Wheels COTY

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by XA351COUPE

Well my inlaws must agree with the Wheels COTY as they have just traded their G6ET (less than 3000kms on the clock) for the A4.......

Chalk and Cheese they reckon......

There will always be some people who do this sort of thing, they must have a lot of cash to spare is all I can say.

The G6ET is not perfect, but no car is. One thing for sure is unless they get an RS4 they won't have anything like the performance.

[mik]

i read that wrong my bad :(

[prydey]

Originally Posted by mcnews

With that reasoning we would still be driving XFs. Have you driven a six speed auto Falcon? We owned both at the same time, both Turbo, and I can tell you the four-speed auto makes any Falcon feel like an XF in regards to refinement compared to a six speed auto car.

i was mainly referring to the lpg models. i say again, ford were obliged to use the mixer based system based on a contract they have with vialle. also the i6 at the time was at the end of its cycle. why would they spend the money developing a whole new lpg system for one product cycle. now that the I6 has had a reprieve i would hazzard a guess the next lpg model may very well have injected gas, whether that is vapour or liquid. not sure how long the agreement with vialle is but it began in 99 (au2) i think so 10yrs is up.

how does an lpg model drag the range down? how many other manufaturers offer factory lpg cars?

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

There will always be some people who do this sort of thing, they must have a lot of cash to spare is all I can say.

The G6ET is not perfect, but no car is. One thing for sure is unless they get an RS4 they won't have anything like the performance.

Correct, RS4.....

Cash?? they are quite comfortable thank you for asking......

Back on topic, most of these cars are exported around the world and have to be built to compeat on the world stage, where are we exporting the FG to in great numbers?? was the Falcon built to take on the Audis, BMs or Mercs etc in an away game, I think not! the only real concern for Ford is to knock of Holden and Toyota in the home game, as far as pricing goes well the importation duties force the majority to buy the local product whether it stacks up or not, it dont matter what Wheels say......

Will you see the FG in the European equivalent of Wheels magazine?? i doubt it........

I dont read Wheels magazine anyway, I read TOP GEAR : : :

[Maggot]

The only reason it matters (wheels) is that their award still gets a bit of airtime.. and the FG needs some more publicity.

What bothered me last night was that the local cars did not even crack a mention.. they could have at least explained the exclusion of some of the locals from the final 4.

I was also bothered why the FG range was taken in it's entirety (spellcheck).. and some of the others weren't.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by XA351COUPE

Correct, RS4.....

Cash?? they are quite comfortable thank you for asking......

Back on topic, most of these cars are exported around the world and have to be built to compeat on the world stage, where are we exporting the FG to in great numbers?? was the Falcon built to take on the Audis, BMs or Mercs etc in an away game, I think not! the only real concern for Ford is to knock of Holden and Toyota in the home game, as far as pricing goes well the importation duties force the majority to buy the local product whether it stacks up or not, it dont matter what Wheels say......

Will you see the FG in the European equivalent of Wheels magazine?? i doubt it........

I dont read Wheels magazine anyway, I read TOP GEAR : : :

Ford need to focus on making a sustainable profit and gaining incremental profitable growth, weather that means knocking off holden or toyota or not its irrelevant.

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by XA351COUPE

....... was the Falcon built to take on the Audis, BMs or Mercs etc in an away game, I think not! the only real concern for Ford is to knock of Holden and Toyota in the home game, as far as pricing goes well the importation duties force the majority to buy the local product whether it stacks up or not, it dont matter what Wheels say......

I think you are wrong ....... the G6E & T is aimed squarely to take on the euro models and in doing so has given them a spanking if $ is a consideration for the quality and total package offered

The G6 as a stand alone range should have been there, especially against Mazda and Audi.



| [/url] |

[ehast13]

WHEELS is usually pretty spot on with COTY.

I figured the the mazda 6 and accord would be stiff comp.

