Thirteen's lucky for some

Two milestones are set to be acknowledged today -- at different ends of the auto spectrum.

With the year-to-date new vehicles sales total reaching 963,732 units at the end of November, industry pundits have predicted the 1,000,000th new car of 2007 will be sold today.

The November YTD total was already more than 2006's 12-month total of 962,666 units. Breeching the seven figure mark will be a first for the local industry and cements an amazing performance of six record sales years in seven.

With upwards of 80,000 new vehicles expected to be sold this month, the end of year total should approach 1,050,000 units -- growth of over 9.0 per cent over 2006 and better than 6.0 per cent up on the previous record year, 2005.

The second Dec 13 milestone, is unlikely to be celebrated as enthusiastically. The last long-wheelbase Falcon derivative to be built "for the foreseeable future".

The car, a six-cylinder Fairlane, signals the end of 40 years of unbroken availability of the Blue Oval's flagship car Down Under. The nameplate was launched locally just months ahead of the first Falcon GT in 1967.

It's unlikely the Fairlane in question will be one of the million-plus cars to be sold this year, however. According to Ford's Sinead McAlary, the company is "considering a number of options" for the vehicle.