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waiting list for the Ford Mustang is not getting any shorter. Anyone placing an order today cannot expect delivery in less than a year, and company employees will be waiting even longer.
Ford admits it has been blindsided by the overwhelming demand for the 21st century pony car and, despite prying extra cars out of the production run in the USA, it is not expecting any reduction in waiting times.
“We do anticipate, with some of the recent increase in production for Australia, we will improve delivery times for Mustang orders including employee orders,” the president of Ford Australia, Graeme Whickman, tells “However, we still anticipate up to a 16-month wait for deliveries… balanced against our retail customer wait list that now extends to 12 months.” Holden
Design, based in Fishermans Bend, is continuing to crank out some of the best looking cars in the world of General Motors, including the Opel GT that starred at the Geneva motor show.
Holden has one of only two full-fabrication prototype shops in the GM world and is often tapped for construction of show cars, in addition to its regular design work.
The GT – which could easily join the European new-car roster at Holden if it makes production in Europe – was designed in Germany under a team led by Mark Adams, before being built in Melbourne.
It’s a well-proportioned, front-engined and rear-wheel drive coupe that takes its inspiration from a similar Opel in the 1970s.
The car is similar in size to the Alfa Romeo 4C but only has a 1.0-litre turbocharged threecylinder engine. But, as it weighs less than 1000 kilograms, it is claimed to sprint to 100km/h in less than eight seconds, and boasts a top speed of 215km/h.
But, while Holden Design is doing well, a leftfield proposal to buy Holden’s factory in Adelaide by a Belgian entrepreneur has failed.
Guido Dumarey, owner of the Punch car parts manufacturing group, had been promising to save jobs and intellectual property with a takeover in Elizabeth but – despite meetings with various governments – he wasn’t able to agree a deal with General Motors.