They used to give the award to one model in the range (e.g. P76 v8 - not astmatic six) but U can rarely argue with car that wins. The A4 is pretty tops (nice range of engines, excellent build quality etc)

The EVo is considered seperate as it shares less than (xx%) with cooking range. Only the bootlid and doors are shared with cooking models. The drivetrain is different, track etc. it is just enough to be considered a different model (like ba from au or ef from ea/eab/ed)

I hate to admit it but when the conformodores won COTY, they were usually the best car in the field...

I'm not saying the field was strong .....

FG however, is up against quality oppostion. Much like the ef and au years.

For the record, both WHEELS AND MOTOR have given many many victories to ford over holden. Even in the au days, the commie exec never beat a forte, ss and xr8 shared wins, T series usually (always?) beat HSV.

In the BA/BF years, both mags accepted the dominence of FORD over holdeb.

Infact, they even declared BFII as equal (four stars) to VE in a comparo.

FG has always beaten VE in these mags.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Ford need to focus on making a sustainable profit and gaining incremental profitable growth, weather that means knocking off holden or toyota or not its irrelevant.

Sorry 4Vman, i was talking about weather Ford was more interested in winning Wheels COTY award or trying to knock over a few of the local heavyweights with increased sales of its product over the opposition.

I was not telling them how to do it.....

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by auslandau

I think you are wrong ....... the G6E & T is aimed squarely to take on the euro models and in doing so has given them a spanking if $ is a consideration for the quality and total package offered

The G6 as a stand alone range should have been there, especially against Mazda and Audi.

Does this mean we can expect to see boat loads of FG,s heading to europe to compeat on there own turf, if thats the case great!!!!!!

Yes i agree totaly the G6 should have been there in some catagory, but the powers that be decided against it, what i would like to know is why.......

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by XA351COUPE

Does this mean we can expect to see boat loads of FG,s heading to europe to compeat on there own turf, if thats the case great!!!!!!

Yes i agree totaly the G6 should have been there in some catagory, but the powers that be decided against it, what i would like to know is why.......

Wheels mag and others have said that some of the FG models CAN compete with Audi BMW etc on the world stage. I recall a quote when they did a comparo between XR6T and SS and said the XR6T was the best rear wheel drive sedan ever in Australia, and perhaps best in the world. Exporting is a totally different issue and involves the economics of converting a RHD vehicle to a market that is mostly LHD.

RS4, so they compared a $165,000 car to a $55,000 car? Yeah if I could have either and not consider cost I'd maybe choose the RS4 too, but taking cost into account, not a chance.

[Luke Plaizier]

So, um, why are they showing that BMW 1-Series Coupe and BMW 1-Series Convertible as two different entries?

If Toyota can enter the Camry and Aurion as two different cars, why can't Ford enter, say, an I6 and V8 as two different cars? Or even have FPV considered different to a Ford?


Somethings not right....


Lukeyson

[Bossxr8]

I bet you they based the award on fuel economy and green ratings. I thought it was supposed to be car of the year, not economy car of the year or green car of the year. Speaks volumes that the cruddy VE can win it and a vastly superior Falcon can't. What a joke.

[Silver Ghia]

Obviously there is a flaw in Wheels judging criteria, when considering a model with such a range of variants.

The Wheels COTY hasnt meant much to me for some time now, like the articles they write most of the time. I used to buy a copy each month years ago until I realised the articles are mainly just egotistical mumbo-jumbo. I haven't bought a copy for years, a quick squiz at the newsagents now and then reconfirm my thoughts of that magazine.

I regularly buy AMC these days, lots of factual and informative articles and other interesting stuff.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I bet you they based the award on fuel economy and green ratings. I thought it was supposed to be car of the year, not economy car of the year or green car of the year. Speaks volumes that the cruddy VE can win it and a vastly superior Falcon can't. What a joke.

I wouldn't be surprised, mind you the accord doesn't fair that much better on fuel. But it does have that DOD rubbish so that would justify it. Maybe if the Falcon was in diesel form...

