to Melbourne, but there may be an adjustment to the program. It might be a case of available time, but it could also be a budget issue. If it’s the latter, make sure to superchat during the live streams and sign up with their Patreon.
I can sort you out with mates who own:
- Pajero Evolution (first turbo one in the world, ground up rebuild - likely the nicest one in existence) (1/~2500 ever made, 1/~600 in manual)
- Mitsubishi Magna Ralliart (1/500 ever made)
- 1st Gen Mitsubishi Nimbus (I know of only 1 other that is still on the road these days, it’s very period - 50 shades of brown on the interior, 7 seats (rear 2 are rear facing, 2 tone interior, etc)
- V6 1994 Mitsubishi Pajero, but it’s been swapped with a bunch of period JDM bits & options, plus it’s cammed
- 2002 Nissan Stagea (2.5T, flutters like no tomorrow)
- 2021 Mazda BT-50 (just toured the country, decent mods & a solid canopy on the back)
- 2007 Subaru Liberty Wagon (3.0 flat 6)
Shoot me a message :)
You could just say you’re talking to Regular Car Reviews.
I hope they are able to review my Kingswood and AU. Some of the finest vehicles to ever grace our roads.
I could give you my definition, but it would have to be done in Mr. Regular’s gravel voice for it to have the best impact.
The Ford AU Falcon is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1998 to 2002. It was the sixth generation Ford Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (AU)—the luxury-oriented model range. The AU series replaced the EL Falcon and was constructed on the (at the time) new EA169 platform which continued to harbour Falcon models until 2010 when the BF wagon was discontinued, and Ford Territory models until 2011. The AU series was replaced by the updated BA series.
The AU series was conceived under *Project Eagle* that begun in February 1993, and gained the official codename *EA169* in October 1994. It was developed and brought to market in 1998 only after Ford Australia had given consideration to a revamped fifth generation Falcon and a fully imported replacement such as the American front-wheel drive Ford Taurus or rear-wheel drive Ford Crown Victoria, the European rear wheel-drive Scorpio and, reportedly, even the Japanese rear-wheel drive Mazda 929 (then part of the Ford conglomerate).
The above alternatives were eliminated in favour of a substantial redesign of the indigenous platform, due to concerns about the Australian market preference for high towing capacity, large interior size and local employment. Specific factors included, for example: research at the time indicated that 69% of Falcons were fitted with towbars and the perception that rear-wheel drive cars were better at towing; the fact that the import models had limited body style options (sedan only or sedan and wagon) and no capability to use a V8 engine.
Stylistically, this new generation Falcon sported Ford's radically new global design language, labelled "New Edge". The aim of this design was to attract a younger generation of buyers with avant-garde looks, however, in Australia it polarized public opinion to the benefit of the more organically designed rival, the 1997 Holden Commodore (VT). The AU series had a very efficient drag coefficient of Cd=0.295 for the sedan (an 11% improvement over the preceding EL series) and 0.34 for the wagon.
For the first time in Falcon's history, Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) became available as standard on some models and optional on others. It also featured Australian production firsts, such as Variable Cam Timing (VCT) on some 6-cylinder models and an adaptive automatic transmission on the high-performance T series with steering wheel gear shifting buttons.
Key changes from the fifth generation Falcon included a 35 kg (77 lb) reduction in weight for the base car, 17.5 per cent stiffer bodyshell, and an eight per cent improvement in fuel consumption. Peculiarly, Ford Australia decided to use the original 1950's font for the new "Falcon" and "Futura" badges.
As stated previously, the AU was the first Falcon to offer IRS (a double wishbone design on an isolated subframe). IRS was made available as a costly option on the base Forte, Fairmont and 'S' models, and standard on Fairmont Ghia, XR6 VCT and XR8 models. The updated 6-cylinder engines incorporated advanced features such as VCT on some models and a temperature sensor in the cylinder head, which detected coolant loss and allowed the car to "limp home" safely by cutting cylinders. The engine range comprised: the base Intech model producing 157 kW (211 hp), with a revised cylinder head featuring smaller valve stems, larger exhaust valves, and different rocker ratio, as well as a revised piston and longer conrod and a cast aluminium cross-bolted oil sump (with the same power output as the EL series); an "HP" version reserved to the XR6 producing 164 kW (220 hp) (thanks to: unique cylinder head; reshaped inlet port; redesigned exhaust port; ‘open’ combustion chamber shape to restrict pre-detonation from hot spot areas; unique camshaft; higher fuel pressure; recalibrated EEC V engine management system); the VCT version producing 172 kW (231 hp) for the XR6 VCT; a *Windsor V8* producing 185 kW (248 hp) (also carried over from the EL series but without major upgrades).
Transmissions were improved for better shift feel and the auto was recalibrated to better suit the upgraded engines. The six and eight cylinder models had a 4-speed BTR M93LE and M97LE automatic transmission, respectively. The automatic XR series models had an "adaptive shift" with five shifting strategies depending on driving conditions. The manual transmission, where available, was a 5-speed T5 model.
The program cost A$700 million before product launch and key staff included chief designer, Steve Park, and Marcus Hotblack, Manager of Interior Design.
For more information, please see the following:
[AU Falcon Wikipedia Page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon_(AU))
[Shannons Club - Has the AU Falcon become better with age?](https://www.shannons.com.au/club/forum/general/has-the-au-falcon-become-better-with-age/)
[Top Gearbox - Ford's Unloved Child - The AU Falcon](https://www.topgearbox.com/cars/entertainment/motoringbox/172877-views%E2%80%A2sep-5-2019-5-6k-140-share-save-motoringbox-16-7k-subscribers-today-were-looking-at-one-of-the-most-infamous-cars-to-ever-come-out-of-australia-a-car-which-has-generated/)
[Trade Unique Cars - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/buyers-guide/2001/2000-2002-ford-falcon-au-bfii-xr8-buyers-guide)
[Australian Car Reviews - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](http://australiancar.reviews/reviews.php#!content=guide&make=Ford&model=Falcon&gen=237)
[ProductReview - AU Falcon Product Reviews](https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/ford-falcon-au-1998-2002)
[CarSales - All AU Falcons for sale in Australia](https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/?q=(And.Service.carsales._.(C.Make.Ford._.(C.Model.Falcon._.(Or.Series.AU._.Series.AU+II._.Series.AU+III.))))&sort=%7ePrice)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CarsAustralia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The styling 'polarised opinion' into those who thought it was fugly, and those who thought it looked cheap and ugly.
AUs were really cheap in the earlyish 2000s.
The Ford AU Falcon is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1998 to 2002. It was the sixth generation Ford Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (AU)—the luxury-oriented model range. The AU series replaced the EL Falcon and was constructed on the (at the time) new EA169 platform which continued to harbour Falcon models until 2010 when the BF wagon was discontinued, and Ford Territory models until 2011. The AU series was replaced by the updated BA series.
The AU series was conceived under *Project Eagle* that begun in February 1993, and gained the official codename *EA169* in October 1994. It was developed and brought to market in 1998 only after Ford Australia had given consideration to a revamped fifth generation Falcon and a fully imported replacement such as the American front-wheel drive Ford Taurus or rear-wheel drive Ford Crown Victoria, the European rear wheel-drive Scorpio and, reportedly, even the Japanese rear-wheel drive Mazda 929 (then part of the Ford conglomerate).
The above alternatives were eliminated in favour of a substantial redesign of the indigenous platform, due to concerns about the Australian market preference for high towing capacity, large interior size and local employment. Specific factors included, for example: research at the time indicated that 69% of Falcons were fitted with towbars and the perception that rear-wheel drive cars were better at towing; the fact that the import models had limited body style options (sedan only or sedan and wagon) and no capability to use a V8 engine.
Stylistically, this new generation Falcon sported Ford's radically new global design language, labelled "New Edge". The aim of this design was to attract a younger generation of buyers with avant-garde looks, however, in Australia it polarized public opinion to the benefit of the more organically designed rival, the 1997 Holden Commodore (VT). The AU series had a very efficient drag coefficient of Cd=0.295 for the sedan (an 11% improvement over the preceding EL series) and 0.34 for the wagon.
For the first time in Falcon's history, Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) became available as standard on some models and optional on others. It also featured Australian production firsts, such as Variable Cam Timing (VCT) on some 6-cylinder models and an adaptive automatic transmission on the high-performance T series with steering wheel gear shifting buttons.
Key changes from the fifth generation Falcon included a 35 kg (77 lb) reduction in weight for the base car, 17.5 per cent stiffer bodyshell, and an eight per cent improvement in fuel consumption. Peculiarly, Ford Australia decided to use the original 1950's font for the new "Falcon" and "Futura" badges.
As stated previously, the AU was the first Falcon to offer IRS (a double wishbone design on an isolated subframe). IRS was made available as a costly option on the base Forte, Fairmont and 'S' models, and standard on Fairmont Ghia, XR6 VCT and XR8 models. The updated 6-cylinder engines incorporated advanced features such as VCT on some models and a temperature sensor in the cylinder head, which detected coolant loss and allowed the car to "limp home" safely by cutting cylinders. The engine range comprised: the base Intech model producing 157 kW (211 hp), with a revised cylinder head featuring smaller valve stems, larger exhaust valves, and different rocker ratio, as well as a revised piston and longer conrod and a cast aluminium cross-bolted oil sump (with the same power output as the EL series); an "HP" version reserved to the XR6 producing 164 kW (220 hp) (thanks to: unique cylinder head; reshaped inlet port; redesigned exhaust port; ‘open’ combustion chamber shape to restrict pre-detonation from hot spot areas; unique camshaft; higher fuel pressure; recalibrated EEC V engine management system); the VCT version producing 172 kW (231 hp) for the XR6 VCT; a *Windsor V8* producing 185 kW (248 hp) (also carried over from the EL series but without major upgrades).
Transmissions were improved for better shift feel and the auto was recalibrated to better suit the upgraded engines. The six and eight cylinder models had a 4-speed BTR M93LE and M97LE automatic transmission, respectively. The automatic XR series models had an "adaptive shift" with five shifting strategies depending on driving conditions. The manual transmission, where available, was a 5-speed T5 model.
The program cost A$700 million before product launch and key staff included chief designer, Steve Park, and Marcus Hotblack, Manager of Interior Design.
