Zeta News: Holden Pres Says Camaro Prototypes Due By X-Mas

  • Thread starter YSSMAN
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YSSMAN
...Looks like Ford is going to play the Aussie card along side General Motors...



Yay! Falcon V8 vs Impala V8, sweet....

My dream come true, man! Now we have more choices than some (ugly-styled) Accord and (very ugly and un-sporty) Camry!!!
 
Ah so the 52.5million dollars the Australian government payed Ford Australia to help develop there future Falcon will also aid the US.

I wouldn't expect the Falcon to be sold in the US but a car based off of it, like the Impala and the Holden designed Zeta platform.
 
...I think the Flacon is going to be slotted below the Fivehundred, but I'm not sure. Too bad the car can't come as a two-door, it would be sweet to see them come back with the Torino Talladega nameplate for NASCAR and street use, just like Dodge did with the Charger Daytona.

I'd be banking that they call it the Falcon in the US, but it has been a long, long time since we last had Falcons here in the US...
 
Im banking on it wont even look the same and won't be called Falcon, but then again little is known about the next Falcon.
 
Some cool conceptual Camaro images...

0606phr_06_concept_camaro_pace_car_z.jpg

^^^A re-creation of the 1969 SS Indy Pace Car^^^

0606phr_07_concept_camaro_front_quarter_z.jpg

^^^The top line SS/RS (possibly ZL1 COPO) Camaro w/LS7 V8^^^

0606phr_08_camaro_concept_side_z.jpg

^^^SS Camaro convertable^^^
 
Falcon will replace the Crown Vic.

The Vic is old, and it's image is severely damaged.

Noone really remembers the Falcon over here, it sounds tough, would make a great Cop Car, and the Aussie cars are already great as it is.

The brand new 2008 Ford Falcon, built for the road ahead.
 
If I was to order my Camaro today, I would want a standard Z/28 with the LS4 or L76 and the Tremec T56. Other than that, no options needed. Just something fun to drive, with a fuel-efficent E85 DOD V8.
 
I'll take one with that new ECVT Hybrid Transmission, DOD 5.3 V-8, and in black.

Oh, E85 capable natch...damn, wonder what that could get in MPG city/hwy.
 
Onikaze
Falcon will replace the Crown Vic.

The Vic is old, and it's image is severely damaged.

Noone really remembers the Falcon over here, it sounds tough, would make a great Cop Car, and the Aussie cars are already great as it is.

The brand new 2008 Ford Falcon, built for the road ahead.

Good news.

If I was to buy my Camaro today, I will go for the DOD V8, Tremec T56 (the one in Corvette right?) and a red paint. Make it a coupe too.
 
...I'm not sure on exact fuel mileage estimates, but the old Gen-4 F-Bodies would do 30MPG on the highway in 6th gear when equipped with the Tremec T56 (yes, same unit found in the Corvette, Viper, Mustang Cobra, GTO, CTS-V, etc.).

I would expect the DOD 5.3 or 6.0L models to do north of 30MPG on the highway, no higher than 32MPG total, but it is going to greatly depend on what kind of axles they use (probably a 3.73) and final gear (around .60?) to get great highway mileage. But with DOD and the ECVT transmission, it is a tough call to make...
 
Onikaze
Falcon will replace the Crown Vic.

The Vic is old, and it's image is severely damaged.

Noone really remembers the Falcon over here, it sounds tough, would make a great Cop Car, and the Aussie cars are already great as it is.

The brand new 2008 Ford Falcon, built for the road ahead.


How do you know it will actually be a Falcon and not just based off a Falcon? Or are you assuming?

YSSMAN
.(yes, same unit found in the Corvette, Viper, Mustang Cobra, GTO, CTS-V, etc.).

DB7, Vanquish, Corvette, Viper, SRT10 Ram, Monaro (and GTO), Commodore, Falcon, Mustang Cobra (and Cobra R), CTS-V, SSR, Camaro, Firebird... I think that all of them
 
Focus
Fusion
Five Hundred

Hmmm, keep the Crown Victoria name which has lost all of it's cache, and make people assume that the new car is floaty, heavy, and body on frame still...

or

Go with the name that hasn't been seen in America in how many years?