[Fab]

On ACA it says the Accord Euro won it.

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by XA351COUPE

Does this mean we can expect to see boat loads of FG,s heading to europe to compeat on there own turf, if thats the case great!!!!!!

Yes i agree totaly the G6 should have been there in some catagory, but the powers that be decided against it, what i would like to know is why.......

Its not a matter of competing on their own turf ....... here where all models are well established, it can hold its head very high in comparison as a luxury car. Maybe not in sales but that is not an indication on how good a car is. G6ET .... FORDS best kept secret!



| [/url] |

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by Fab

On ACA it says the Accord Euro won it.

and deservedly so.
Well done Honda.

[XR6_190]

Here we now have proof of what a crock this award is, The Mondeo should have won it last year, and the Mazda 6 should have won it this year (I will try to hide my obvious Ford bias here) and here is my reasoning for thinking this.

LAST YEAR
The Mercedes Benz C class won it last year, now that is about the same size as the Mondeo, just as well equipped as the Mondeo (minus the 135K v8 option) just as good a drive as the Mondeo and just as safe. that puts it about equal, yet the Merc costs about twice as much, minimally.

THIS YEAR
I will try to ignore the FG, as it is only obvious that I a member of a Ford Australia fanboard, will think that deserves it. So I will go for something that doesn't wear a blue oval, the Mazda 6
It is pretty similar to the Accord Euro that one the prize, only it is available in a full range of body styles and with a class leading diesel option, how did this lose out to the Accord which as far as I know, doesn't offer an alternative fuel, does not offer a alternative bodystyle (the Honda is Sedan only, while the Mazda is Sedan, Hatch, and Wagon).

So to me without even mentioning the FG falcon (which I do believe should have won it) I have just shown how ridiculous this 'prestigious award' really is.

[FordFella]

Ok I'm confused. I've been following wheels for a while and this is quite confusing. For one, in the initial review John Carey (one of the only motoring journos I have ANY respect for) basically said that the car wasn't a big enough leap forward from the last one. I also know that the ride isnt spectacular, and that it is $3000 less than a Falcon in base model. I also know that it runs on 95, which negates a large amount of the cost savings in fuel economy.
Clearly the greeny designers/environmentalists/freelance idiots have savaged the falcon and left the "green" cars. I know I won't be touching this rag again (and I've followed it for years). The fact that it didnt even make the finals shows me a lot about exactly how much the magazine has detiorated. The falcon coverage last year made up for a bit, but article after article has gotten worse and worse and more irrelevant as some of the (good) younger writers have disappeared to by replaced by old opinionated drivel.

EDIT: Ok that was a bit of a rant there, but honestly the fact that Falcon didn't even make it in the finals says a lot. : And the fact that it conflicts with every other thing I've heard about the car says just as much (hasn't won ANY awards. ANY!)

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Wheels mag and others have said that some of the FG models CAN compete with Audi BMW etc on the world stage. I recall a quote when they did a comparo between XR6T and SS and said the XR6T was the best rear wheel drive sedan ever in Australia, and perhaps best in the world. Exporting is a totally different issue and involves the economics of converting a RHD vehicle to a market that is mostly LHD.

RS4, so they compared a $165,000 car to a $55,000 car? Yeah if I could have either and not consider cost I'd maybe choose the RS4 too, but taking cost into account, not a chance.

Agree totaly and have heard the same, but unless Ford take a punt and send a trial run of say, 200 LHD examples of their best, we will never know.

Sales make the car of the year in my opinion, not some write up in a glossy mag, and if Ford Aus could sell the FG overseas on the opposition turf, then they get braggin rights in my book.

I understand the economics involved with tooling up to produce LHD would be daunting, but if Ford was comfortable that they have a world class product that could hold its own, then for gods sake have a go, the competition is.

