History of Ford Australia's large car

Ford Australia's original US Falcon-based XK has the dubious honour of being the first Australian-manufactured car not designed with local roads in mind. Introduced in September 1960, it proved fragile.

Despite running changes including Fairlane ball-joints and the introduction of a more powerful Pursuit 170 (cubic-inch) engine option, sales slowed.

The facelifted ‘Trim, Taut, Terrific!’ XL of spring 1963 brought a garishly red-trimmed Futura variant and US-style ‘woody’ Squire wagon (a desperately undesired device).

The heavily modified 1964 XM – with 1500 upgrades at a cost of 1 million pounds -- boasted ‘Certified Golden Quality’. There was an elegant Hardtop and a new Super Pursuit 200 cubic-inch engine option. But consideration was already being given to dropping the Falcon altogether.

Enter American Bill Bourke, marketing boss and deputy managing director to Ford Australia's new MD Wallace Booth. Bourke dreamed up a special Durability Run to showcase the coming XP model.

A fleet of standard cars was to average 70 miles per hour over 70,000 miles. The venue was to be the still-unopened You Yangs proving ground. Whether such an average would even be possible was unknown. But Bourke recruited Harry Firth to bring in CAMS-licensed racing drivers for the challenge.

Bourke’s job was on the line. Four of the five cars rolled, but the drivers averaged 71.3mph, with the quickest vehicle a 170 manual which achieved better than 73mph.

There has never been a greater marketing exercise in Australian automotive history. The XP became the first Australian-manufactured car to win the Wheels Car of the Year award, largely because it represented such a huge improvement over the original model.

Six months into the life of XP, the better-specified Fairmont replaced the Futura and the Squire was sent packing. The Fairmont was the first Australian-manufactured car with front disc brakes.

Bill Bourke set the example and until well into the 1980s Ford Australia’s marketing was superior to rival Holden’s. One brilliant theme was ‘The Great Australian Road Car’ for the 1973 XB Falcon.

If the XP had taken the battle up to Holden, the second generation XR would take the lead.

This ‘Mustang-bred Falcon’ (a paradox indeed since the Mustang was actually Falcon-bred!) was bigger than the HD/HR Holdens and offered a V8 engine across all variants, unlike Chrysler which was first with a V8 but only on a dedicated, expensive variant, the Valiant V8.

The XR brought more American pie to Australia in the spring of 1966. Its extra size – especially width – V8 engine and extensive range of options made it the true second-generation Australian car following the 1948 Holden 48-215.

The original 144 cubic-inch engine was dropped. In 1967 came two extraordinary developments: the long-wheelbase Fairlane and the Falcon GT; Holden was not just napping, it was comatose.

The minor XT facelift in 1968 brought major news that the limited-run GT was to become a regular production variant and in colours other than GT Gold (bronze) such as Candy Apple Red, Zircon Green and Springtime Yellow. Oddly, two three-speed automatic transmissions were on offer.

In July 1969 the XW brought harder-edged styling and the sensational Super Roo 351 cubic-inch Windsor-engined GT with an HO (Handling Options) variant in time for that year’s Bathurst 500-mile race.

The 289 was succeeded by the 302 as the entry-level V8. The GS pack offered GT appearance at a much lower price. Ford Australia cashed in on the aura of the new GT by applying Super Roo decals to the Capri and Escort GTs.

Going Ford was indeed the going thing, and flamboyance ruled while Bill Bourke increased his fame by specifying such delights as a 427 V8 for his company cars.

Last of the second-generation Falcons was the popular XY. The hero car was the Falcon GTHO Phase III – the XW having seen the original GTHO superseded by the Phase II for the 1970 race – but a new 250 cubic-inch six offered near parity with Holden’s 253 V8, especially if the 2V (twin-venturi carburettor) got the tick.

The third-generation XA Falcon was designed in Dearborn by a trio of Ford Australia designers – Jack Telnack, Brian Rossi and Allan Jackson. With XA the two-door Hardtop returned but the designers’ plans for wider wheels to fill those huge rear arches were vetoed by the bean-counters.

An even longer wheelbase was developed for the range-topping LTD sedan but its Landau sibling was essentially a tizzied up Hardtop. These were the first Australian cars with four-wheel discs as standard equipment.

The XB facelift brought rear disc brakes to the Falcon GT, which also got colour-keyed bumpers.  Then in July 1976 came the XC, which lost the Falcon GT and the Coke bottle hip but acquired crossflow heads on the sixes to meet the demanding ADR27A anti-pollution law. The final 400 Hardtop shells were used for the Cobra.

In March 1979 the XD was essentially an elegant reskinning of the XC. Extensive use of plastics saved some weight but the Honda-manufactured Alloy Head in 1980 gave the Falcon better economy credentials than the less spacious Holden Commodore. The XE and XF facelifts were more of the same.

The XE had a rear Watts Linkage, but V8s vanished and the electronically injected 4.1-litre six was introduced in the first half of 1983.

The real advances in efficiency came with the aerodynamic EA in March 1988 with SOHC sixes and, belatedly, a four-speed automatic transmission for Christmas 1988.

There were five official facelifts – EB, EB Evolution, ED, EF and EL – but extensive running changes were made to the Falcon from 1988 until the introduction of the unloved AU in October 1998.