Sounds cool, and gives the car a brand new start.

Ford would like to get younger guys who are wanting a Mustang, but need more room, to get Crown Vic's.

Unfortunately, Vic's are far from cool anymore, except among young, dumb, rapper wannabes.

Falcon sounds cool, and has NO ties to the grandpamobile that the Vic became, you seriously think Ford is gonna pass this up? It's either Falcon or 427, and I doubt it's gonna have a 7 Liter V-8 with $3 gas.
 
well, the Falcon isnt big enough to replace the Crown Victoria, that job would have to go to the Fairlane, but I'm not completey sure what Ford wants to do with itself as it is. Hell, even the experts say the same thing.

Leftlanenews.com
Ford seems to lack the direction and focus necessary to create a strong product line and revive sales, according to three analysts. “Of all the automakers, I am most negative on Ford,” said Erich Merkle, director of forecasting, with the consulting firm IRN. “There is no continuity to their product development.” And Merkle is not alone in his feelings. “There’s been a real lack of direction on Ford’s part,” said industry research expert Karl Brauer. “Ford does not appear to have a focused product plan.” Brauer says he’s seen a lot of “thrashing about” in Ford’s product line that doesn’t seem to accomplish much — such as the renaming of all Lincoln vehicles and the sudden elimination of two high-performance vehicles. Joseph Barker, senior manager of global sales forecasting for CSM Worldwide, said Ford badly needs “edgier cars and trucks that exude passion.” “Ford must address its conservative design theme (and) their inadequate powertrain lineup,” Barker said.

If it is the lack of direction that Ford has, their whole lineup is going to get a lot messier before the Falcon or the Fairlane ever comes to the US.

IMO: Ditch the Fivehundred and Crown Victoria and re-install the Falcon and Fiarlane in the US lineup as new RWD mainstream models. Heres the problem, however.

1) The Falcon may be too expensive to compete directly with the new Zeta-based Impala/Monte Carlo over at Chevrolet, so Ford will have to do a lot of work to keep prices down in the US. Added to that, I don't think the Falcon nameplate carries enough weight to draw in not only the youth market, but the older folks as well. Torino would seem like a logical name to pick with it's historic background, but Ford seems dead-set on having thier car names start with F and their truck names start with E, so I don't know.

2) Replacing the Crown Victoria would have similar problems the Falcon would face, with prices being the biggest issues. The Australian Fairlane could come to the US as the Fairlane (it was a pretty popular model for some time), but there have been plans to make a Fairlane crossover to replace the Freestyle in 2008. Therefore to tie the car with the past, Ford would have to call the car the Galaxie, which would break their naming policy. But the thought of a Galaxie 500 with a 5.4L 350+HP model is interesting, esp. if it were to go up against the Buick Invicta (see Holden Statesman) with similar performance figures.

Either way, I hope Ford does decide to take cars from the AUS market and shift them to the United States. If they can keep prices low, they will sell well.
 
The Fairlane concept was a crossover, so I consider that name dead.

Trust me, even though the Falcon is a bit smaller than the Vic, it will make an excellent replacement, wait til people rave about how vastly improved it is over the Vic in steering feel, ride, handling, looks, performance, mileage, etc.

Hell, even if they just took the tooling to take the last Gen Falcon and convert it to LHD, and brought it over here (as a POSSIBLY cheaper alternative to making an all new Falcon) it would still be an improvement over the "are the wheels and pedals actually connected to the car?" feel of the Vic's...

No, that's unfair, you were definitely aware that the Gas pedal was hooked up.
 
I think it could work, but I don't think youre giving the Crown Victoria enough credit either. It is still a good car despite the fact that a major overhaul has not been done sice the transition from the LTD to the Crown Vic in the early '90s. Sure, it still uses body-on-frame technology in a car, something I don't think any other manufactuer does beyond trucks these days, but the fact is that it is a car that has proven itself time and time again.

