Ford hunts new gears after supplier failure

[barbarian]

Originally Posted by cycle myth

I think you will find that Ford DO mind the image issue associated with Falcon = Taxi.

Part of the reason for the collateral damage to the brand.

What a "great" introduction to a non-ford / non-falcon buyer - jump in a taxi that stinks, has vinyl seats, has done 600,000km's and so weazes, shuders, corners like its on 3 legs and crashes over bumps.

While many new falcon sales are taxi's - you will also find many are sourced as second hand units and then run until they stop.

HOW MANY OF YOU GUYS CHOSE TO PAINT YOUR FALCON YELLOW?

x2 beautifully executed there.

i again denounce death to taxi industry, purchase anything but a falcon PLEASE...

.. for the sake of Ford Australia's future, move away from our falcons

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by cycle myth

While many new falcon sales are taxi's - you will also find many are sourced as second hand units and then run until they stop.

Little sales are Falcon taxi's. I only saw 1 taxi pack on the line in 06.

[500SEC]

Taxis service hasn't destroyed the reputation of millions of E-class Mercs running around Europe and Africa as taxis.

[OzJavelin]

Ford Australia could always use GM 4-speed autos? ;)

They are resonably strong, but make the BTR unit seems like ZF-quality for actual operation ..

[VSSII]

In fact, Mercedes Benz are fiercely protective of their taxi exclusivity and very proud.

[cycle myth]

Yes - falcon taxi sales have reduced from the once exclusive domain they once were.

The reduced production line volume more to do with Ford's actions to not meet the desires of the taxi industry.

As for Mercedes and their image - do you think it walks the brand down or do you think it walks up the perception of the taxi?

I've been in many overseas - its because the primary image of MB is not a taxi.

I really hope Ford get the gearbox and driveline spec right for LPG - it could be a winner.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by charliewool

Apart from that.... This Borg-Warner Albury plant must be jinxed, truly?... The ownership changes have been amazing... How many?? And NO-ONE can get it up to scratch... The Dana diffs are a classic example... (a monday one, nice and tight, A Friday one, more backlash then a black civil rights movement)

I think your right mate my mum and uncle worked there for 20+ years and got out of there just in time

[Jastel]

I'll be sticking to Falcon Taxis

The reason the taxi industry uses them is because they are the best car for the job, they are plentiful, affordable, they can carry 4 people and reasonable baggage, they can be gassed, repaired fairly easily, parts are not that hard to get and they will last for 6 years (just barely) And we cant afford Mercs unless we double the fares.

A dirty unmaintained car is not the fault of the manufacturer
Some Benzs I caught in Germany sounded/looked/smelt the same as some cabs here, others were nice. Luck of the draw.

I think it is a credit to the brand that 90% of taxis use their cars.
It means they are doing something RIGHT

A lot of people ask me about reliability, economy etc with the view to purchase a Falcon, I will tell them the truth, Good or Bad.
We also tell Ford about problems we have and sometimes they actually fix them so Joe Public (thats you guys) gets a better car for the next model, or even a safety recall if it's serious enough.
We also are the guinea pigs who test new designs and ideas, so the rest of you get a reliable car.

I would say without taxis/fleet sales there would not even be a Falcon range, we would all be in Mondeos and Focuses

As far as I know there has not been an actual "taxi pack" with rubber mats, bench seats, colum shift etc since the AU1

You can count on one hand the number of Commodores or anything else driving around
The Toyota Prius is getting more popular in these Green times but there had better be only 3 of you and a backpack if you want to share a cab home.

You can always buy an Aurion if you don't like the "stigma" of driving a taxi.

[vztrt]

DSI may survive. Also will be building a 6 speed auto.

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2575C100038821

SsangYong gets green light to rebuild

Aussie gearbox maker may be winner from SsangYong restructuring decision

By IAN PORTER 25 May 2009

IN a welcome development for the Australian parts industry, South Korean car-maker SsangYong has received court approval to pursue its restructuring plan.

The move raises hopes that SsangYong will proceed with production of its C200 medium SUV, using an Australian-made six-speed automatic transmission from Albury-based Drivetrain Systems International (DSI).

DSI has had its own battle for survival since big customer SsangYong went into receivership in January, but has emerged with a new owner and fresh prospects.

In South Korea, the Seoul Central District Court agreed with receiver Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers that SsangYong had more value as a going concern compared with being broken up and sold.