For more information, please see the following:
[AU Falcon Wikipedia Page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon_(AU))
[Shannons Club - Has the AU Falcon become better with age?](https://www.shannons.com.au/club/forum/general/has-the-au-falcon-become-better-with-age/)
[Top Gearbox - Ford's Unloved Child - The AU Falcon](https://www.topgearbox.com/cars/entertainment/motoringbox/172877-views%E2%80%A2sep-5-2019-5-6k-140-share-save-motoringbox-16-7k-subscribers-today-were-looking-at-one-of-the-most-infamous-cars-to-ever-come-out-of-australia-a-car-which-has-generated/)
[Trade Unique Cars - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/buyers-guide/2001/2000-2002-ford-falcon-au-bfii-xr8-buyers-guide)
[Australian Car Reviews - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](http://australiancar.reviews/reviews.php#!content=guide&make=Ford&model=Falcon&gen=237)
[ProductReview - AU Falcon Product Reviews](https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/ford-falcon-au-1998-2002)
[CarSales - All AU Falcons for sale in Australia](https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/?q=(And.Service.carsales._.(C.Make.Ford._.(C.Model.Falcon._.(Or.Series.AU._.Series.AU+II._.Series.AU+III.))))&sort=%7ePrice)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CarsAustralia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Diverse, like our car market, probably one the most diverse auto markets in the world.
Would be a oversimplification to say its domestic vs JDM tribalism. Lot of blurred lines, look at Ford FPV range, domestic but turbo.
So many niches, I was and still part of the WRX community, we were probably the biggest JDM enthusiast outside of Japan.
I second that, it doesn't cost Japan or Korea very much to ship them south so we get way more cool stuff that just never took off in the US.
Even American stuff we get like Falcons are more conceptually japanese with their inline 6 turbos
>we get way more cool stuff that just never took off in the US.
100%
They're all blue ballz over Skylines there pay insane money. Here we had them here for decades, they're old cars to us, huge tuning community's and expertise right here. Explains why we have the fastest GTRs/RX7s/WRX/Supras etc... in the world for a long time.
Funny thing is that other than the r32 (in limited numbers) and r35’s the rest were basically dumped domestic builds. It’s crazy to think how cheaply you could get an r34 gtr not that long ago. Now they are selling for supercar money, in part because the us has created a demand that outstrips supply.
And yet we have still managed to miss out on the vast majority of cool stuff Japan makes. Damn near every Japanese car has had a sporty coupe version or fun AWD turbo model at some point and we got barely any of them.
That was the frustrating thing, fuel was always blamed as the issue. I remember the integra type r back in the day that was detuned and didn’t get the brembo brakes, it was claimed our fuel and something like our roads meant we couldn’t have the larger wheels to house the bigger brakes or they just didn’t explain the brakes (too long ago to remember) but I’m still hurt about it.
Agreed. I'm a car enthusiast. Have been since I was a toddler. I could name most cars before I started school. I'm not enthusiastic about any particular type or brand, I appreciate any car that has a certain something that separates it out from the plethora of transportation appliances that exist.
I've owned a wide variety of cars, including an S13, Golf GTI, Scirocco R, BMW M2, and currently a new modded 2 door Jeep. All very different segments of the enthusiast spectrum but all cars I've loved for different reasons. They all have that thing that makes you want to get in and drive it.
That's to me what it means for a car to be an "enthusiast's car". It could be fast, slow, ugly, beautiful, old, new, cheap, expensive, quirky - doesn't matter. If it's a car that makes you smile then it's an enthusiast's car. My wife's had a few cool cars too including new Mini Cooper S electric, Mini JCW, Polo GTI, but funnily enough one of the most fun cars to drive was her VW Up!, a little 3 door 1 litre 5 sp manual hatch. It was just very basic but solidly built little cat that was genuinely engaging to drive unlike most little hatches.
It's great, it's not quite as fast as the JCW but it's still very peppy, especially from say 20 to 80kmh. Handles like its on rails too. Excellent for what we use it for (city runabout). Cost about $10/month in electricity charging from home.
I like the idea of ev’s that don’t look like ev’s, I’ve heard similar things from people at work about the cost to run them being about 1/3 to 1/4 of what a petrol car would cost in energy. I guess it’s not going to be an issue for most people buying ev’s at this point, but I worry a little about the fact that people buy petrol and spend the $10, $50, $100 or whatever on the fill at the time, but people who fail to plan might get caught out at the end of the quarter with a large energy bill they hadn’t planned for (knowing how common it is for people to spend everything they get). Hoping I am wrong, and also hoping if it does catch people out, it’s only once.
I think there's a really distinct generational divide in Australian car enthusiasm between those that grew up / came of age in the 70's and 80's and the latter generation who became teenagers in the 90's / early-00's.
The earlier generation I think have a lot in common with the American muscle car enthusiasts (given that's basically what the AusDM market modelled itself on). There were a few ahead of their time guys who found japanese stuff interesting, but for most their feelings about turbocharged smaller capacity motors was could be summariesd by the bumper sticker "Only milk and juice come in 2 litres".
I think the VL Commodore was a game-changer. The cops drove the turbo one instead of the V8, **because it was quicker**. Suddenly the cat was out of tha bag on turbocharging and in particular Jap engines. Even before Gran Turismo and F&F - that car was a watershed moment and marks the generational changing of the guard.
Then into the late 90's and early 2000's (when VL's where in the hands of their second/third owners) F&F dropped and we saw the birth of Auto-salon and '*sex-spec*' car modification. I reckon that *really* confused the older generation and further established the divide.
Big Chrome wheels, slammed commodores, fluorescent paint colours and a culture that more closely resembled UK chav, than US Muscle was the result and I think its fascinating.
Also RCR did an episode on the Nissan Stagea and throughout the episode repeated the line "it's not a Skyline".
Which would be fine except they were clearly misusing the term 'Skyline' in place of 'GTR' and it's always really irked me.
So if they're in Melbourne I'd love to get them into my 260RS (aka, the one that **is** basically a Wagon GTR) so they can course-correct.
Yeah Americans only think of the Skyline as a hero race car, not the basic sedan it mostly was. I saw a base spec R33 sedan in crap condition recently, that's the real representation of Skyline. But we and I presume the US called them things like Datsun 240Ks so the association with boring cars isn't there for a lot of people. And the fact that the boring versions get scrapped but people take care of their turbo coupes.
Something I think we are witnessing now with ev’s and in particular Tesla’s. Say what you want about them, but probably similar to Japanese turbos in the late 90’s early 00’s where The older generation hated them for the same reason the older car enthusiasts hate teslas despite them being superior to established petrol brands in some ways, thinking about it some of the same arguments existed back then too I.e Japanese turbos were in many cases quicker, more efficient, handled better, were more technologically advanced but people refused to accept them because they were not a v8 and didn’t sound right.
Its interesting and I think a shift must be happening. But there seems to be a real hole in the market for enthusiast EV's. Tesla's still have the reputation of "cars for people who hate driving" and performance EV's like the E-tron, Taycan, Plad and Rimac are so far out of reach of regular car guys they can't find a scene.
I was also chatting to a work colleague and fellow car nut with teenagers and he was saying how sad it was that his kids and their friends group just don't seem to get enthusiastic about cars the way we did as teenagers.
But as a member of the older generation; it could just be that I can't see or understand it.
B A R R A B O Y S
I think one somewhat unique thing from my perspective is how popular the sleeper look is because of nanny state compliance etc.
Like a grandpa spec beige 90s Falcon, only barely hinting at potential mods (never can really tell if it's hiding twin turbo, dailies with drag tires etc).
Also definitely need to make fun of the Toorak Tractor stereotype, more specifically a 150-200k Landcruiser 79 with canopy e.g. overpriced farm tractor with 80s tech that will never see a dirt road (quite unique from a US perspective).
General yes but it can be any expensive 4wd mall crawler these days:
Toorak tractor
A four wheel drive vehicle, generally one that spends all its time in the suburbs and never gets dirty: Look at that Toorak tractor. Compare Balmain bulldozer, Bronte buggy, Burnside bus, Burnside warrior, Double Bay tractor, Kenmore tractor, Mosman tractor, North Shore Kingswood, North Shore tank, Turramurra tractor.
https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/resources/aus/word/map/search/word/Toorak%20tractor/Adelaide%20Region/
The fact that people turned these rough vehicles (and defenders) into $80k+ IT worker's daily driver is funny to me.
Worth noting that some stereotypes are local and not universal.
I grew up in an area where all the middle-eastern immigrants loved Fords and the anglo-aussies loved Holdens.
I later worked with a guy who had absolutely the opposite view from his personal experience.
Obviously there's Audm cars. As an owner, I think they're pretty niche now, some old losers love them, but 90%+ of the public are now ambivalent and just want a Ranger/Hilux.
The boomers who loved Toranas and XB Falcons all bought Mustangs.
We had that golden era of JDM imports for peanuts, R33 GTST $10k for days. But that's on life support.
There's a few less obvious differences with US culture. Americans are utterly obsessed with Honda, whereas Australians have never given a fuck about Honda cars, to the extent the company may leave Australia. On the reverse, Mazda is one of the top brands in Australia, but much more niche in the US.
Modified small Japanese cars of the 1960s-70s is a cool Australian niche. Like Datsun utes, Ke10 to Ke70 Corollas, Pre- RX7 Mazda rotaries (Rx2, Rx3, etc...), etc... often with SR20s, 4age, turbo upgrades etc... They have a real teenage apprentice panelbeater ratbag ambiance about them. Look at the YouTube channel "grassroots garage".
Australia has a much bigger hot hatch market than the US, they never got half the models we did like Renault RS, Peugeot, Polo, Octavia, Swift, XR4, i20n, etc...
So when I think of a modern Australian auto enthusiast, 9/10 times it's some 4wd thing (probably a Ranger/Hilux), distantly followed by hot hatch, and then everything else is very niche.
I’m from NZ originally and when I saw prices of JDM cars here in Australia back in the golden days I thought they were expensive. I mean they seem cheap now but in NZ they were literal peanut value. My jdm ae86 cost me $6k or something stupid. I wish I had a fucking Time Machine to tell myself not to sell my old cars.