Safety (anti-skid brakes and stronger structure) and security were much improved, but the 1994 EF suffered from committee design. Rear suspension changes to improve NVH produced excessive roll steer. The EL lost market leadership to the VT Commodore.

The AU was much better than it looked but its design outside and in (especially on Forte and Futura variants) turned buyers away. There was a confusing array of engines and a brilliant multi-link rear suspension on up-spec variants.

The XRs sold well though and the brilliant new Ute was as fashionable as the sedans weren’t. The mid-2000 ‘Grizzly’ AUII upgrade brought better NVH, better trim and 16-wheels that better filled its guards. The AUIII promised 220kW for the XR8.

What was really needed was the ‘Barra’ BA but when it arrived in September 2002 market leadership was gone forever. The BA used a twin overhead camshaft version of Ford's venerable six. The BF facelift brought the option of a slick ZF six-speed automatic.

Despite its new body, the 2008 FG Falcon seemed insufficiently different. The front-end and steering were new with some loss of on-centre sharpness. More importantly for most customers, the ergonomics were significantly improved and the doors opened wider for improved access, especially for rear passengers.

During the early years of the new century demand for large sedans and wagons fell off the cliff and Falcon sales were a fraction of what they were in past decades. Even the brilliant turbocharged four-cylinder 2.0-litre EcoBoost Falcon captured little public imagination; it was all too little, too late, in 2012.

In November 2014 came the FG X with a new, heavy-handed corporate grille and restyled rear. Sales trickled on. In December 2015 Ford Australia announced its final-fling XR6 and XR8 Sprint specials (auto-only for the turbo six and manual or auto for the V8).

Ford Australia Falcon timeline

First generation:

XK Falcon
Introduced: September 1960
Production: June 1960 to July 1962
Production sites: Broadmeadows, Eagle Farm
Production volume: 68,453

XL Falcon
Introduced: August 1962
Production: July 1962 to January 1964
Production sites: Broadmeadows, Eagle Farm
Production volume: 75,653

XM Falcon
Introduced: February 1964
Production: December 1963 to February 1965
Production sites: Broadmeadows, Eagle Farm
Production volume: 47,103

XP Falcon
Introduced: March 1965
Production: September 1964 to August 1966
Production sites: Broadmeadows, Eagle Farm
Production volume: 69,561

Second generation:

XR Falcon
Introduced: September 1966
Production: June 1966 to March 1968
Production sites: Broadmeadows, Eagle Farm
Production volume: 88,786

XT Falcon
Introduced: March 1968
Production: January 1968 to June 1969
Production sites: Broadmeadows, Eagle Farm
Production volume: 74,392

XY Falcon
Introduced: October 1970
Production: August 1970 to May 1972
Production sites: Broadmeadows, Eagle Farm
Production volume: 100,474

Third generation:

XA Falcon
Introduced: February 1972
Production: December 1971 to November 1973
Production sites: Broadmeadows, Eagle Farm
Production volume: 129,473

XB Falcon
Introduced: October 1973
Production: June 1973 to June 1976
Production sites: Broadmeadows, Eagle Farm
Production volume: 211,981

XD Falcon
Introduced: March 1979
Production: February 1979 to April 1982
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 200,849

XF Falcon
Introduced: October 1984
Production: June 1984 to October 1986
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 178,028

Fifth generation:

EA Falcon
Introduced: March 1988
Production: November 1987 to November 1989
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 118,859

Introduced: October 1989
Production: August 1989 to July 1991
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 91,077

EBII Falcon
Introduced: August 1992
Production: December 1991 to August 1993
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 84,874

EF Falcon
Introduced: August 1994
Production: June 1994 to September 1995
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 97,524

EFII Falcon
Introduced: October 1995
Production: August 1995 to September 1996
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 88,420

EL Falcon
Introduced: September 1996
Production: July 1996 to August 1998
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 140,795

Sixth generation:

AU Falcon
Introduced: September 1998
Production: June 1998 to March 2000
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 130,451

AUII Falcon
Introduced: April 2000
Production: February 2000 to March 2002
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 133,047

AUIII Falcon
Introduced: February 2002
Production: October 2001 to September 2002
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 59,340

BA Falcon
Introduced: September 2002
Production: July 2002 to September 2004
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 199,303

BAII Falcon
Introduced: August 2004
Production: July 2004 to October 2005
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 81,894

BF Falcon
Introduced: August 2005
Production: August 2005 to September 2006
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 63,050

BFII Falcon
Introduced: August 2006
Production: August 2006 to April 2008
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 73,423

Seventh generation:

FG Falcon
Introduced: February 2008
Production: February 2008 to November 2011
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 144,587

FGII Falcon
Introduced: October 2011
Production: August 2011 to October 2014
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 46,727

FGX Falcon
Introduced: September 2014
Production: August 2014 to October 2016
Production sites: Broadmeadows
Production volume: 11,570
Total Falcon passenger cars built (sedan and wagon): 3,005,880
Total Falcon commercial vehicles built (ute and van): 572,809
Total Falcon production (excluding Fairlane and LTD): 3,578,689

Related reading:
Ford retires Falcon Ute
Ford Falcon Ute timeline