FAREWELL FALCON

In the past 10 years alone there have been 401,214 sales of the Ford Falcon, Territory and Ute. At a conservative $40,000 each, that equals around $16 billion produced in this country!

Tell me, Malcolm, Tony, Julia, Kevin and John, where are we going to replace this amount of GDP? Sure as hell not from free trade agreements, and certainly not from your banking/realestate/super funds mates.

Tony Cundalini, via Facebook

A very sad day. But we consumers are the ones to blame. We stopped buying this great Aussie car.

David Evans, via Facebook

After many kilometres of memories in Falcons with my family over 40 years, thank you to the people in your Ford story ( Will the last to leave please turn out the lights, November) and all of the staff at Ford Australia. You made some memorable cars that I have owned and loved.

Sandy Guy, Brisbane, Qld

It’s interesting that car manufacturing is continuing in the UK but not Australia.

The workforces of both countries must be similarly capable but the difference is in the product they make. The Australian cars really only appealed to the local market and had no export demand whereas the ones built in the UK satisfy a growing global demand.

GivenG this, the closure is sad bu but was inevitable.

Ed Cook, via Facebook DearbornDe has more to do with thisthi than any Australian. They simplysim wouldn’t let Australian operationsope leverage their productspro internationally.

Viv Claassens, via Facebook

FordFor in Australia is Falcon. And its brethren, Territory and Ute.

Brian Bligh, via Facebook

My first car was a Falcon inh inherited from my mum – a twospe speed auto XK – followed by a Falcon Ute to tow a Formula Ford. So I go back some way, and today I am about to pick up a new Swedish car from the same premises that once housed the original Sydney Ford dealer who supplied that XK.

So, am I sentimental about Ford ceasing production in Oz? Not a bit.

The Australian manufacturers did their best to offer us the bare minimum of tech and styling for years and have just been overwhelmed by sparkling

“Australian cars really only appealed to the local market”

international competition. They are, after all, Americans.

I closed the book on locally made cars long ago. David Mingay, via email