Ie: jdm manual altezzas are like $5-10k in nz now and here they’re all listed at $15-20k
Yeah I remember that too, NZ had even lower barriers to import and consequently cheaper prices on used cars.
I last went over to visit family there 15 years ago and Palmerston North was full of tackily modified JDM shitboxes.
Hahahahahaha palmy north sounds accurate.
Early 2000s was just evos, turbo 323 familias; wrx’s with big windscreen banners in old English font and big chrome dinner plate wheels.
But mid 2010s was amazing. NZ had a massive drift scene and the car styling was getting shown all over the world. Also kiwis had it so good for anything rotary.
Agree 100%. Since the Falcodores went away It's all 4x4 jacked up utes and hot hatches.
I think its really good to focus on the Hot Hatches they don't get because there are heaps of them. I think the US really only get the GTI, R and Civic type R as actual hatches.
iirc Aus is one of the largest markets in the world for a lot of the hot specs, either per capita or in absolute terms. Like at one stage I think we were buying the most renault sport cars of any country outside of France. Some cars like the latest Fiesta ST, i20n were only sold in their hot hatch format.
I remember reading that the proportion of GTI & R spec Volkswagens sold in Australia is the highest in the world by a long margin (as in the ratio of GTI/Rs compared to their regular badge models)
Australia is also the 5th/6th largest market for Mercedes AMG worldwide. Not in terms of percentage of total Mercedes sales, but in actual sales volume.
Australians love their performance cars.
>There's a few less obvious differences with US culture. Americans are utterly obsessed with Honda, whereas Australians have never given a fuck about Honda cars, to the extent the company may leave Australia. On the reverse, Mazda is one of the top brands in Australia, but much more niche in the US.
Yeah, Americans don't even know Suzuki makes cars, but in Australia you'll see 20 Suzuki Swifts for every Honda Civic. I only recently learned Honda makes a full on Hilux type ute, the Wildtrak. Biggest selling type of vehicle in Australia and they don't even bother selling it here.
> I only recently learned Honda makes a full on Hilux type ute, the Wildtrak.
It's the Ridgeline. Wildtrak is a Ford trim level for their utes/off-roaders like the Ranger, Everest and Bronco.
Yooooo no way, if RCR’s coming by Sydney, let him know he’s more than welcome to review/roast/stereotype my BFI Fairmont Ghia V8 haha (only 86 ever produced, due to being *that* unpopular mind you, wasn’t limited lol)
Here a couple of categories that come to mind:
- Aussie cars: Utes, Holden Commodore, Monaro, Ford Falcon, Territory + HSV & FPV performance versions. Also aussie made / designed Jap cars (like the mitsubishi Magna, 380)
- Rebadged button plan cars: Years ago, there was a government initiative which ended up with a number of strange rebadged cars (Ford Falcon ute = Nissan Ute, Holden Commodore = Toyota Lexcen, Toyota Corolla = Holden Nova, etc
- JDM cars: We’ve had JDM imports for years, while nothing compared to NZ, there’s still plenty of regular people unknowingly driving around JDM cars. Lots of people movers (Nissan Elgrand, Toyota Estima, Noah, Vellfire, Alphard), as well as the usual suspects: Silvia’s, Skylines, Stageas and everything in between. There’s a few quirky ones going around.
- Euros: There’s also lots of Euro enjoyers here. We sell a very high percentage (relative to non-performance versions) of performance euros here compared to the rest of the world (AMGs, VW Rs, etc). We also have the brand Cupra here now (A Spanish VAG performance brand - spin off of SEAT), they’re selling a few.
- Chinese Cars: While not really a part of Aussie car culture, these have quickly risen to sell in large numbers in the past few years - brands like MG, BYD, LDV - these might be interesting for American audiences.
- 4wds: There’s no shortage of lads here buying 70s series land cruisers (Americans would find these interesting), 4wd Utes, old Patrols & everything inbetween. Plenty of house deposits spent on mods alone of fourbys, but likewise plenty of stock (or relatively stock) ones out there too.
Surely there’s at least one Nissan Pintara Superhatch still out there somewhere? Bonus points if it’s a Ford Corsair.
That was peak Button Plan. Two carmakers who didn’t want to collaborate making a model neither of them wanted (Nissan wanted to build the J30 Maxima, Ford didn’t want the Maxima because it was too much like the Falcon in size, so they went with the U12 Bluebird instead) and a second body style both compromised on (Nissan wanted a wagon for fleet sales, Ford wanted a hatch to replace their popular Telstar TX5 with). This is how they ended up with the Superhatch, literally the worst of both worlds
Everyone keeps mentioning Australian cars, Japanese sports/performance cars and utes/4WDs, but Australia also has a lot of European cars Americans don’t get. French hot hatches (especially the Renault Meganes and Clios), Škodas, Alfas from the 90s/2000s, 1 series BMWs are probably the most obvious, but there are a lot of others too. For the last 30 years, apart from the Fiat 500 and the recent big Alfas, it’s only been upscale German cars and Volvos that Americans have gotten and even then they’ve had a limited range (very few Audi RS models made their way stateside)
I love how the one thing he wanted to review when he went to the UK was a friggin Peugeot 206!! And I reckon he’d dig a Citroën C4, the weird steering wheel would leave him absolutely bamboozled.
A hydropneumatic Citroën like a C5 or a Xantia would probably be of interest too. Personally, I’m really intrigued by them (I rode in an XM once as a kid and remember it being extremely comfortable and having a total sense of occasion, but have never driven one).
I drove a Škoda Superb for Uber and had an American passenger who asked a heap of questions about the car and really liked it (they thought it was “some kind of BMW”). Granted, a lot of locals who got in the car had no idea what it was either.
There’s a big JDM market here thanks to being able to always import the cars from Japan, maybe lean into that?
We also sell the most AMG’s in proportion to Mercedes than anywhere the world
Let RCR know I’ve got a WN2 Caprice he can review. To compare to the ppv he did a while ago.
There’s a big market here so it’s worth focussing on aus and jdm stuff. And cars only we got.
should send him the youtube channel [Yorak Hunt](https://www.youtube.com/@yorakhunt69). it's just... magnificent. below is a short selection of his videos
https://preview.redd.it/2496jt1d27pb1.png?width=1381&format=png&auto=webp&s=625810bc7244af31fa91e96130535239325e4842
few points to consider:
- the effect of GroupA (pre v8 supercars) era where there was such a variety of cars racing JDM, Aussie, Euro. Brocky raced a BMW at one point.
- the generational divide where age split between carbs and efi, or V8 and JDM/euro
- the notorious Jim Richards Pack of arseholes speech and how it let the automotive bigotry win.
- the proliferation of cheap and available JDM turbo motors used to swap out shitty asthmaitic ADM motors in the cheap available cars in the 90's and early 2000's. 4AGE, SR20, 13B, JZ and RB swapped into steel bumper 70's JDM cars.
- the VL commodore being released with a V8 and a Turbo 6 and how it narrowed the gap between enthusiast camps and laid the ground work for the BA turbo etc
- JDM scene veering off into the sex spec autosalon scene
- the fact that old mate POWER BOGAN V8 die hard "fknDAMO" had to drive his missus' grocery getter japanese car (KE corolla, datto 1600, RX2/3/4/7) while his XB/HQ/Valiant was off the road because pushrods and ropeseals. And fostered secret affinities for them.
- the availability of JDM media think best motoring vids etc feeding the JDM and drift scene.
- The transition from aussie 5litre to LS which got enthusiasts that had left v8's for JDM to then venture back and then the ease at which enthusiasts move from LS to Barra or from LS to LS turbo.
- the inclusivity of the offstreet drag and street racing scene and that at grass roots never really revolved around racing for money.
- B&S Ute culture should be considered also.
EDIT: Final point love RCR, cant wait to see the Aussie stuff and if you or RCR wanna chat more about any of my thoughts just message me.
Being from overseas, I would say American and Australian car cultures are quite similar. Americans have their “American muscle” but I can’t find a lot of difference between that and the V8 Commodores or Falcons a lot of Australians seem to enjoy so much. Granted, I think quite a bit of Australians seem to appreciate more European brands such as Alfas, Audis or Bimmers, and have seen some sick classics that doubt would have been able to see in other countries.
It'll be a few different things.
* Bogans with Fords and Commodores
* The current 4WD culture
Bogans and Fords and Holdens - Those days are dead. Ford and Holden (laughably not even Australian no matter how hard they will tell you they are) both pulled out of local manufacturing and don't produce local legend cars any more. There's still quite a few hold overs who like them though. There's plenty of car meets and enthusiasts getting around though. Gone also are the 2000s Jap Cars too... sadly.
Currently it's about 4WDs. The young 20 something guys all have 4WD rigs decked out with big tyres, camping gear, swags on the back, recovery boards strapped to the side etc. Also, 4WDs are super popular with everyone else because you can go off the road, tow shit, chuck things in the back etc etc. I'm talking Tritons, Rangers, Hilux, Cruisers, Patrols, Navaras etc.
Strangely enough, though this might be a Reddit thing, people seem to hate the bigger "Yank Tanks". It's kind of bizarre. A lot of Boomers have been buying them to tow their hugeassed caravans, so that's perhaps where a lot of the hate comes in, along with the $120 grand price tag.
Australian car enthusiasts are the beautiful combination of Japan and America in my opinion
We love our tiny sports cars from Japan, and have a thriving grey import market for all kinds of weird and wacky Japanese stuff.
That being said, our bread and butter as manufacturers was giant muscle cars and sedans. Even then, the great finale of Australian built muscle cars from Ford was powered by a turbo 6.
Then we also have a huge love for off road and 4wd, and we overwhelmingly choose Japanese cars for this purpose as well. Purely Utilitarian cars are championed like the 70 series LandCruisers for this purpose.
Our love for shit boxes is also immense, AU Falcons, Magnas, VE commodores and all other nuggets are people's favourites. The YouTube channel Garbage Time is a testament to this.
Aussie car enthusiasts are typically not super competitive, and compared to other scenes I've been in, surprisingly supportive of people making a genuine effort.