I for one would love to see aussie cars overseas but unless the locals change their attitude it will never happen, thank god our international sports people dont have the same attitude.

If it was upto me to give a reason why the FG was not in the top 4, it would be because it is not available to the world that has LHD, and should not be in the same catagory as vehicals that do, not its performance alone which by all accounts is great, but the total package offered.

Jondalar..... the actual comparison was done over in Austria over Xmas/New Years when the inlaws where over there for a month, the hire car they had was the 2.0l Avante wagon actually, the oldman inlaw only bought the RS4 because one was sitting in the dealership at the time, the intention was to buy the wagon. My next project is to borrow the RS4 but am worried about what its going to cost me

[DVSFPV]

i was happy to see the FG F6 in Motors Performance car of the year it ranked 11TH but considering wat it was up against it made me very proud knowing one of our own can run with these bad boys...
here was the final 11
11. FG F6 310
10. Mitsubishi Evo X
9. Lotus Elise SC
8. Audi RS6
7. Audi TTS
=5. Mercedes Benz C63 AMG
=5. Bmw M3 M-DCT
4. Mercedes Benz SL63 AMG
3. Porsche 911 Carrera S PDK
2. Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
1. Porsche 911 GT2

i know its not a great finish but to be up there with all these other high performance cars is a pretty big feat i thought... im sure there will be others who think its not as good as i do and should have been higher but has to be remembered is how much all these other cars cost to build in R&D and cost to buy etc compared to a lonely family car lol
just my thoughts tho no need to criticise me over them
brent

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by XA351COUPE

Agree totaly and have heard the same, but unless Ford take a punt and send a trial run of say, 200 LHD examples of their best, we will never know.

Sales make the car of the year in my opinion, not some write up in a glossy mag, and if Ford Aus could sell the FG overseas on the opposition turf, then they get braggin rights in my book.

I understand the economics involved with tooling up to produce LHD would be daunting, but if Ford was comfortable that they have a world class product that could hold its own, then for gods sake have a go, the competition is.

I for one would love to see aussie cars overseas but unless the locals change their attitude it will never happen, thank god our international sports people dont have the same attitude.

If it was upto me to give a reason why the FG was not in the top 4, it would be because it is not available to the world that has LHD, and should not be in the same catagory as vehicals that do, not its performance alone which by all accounts is great, but the total package offered.

Jondalar..... the actual comparison was done over in Austria over Xmas/New Years when the inlaws where over there for a month, the hire car they had was the 2.0l Avante wagon actually, the oldman inlaw only bought the RS4 because one was sitting in the dealership at the time, the intention was to buy the wagon. My next project is to borrow the RS4 but am worried about what its going to cost me

Let your inlaws know to be careful with the RS4, theres been a big spate of carjackings for this model. One guy I heard had it only three days, found it burnt out on the fifth.
Last I heard theres been atleast half a dozen jack'd

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by DVSFPV

i was happy to see the FG F6 in Motors Performance car of the year it ranked 11TH but considering wat it was up against it made me very proud knowing one of our own can run with these bad boys...
here was the final 11
11. FG F6 310
10. Mitsubishi Evo X
9. Lotus Elise SC
8. Audi RS6
7. Audi TTS
=5. Mercedes Benz C63 AMG
=5. Bmw M3 M-DCT
4. Mercedes Benz SL63 AMG
3. Porsche 911 Carrera S PDK
2. Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
1. Porsche 911 GT2

i know its not a great finish but to be up there with all these other high performance cars is a pretty big feat i thought... im sure there will be others who think its not as good as i do and should have been higher but has to be remembered is how much all these other cars cost to build in R&D and cost to buy etc compared to a lonely family car lol
just my thoughts tho no need to criticise me over them
brent

Couldnt agree more with your thoughts! Put a price tag on each and which would be the one that is in reach of many? To be in the company of those but to be in reach for most is an accomplishment in itself



| [/url] |

[ehast13]

It is a pity that people just rant and rave about a magazine while admitting they can't be bothered reading it. If any of the myriad of people who whine about VE winning wish to take a breath and calm down, you will see that the year VE won, its biggest competition was the Aurion. Yep, the aurion. Everything else was a bit underdone. hard riding euros, soft koreans, crapola us dross and the VE just floated to the top of the faecal matter that was released in 2006.