The company sought the protection of the courts as vehicle sales plummeted around the world because of the global financial crisis.

SsangYong still needs to raise about $US280 million ($A357 million) from one of its main creditors, the Korean Development Bank, if the restructuring is going to work. SsangYong now has to submit a detailed rescue plan to the court by September 15.

The new plan is more severe than expected. Directors initially indicated that one third of the 2650-strong workforce would be retrenched. That figure has now been raised to 1400 people, and union members responded by holding a sit-in strike at the Pyeongtaek plant, in Geyonggi Province.

The receivers and the company have to return to the court by September 15 with a detailed rescue plan that is supported by creditors and other stakeholders.

Through this period of uncertainty, SsangYong has pressed on with the final development of its new C200 medium SUV which is expected to be released late this year.

UK SsangYong distributor managing director Paul Williams said the court decision and the restructuring plan meant SsangYong would be a leaner and more efficient company.

“We already know that there will be a broader range of passenger cars using the latest petrol, diesel and hybrid technology and the first – the C200 – will go into production later this year.”

SsangYong’s receivership in January in turn forced transmission maker DSI into receivership, as Ssangyong was one of its largest customers at the time.

Thanks to support from another large customer, Ford Australia, DSI was sold for a minimum of $47.4 million (depending on inventories at the handover date) to Chinese car-maker Geely and will be able to finish construction of a new production line which will make six-speed automatic transmissions suitable for east-west installations.

This is the transmission SsangYong will use in its upcoming C200 medium SUV.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Little sales are Falcon taxi's. I only saw 1 taxi pack on the line in 06.

The taxi fleets are buying ex government fleet cars heaps now, especially the egas ones

[Mr Hardware]

Oh well here's to hope that the legendary 4-speed (and DSI) will survive for now.

And yeah, an actual genuine taxi pack has not been available for almost 10 years now. However Ford do (did at least) have a really really good special on BA/BF egas wagons painted in whatever taxi colour you like for only about $29k brand new for taxi operators. They refused to use the sedans as the taxi special, preferring to put the fleet/taxi look all on the wagon. So whilst not a genuine taxi pack (hose out interior, 6-seat etc) it was pretty close to it.

And yes, road warrior is right, most taxis these days due to resale values are ex-fleet cars. With the ability to pick up 3 year old BF's for $14k or whatever, why would you buy new if when they get taken off the road at 6 years old are worth next to nothing anyway?

I'd hate to see falcon resale values if it weren't for the taxi industry buying volumes.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

And yeah, an actual genuine taxi pack has not been available for almost 10 years now. However Ford do (did at least) have a really really good special on BA/BF egas wagons painted in whatever taxi colour you like for only about $29k brand new for taxi operators.

And it comes down the line with Taxi pack on the work sheet.

[Mr Hardware]

ah ok.
well in 2004/2005 there was at least 30 bought by one of the taxi operators i know. And thats just one in one city in one state of the whole of australia. In 2005 I had the pleasure of driving one that was only a few weeks old and it was a mighty fine cab.
vztrt, apart from egas XT wagon with taxi paint, do you know what other differences there were between these and an ordinary egas wagon?

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

ah ok.
well in 2004/2005 there was at least 30 bought by one of the taxi operators i know. And thats just one in one city in one state of the whole of australia. In 2005 I had the pleasure of driving one that was only a few weeks old and it was a mighty fine cab.
vztrt, apart from egas XT wagon with taxi paint, do you know what other differences there were between these and an ordinary egas wagon?

Would love to tell ya, but I was too busy running around getting things ready for the summer shut down that year so I didn't pay that much attention. Sorry.

[Mr Hardware]

okey doke

[Luke Plaizier]

The BEM has a 'Taxi' mode that changes the operation of the interior lights. And I thought there was a line that could be tapped into in the passenger footwell that provided odo pulses for the taxi meters.


Lukeyson

[Smoke Pursuit]

Taxi pack comes with steel rims, heavy duty alternator, badges in glovebox, egas motor... Im not sure if they still make them or if they just order the pursuit pack on the cars now...

In the early days they use to come with vynil seats and rubber floor, but not anymore.

[Jastel]

Not sure on the extra light features??

The wire is the same one Ford use for the sat nav, all looms have them, picks up pulses from the ABS senders.

All my cars are ex fleet vehicles, never had a new one, can't see the point, the first weekend someone spews in it or the driver dents it and then it's just another taxi.