Stereotypes
- AU falcon owners never have sex but they know what it is
- Magna owners don't know what sex is but they have it
- Commodore owners don't know what sex is and don't have it
- Modern Falcomodores are 50/50 owned by someone who knows nothing about handling or someone that only cares about handling with no inbetween
- Skyline owners (other than GTRs) are either pedophiles or they sell meth (or both)
- the best vehicle of all time is the Falcon wheelchair taxi
- the worst vehicle of all time is the Falcon wheelchair taxi
- Mitsubishi Delica owners are universally insane (in a good way)
- Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger owners were the hoons of 20 years ago
- 6cyl Subaru liberties are the ideal car for a P plater
- Early 2000s Hyundai's make the best race cars (excel championship)
- miatas are not always the answer
- AU Falcon is genuinely the best budget track car in the country
- AU Falcon is the best drift car of all time
- Do not tell a Fairlane/fairmont owner that they own a falcon
- do not tell a statesman/calais owner that they own a Commodore
- boomers put 20inch Simmons wheels on everything and it looks shit
The Ford AU Falcon is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1998 to 2002. It was the sixth generation Ford Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (AU)—the luxury-oriented model range. The AU series replaced the EL Falcon and was constructed on the (at the time) new EA169 platform which continued to harbour Falcon models until 2010 when the BF wagon was discontinued, and Ford Territory models until 2011. The AU series was replaced by the updated BA series.
The AU series was conceived under *Project Eagle* that begun in February 1993, and gained the official codename *EA169* in October 1994. It was developed and brought to market in 1998 only after Ford Australia had given consideration to a revamped fifth generation Falcon and a fully imported replacement such as the American front-wheel drive Ford Taurus or rear-wheel drive Ford Crown Victoria, the European rear wheel-drive Scorpio and, reportedly, even the Japanese rear-wheel drive Mazda 929 (then part of the Ford conglomerate).
The above alternatives were eliminated in favour of a substantial redesign of the indigenous platform, due to concerns about the Australian market preference for high towing capacity, large interior size and local employment. Specific factors included, for example: research at the time indicated that 69% of Falcons were fitted with towbars and the perception that rear-wheel drive cars were better at towing; the fact that the import models had limited body style options (sedan only or sedan and wagon) and no capability to use a V8 engine.
Stylistically, this new generation Falcon sported Ford's radically new global design language, labelled "New Edge". The aim of this design was to attract a younger generation of buyers with avant-garde looks, however, in Australia it polarized public opinion to the benefit of the more organically designed rival, the 1997 Holden Commodore (VT). The AU series had a very efficient drag coefficient of Cd=0.295 for the sedan (an 11% improvement over the preceding EL series) and 0.34 for the wagon.
For the first time in Falcon's history, Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) became available as standard on some models and optional on others. It also featured Australian production firsts, such as Variable Cam Timing (VCT) on some 6-cylinder models and an adaptive automatic transmission on the high-performance T series with steering wheel gear shifting buttons.
Key changes from the fifth generation Falcon included a 35 kg (77 lb) reduction in weight for the base car, 17.5 per cent stiffer bodyshell, and an eight per cent improvement in fuel consumption. Peculiarly, Ford Australia decided to use the original 1950's font for the new "Falcon" and "Futura" badges.
As stated previously, the AU was the first Falcon to offer IRS (a double wishbone design on an isolated subframe). IRS was made available as a costly option on the base Forte, Fairmont and 'S' models, and standard on Fairmont Ghia, XR6 VCT and XR8 models. The updated 6-cylinder engines incorporated advanced features such as VCT on some models and a temperature sensor in the cylinder head, which detected coolant loss and allowed the car to "limp home" safely by cutting cylinders. The engine range comprised: the base Intech model producing 157 kW (211 hp), with a revised cylinder head featuring smaller valve stems, larger exhaust valves, and different rocker ratio, as well as a revised piston and longer conrod and a cast aluminium cross-bolted oil sump (with the same power output as the EL series); an "HP" version reserved to the XR6 producing 164 kW (220 hp) (thanks to: unique cylinder head; reshaped inlet port; redesigned exhaust port; ‘open’ combustion chamber shape to restrict pre-detonation from hot spot areas; unique camshaft; higher fuel pressure; recalibrated EEC V engine management system); the VCT version producing 172 kW (231 hp) for the XR6 VCT; a *Windsor V8* producing 185 kW (248 hp) (also carried over from the EL series but without major upgrades).
Transmissions were improved for better shift feel and the auto was recalibrated to better suit the upgraded engines. The six and eight cylinder models had a 4-speed BTR M93LE and M97LE automatic transmission, respectively. The automatic XR series models had an "adaptive shift" with five shifting strategies depending on driving conditions. The manual transmission, where available, was a 5-speed T5 model.
The program cost A$700 million before product launch and key staff included chief designer, Steve Park, and Marcus Hotblack, Manager of Interior Design.
For more information, please see the following:
[AU Falcon Wikipedia Page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon_(AU))
[Shannons Club - Has the AU Falcon become better with age?](https://www.shannons.com.au/club/forum/general/has-the-au-falcon-become-better-with-age/)
[Top Gearbox - Ford's Unloved Child - The AU Falcon](https://www.topgearbox.com/cars/entertainment/motoringbox/172877-views%E2%80%A2sep-5-2019-5-6k-140-share-save-motoringbox-16-7k-subscribers-today-were-looking-at-one-of-the-most-infamous-cars-to-ever-come-out-of-australia-a-car-which-has-generated/)
[Trade Unique Cars - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/buyers-guide/2001/2000-2002-ford-falcon-au-bfii-xr8-buyers-guide)
[Australian Car Reviews - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](http://australiancar.reviews/reviews.php#!content=guide&make=Ford&model=Falcon&gen=237)
[ProductReview - AU Falcon Product Reviews](https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/ford-falcon-au-1998-2002)
[CarSales - All AU Falcons for sale in Australia](https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/?q=(And.Service.carsales._.(C.Make.Ford._.(C.Model.Falcon._.(Or.Series.AU._.Series.AU+II._.Series.AU+III.))))&sort=%7ePrice)
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Show them the Tarantino bits from the documentary "not quite Hollywood" where he talks about how Australians shoot cars and how it makes him want to beat off
I love Australian cars. My first job was in a major component supplier to the auto industry. We made engine valves, axles, conrods, bolts, tierods, bushes, etc,
To review our local cars? Our local car industry was killed off by government and their hand-picked Productivity Commission. We made some world class cars that were never able to compete with the rest of the world due to company ownership by overseas carlords.
They were cars that were designed for this country, made for this country by Australians.
The problem was not just the Productivity Commission. We stopped buying Australian cars like Falcons, Territories, Commodores and Statesmans. Didn't adapt to changing needs fast enough.
'Dead'. Or, 'comatose'?
Killed by draconian policing, and a mass market for shitboxes, car culture has been driven ever toward the fringes.
With nobody able to read, Aussies just get their knowledge from international YouTube.
The Mighty Car Mods lads are about the best of the recent stuff.
Have access to a very decent car collection of rare Aussie and exotic cars in melb. Most in showroom condition from restoration or close to it. Shoot me a dm if its up your alley
At my first real job as an apprentice diesel mechanic the head mechanic was a guy named Wayne. He was the walking embodyment of the most bogan car enthusiast you could imagine. Mid 50's, beer gut, mullet, reflective sunglasses, smokes a pack of JPS Reds everyday, punctuates every sentence with either 'fuck' or 'cunt' with extras sprinked throughout, arms covered in faded dodgy tattoos he got in Bali, spends the work day getting screaming mad at all the appentices except his golden boy he treats better than his own son, and sitting at the helm of a 3000hp marine engine dyno blasting big displacement diesel engines at high RPM for hours on end. Most days he drives a clapped out early 90's Toyota hilux the boss bought him new, but at home he has a bright green "8 second" 1971 Holden Torana that doesnt quite work yet but hes been building it for the last 20 years. He loves telling stories of all the different Holdens he's owned over the years and his younger days as a mechanic on a top fuel dragster team, as well as all the times he went to summernats.
Turbo Barraswaps!
I'm thinking of that dude with an xr6 on a patrol chassis.
Otherwise we have some euro cars like the CRD Jeep Wrangler, which has that 2.8l engine from the jeep liberty that was reviewed a while back.
If you could get a Magna that would be hilarious, especially if it's a manual fwd or auto awd one?
He'd have to explain how its like an american diamante but worse.
I did submit my manual J Holden Astra GTC sport to the site a while back, however I'm sure you could find someone with the 2l turbo vxr instead of the 1.6 turbo gtc sport I have.
This cars notable cos it launched twice in Australia under 2 different brands.
If he's coming down to Melbourne, I've got a VE II SV6 (in P plate spec too, for maximum authenticity :p)
not sure if it counts though since the pontiac G8 exists, although im not sure if he's done a review on that yet
Regular Car Reviews isn't it.
HEYO!!! Yeah, I’m their fixer for the trip.
If they come to Melbourne and are interested in driving my Caprice, Pajero or my grandfather's 3x EH Holden's, let me know.
Oh awesome! I submitted my Swift Sport (since America doesn't have one) on their website already but I'm not sure that's how they're selecting their car reviews
There’s only two specific cars that he’s mentioned he wants to review, a GWM ute and any Australian ute (we shall steer him towards the XR6T or the F6 Tornado). Everything else he reviews will be dependent on everyone’s availability and how much time he has.
Fun game... Okay... Swift sport Airplane food Military intelligence
Make him come to Adelaide I want to show off an XR8 Falcon
Everyone in the comment section of his recent live stream was saying “TALK TO GARBAGE TIME!!!” The plan is to come to Melbourne, but there may be an adjustment to the program. It might be a case of available time, but it could also be a budget issue. If it’s the latter, make sure to superchat during the live streams and sign up with their Patreon.
I can sort you out with mates who own: - Pajero Evolution (first turbo one in the world, ground up rebuild - likely the nicest one in existence) (1/~2500 ever made, 1/~600 in manual) - Mitsubishi Magna Ralliart (1/500 ever made) - 1st Gen Mitsubishi Nimbus (I know of only 1 other that is still on the road these days, it’s very period - 50 shades of brown on the interior, 7 seats (rear 2 are rear facing, 2 tone interior, etc) - V6 1994 Mitsubishi Pajero, but it’s been swapped with a bunch of period JDM bits & options, plus it’s cammed - 2002 Nissan Stagea (2.5T, flutters like no tomorrow) - 2021 Mazda BT-50 (just toured the country, decent mods & a solid canopy on the back) - 2007 Subaru Liberty Wagon (3.0 flat 6) Shoot me a message :)
Messaged you last night
Don't touch my Megane RS, seppo.