Falcon faced off against
1). the best Audi in years (new paltform, fwd.awd, 4's and sixes, N?A or charged, economy, diesel options etc etc etc

2). Honda Accord Euro - already beat mazda six in previous comparo. A four cylinder that can lay down a low 16 quarter in an auto. A manual that knocks out mid 15's all while consuming under 9 l/100k per hundred. Ultra low emissions, safety, equipment, fantastic handling (no match for an xr6 but...)

Also only a couple of model variants. You can bet it wouldn't win if Australia got some korean spec 1.6 litre base model with rubber floor mats and no airbags, but

3). Mazda 6 - enuff said

I could go on but it won't change the result. If Ford presented only the six cylinder powered models (minus e-gas) then we may be looking at another coty. In the past few years, ford and mazda have had a stranglehold on the finals (BA, Territory, Focus, Mondeo, 2, 3, 6, RX8, MX5 etc)

What can we do though, the rules of PCOTY no longer allow for weak links. How does an XR8 stack up against an XR6 turbo? The 8 is slower, thirstier, heavier, doesn't handle as well....

E-gas. nuff said

Trouble is. Ford needs those models becuase people buy them. Technically the xr8 is an irrelevance bcoz the turbo is better. I would still prefer the eight and I already drive a gasmobile, but the criteria don't allow for heart choices (v8). They also don't allow for lack of safety features or advancement in design in even one model - e-gas.

Maybe the criteria needs adjusting?



Of the final four, I'm not surprised that Honda won.

It will be an interesting read as to why falcon wasn't in final four.

Was it the e-gas that let it down???

[Ricks_Xr6t]

Originally Posted by Donut King

excluded because of no stability control on the LPG models would be my guess

Donut dude not being rude but what the faaaaaark is with the avatar pic.

[BA GT-HO]

Originally Posted by XA351COUPE

Well my inlaws must agree with the Wheels COTY as they have just traded their G6ET (less than 3000kms on the clock) for the A4.......

Chalk and Cheese they reckon......

Good move!

Am I right in thinking the G6ET has no LSD? What the?

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by BA GT-HO

Good move!

Am I right in thinking the G6ET has no LSD? What the?

If it was a good move they would have swapped the G6ET for a Honda Accord ..... they lost a great car to get a car not as good as a Honda?

Good move!

And you need an LSD in the G6ET for what reason??



| [/url] |

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by ehast13

It is a pity that people just rant and rave about a magazine while admitting they can't be bothered reading it. If any of the myriad of people who whine about VE winning wish to take a breath and calm down, you will see that the year VE won, its biggest competition was the Aurion. Yep, the aurion. Everything else was a bit underdone. hard riding euros, soft koreans, crapola us dross and the VE just floated to the top of the faecal matter that was released in 2006.

Competitors that year:

14 that were axed:
Alfa Romeo 159
Audi Q7
Holden Captiva
WM Statesman
Honda Ledgend
Hyundai Elantra
Hyundai Santa Fe
Mercedes Benz S-Class
Mitsubishs Colt Cabriolet
Mitsubishi Outlander
Porsche Cayman
Toyota Camry
Toyota Rav 4
Volvo C70


Final 7:
Audi TT
Honda Civic
Mazda CX-7
VW Passat
BMW 3 Series Coupe
Toyota Aurion
Holden VE Commodore

Final 3:
BMW 3 Series Coupe
Toyota Aurion
Holden VE Commodore

[sleekism]

WTF????????????????????

Where was the Falcon in the finals????????????

EVERY other publication has given it rave reviews