The current Falcon could come here in LHD, sell incredibly well, but I don't think it would replace the Crown Vic because it is too expensive, and not enough of a workhorse model. Because the design has been around so long on the Crown Vic, parts are interchangeable across the entire lifespan of the car, and it keeps costs down. That is why so many Police departments and security firms use the cars. Cheap to buy, cheap to modify, cheap to insure, cheap to operate, etc.

...But don't be surprised that if or when the Falcon comes to the US, Ford and GM will be in a bidding war against DCX to supply the new RWD police cars across the country...
 
Nah, I think Onikaze is giving the Crown Vic all of the credit it deserves. It's a mediocre car, and it's mediocre for a simple reason:
YSSMAN
Cheap to buy, cheap to modify, cheap to insure, cheap to operate, etc.

Anyway, if the Crown Vic is replaced by the Falcon, or something else that can actually corner, what will happen to chase scenes in movies? What excuse would there be for the Falcon or whatever to spin out and crash into things, sloshing and oversteering around and getting lost behind the main character's car? :lol:
 
Hey, I love Vic's.

I drove a cab converted 2000 Police Interceptor, that car was a blast.

Unfortunately, I am one of those people who first got to experience RWD V-8 fun in a Mercury Grand Marquis, so I am biased towards having a soft spot for the boats.

Most 25 year old guys who aren't gangsta wannabes see them as the car their grandfather should be driving.

Which just isnt cool. Falcon sounds cool though.
 
I was always a fan of the body-on-frame Caprice, still considered to be the best Police Car ever. I came so close to having a '96 Impala SS in green for my first car, damn I wish I had it now!

Its too bad Chevrolet probably wont bring back the Caprice/Impala setup to the Chevy line, as it looks the full-size Zeta will be going to Buick as the Invicta as a possible replacement to the Lucerne or LaCrosse.
 
YSSMAN
I was always a fan of the body-on-frame Caprice, still considered to be the best Police Car ever. I came so close to having a '96 Impala SS in green for my first car, damn I wish I had it now!

Its too bad Chevrolet probably wont bring back the Caprice/Impala setup to the Chevy line, as it looks the full-size Zeta will be going to Buick as the Invicta as a possible replacement to the Lucerne or LaCrosse.

:drool: Why didnt you!!!!! Limited-production Impala SS!!!!!!
 
Honestly I don't think making them RWD will make one lick of difference. Although GM does need some RWD cars in order to compete.
 
Still the average Impala owner doesn't care whether or not they have RWD or FWD.
 
Sure, but it gives GM another Selling point. "Our car has the same drivetrain layout as Europe's hottest sports sedans!"

and, like I said earlier, Enthusiasts drive the market. Besides, they're no less fuel efficient than a FWD car (In fact, they might be more...I dont' see how a powertrain that's folded up like a dog intestine is more efficient than a straight, linear setup)

The only reason I could see for supporting FWD in GM and Ford's fullsizers is fear of change. and that gets us nowhere.
 
Jim Prower
Sure, but it gives GM another Selling point. "Our car has the same drivetrain layout as Europe's hottest sports sedans!"

and, like I said earlier, Enthusiasts drive the market. Besides, they're no less fuel efficient than a FWD car (In fact, they might be more...I dont' see how a powertrain that's folded up like a dog intestine is more efficient than a straight, linear setup)

The only reason I could see for supporting FWD in GM and Ford's fullsizers is fear of change. and that gets us nowhere.

Ive always learned and heard that FWD is more fuel efficient because it cuts off one necessary transformation of power, which happens at the driveshaft and the rear axle. The conversion of the motion sucks up some energy on the way, making RWD cars need more transformation of power which relates to loss of power.

I hope I made some sense....thats what I believed in the whole time.
 
If GM can price the new Zeta cars correctly, and set up their performance figures to be similar to that of the other big RWD sedans in the segment (namely that of BMW, Mercedes, Chrysler, etc.) they will have winners on their hands.

Its going to become a question of if you would want a mid-size V8 sedan with RWD for $30,000 instead of going to Sie Germans for a $45,000+ car of similar equipment and performance level.

We will see, were about a year to a year and a half from when the first Zeta cars (possibly the Impala and Camaro) are set to hit the streets, but we will have to wait for Los Angeles or Detroit to see what the final products will look like...
 
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