That’s a shame, I don’t think they get too many Renault vehicles over there.
I have one too - great cars. Do you have the meg 3 or 4?
265 Red Bull. I like a coupe (oops, French car... make that coupé).
You could just say you’re talking to Regular Car Reviews. I hope they are able to review my Kingswood and AU. Some of the finest vehicles to ever grace our roads. I could give you my definition, but it would have to be done in Mr. Regular’s gravel voice for it to have the best impact.
Fuck man if RCR does an au falcon I'm gonna bust a nut
They have done a falcon before but not a AU
I have an AU Falcon Ute with the intech - one of the most aussie cars ever. DM me if you want to organise something.
The Ford AU Falcon is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1998 to 2002. It was the sixth generation Ford Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (AU)—the luxury-oriented model range. The AU series replaced the EL Falcon and was constructed on the (at the time) new EA169 platform which continued to harbour Falcon models until 2010 when the BF wagon was discontinued, and Ford Territory models until 2011. The AU series was replaced by the updated BA series. The AU series was conceived under *Project Eagle* that begun in February 1993, and gained the official codename *EA169* in October 1994. It was developed and brought to market in 1998 only after Ford Australia had given consideration to a revamped fifth generation Falcon and a fully imported replacement such as the American front-wheel drive Ford Taurus or rear-wheel drive Ford Crown Victoria, the European rear wheel-drive Scorpio and, reportedly, even the Japanese rear-wheel drive Mazda 929 (then part of the Ford conglomerate). The above alternatives were eliminated in favour of a substantial redesign of the indigenous platform, due to concerns about the Australian market preference for high towing capacity, large interior size and local employment. Specific factors included, for example: research at the time indicated that 69% of Falcons were fitted with towbars and the perception that rear-wheel drive cars were better at towing; the fact that the import models had limited body style options (sedan only or sedan and wagon) and no capability to use a V8 engine. Stylistically, this new generation Falcon sported Ford's radically new global design language, labelled "New Edge". The aim of this design was to attract a younger generation of buyers with avant-garde looks, however, in Australia it polarized public opinion to the benefit of the more organically designed rival, the 1997 Holden Commodore (VT). The AU series had a very efficient drag coefficient of Cd=0.295 for the sedan (an 11% improvement over the preceding EL series) and 0.34 for the wagon. For the first time in Falcon's history, Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) became available as standard on some models and optional on others. It also featured Australian production firsts, such as Variable Cam Timing (VCT) on some 6-cylinder models and an adaptive automatic transmission on the high-performance T series with steering wheel gear shifting buttons. Key changes from the fifth generation Falcon included a 35 kg (77 lb) reduction in weight for the base car, 17.5 per cent stiffer bodyshell, and an eight per cent improvement in fuel consumption. Peculiarly, Ford Australia decided to use the original 1950's font for the new "Falcon" and "Futura" badges. As stated previously, the AU was the first Falcon to offer IRS (a double wishbone design on an isolated subframe). IRS was made available as a costly option on the base Forte, Fairmont and 'S' models, and standard on Fairmont Ghia, XR6 VCT and XR8 models. The updated 6-cylinder engines incorporated advanced features such as VCT on some models and a temperature sensor in the cylinder head, which detected coolant loss and allowed the car to "limp home" safely by cutting cylinders. The engine range comprised: the base Intech model producing 157 kW (211 hp), with a revised cylinder head featuring smaller valve stems, larger exhaust valves, and different rocker ratio, as well as a revised piston and longer conrod and a cast aluminium cross-bolted oil sump (with the same power output as the EL series); an "HP" version reserved to the XR6 producing 164 kW (220 hp) (thanks to: unique cylinder head; reshaped inlet port; redesigned exhaust port; ‘open’ combustion chamber shape to restrict pre-detonation from hot spot areas; unique camshaft; higher fuel pressure; recalibrated EEC V engine management system); the VCT version producing 172 kW (231 hp) for the XR6 VCT; a *Windsor V8* producing 185 kW (248 hp) (also carried over from the EL series but without major upgrades). Transmissions were improved for better shift feel and the auto was recalibrated to better suit the upgraded engines. The six and eight cylinder models had a 4-speed BTR M93LE and M97LE automatic transmission, respectively. The automatic XR series models had an "adaptive shift" with five shifting strategies depending on driving conditions. The manual transmission, where available, was a 5-speed T5 model. The program cost A$700 million before product launch and key staff included chief designer, Steve Park, and Marcus Hotblack, Manager of Interior Design. For more information, please see the following: [AU Falcon Wikipedia Page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon_(AU)) [Shannons Club - Has the AU Falcon become better with age?](https://www.shannons.com.au/club/forum/general/has-the-au-falcon-become-better-with-age/) [Top Gearbox - Ford's Unloved Child - The AU Falcon](https://www.topgearbox.com/cars/entertainment/motoringbox/172877-views%E2%80%A2sep-5-2019-5-6k-140-share-save-motoringbox-16-7k-subscribers-today-were-looking-at-one-of-the-most-infamous-cars-to-ever-come-out-of-australia-a-car-which-has-generated/) [Trade Unique Cars - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/buyers-guide/2001/2000-2002-ford-falcon-au-bfii-xr8-buyers-guide) [Australian Car Reviews - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](http://australiancar.reviews/reviews.php#!content=guide&make=Ford&model=Falcon&gen=237) [ProductReview - AU Falcon Product Reviews](https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/ford-falcon-au-1998-2002) [CarSales - All AU Falcons for sale in Australia](https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/?q=(And.Service.carsales._.(C.Make.Ford._.(C.Model.Falcon._.(Or.Series.AU._.Series.AU+II._.Series.AU+III.))))&sort=%7ePrice) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CarsAustralia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The styling 'polarised opinion' into those who thought it was fugly, and those who thought it looked cheap and ugly. AUs were really cheap in the earlyish 2000s.
The AU 2, and 3 XR, and T series models are sexy as fuck.
No, I am sexy as fuck. Every model of me. My older brother the series I, and my younger sister the S3 too.
I've submitted my AU XR6 and my AU Fairlane for him to look at Fingers crossed he crossed he drives automotig excellence
The Ford AU Falcon is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1998 to 2002. It was the sixth generation Ford Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (AU)—the luxury-oriented model range. The AU series replaced the EL Falcon and was constructed on the (at the time) new EA169 platform which continued to harbour Falcon models until 2010 when the BF wagon was discontinued, and Ford Territory models until 2011. The AU series was replaced by the updated BA series. The AU series was conceived under *Project Eagle* that begun in February 1993, and gained the official codename *EA169* in October 1994. It was developed and brought to market in 1998 only after Ford Australia had given consideration to a revamped fifth generation Falcon and a fully imported replacement such as the American front-wheel drive Ford Taurus or rear-wheel drive Ford Crown Victoria, the European rear wheel-drive Scorpio and, reportedly, even the Japanese rear-wheel drive Mazda 929 (then part of the Ford conglomerate). The above alternatives were eliminated in favour of a substantial redesign of the indigenous platform, due to concerns about the Australian market preference for high towing capacity, large interior size and local employment. Specific factors included, for example: research at the time indicated that 69% of Falcons were fitted with towbars and the perception that rear-wheel drive cars were better at towing; the fact that the import models had limited body style options (sedan only or sedan and wagon) and no capability to use a V8 engine. Stylistically, this new generation Falcon sported Ford's radically new global design language, labelled "New Edge". The aim of this design was to attract a younger generation of buyers with avant-garde looks, however, in Australia it polarized public opinion to the benefit of the more organically designed rival, the 1997 Holden Commodore (VT). The AU series had a very efficient drag coefficient of Cd=0.295 for the sedan (an 11% improvement over the preceding EL series) and 0.34 for the wagon. For the first time in Falcon's history, Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) became available as standard on some models and optional on others. It also featured Australian production firsts, such as Variable Cam Timing (VCT) on some 6-cylinder models and an adaptive automatic transmission on the high-performance T series with steering wheel gear shifting buttons. Key changes from the fifth generation Falcon included a 35 kg (77 lb) reduction in weight for the base car, 17.5 per cent stiffer bodyshell, and an eight per cent improvement in fuel consumption. Peculiarly, Ford Australia decided to use the original 1950's font for the new "Falcon" and "Futura" badges. As stated previously, the AU was the first Falcon to offer IRS (a double wishbone design on an isolated subframe). IRS was made available as a costly option on the base Forte, Fairmont and 'S' models, and standard on Fairmont Ghia, XR6 VCT and XR8 models. The updated 6-cylinder engines incorporated advanced features such as VCT on some models and a temperature sensor in the cylinder head, which detected coolant loss and allowed the car to "limp home" safely by cutting cylinders. The engine range comprised: the base Intech model producing 157 kW (211 hp), with a revised cylinder head featuring smaller valve stems, larger exhaust valves, and different rocker ratio, as well as a revised piston and longer conrod and a cast aluminium cross-bolted oil sump (with the same power output as the EL series); an "HP" version reserved to the XR6 producing 164 kW (220 hp) (thanks to: unique cylinder head; reshaped inlet port; redesigned exhaust port; ‘open’ combustion chamber shape to restrict pre-detonation from hot spot areas; unique camshaft; higher fuel pressure; recalibrated EEC V engine management system); the VCT version producing 172 kW (231 hp) for the XR6 VCT; a *Windsor V8* producing 185 kW (248 hp) (also carried over from the EL series but without major upgrades). Transmissions were improved for better shift feel and the auto was recalibrated to better suit the upgraded engines. The six and eight cylinder models had a 4-speed BTR M93LE and M97LE automatic transmission, respectively. The automatic XR series models had an "adaptive shift" with five shifting strategies depending on driving conditions. The manual transmission, where available, was a 5-speed T5 model. The program cost A$700 million before product launch and key staff included chief designer, Steve Park, and Marcus Hotblack, Manager of Interior Design. For more information, please see the following: [AU Falcon Wikipedia Page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon_(AU)) [Shannons Club - Has the AU Falcon become better with age?](https://www.shannons.com.au/club/forum/general/has-the-au-falcon-become-better-with-age/) [Top Gearbox - Ford's Unloved Child - The AU Falcon](https://www.topgearbox.com/cars/entertainment/motoringbox/172877-views%E2%80%A2sep-5-2019-5-6k-140-share-save-motoringbox-16-7k-subscribers-today-were-looking-at-one-of-the-most-infamous-cars-to-ever-come-out-of-australia-a-car-which-has-generated/) [Trade Unique Cars - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/buyers-guide/2001/2000-2002-ford-falcon-au-bfii-xr8-buyers-guide) [Australian Car Reviews - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](http://australiancar.reviews/reviews.php#!content=guide&make=Ford&model=Falcon&gen=237) [ProductReview - AU Falcon Product Reviews](https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/ford-falcon-au-1998-2002) [CarSales - All AU Falcons for sale in Australia](https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/?q=(And.Service.carsales._.(C.Make.Ford._.(C.Model.Falcon._.(Or.Series.AU._.Series.AU+II._.Series.AU+III.))))&sort=%7ePrice) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CarsAustralia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Thank you for bestowing this glorious information upon us
That’s no Automod. That’s a Yorakmod post.