[Mr Hardware]

Yeah, extra light features? Do you mean the light button on the dash like the old cop packs?
Ah yeah steelies with the hubcovers. How could I forget. What badges are in the glovebox?
Yeah the old hose-out interiors were, um, interesting. Sure made the car look awful.

There's a saying in taxiland about the condition of your cab. The cleaner and nicer your cab, the better people will treat and respect it. Likewise if you have a stinky heap of crap cab, people are more likely to treat it like a heap of crap.

[barbarian]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

I'd hate to see falcon resale values if it weren't for the taxi industry buying volumes.

Rubbish. Taxi industry is completely destroying the image of Falcons

[Mr Hardware]

Yeah i don't think so. I'll tell you this, if it wasn't for the taxi industry's use of Falcons there's no way i would have bought either of my falcons, and the falcons i will buy in the future.

Maybe the taxi industry does marr the image of falcons slightly. But i think this is more than made up by the incidences of taxi operators and people associated/influenced by the taxi industry buying falcons, both new and secondhand.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

Yeah i don't think so. I'll tell you this, if it wasn't for the taxi industry's use of Falcons there's no way i would have bought either of my falcons, and the falcons i will buy in the future.

Maybe the taxi industry does marr the image of falcons slightly. But i think this is more than made up by the incidences of taxi operators and people associated/influenced by the taxi industry buying falcons, both new and secondhand.

The other way of looking at it is people don't want to buy the Falcon because of the its a Taxi hack image. If Taxi's helped Ford there would be alot of dedicated Taxi's coming out of Broadmedows.

[Dave_au]

I would have to say that jumping into any one of Sydney's high KM Falcon's leaves a LOT to be desired.

Nothing like a faulty idle speed, loud diff whine, shunting transmission and imploding interior to scare off buyers. Not to mention the several you see each week broken down on the side of the road.

[Mr Hardware]

Yeah can't they keep cabs for 8 years in sydney? I think that's wrong. 6 years is quite enough.
And dedicated taxi's aren't what operators want. Whilst you can get a less than three year old falcon for less than half the price of new, no taxi operator is going to buy new.

[barbarian]

Well then the taxi industry should feyyk off to another make and model (excuse my french, i just despise the taxi industry with a great passion)

There's plenty of Camry and Commonwhores to abuse, just leave our falcons alone

[naddis01]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

Yeah can't they keep cabs for 8 years in sydney? I think that's wrong. 6 years is quite enough.
And dedicated taxi's aren't what operators want. Whilst you can get a less than three year old falcon for less than half the price of new, no taxi operator is going to buy new.

Why dont they want dedicated taxis out of interest?

[Jastel]

main reason is $$$$, double the price for not very much difference
a secondhand ex fleet car with 40000km is fine for a taxi

[LTDterri]

I think the Falcon Taxi shows the avarage Joe that they are a good car. Jump in a cab, forget about the smell look at the ODO its got close to 1,000,000km on it, sure it may make noises and things dont work but realistically the thing is on the road all day long, this tells me they are quite reliable. I dont know if a taxi operator could afford to have cabs off the road all the time

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by naddis01

Why dont they want dedicated taxis out of interest?

What naddis01 said. It goes a little something like this:
A taxi can be kept in QLD until it is 6. You'll get a few thousand for a respectable ex cab, ie something with 'only' 600k on the clock that can be painted back to it's original colour.

If you buy a taxi pack, there's no original colour to go back to, it's already yellow. Why spend $30k for something that will net you $3k in 6 years time when you can buy 2xsecondhand cars over that 6 years (3 years each) for only $14k each and still sell them for $3k each?
Ie total outlay for a dedicated is $30k - $3k residual =$27k for a terrible car at the end
Alternate is 2x$14k - 2x$3k residual = $22k and you've got two half decent cars at the end

Taxi operators also know that taxis do about 170k's a year, and falcons are pretty worn out past about 700k-odd. Much nicer to have two secondhand falcons than one worn out dedicated taxi. And cheaper too.

LTDTerri is right too, if it weren't for the taxis there's no way i would have bought my falcons.

[watever]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

Yeah can't they keep cabs for 8 years in sydney? I think that's wrong. 6 years is quite enough.
And dedicated taxi's aren't what operators want. Whilst you can get a less than three year old falcon for less than half the price of new, no taxi operator is going to buy new.

It's 6 years in NSW.