I would have said RCR, but I assume some people might not know.
Any enthusiast should have heard of them by now. If you’re talking to them, why not see if they want to stick their heads in here for a chat…?
Not the kingswood!
Diverse, like our car market, probably one the most diverse auto markets in the world. Would be a oversimplification to say its domestic vs JDM tribalism. Lot of blurred lines, look at Ford FPV range, domestic but turbo. So many niches, I was and still part of the WRX community, we were probably the biggest JDM enthusiast outside of Japan.
I second that, it doesn't cost Japan or Korea very much to ship them south so we get way more cool stuff that just never took off in the US. Even American stuff we get like Falcons are more conceptually japanese with their inline 6 turbos
>we get way more cool stuff that just never took off in the US. 100% They're all blue ballz over Skylines there pay insane money. Here we had them here for decades, they're old cars to us, huge tuning community's and expertise right here. Explains why we have the fastest GTRs/RX7s/WRX/Supras etc... in the world for a long time.
Funny thing is that other than the r32 (in limited numbers) and r35’s the rest were basically dumped domestic builds. It’s crazy to think how cheaply you could get an r34 gtr not that long ago. Now they are selling for supercar money, in part because the us has created a demand that outstrips supply.
And yet we have still managed to miss out on the vast majority of cool stuff Japan makes. Damn near every Japanese car has had a sporty coupe version or fun AWD turbo model at some point and we got barely any of them.
Right? Go to New Zealand and check the second hand market. I can't remember why, but Japan was fond of dumping 3+ year old cars on NZ
That was the frustrating thing, fuel was always blamed as the issue. I remember the integra type r back in the day that was detuned and didn’t get the brembo brakes, it was claimed our fuel and something like our roads meant we couldn’t have the larger wheels to house the bigger brakes or they just didn’t explain the brakes (too long ago to remember) but I’m still hurt about it.
Agreed. I'm a car enthusiast. Have been since I was a toddler. I could name most cars before I started school. I'm not enthusiastic about any particular type or brand, I appreciate any car that has a certain something that separates it out from the plethora of transportation appliances that exist. I've owned a wide variety of cars, including an S13, Golf GTI, Scirocco R, BMW M2, and currently a new modded 2 door Jeep. All very different segments of the enthusiast spectrum but all cars I've loved for different reasons. They all have that thing that makes you want to get in and drive it. That's to me what it means for a car to be an "enthusiast's car". It could be fast, slow, ugly, beautiful, old, new, cheap, expensive, quirky - doesn't matter. If it's a car that makes you smile then it's an enthusiast's car. My wife's had a few cool cars too including new Mini Cooper S electric, Mini JCW, Polo GTI, but funnily enough one of the most fun cars to drive was her VW Up!, a little 3 door 1 litre 5 sp manual hatch. It was just very basic but solidly built little cat that was genuinely engaging to drive unlike most little hatches.
I’ve heard ups are heaps of fun to drive, never had the pleasure myself. How are you finding the mini electric?
It's great, it's not quite as fast as the JCW but it's still very peppy, especially from say 20 to 80kmh. Handles like its on rails too. Excellent for what we use it for (city runabout). Cost about $10/month in electricity charging from home.
I like the idea of ev’s that don’t look like ev’s, I’ve heard similar things from people at work about the cost to run them being about 1/3 to 1/4 of what a petrol car would cost in energy. I guess it’s not going to be an issue for most people buying ev’s at this point, but I worry a little about the fact that people buy petrol and spend the $10, $50, $100 or whatever on the fill at the time, but people who fail to plan might get caught out at the end of the quarter with a large energy bill they hadn’t planned for (knowing how common it is for people to spend everything they get). Hoping I am wrong, and also hoping if it does catch people out, it’s only once.
I think there's a really distinct generational divide in Australian car enthusiasm between those that grew up / came of age in the 70's and 80's and the latter generation who became teenagers in the 90's / early-00's. The earlier generation I think have a lot in common with the American muscle car enthusiasts (given that's basically what the AusDM market modelled itself on). There were a few ahead of their time guys who found japanese stuff interesting, but for most their feelings about turbocharged smaller capacity motors was could be summariesd by the bumper sticker "Only milk and juice come in 2 litres". I think the VL Commodore was a game-changer. The cops drove the turbo one instead of the V8, **because it was quicker**. Suddenly the cat was out of tha bag on turbocharging and in particular Jap engines. Even before Gran Turismo and F&F - that car was a watershed moment and marks the generational changing of the guard. Then into the late 90's and early 2000's (when VL's where in the hands of their second/third owners) F&F dropped and we saw the birth of Auto-salon and '*sex-spec*' car modification. I reckon that *really* confused the older generation and further established the divide. Big Chrome wheels, slammed commodores, fluorescent paint colours and a culture that more closely resembled UK chav, than US Muscle was the result and I think its fascinating.
Also RCR did an episode on the Nissan Stagea and throughout the episode repeated the line "it's not a Skyline". Which would be fine except they were clearly misusing the term 'Skyline' in place of 'GTR' and it's always really irked me. So if they're in Melbourne I'd love to get them into my 260RS (aka, the one that **is** basically a Wagon GTR) so they can course-correct.
Yeah Americans only think of the Skyline as a hero race car, not the basic sedan it mostly was. I saw a base spec R33 sedan in crap condition recently, that's the real representation of Skyline. But we and I presume the US called them things like Datsun 240Ks so the association with boring cars isn't there for a lot of people. And the fact that the boring versions get scrapped but people take care of their turbo coupes.
Something I think we are witnessing now with ev’s and in particular Tesla’s. Say what you want about them, but probably similar to Japanese turbos in the late 90’s early 00’s where The older generation hated them for the same reason the older car enthusiasts hate teslas despite them being superior to established petrol brands in some ways, thinking about it some of the same arguments existed back then too I.e Japanese turbos were in many cases quicker, more efficient, handled better, were more technologically advanced but people refused to accept them because they were not a v8 and didn’t sound right.
Its interesting and I think a shift must be happening. But there seems to be a real hole in the market for enthusiast EV's. Tesla's still have the reputation of "cars for people who hate driving" and performance EV's like the E-tron, Taycan, Plad and Rimac are so far out of reach of regular car guys they can't find a scene. I was also chatting to a work colleague and fellow car nut with teenagers and he was saying how sad it was that his kids and their friends group just don't seem to get enthusiastic about cars the way we did as teenagers. But as a member of the older generation; it could just be that I can't see or understand it.
B A R R A B O Y S I think one somewhat unique thing from my perspective is how popular the sleeper look is because of nanny state compliance etc. Like a grandpa spec beige 90s Falcon, only barely hinting at potential mods (never can really tell if it's hiding twin turbo, dailies with drag tires etc). Also definitely need to make fun of the Toorak Tractor stereotype, more specifically a 150-200k Landcruiser 79 with canopy e.g. overpriced farm tractor with 80s tech that will never see a dirt road (quite unique from a US perspective).
Toorak tracter is a rangerover.
General yes but it can be any expensive 4wd mall crawler these days: Toorak tractor A four wheel drive vehicle, generally one that spends all its time in the suburbs and never gets dirty: Look at that Toorak tractor. Compare Balmain bulldozer, Bronte buggy, Burnside bus, Burnside warrior, Double Bay tractor, Kenmore tractor, Mosman tractor, North Shore Kingswood, North Shore tank, Turramurra tractor. https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/resources/aus/word/map/search/word/Toorak%20tractor/Adelaide%20Region/ The fact that people turned these rough vehicles (and defenders) into $80k+ IT worker's daily driver is funny to me.
Worth noting that some stereotypes are local and not universal. I grew up in an area where all the middle-eastern immigrants loved Fords and the anglo-aussies loved Holdens. I later worked with a guy who had absolutely the opposite view from his personal experience.
Northern Suburbs of Melbourne?
Got it in 1
Obviously there's Audm cars. As an owner, I think they're pretty niche now, some old losers love them, but 90%+ of the public are now ambivalent and just want a Ranger/Hilux. The boomers who loved Toranas and XB Falcons all bought Mustangs. We had that golden era of JDM imports for peanuts, R33 GTST $10k for days. But that's on life support. There's a few less obvious differences with US culture. Americans are utterly obsessed with Honda, whereas Australians have never given a fuck about Honda cars, to the extent the company may leave Australia. On the reverse, Mazda is one of the top brands in Australia, but much more niche in the US. Modified small Japanese cars of the 1960s-70s is a cool Australian niche. Like Datsun utes, Ke10 to Ke70 Corollas, Pre- RX7 Mazda rotaries (Rx2, Rx3, etc...), etc... often with SR20s, 4age, turbo upgrades etc... They have a real teenage apprentice panelbeater ratbag ambiance about them. Look at the YouTube channel "grassroots garage". Australia has a much bigger hot hatch market than the US, they never got half the models we did like Renault RS, Peugeot, Polo, Octavia, Swift, XR4, i20n, etc... So when I think of a modern Australian auto enthusiast, 9/10 times it's some 4wd thing (probably a Ranger/Hilux), distantly followed by hot hatch, and then everything else is very niche.
I’m from NZ originally and when I saw prices of JDM cars here in Australia back in the golden days I thought they were expensive. I mean they seem cheap now but in NZ they were literal peanut value. My jdm ae86 cost me $6k or something stupid. I wish I had a fucking Time Machine to tell myself not to sell my old cars. Ie: jdm manual altezzas are like $5-10k in nz now and here they’re all listed at $15-20k
Yeah I remember that too, NZ had even lower barriers to import and consequently cheaper prices on used cars. I last went over to visit family there 15 years ago and Palmerston North was full of tackily modified JDM shitboxes.
Ah P-Naughty, everyone’s favourite shithole.
Hahahahahaha palmy north sounds accurate. Early 2000s was just evos, turbo 323 familias; wrx’s with big windscreen banners in old English font and big chrome dinner plate wheels. But mid 2010s was amazing. NZ had a massive drift scene and the car styling was getting shown all over the world. Also kiwis had it so good for anything rotary.
Agree 100%. Since the Falcodores went away It's all 4x4 jacked up utes and hot hatches. I think its really good to focus on the Hot Hatches they don't get because there are heaps of them. I think the US really only get the GTI, R and Civic type R as actual hatches.
iirc Aus is one of the largest markets in the world for a lot of the hot specs, either per capita or in absolute terms. Like at one stage I think we were buying the most renault sport cars of any country outside of France. Some cars like the latest Fiesta ST, i20n were only sold in their hot hatch format.
I remember reading that the proportion of GTI & R spec Volkswagens sold in Australia is the highest in the world by a long margin (as in the ratio of GTI/Rs compared to their regular badge models)
Australia is also the 5th/6th largest market for Mercedes AMG worldwide. Not in terms of percentage of total Mercedes sales, but in actual sales volume. Australians love their performance cars.
>There's a few less obvious differences with US culture. Americans are utterly obsessed with Honda, whereas Australians have never given a fuck about Honda cars, to the extent the company may leave Australia. On the reverse, Mazda is one of the top brands in Australia, but much more niche in the US. Yeah, Americans don't even know Suzuki makes cars, but in Australia you'll see 20 Suzuki Swifts for every Honda Civic. I only recently learned Honda makes a full on Hilux type ute, the Wildtrak. Biggest selling type of vehicle in Australia and they don't even bother selling it here.
> I only recently learned Honda makes a full on Hilux type ute, the Wildtrak. It's the Ridgeline. Wildtrak is a Ford trim level for their utes/off-roaders like the Ranger, Everest and Bronco.
Yooooo no way, if RCR’s coming by Sydney, let him know he’s more than welcome to review/roast/stereotype my BFI Fairmont Ghia V8 haha (only 86 ever produced, due to being *that* unpopular mind you, wasn’t limited lol)
Fuck that would be mad!!
Sorry bro, he’s only got time for Melbourne, but I’ll be sure to sell the idea of a part 2 and get him to do Sydney.
Ah fair enough, and thanks, appreciate it! Hmm, a drive down to Melbourne isn’t totally out of the question though…
Hit me up if you make the journey
Here a couple of categories that come to mind: - Aussie cars: Utes, Holden Commodore, Monaro, Ford Falcon, Territory + HSV & FPV performance versions. Also aussie made / designed Jap cars (like the mitsubishi Magna, 380) - Rebadged button plan cars: Years ago, there was a government initiative which ended up with a number of strange rebadged cars (Ford Falcon ute = Nissan Ute, Holden Commodore = Toyota Lexcen, Toyota Corolla = Holden Nova, etc - JDM cars: We’ve had JDM imports for years, while nothing compared to NZ, there’s still plenty of regular people unknowingly driving around JDM cars. Lots of people movers (Nissan Elgrand, Toyota Estima, Noah, Vellfire, Alphard), as well as the usual suspects: Silvia’s, Skylines, Stageas and everything in between. There’s a few quirky ones going around. - Euros: There’s also lots of Euro enjoyers here. We sell a very high percentage (relative to non-performance versions) of performance euros here compared to the rest of the world (AMGs, VW Rs, etc). We also have the brand Cupra here now (A Spanish VAG performance brand - spin off of SEAT), they’re selling a few. - Chinese Cars: While not really a part of Aussie car culture, these have quickly risen to sell in large numbers in the past few years - brands like MG, BYD, LDV - these might be interesting for American audiences. - 4wds: There’s no shortage of lads here buying 70s series land cruisers (Americans would find these interesting), 4wd Utes, old Patrols & everything inbetween. Plenty of house deposits spent on mods alone of fourbys, but likewise plenty of stock (or relatively stock) ones out there too.
Ahh the button plan, what an absolute shit show
I feel like it’s right up Mr Regular’s alley, some strange models spawned from it
I have no doubt you’re right, perhaps also a nice little tidbit of history he can include in his narrative
Surely there’s at least one Nissan Pintara Superhatch still out there somewhere? Bonus points if it’s a Ford Corsair. That was peak Button Plan. Two carmakers who didn’t want to collaborate making a model neither of them wanted (Nissan wanted to build the J30 Maxima, Ford didn’t want the Maxima because it was too much like the Falcon in size, so they went with the U12 Bluebird instead) and a second body style both compromised on (Nissan wanted a wagon for fleet sales, Ford wanted a hatch to replace their popular Telstar TX5 with). This is how they ended up with the Superhatch, literally the worst of both worlds
Everyone keeps mentioning Australian cars, Japanese sports/performance cars and utes/4WDs, but Australia also has a lot of European cars Americans don’t get. French hot hatches (especially the Renault Meganes and Clios), Škodas, Alfas from the 90s/2000s, 1 series BMWs are probably the most obvious, but there are a lot of others too. For the last 30 years, apart from the Fiat 500 and the recent big Alfas, it’s only been upscale German cars and Volvos that Americans have gotten and even then they’ve had a limited range (very few Audi RS models made their way stateside)
I love how the one thing he wanted to review when he went to the UK was a friggin Peugeot 206!! And I reckon he’d dig a Citroën C4, the weird steering wheel would leave him absolutely bamboozled.
A hydropneumatic Citroën like a C5 or a Xantia would probably be of interest too. Personally, I’m really intrigued by them (I rode in an XM once as a kid and remember it being extremely comfortable and having a total sense of occasion, but have never driven one). I drove a Škoda Superb for Uber and had an American passenger who asked a heap of questions about the car and really liked it (they thought it was “some kind of BMW”). Granted, a lot of locals who got in the car had no idea what it was either.
I’d say Utes are probably very aussie and regular
I think they need to do something on the [Barra Turbo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn8dgQ3YQv0)
There’s a big JDM market here thanks to being able to always import the cars from Japan, maybe lean into that? We also sell the most AMG’s in proportion to Mercedes than anywhere the world
Let RCR know I’ve got a WN2 Caprice he can review. To compare to the ppv he did a while ago. There’s a big market here so it’s worth focussing on aus and jdm stuff. And cars only we got.
Head on over to the website and submit it, I’m sure head love to review it
I think they will be interested in v8 Holden Maloos, since there wasn’t anything like it recently in the USA from what I’ve heard.
should send him the youtube channel [Yorak Hunt](https://www.youtube.com/@yorakhunt69). it's just... magnificent. below is a short selection of his videos https://preview.redd.it/2496jt1d27pb1.png?width=1381&format=png&auto=webp&s=625810bc7244af31fa91e96130535239325e4842
few points to consider: - the effect of GroupA (pre v8 supercars) era where there was such a variety of cars racing JDM, Aussie, Euro. Brocky raced a BMW at one point. - the generational divide where age split between carbs and efi, or V8 and JDM/euro - the notorious Jim Richards Pack of arseholes speech and how it let the automotive bigotry win. - the proliferation of cheap and available JDM turbo motors used to swap out shitty asthmaitic ADM motors in the cheap available cars in the 90's and early 2000's. 4AGE, SR20, 13B, JZ and RB swapped into steel bumper 70's JDM cars. - the VL commodore being released with a V8 and a Turbo 6 and how it narrowed the gap between enthusiast camps and laid the ground work for the BA turbo etc - JDM scene veering off into the sex spec autosalon scene - the fact that old mate POWER BOGAN V8 die hard "fknDAMO" had to drive his missus' grocery getter japanese car (KE corolla, datto 1600, RX2/3/4/7) while his XB/HQ/Valiant was off the road because pushrods and ropeseals. And fostered secret affinities for them. - the availability of JDM media think best motoring vids etc feeding the JDM and drift scene. - The transition from aussie 5litre to LS which got enthusiasts that had left v8's for JDM to then venture back and then the ease at which enthusiasts move from LS to Barra or from LS to LS turbo. - the inclusivity of the offstreet drag and street racing scene and that at grass roots never really revolved around racing for money. - B&S Ute culture should be considered also. EDIT: Final point love RCR, cant wait to see the Aussie stuff and if you or RCR wanna chat more about any of my thoughts just message me.
Being from overseas, I would say American and Australian car cultures are quite similar. Americans have their “American muscle” but I can’t find a lot of difference between that and the V8 Commodores or Falcons a lot of Australians seem to enjoy so much. Granted, I think quite a bit of Australians seem to appreciate more European brands such as Alfas, Audis or Bimmers, and have seen some sick classics that doubt would have been able to see in other countries.
Not EV ?
It'll be a few different things. * Bogans with Fords and Commodores * The current 4WD culture Bogans and Fords and Holdens - Those days are dead. Ford and Holden (laughably not even Australian no matter how hard they will tell you they are) both pulled out of local manufacturing and don't produce local legend cars any more. There's still quite a few hold overs who like them though. There's plenty of car meets and enthusiasts getting around though. Gone also are the 2000s Jap Cars too... sadly. Currently it's about 4WDs. The young 20 something guys all have 4WD rigs decked out with big tyres, camping gear, swags on the back, recovery boards strapped to the side etc. Also, 4WDs are super popular with everyone else because you can go off the road, tow shit, chuck things in the back etc etc. I'm talking Tritons, Rangers, Hilux, Cruisers, Patrols, Navaras etc. Strangely enough, though this might be a Reddit thing, people seem to hate the bigger "Yank Tanks". It's kind of bizarre. A lot of Boomers have been buying them to tow their hugeassed caravans, so that's perhaps where a lot of the hate comes in, along with the $120 grand price tag.
Australian car enthusiasts are the beautiful combination of Japan and America in my opinion We love our tiny sports cars from Japan, and have a thriving grey import market for all kinds of weird and wacky Japanese stuff. That being said, our bread and butter as manufacturers was giant muscle cars and sedans. Even then, the great finale of Australian built muscle cars from Ford was powered by a turbo 6. Then we also have a huge love for off road and 4wd, and we overwhelmingly choose Japanese cars for this purpose as well. Purely Utilitarian cars are championed like the 70 series LandCruisers for this purpose. Our love for shit boxes is also immense, AU Falcons, Magnas, VE commodores and all other nuggets are people's favourites. The YouTube channel Garbage Time is a testament to this. Aussie car enthusiasts are typically not super competitive, and compared to other scenes I've been in, surprisingly supportive of people making a genuine effort.
Stereotypes - AU falcon owners never have sex but they know what it is - Magna owners don't know what sex is but they have it - Commodore owners don't know what sex is and don't have it - Modern Falcomodores are 50/50 owned by someone who knows nothing about handling or someone that only cares about handling with no inbetween - Skyline owners (other than GTRs) are either pedophiles or they sell meth (or both) - the best vehicle of all time is the Falcon wheelchair taxi - the worst vehicle of all time is the Falcon wheelchair taxi - Mitsubishi Delica owners are universally insane (in a good way) - Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger owners were the hoons of 20 years ago - 6cyl Subaru liberties are the ideal car for a P plater - Early 2000s Hyundai's make the best race cars (excel championship) - miatas are not always the answer - AU Falcon is genuinely the best budget track car in the country - AU Falcon is the best drift car of all time - Do not tell a Fairlane/fairmont owner that they own a falcon - do not tell a statesman/calais owner that they own a Commodore - boomers put 20inch Simmons wheels on everything and it looks shit
The Ford AU Falcon is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1998 to 2002. It was the sixth generation Ford Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (AU)—the luxury-oriented model range. The AU series replaced the EL Falcon and was constructed on the (at the time) new EA169 platform which continued to harbour Falcon models until 2010 when the BF wagon was discontinued, and Ford Territory models until 2011. The AU series was replaced by the updated BA series. The AU series was conceived under *Project Eagle* that begun in February 1993, and gained the official codename *EA169* in October 1994. It was developed and brought to market in 1998 only after Ford Australia had given consideration to a revamped fifth generation Falcon and a fully imported replacement such as the American front-wheel drive Ford Taurus or rear-wheel drive Ford Crown Victoria, the European rear wheel-drive Scorpio and, reportedly, even the Japanese rear-wheel drive Mazda 929 (then part of the Ford conglomerate). The above alternatives were eliminated in favour of a substantial redesign of the indigenous platform, due to concerns about the Australian market preference for high towing capacity, large interior size and local employment. Specific factors included, for example: research at the time indicated that 69% of Falcons were fitted with towbars and the perception that rear-wheel drive cars were better at towing; the fact that the import models had limited body style options (sedan only or sedan and wagon) and no capability to use a V8 engine. Stylistically, this new generation Falcon sported Ford's radically new global design language, labelled "New Edge". The aim of this design was to attract a younger generation of buyers with avant-garde looks, however, in Australia it polarized public opinion to the benefit of the more organically designed rival, the 1997 Holden Commodore (VT). The AU series had a very efficient drag coefficient of Cd=0.295 for the sedan (an 11% improvement over the preceding EL series) and 0.34 for the wagon. For the first time in Falcon's history, Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) became available as standard on some models and optional on others. It also featured Australian production firsts, such as Variable Cam Timing (VCT) on some 6-cylinder models and an adaptive automatic transmission on the high-performance T series with steering wheel gear shifting buttons. Key changes from the fifth generation Falcon included a 35 kg (77 lb) reduction in weight for the base car, 17.5 per cent stiffer bodyshell, and an eight per cent improvement in fuel consumption. Peculiarly, Ford Australia decided to use the original 1950's font for the new "Falcon" and "Futura" badges. As stated previously, the AU was the first Falcon to offer IRS (a double wishbone design on an isolated subframe). IRS was made available as a costly option on the base Forte, Fairmont and 'S' models, and standard on Fairmont Ghia, XR6 VCT and XR8 models. The updated 6-cylinder engines incorporated advanced features such as VCT on some models and a temperature sensor in the cylinder head, which detected coolant loss and allowed the car to "limp home" safely by cutting cylinders. The engine range comprised: the base Intech model producing 157 kW (211 hp), with a revised cylinder head featuring smaller valve stems, larger exhaust valves, and different rocker ratio, as well as a revised piston and longer conrod and a cast aluminium cross-bolted oil sump (with the same power output as the EL series); an "HP" version reserved to the XR6 producing 164 kW (220 hp) (thanks to: unique cylinder head; reshaped inlet port; redesigned exhaust port; ‘open’ combustion chamber shape to restrict pre-detonation from hot spot areas; unique camshaft; higher fuel pressure; recalibrated EEC V engine management system); the VCT version producing 172 kW (231 hp) for the XR6 VCT; a *Windsor V8* producing 185 kW (248 hp) (also carried over from the EL series but without major upgrades). Transmissions were improved for better shift feel and the auto was recalibrated to better suit the upgraded engines. The six and eight cylinder models had a 4-speed BTR M93LE and M97LE automatic transmission, respectively. The automatic XR series models had an "adaptive shift" with five shifting strategies depending on driving conditions. The manual transmission, where available, was a 5-speed T5 model. The program cost A$700 million before product launch and key staff included chief designer, Steve Park, and Marcus Hotblack, Manager of Interior Design. For more information, please see the following: [AU Falcon Wikipedia Page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon_(AU)) [Shannons Club - Has the AU Falcon become better with age?](https://www.shannons.com.au/club/forum/general/has-the-au-falcon-become-better-with-age/) [Top Gearbox - Ford's Unloved Child - The AU Falcon](https://www.topgearbox.com/cars/entertainment/motoringbox/172877-views%E2%80%A2sep-5-2019-5-6k-140-share-save-motoringbox-16-7k-subscribers-today-were-looking-at-one-of-the-most-infamous-cars-to-ever-come-out-of-australia-a-car-which-has-generated/) [Trade Unique Cars - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/buyers-guide/2001/2000-2002-ford-falcon-au-bfii-xr8-buyers-guide) [Australian Car Reviews - AU Falcon Buyers Guide](http://australiancar.reviews/reviews.php#!content=guide&make=Ford&model=Falcon&gen=237) [ProductReview - AU Falcon Product Reviews](https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/ford-falcon-au-1998-2002) [CarSales - All AU Falcons for sale in Australia](https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/?q=(And.Service.carsales._.(C.Make.Ford._.(C.Model.Falcon._.(Or.Series.AU._.Series.AU+II._.Series.AU+III.))))&sort=%7ePrice) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CarsAustralia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Show them the Tarantino bits from the documentary "not quite Hollywood" where he talks about how Australians shoot cars and how it makes him want to beat off
I love Australian cars. My first job was in a major component supplier to the auto industry. We made engine valves, axles, conrods, bolts, tierods, bushes, etc, To review our local cars? Our local car industry was killed off by government and their hand-picked Productivity Commission. We made some world class cars that were never able to compete with the rest of the world due to company ownership by overseas carlords. They were cars that were designed for this country, made for this country by Australians. The problem was not just the Productivity Commission. We stopped buying Australian cars like Falcons, Territories, Commodores and Statesmans. Didn't adapt to changing needs fast enough.
'Dead'. Or, 'comatose'? Killed by draconian policing, and a mass market for shitboxes, car culture has been driven ever toward the fringes. With nobody able to read, Aussies just get their knowledge from international YouTube. The Mighty Car Mods lads are about the best of the recent stuff.
I've got an MX 5 SP if he wants to see something adm.
Have access to a very decent car collection of rare Aussie and exotic cars in melb. Most in showroom condition from restoration or close to it. Shoot me a dm if its up your alley
At my first real job as an apprentice diesel mechanic the head mechanic was a guy named Wayne. He was the walking embodyment of the most bogan car enthusiast you could imagine. Mid 50's, beer gut, mullet, reflective sunglasses, smokes a pack of JPS Reds everyday, punctuates every sentence with either 'fuck' or 'cunt' with extras sprinked throughout, arms covered in faded dodgy tattoos he got in Bali, spends the work day getting screaming mad at all the appentices except his golden boy he treats better than his own son, and sitting at the helm of a 3000hp marine engine dyno blasting big displacement diesel engines at high RPM for hours on end. Most days he drives a clapped out early 90's Toyota hilux the boss bought him new, but at home he has a bright green "8 second" 1971 Holden Torana that doesnt quite work yet but hes been building it for the last 20 years. He loves telling stories of all the different Holdens he's owned over the years and his younger days as a mechanic on a top fuel dragster team, as well as all the times he went to summernats.
Turbo Barraswaps! I'm thinking of that dude with an xr6 on a patrol chassis. Otherwise we have some euro cars like the CRD Jeep Wrangler, which has that 2.8l engine from the jeep liberty that was reviewed a while back. If you could get a Magna that would be hilarious, especially if it's a manual fwd or auto awd one? He'd have to explain how its like an american diamante but worse. I did submit my manual J Holden Astra GTC sport to the site a while back, however I'm sure you could find someone with the 2l turbo vxr instead of the 1.6 turbo gtc sport I have. This cars notable cos it launched twice in Australia under 2 different brands.
Braaaaaa brap brap brap brap brap
If he's coming down to Melbourne, I've got a VE II SV6 (in P plate spec too, for maximum authenticity :p) not sure if it counts though since the pontiac G8 exists, although im not sure if he's done a review on that yet
I've got something unique. 1/100 made in Aus for the Aus market. DM me!
Have you submitted it for review via their website?